ALLURING INK
Love is risk. Love is heartbreak. Love is an addiction a single mom like Crystal can’t afford. And accomplished tattoo artist Dylan is a temptation she can’t resist. He’s only in town for a few weeks as a guest artist, but the attraction is instant. With her past shadowing everything she does, it feels good to have someone who doesn’t judge … and doesn’t know.
Love is just the spark before the crash and burn, especially when your demons are something more than standard-issue. Dylan craves Crystal with everything he has, but their days together are supposed to be numbered.
Book 7 in the Inked in the Steel City Series
* * * * *
CHAPTER 1
Crystal sat on the edge of her seat in the café across from the Hot Ink Tattoo Studio, clutching her purse. As she stared through the glass panel windows, she scanned the foot traffic streaming by for any sign of her brother’s blond hair. When he finally appeared, she stopped holding her breath.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so giddy. She tapped her toe against the tile as he caught her eye, nodded and entered the café.
“I already ordered for us,” she said when he approached the little table she’d claimed. “Your usual. I know your schedule is tight lately.”
“Thanks. How much was it?”
She shook her head as he pulled out his wallet.
“It’s my treat.” She waved a hand as a pang of guilt sailed through her. “Just sit down.”
He tried to give her money but she refused. Their mini-argument was cut short when a barista called out the number on her receipt, and she went to get their food.
James seemed happy with his lunch, but Crystal had to force herself to take a bite of her turkey and pesto sandwich. She’d been waiting so long to have this conversation with her brother – she’d dreamed of it ever since she’d returned to Pittsburgh a year ago, straight out of rehab and deeply in his debt. Now, it was finally real.
It was the biggest step in the right direction she’d taken since making the decision to do rehab.
“I asked you to meet me because there’s something I need to talk to you about,” she said.
His expression changed just a little, his green eyes darkening and the muscles around his mouth tensing.
“It’s good news,” she hurried to say. “I’m moving out.”
“You are?” He set down his sandwich and locked her in eye contact, as if looking for some sign of a joke.
“Yes. I signed the lease on an apartment yesterday.”
“Where at?” He launched into a series of questions, grilling her on the neighborhood and amenities, the cost of rent and a dozen other things.
She waved a hand. “It’s only a few blocks from your place.” She described the complex she’d be moving into.
Slowly, he nodded. “Neighborhood’s okay, and you’ll have me nearby, but… Can you afford it?”
His gaze was deep and searching, almost sad. “I know they don’t pay you a lot.”
She couldn’t hold back a smile, even though he was right – she wasn’t exactly raking in the big bucks working in cosmetics at a department store. “You’re right about that. But I have a secondary source of income.”
Actually, her job at the make-up counter had more or less become her secondary source of income. She was making more money from her other work – a fact that had had butterflies whirling through her stomach for months now.
James raised his eyebrows. “You do?”
“Yes…” She took a deep breath and tried not to give away how excited she was about revealing her big secret. “You know how much I love make-up artistry.”
He nodded, his gaze lingering on her face. She actually wasn’t wearing much make-up today.
Okay … so she’d gone a little buck wild with some new eye make-up samples she’d received from a start-up cosmetics company, but she’d taken it easy with everything else, brushing on just a hint of blush and gloss.
“Yeah,” he said. “Judging by the number of boxes that’ve been delivered to our apartment over the past few months, I figured you’d invested most of your paychecks in lipstick.”
She frowned. Had he really thought she’d been squandering her money in the name of vanity?
Maybe she should’ve told him what she’d been up to sooner. It was just that her success had seemed so unreal at first – still did, really – that she hadn’t wanted to jinx it.
“I didn’t pay a dime for most of that stuff,” she said. “The manufacturers sent me the products to review. I’ve been making my own make-up how-to videos for the better part of a year now. I started just a couple months after I moved in, and I’ve built up quite a following. I even have my own website.”
His brow creased. “How’ve you been making money from that?”
She grinned. “Advertisements. They play before my videos start and I run them on my site, too. It may not sound like much, but my web traffic and viewers have increased so much over the past few months that I’m earning pretty good money.”
