Piece By Piece (The Ink Nation Series Book 1)

by Jennah Thornhill

  Chapter Eighteen

  Daisy

  Well that’s me officially a basket case.

  I wouldn’t be surprised if Trey fired me.

  Zak only placed his hand on my shoulder, and I freaked the fuck out. I mean in the few times I’ve seen him; he’s never once made me think he would hurt me. The minute his hand came into contact with my shoulder, I acted as if he was gonna murder me.

  Yeah, crazy person right here.

  The thing that’s playing on my mind now since it happened, is that when Trey pulled me into his arms, I didn’t flinch. Not once. I felt warm and safe with his muscular arms wrapped around me. When he whispered that I was okay, well that just made me fuzzy on the inside. Something that I’ve never felt before with a man. It’s not something I know, and it scares me, but not in the way I think it should. No. When I pull away from him, I start to worry that he can tell that I liked being in his arms. So, to save myself any embarrassment from him turning me away, I turn away from him without saying a word and get my sketch pad and pencils out of my purse.

  I can see him still standing there staring at me, but I ignore him and start shading in the broken heart I started yesterday. Trying to pretend that I don’t know he’s still there.

  As the few hours pass that I’m here, we all work in stony silence, with the exception of the noise from the tattoo guns. I’ve created an atmosphere that now feels uncomfortable. Which once again, is making me think that I’m not ready for this. Trey doesn’t need a nut job working for him.

  Just as I look down at my phone and see that my time for today is up, I can feel someone standing behind me. I know it’s Trey, because the woodsy, earthy smell that comes with him, hits my senses and goosebumps prickle at the back of my neck.

  “Are you done, Pink?”

  His voice is nothing but a husky whisper in my ear and I want nothing more than to turn around and look at him, but I daren’t. I’m scared that he will see straight through me and think that I’m even crazier, than I have already given him cause to believe.

  Instead, I keep myself busy by packing my stuff away.

  “Yeah, I am.”

  What I don’t expect is that next words to come out of his mouth.

  “Good. I’ve got no more appointments for the rest of the day, so I’m taking you out for a late lunch and I won’t take no for an answer.”

  Spinning around, I finally look at him.

  “W… Why?” I stutter.

  Way to go, Daisy. Stutter like a bloody idiot why don’t you.

  “I mean, you have appointments; you don’t need to take me to lunch.” I recover quickly.

  A smile creeps onto his face and it’s not a creepy one that I’m used to. No, his smile stretches to his eyes and makes his cheeks pop out.

  Dimples.

  He has dimples.

  That’s when something happens inside my chest and I swear it’s my heart rate speeding up. Placing a hand on the counter, he leans on it.

  “My afternoon client cancelled on me about thirty minutes ago, sent me a text with some bullshit excuse. So, I’m now free to take you to lunch.”

  My mouth makes an ‘O’ shape in understanding and I realize that he really isn’t going to take no for an answer. It’s only lunch anyway, we’re gonna be in a public place. If I start to feel uncomfortable, I can just get up and leave. With that plan running through my head, I grab my bag and jacket and head for the door. When I open it and he isn’t following me, I turn.

  “Well come on then, I’m starving.”

  I try to sound confident; the way Zoe does, it must work, because within a second, he’s next to me and we both leave the studio.

  We walk a few paces in silence and I start to think that he’s regretting asking me to lunch. So, to keep my thoughts from going haywire, I pull my phone out from my phone from the pocket of my jeans and type out a text to Zoe. Even though I know she’s going to ask me a hundred and one questions, when I get home.

  Me… Going for a late lunch with Trey, if you haven’t heard from me in an hour, send help!

  It doesn’t take her long and before I know it, I’m smiling at her reply…

  Zoe… Lunch with Trey? Wtf? Don’t sweat it, you’ll be fine.

  PS, I want all the details when you get back.

  Have fun.

  “Something funny?”

  I look up from my phone and see Trey smiling down at me.

