by Stacy Gail
Laughter danced like dark flames in his eyes, and he sifted a hand through her hair to bunch it up in a gentle, yet strangely covetous, grip. “You really have to ask?”
“Like I said, I’m curious. Just be careful how you answer, or this might be the only time this ever happens.”
“No way.” A breathtaking smile lit his face, a face that was softer than she’d ever seen it. For some reason the sight of it took her breath away. “I’m in, little girl, in more ways than one, so there’s no way in hell I’m going anywhere.”
Funny how being called little girl didn’t get her hackles up the way it used to. “So you’re thinking this was worthy of a repeat performance?”
“I’m more than thinking it. I’m going to do everything possible to show you just how admiring I am of all this reality.” As if to demonstrate what he was referring to, he shifted so he could run a slow hand up her side to curve a possessive hand over a pink-tipped breast. He smiled when she shivered, before he bent so he could nuzzle his nose against hers. “If I didn’t have to haul my ass back to the House, I’d start doing that right now. But as it is, any demonstrations will have to wait until I’m off work.”
She blinked, shocked. “Wait, what do you mean, back to the House? You aren’t supposed to be there right now, are you?”
“You know we get an hour lunch break during our shifts. I decided I’d spend mine checking in on you.”
“What?”
“It’s not like I had a choice.” He lifted a shoulder, like he’d had to give in to the inevitable and had done so with philosophical grace. “We had a seriously shitty parting and I couldn’t just leave it at that. And I’m glad I couldn’t,” he added softly, lowering his head until his lips touched hers. “I’m hoping you’re glad about it, too. Because bar none, this has been the best lunch break I’ve ever had.”
“Twist, are you crazy? It takes twenty minutes to get here, and twenty minutes to get back, unless your vehicle is a Tardis, and I know it’s not. That means…” She craned her neck around to look at the clock he’d labeled as too loud, then gave up on a short sigh. “Crap, I have no idea what that means, because I don’t know when you got here. But I’d be willing to bet you’ve been here longer than twenty minutes.”
“Which is why I’ve gotta get back instead of what I really want to do, which is get busy with you messing up this bed more than we already have. But I’m already on everyone’s shit list, so I can’t afford to add insult to injury.”
When he gently pulled out and rolled to his feet to retrieve his clothes, she had to fight a surprisingly strong wave of disappointment. “Shit list?”
“That’s what I said.”
“I don’t know how to ask this without sounding all judgy,” she began, also coming to her feet to snag up her bathrobe from where she’d draped it on a nearby chair, “so I’m just going to put it out there. What did you do now?”
“That does sound judgy.”
“Not my fault.”
“Actually it is.” With his jeans and briefs bunched in his hand, he disappeared into the bathroom but left the door open so she could hear him. “You’re refusing to come back to House Of Payne, right? Who do you think is being blamed for that?”
“Damn it.” She tied the robe’s fuzzy blue belt around her waist with an impatient jerk. “I’m the one who’s responsible for my own actions, not you or anyone else. I can’t believe that even now they think I don’t know what I really want.”
She heard the water come on. “And you do? You’re sure?”
For crying out loud. “I’m an adult who knows her own mind, and this adult is tired of being treated like a child. That’s why I’m leaving.”
“I’m not gonna lie, Angel.” With jeans on but undone, and his hand busily drying themselves on a small towel, he came out of the bathroom, his eyes shadowed by a brooding frown. “You leaving the House… it just sucks. A lot of people count on you to work your magic there. Forget about me or Payne or Scout, what about your clients?”
“What about them?”
“You’ve got a rabidly loyal following, and you’ve spent your entire career building that up. You’ll be throwing all that away when you leave your clients in the lurch. Haven’t you thought about that?”
“Of course I have,” she said while a shaft of pain hit her heart. “I’ll finish out whoever I have on my schedule now, if Payne is open to that. I’d never be so irresponsible as to just up and vanish, so I’ll do my best to accommodate everyone. Hopefully that’ll make this parting of the ways not be so traumatic.”
“It’s going to be traumatic no matter what you do.” He paused to toss the towel through the open bathroom door and onto the vanity, before folding his arms across his bare chest. “Don’t go, Angel.”
For a moment she wavered, trying to imagine what it would be like if she didn’t quit. Nothing would change, as far as she could see. What was more, if she backed down now, no one would take her seriously in the future. Scout had proven that already by throwing her threat to quit six months earlier in her face. At this point, she had no choice but to go. “My mind’s made up.”
“Then unmake it.” When she started to turn away, he hauled her back around, refusing to let her escape. “The House has never been without you. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to work there every day and not see you. If you leave, nothing will ever be the same.”
“Good. I don’t want it to be the same, because the way it was sucked. It had me so miserable that I actually got sick to my stomach coming into work. I’ll admit that I’m scared to death about going out on my own, and I have no idea what the future holds for me. But you know what? I’m not miserable, Twist. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this… this not-miserable. I want to keep that going. Being not-miserable feels pretty amazing.”