At least, the amount she was earning seemed phenomenal to her – all the jobs she’d ever held had been in food service and retail. Being able to make more than a pittance above minimum wage doing something she loved was a dream come true.
James sat frozen, his coffee cup in hand. “I had no idea you were doing any of that.”
She brushed her long blonde hair away from her face. “I didn’t want to tell you at first – I thought you might think it was a waste of time. I started out doing it for fun – to get back in touch with something I love. It’d been forever since I’d felt useful, or good at anything…”
He frowned.
“It was just my little hobby,” she said, “but it’s really taken off.”
“I’m happy for you. But will it last?”
She shrugged. “I’ve been working hard at educating myself on how to make the most of it. Anyway, I’ve been saving my earnings. After getting my most recent check, I had enough to pay the deposit and first month’s rent on my apartment, and to pay you back.”
“Pay me back?”
“For all the money you spent on Emily while I was away. I have enough to reimburse you for what I figure you spent on daycare, formula, diapers and all that. If my math is wrong just—”
“No,” he said. “Keep your money. You’re probably going to need it.”
She froze. Keep the money? There was no way she could do that.
She’d been living with James for about a year now and she’d spent every single day of it riddled with guilt over the burdens she’d imposed on him, financial and otherwise. She couldn’t make up for the fact that she’d stuck him with caring for a newborn for several months, but she could at least compensate for the money she’d cost him.
It was the least she could do, and he wasn’t going to talk her out of doing it.
“No way,” she said. “When I moved in with you, I said I’d pay you back as soon as I could, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
“I don’t need your money. I have more clients than ever, and Arianna and I have been planning to move in together whenever you move out. So my cost of living will almost be cut in half.”
Another twinge of guilt fired through her. She knew very well that her and Emily living with James had been holding him back from moving in with his girlfriend, Arianna. Getting the hell out of their way was probably the nicest thing she could do for them.
“Even so,” she said. “I want to pay you back. I won’t feel right until I do.”
“Keep the money to fall back on. Or use it to start a college fund for Emily. I won’t take it.”
College. While Crystal was determined to give Emily a better life and the shot at success that she and James had never been provided, she wouldn’t use the money she owed him to do it.
“C’mon,” he said when she opened her mouth to protest. “I don’t want your money. I don’t want Emily to have to scrape and claw her way toward being abl
e to support herself someday, either. Save it for her education.”
Crystal frowned. The news she’d been so eager to share with James had turned into a battle of wills. She and James shared more than just their blond hair and green eyes – they were both equally stubborn.
“I appreciate your generosity,” she eventually said, “but… The truth is, I need you to take the money so that I don’t feel like such a loser. I’ve been looking forward to the day I’d finally be able to pay you back for an entire year. Until I do that, the weight of the world is going to stay on my shoulders.”
He looked genuinely surprised. Putting down his sandwich, he met her eyes and pressed his hands against the table. “You’re not a loser. You’ve turned your whole life around, and that’s a hell of a lot more than most people could ever do.”
Heat crept into her cheeks, and she stared into the depths of her coffee, embarrassed. Didn’t he think of her as an annoyance sponging off of his generosity?
That was what she felt like.
He grabbed her hand and wouldn’t let her pull away. “I’m proud of you. Don’t ever think that I’m not.”
She mumbled something about all that he and Arianna had done for her, her emotions swirling in a haze of reluctant pride and mortification.
She wished so badly that she’d never messed up her life in the first place, that she’d never had to put James in the position she had. Though she was proud of the progress she’d made, she was still deeply embarrassed by her past.
The idiotic things she’d done would shadow her forever, and she knew it. Knew people thought of them whenever they looked at her, and probably wondered if she’d slip up again.
She wouldn’t. No matter what. But they didn’t know that.
James eventually let go of her hand, and they ate in silence. She used the quiet time to scheme on ways to give him the money. If he wouldn’t take it directly, what could she do?
Buy him lunch every day for a year? Get him the best birthday present of all time?
None of the ideas she came up with seemed good enough.
“So,” he said when they finished their meals, “I’ve got a surprise for you too.”
“What is it?” She stacked their trays, gathering up their empty plates and coffee cups.