  “Oh, it’s just, Zoe. I text her to let her know why I wouldn’t be home yet, normally she has the afternoon off, and we hang out.”

  The little white lie slips from my lips. Zoe’s at work until six but I couldn’t exactly tell him that I’d had to explain my whereabouts. Just in case something happened to me and that being alone with a man, freaks me the fuck out. God no. I’ve already given him enough reasons to think I’m off the chain crazy. I’m not giving him anymore.

  “Okay, cool.”

  We come to a crossing and instead of waiting for the walk sign to turn green, he quickly grabs me hand.

  “Quick, run.”

  He pulls me across the road and down on to 9th Avenue.

  “Oh my god, are you trying to get us killed.” I joke as we land safely back onto the sidewalk.

  I come to a stop in front of him and I can tell I’ve said something wrong. The scowl on his face is something I’ve never seen on him before

  “Don’t joke about killing someone ever, Daisy. It’s not funny.” His voice is stern and very serious.

  Okayyy then. That wasn’t weird at all. It was like them few words I said to him, flipped a switch inside of him.

  “I… I’m sorry.” I stammer out.

  “It’s okay, let’s go.”

  He turns away from me and strides down 9th, causing me to speed walk, just to keep up with him.

  “Look, Trey. If you don’t want to do this, then I can just get a sandwich from the deli and go home. It’s not a problem.”

  My voice is small and what is a shock, is that I’m secretly hoping that he hasn’t changed his mind.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Trey

  I’ve always been an asshole where women are concerned. Since I left Texas, I don’t have feelings towards them, well not for long anyway. I care long enough for them to let me fuck them. Then once we’ve both reached our climax, I’m either tucking my dick back into my jeans, because I’ve fucked her in a club bathroom. Or I’m pulling my jeans back on, because she’s insisted on going back to her place. My caring span normally lasts no longer than a few hours, yet I find myself caring about Daisy. The fact that I’ve just frightened the crap out of her, tells me everything. She’s gone pale and she stutters when she’s scared, I have learnt that about her since we met.

  It’s just when she said about me killing us as I pulled her across the road, all the anger and guilt I still carry over Cam’s death, came rushing to the surface. I’ve scared her and that’s the last thing I want to do. She’s already fragile and I can see she’s starting to trust me, slowly. So, the last thing I want to do is stop her from warming to me completely. At the end of the day, she’s fucking good at her job and her art is out of this world. If she decided to stop working at the studio after just two days because of me, then I don’t know what I would do.

  When she opens her mouth asking me if I’ve changed my mind about taking her to lunch, I almost tell her, don’t be fucking stupid. I may have told her that my afternoon appointment had cancelled on me last minute. When in fact, after the meltdown she had this morning, I didn’t want to just let her go home. So, I text Marvin, who was having his back piece finished and feigned illness to him. With the promise that I’ll do it at a discounted rate for cancelling on him. All of this, just so I can take the little pixie next to me, for food.

  But she’s worth it.

  A voice in the back of my mind tells me.

  Taking her hand in mine, I don’t answer her ridiculous question and
just carry on walking down 9th Avenue. When my fingers tangle with hers, I expect her to pull away from me, yet she doesn’t. In my head, I’m thinking I’m God because if it was any other male, she would have run a mile by now but with me, she doesn’t. This shit should scare me but where she’s concerned, it doesn’t. After just four days of knowing her, I can feel myself liking her more than I should do.

  “Trey…” I feel her tug on my hand, “Trey, where are we going? You can’t just snap at me like that and then not talk to me.”

  Guilt once again makes me stop.

  “I’m sorry, Pink. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. To answer your question, we’re going to Westway diner, their food is fucking delicious.”

  With my free hand, I tuck a short piece of her hair behind her ear. Once again, she doesn’t flinch or cower when I touch her. A smile lights up her face, but she lowers her head as if she’s embarrassed for smiling at me. Taking her chin between my finger and thumb, I lift her head, so she has no choice but to look up at me.