His hands moved up to frame either side of her neck. “I get what you’re saying, I swear I do. You think you want out—”
“I don’t think I want out. I am out.”
“But,” he went on, displaying a remarkable amount of patience, when she would have bet real money he didn’t know what patience was, “you’ve gotten everyone’s attention by pointing out that things haven’t been as fair as they could be—that I haven’t been as fair as I could be. I’ve fucked up more than once, making life hard for you when I was trying to do the opposite. That’s not going to be a problem anymore. You have my word on that.”
She stared at him, realizing this was probably as close to an apology as she was ever going to get. “Thank you. But—”
“Come back to work with me tonight, see what the atmosphere’s like. You might be surprised at how you’re already missed around there.”
“I’ll be in to work at the start of next week to begin wrapping up my waiting list,” she said firmly, stepping away. “And you’ve got to get going.”
“I don’t have time to talk you into anything right now, but you should know I’m not going to let this go.” Then he loosed an irritated sigh as he glanced at the clock. “If you won’t come to work with me, I guess I have no choice but to let those knuckleheads next door know they need to keep an eye on you while I’m gone.”
“I spent the entire afternoon alone and nothing happened. No slippers in the oven or Pomapoos bought, or anything else that’s off-the-wall kooky.”
“I just want to make sure it stays that way.” Then he shot her a quizzical look. “What’s a Pomapoo?”
“A half Pomeranian, half toy poodle.”
“I’m not even gonna ask.” With a shake of his head, he closed the meager distance she’d managed to gain, and cupped her nape to bring her closer. “Before I get out of here, little girl, I need you to do me one last favor.”
It was ridiculous, how she’d swung from rabidly hating that nickname to finding it almost cute. Had to be the concussion. “What?”
“I need you to slip into something a little less comfortable, okay? No one gets to see you like this but me.”
/> She glanced down at her bulky, definitely unsexy bathrobe that covered her from neck to toe. “I’m perfectly—”
“No one.” He hushed her with a kiss that was both achingly sweet in its gentleness and white-hot in its possessiveness. Unable to stop herself from melting into it, she could only wonder how he could manage to pack so much complexity into a single kiss. And when it was done, her mind was so blown she could only say one thing.
“Okay.”
Chapter Eleven
“There he is, the great Twist Santiago. How nice of you to join us.” Scout shot Twist a smile from her place behind the reception desk at House Of Payne, and to a casual observer it probably looked sweet. But Twist saw the saccharine bite behind it, and he did his damnedest not to wince at its poisonous potency. “Should I thank you for only being a quarter of an hour late?”
“Nope.” Then, to his complete surprise he heard himself speak again, when all he really wanted to do was get the hell out of the woman’s crosshairs. “My bad, Scout. Time got away from me—no excuses, I just didn’t keep my mind on it like I should have. Is my next appointment already here?”
She blinked in surprise. “Is my hearing going, or did you just sort of apologize?”
“Your hearing’s going.”
“That’s what I thought.” But she stared at him another moment before she reached for her ever-present tablet. “Your next appointment will be in any minute now, so you’re not late on that particular front.”
“Good.”
“But you are late when it comes to meeting with the boss man.”
That made him do a quick double-take. “Come again?”
“You heard me.”
“I didn’t know I had a meeting with the boss man.”
“You do now. By the way, I just let him know you’ll be right up, so I’d haul my ass upstairs double-quick, if I were you.”
Shit. “Right. Thanks, Scout.”
“Hey,” she called as he rounded the desk and headed for the stairs. “You okay?”
He threw a surprised glance over his shoulder. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because you kind of apologized, you didn’t cuss a blue streak when you found out about an unscheduled meeting, and now you just thanked me. That’s not how you usually roll.”
A sigh escaped him before he could check it. No wonder Angel was ready to turn the page on him. “Am I that much of an asshole?”
“Let’s just say the usual social graces and courtesies have a tendency to slip off your personal radar.”
Yep. That meant he could be that much of an asshole. “Maybe I’m turning over a new leaf.”
“For what it’s worth, you don’t have that far to turn. Your heart’s usually in the right place, but your delivery sometimes leaves something to be desired.” She shrugged and smiled at someone who walked through the front door. “You’ll get there eventually.”
Miracle of miracles, that was an almost peaceful exchange, he thought in surprise as he made his way to the second floor and the double doors leading to Payne’s office. He let himself in after a brief knock and braced for anything as he headed toward the set of chairs in front of Payne’s desk.
“Why are you late?” Payne said by way of greeting, barely bothering to glance up from the huge computer screen he was working on.
“I drove across town to check up on Angel.” It was as close to the truth as he was willing to get.
That snagged Payne’s complete attention, and his expression softened. “How is she?”
Twist hid his face as he took his time folding himself into a chair opposite Payne. His wasn’t sure, but considering his whole body suddenly burned at the thought of her, he suspected he might be blushing. “She’s…” Amazing. Spectacular. The best bang I’ve ever had and hotter than any fantasy. “She’s stubborn.”
“I take it that means she’s still determined to leave?”