“I finally came up with a design for your tattoo. You’ll have to take a look, but I think you’re going to like it.”
She moved to the edge of her seat as a jolt of excitement hit her. “Really?”
She’d asked him to design a tattoo for her last month, and he’d agreed.
She wanted something to celebrate the transformation she’d been through during the past year – permanent ink to mark a permanent change. Who better to tattoo her than her brother, who she couldn’t have done it without?
He nodded toward the window and the street beyond, where the Hot Ink Tattoo Studio’s blue neon sign glowed softly in the August sunlight. “Come on over and take a look.”
Get the rest of the story in Alluring Ink. Out now.
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Tattered Loyalties
From New York Times Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan’s Talon Pack Series
Tattered Loyalties
When the great war between the Redwoods and the Centrals occurred three decades ago, the Talon Pack risked their lives for the side of good. After tragedy struck, Gideon Brentwood became the Alpha of the Talons. But the Pack’s stability is threatened, and he’s forced to take mate—only the one fate puts in his path is the woman he shouldn’t want.
Though the daughter of the Redwood Pack’s Beta, Brie Jamenson has known peace for most of her life. When she finds the man who could be her mate, she’s shocked to discover Gideon is the Alpha wolf of the Talon Pack. As a submissive, her strength lies in her heart, not her claws. But if her new Pack disagrees or disapproves, the consequences could be fatal.
As the worlds Brie and Gideon have always known begin to shift, they must face their challenges together in order to help their Pack and seal their bond. But when the Pack is threatened from the inside, Gideon doesn’t know who he can trust and Brie’s life could be forfeit in the crossfire. It will take the strength of an Alpha and the courage of his mate to realize where true loyalties lie.
Find out more in Tattered Loyalties. Out Now.
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Delicate Ink
From New York Times Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan’s Montgomery Ink Series
Delicate Ink
On the wrong side of thirty, Austin Montgomery is ready to settle down. Unfortunately, his inked sleeves and scruffy beard isn’t the suave business appearance some women crave. Only finding a woman who can deal with his job, as a tattoo artist and owner of Montgomery Ink, his seven meddling siblings, and his own gruff attitude won’t be easy.
Finding a man is the last thing on Sierra Elder’s mind. A recent transplant to Denver, her focus is on opening her own boutique. Wanting to cover up scars that run deeper than her flesh, she finds in Austin a man that truly gets to her—in more ways than one.
Although wary, they embark on a slow, tempestuous burn of a relationship. When blasts from both their pasts intrude on their present, however, it will take more than a promise of what could be to keep them together.
Find out more in Delicate Ink. Out Now.
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Dust of My Wings
From New York Times Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan’s Dante’s Circle Series
Dust of My Wings
Humans aren’t as alone as they choose to believe. Every human possesses a trait of supernatural that lays dormant within their genetic make-up. Centuries of diluting and breeding have allowed humans to think they are alone and untouched by magic. But what happens when something changes?
Neat freak lab tech, Lily Banner lives her life as any ordinary human. She’s dedicated to her work and loves to hang out with her friends at Dante’s Circle, their local bar. When she discovers a strange blue dust at work she meets a handsome stranger holding secrets – and maybe her heart. But after a close call with a thunderstorm, she may not be as ordinary as she thinks.
Shade Griffin is a warrior angel sent to Earth to protect the supernaturals’ secrets. One problem, he can’t stop leaving dust in odd places around town. Now he has to find every ounce of his dust and keep the presence of the supernatural a secret. But after a close encounter with a sexy lab tech and a lightning quick connection, his millennia old loyalties may shift and he could lose more than just his wings in the chaos.
Warning: Contains a sexy angel with a choice to make and a green-eyed lab tech who dreams of a dark-winged stranger. Oh yeah, and a shocking spark that's sure to leave them begging for more.
Find out more in Dust of My Wings. Out Now.
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Table of Contents
Harder than Words
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Griffin
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Autumn
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
A Note from Carrie Ann
About Carrie Ann and her Books
Excerpt: Alluring Ink
Tattered Loyalties
Delicate Ink
Dust of My Wings
Harder Than Words Page 23