  “Don’t lower your head when you’re with me, Pink. I know something pretty fucked up must have happened to you. To make you have that fear I see in your eyes, whenever you’re around a man. Know this, you don’t have to fear me or the guys, I can promise you that and don’t think I’m gonna make you tell me what happened to you, that’s your story. We all have our secrets that have fractured us.”

  A look of understanding passes between us, before she blinks those long lashes of hers, that stand out against her pale skinned, cheeks.

  “Come on, let’s go, I’m starving. If we stand here any longer, the people of New York are going to get pissed off that we’re just standing still on a busy sidewalk.”

  I joke with her to break the thick tension that’s built up between us in those last few minutes. Keeping her hand in mine, I find myself enjoying the feel of it. Seeing as she hasn’t pulled it away, I keep us connected as we walk down 9th to Westway.

  Entering the diner, I guide her to a booth and hold my arm out for her to take a seat before I do. That’s another thing, unless Stace is in town, I don’t take women out. Let alone be a gentleman and let them sit before me. That action alone is making me start to think that I’ve been taken over by aliens, or some shit. If Zak could see me now, he’d be looking at me as if I had two heads, before asking if I was feeling okay.

  Pulling two menus from the stand at the end of the table, I pass one off to Pink as I open mine. Even though I know what I’m eating, I have the same thing every time I come in. It’s when I see the flash of red out of the corner of my eye, that I know I made an epic fail coming here with Pink. Emily sees me, I try to pretend I haven’t seen her, but I know she’s gonna come over, because she fucking works here. From where we’re sitting, it looks as if I’m alone, so I know she’s gonna be all tits and flirting with me.

  It’s my own fault really, I made the mistake of sticking my dick in her a few months ago. Every time I come in; she tries for a repeat performance; which is never gonna happen. The woman is about as fake as a waxwork at Madame Tussauds. I’ve had my hands on her tits and there’s no way in this world are they fucking real. Just like I knew she would, she comes bouncing over and is all smiles, with her eyes roaming all over me.

  “Hey, Trey….”

  She stops with the fake hello when she sees Pink, with her head buried in her menu still. I can see the distaste Emily has for her straight away, she doesn’t hide it well. Jealousy is an ugly trait to have. To take her attention away from Pink, who is yet to look up from her menu, I speak.

  “Hi, Emily.”

  My voice is somber, making it clear that I couldn’t give a shit that she’s standing in front of me.

  “I’ll have a coffee and Pink, what do you want to drink?”

  I ask her at the same time I pull the menu she’s gripping tightly, away from her face. So, she can see that I’m only interested in talking to her.

  “Oh, ermmm. I’ll have a strawberry milkshake please, with whipped cream on the top please.”

  She looks at me the whole time she speaks.

  “Okay, I’ll be back in a few with your drinks.”

  Emily stomps off and whereas I used to think she was attractive; I now just look at her with disdain.

  Focusing my attention back on Pink, I place my hand in the middle of her menu, that she’s now studying once again. It’s as if it’s the fucking bible and Jesus is going make her disappear from in front of me.

  “Hey, look at me.” I tell her and it’s as if she daren’t disobey me and quickly her eyes are fixed on mine.

  The depths of them can hold so many secrets. I may have told her that she didn’t have to tell me what happened to her, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t angered. The shyness of her one minute, the demanding that I stop, because I scared her the next. The woman is an enigma but looking at her now, I can see she’s beautiful without even trying. The thing is, am I willing to peel back her layers to find the real her, without giving my secrets away too?

  Chapter Twenty

  Daisy

  Since the first day that he laid his filthy hands on me, I’ve been petrified of men. Their voices, their height and build. The way they look at me, it all scares me that they’re all just like him. That they all want me for one thing and it’s all going to end in blood and tears.

  Only Trey’s different. Yes, for the first time in my life, I find someone of the opposite sex attractive. When I say he’s different, I mean he has this way about him that calms me and my inner turmoil, where men are concerned. That was until we arrived at Westway ten minutes ago and I was greeted with the waitress who Trey has clearly fucked. Her voice was all bright and cheery, until she realized he wasn’t alone. I tried to hide behind my menu, but Trey soon saw to that when he made me look at him. He paid her no attention, while she was standing there waiting for me to tell her what I wanted to drink. I don’t have to look up at the girl who Trey called Emily, to know she’s gorgeous. He’s gorgeous himself, so it’s without a doubt that he only fucks gorgeous women, something I’m certainly not.

  Just being in the presence of them both, makes me feel inferior, in the ideal world they make the perfect couple. So, when Trey focuses on me and me alone, it’s safe to say it shocks me some. The way he’s looking at me with so much intensity, it makes me want to look away, but something is making me keep my eyes trained on him.

  We give Emily our drinks orders without looking away from each other and she flounces off in a huff. I feel a small smile pull at my lips.

  “She’s nothing to me, just so you know.”

  I finally blink when he tries to explain about Emily to me.

  “You don’t owe me an explanation, Trey. You’re my boss and hopefully a friend.” I say quietly.

  Embarrassed that I basically asked him to be my friend.

  Just then, Emily comes back and thankfully keeps her mouth shut, as she places our drinks down.

  “Can we order our food now?” Trey asks her at the same time, his eyes never leave mine, he doesn’t even glance at her to be polite.

  “I’ll have the steak and eggs and what do you want, Pink?”

  “Ermmm, I’ll have pancakes with blueberries and bacon.” I tell Emily politely, as I break eye contact with him and look up at her.

  With another huff, she takes our order and stomps off.

  “Pancakes? For lunch?” he asks me with a cheeky grin on his face, which puts me further at ease with him.

  Resting my chin in my hand, I answer him.

  “Pancakes are any time of the day food and my absolute favorite thing to eat.”

  Pulling my hand away from my chin, I tug on the long sleeves of my shirt. Scared that they will ride up and he’ll see my scars on my wrists. While I’m pulling on the material, his hand shoots out and is on both of mine, before I can even register what’s happening.

  “You don’t need to be all shy and embarrassed with me, P
ink. I actually think that pancakes should be eaten whenever people want them and not just for breakfast.”

  At his words my heart flutters a little, he thinks I’m tugging on my sleeves because of embarrassment. I find myself wanting to tell him the truth, but I’m petrified that if I do, he will think I’m a bigger freak, than I’ve already proven to be with my meltdowns.

  “Trey…” I say, but I’m stopped when his hand squeezes mine.

  “Look, Pink. I know we haven’t known each other long and you clearly have some issues that need working out. Believe me when I say you are not the only one, but since I met you, all I want to do is to get to know you. If you just want to be my friend, then that’s fair enough. I want you to know that whatever it is that’s made you like this, then I want to help. I want to help you be someone that’s even more incredible, than you already are. I know I’ve said it before, but I won’t hurt you. Yes, I’m not normally a one-woman man. I’ve been around the block a few times, I’m not gonna lie to you about it. If I’m anything, I’m honest.”

  When he finishes speaking, I realize my jaw has hit the floor and he leans across the table and places a finger under my chin.

  “Close your mouth, Pink.”

  My mouths gone dry from his little speech. When he asked me to lunch, that was the last thing I expected from him. Releasing my hand from his, I pick up my milkshake and suck through the straw that hard, that I feel my cheeks hollow in. A growl comes from Trey at the same time.

  Our lunch arrives and I still haven’t said anything about what he’s said, but I want to. No, I need to. I can tell it took a lot for him to tell me all of that. From what I heard from the one-sided phone call that day I went and saw him for my interview, he’s being completely honest with me. I always knew he was coming from some woman's place. With the way Emily has been acting since we got here, then it’s safe to say that Trey is a very popular man.