“Yeah.” The admission left a bad taste in his mouth, and he couldn’t stifle a grimace. “I’m working on it.”
“That sounds like a disaster in the making.”
“The disaster is her leaving. I’m trying to convince her otherwise.” Since he wasn’t sure he’d made even a dent in her determination to get away from the House and out on her own, Twist shifted a restless shoulder. “Why’d you want to see me?”
“I’ve got a big media event for the concierge service lined up for tomorrow at four, downstairs in the main gallery. All local news outlets, from traditional TV and radio will be there, along with as many podcasters and e-zine journalists Scout could rustle up.”
Twist waited a beat. “Do you want me to applaud?”
“No, smartass, I want you there on full display along with all the other concierge tattooists, including Rocket, Tao, Maximo, myself, and Becks will be there as well.”
“Come on, man.” Twist tried and failed at reining in his distaste. “I hate these dog-and-pony shows.”
“I don’t give a shit. These dog-and-pony shows put a roof over your head, so you’re going to suck it up and put on your best public face. Just make sure you’re on your best behavior, or I swear to God I’ll call your mother.”
Twist flinched. “Low blow, Payne.”
“In fact, I think I’ll call her right after this meeting is over to let her know she should be on the lookout for her sweet baby boy during the late news tomorrow night. That way I know you’ll be on your best behavior when the cameras roll.”
“You have no shame, do you?”
“Not when it comes to promoting the House,” came the unrepentant reply. “We’ll put up framed graphics of your latest work, including your series of pen and ink-style cityscapes that won all those awards at DC Tattoo Expo. Rocket will have some of her portrait work, Tao with his traditional Asian motifs, Maximo with his retro stuff and I’ll be showcasing Becks’s latest 3D art, along with some of my own. Since the presser is later in the afternoon I’m told it won’t be shown during the early newscasts, but I’ve been promised that the concierge segment will be spotlighted for the late news at ten. If things go well, we’ll soon have the concierge service booked solid for the next year.”
“Some of Angel’s pieces should be showcased as well,” Twist said, thinking of how her big-eyed Anime style had brought so many new tattoo enthusiasts to their door, both male and female. “Her work is pretty famous, and not just in tattooing circles. Why not highlight the best that House Of Payne has to offer while giving her art a highly publicized vote of confidence?”
“Because she’s not on the concierge roster, and that’s what this media event is all about. Believe me, I thought about it,” Payne added when Twist opened his mouth to object. “I want to do whatever it takes to convince Angel she’s appreciated around here, because she is. Scout was almost in tears earlier today when she told me about how her meeting went with Angel, and she never cries at anything. Apparently Angel scored some pretty hard-to-swallow points when she sketched out her reasons for wanting to bail.”
“There’ve been train wrecks that have been less messy.” And he’d played the starring role in making it that way. He was lucky Scout hadn’t scalped him the moment he’d walked through the door.
“I’ve been thinking about it, and maybe she’s got a point.” With a short sigh, Payne leaned back in his chair, laced his hands together and rested them at the back of his head. “Maybe we really do treat her like a kid. I mean, that’s what she was when we first started this place. We’ve all grown up with it, but I’ll admit I sometimes still think of her as that fresh-faced high school girl she was five years ago.”
Jail bait, Twist almost said, and had to bite his tongue to stop the words from escaping. “When it comes to Angel, the House’s loss will be someone else’s gain,” he managed after he’d gotten himself under control. “Big time.”
Payne gave him a dirty look. “Don’t you think I know that?”
“Just checking to make sure you do.”
“What the hel
l, of course I know that. Talent like Angel’s doesn’t walk through the door every day. Fuck, it doesn’t even come along once a decade. I hired her on her artistic abilities alone, since at that age she’d never even held a tattooing machine before. I trained her myself how to ink someone, and all the ink I’ve gotten since I opened the place has been done exclusively by Angel. She’s that good.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
Payne frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Well… Angel’s developed a new tattooing technique that I can’t even begin to describe, except that it’s pure genius and it puts all other watercolor styles in the body art business to shame.”
The other man sat up straighter. “She did? This is the first I’ve heard about it.”
“She created this new technique on her own time, with her own practice skins, so don’t get excited,” he added when Payne’s eyes sharpened with a hungry look Twist knew all too well. That was the only reason he was telling Payne about it in the first place. Angel had gone to great lengths to make sure her creations were hers, and hers alone. “She’s made sure she can take this new technique with her when she puts House Of Payne in the rearview mirror.”
“So Scout was right,” Payne said after taking a minute to digest this, and from the sour look on his face he wasn’t enjoying the taste one bit. “Angel really has been planning to leave House Of Payne for some time. She’s even gone so far as to come up with new techniques and designs, and a shiny new website to sell it on.”
Twist almost growled. “I fucking hate the thought of that.”
“You may have noticed I’m not exactly doing cartwheels about it, either.”
“Maybe you should offer her a position on the concierge roster after all. Scout’s good at vetting clientele, and I’d be happy to volunteer as a bodyguard for any of Angel’s in-home sessions. We could keep her safe.”
“Angel wanting to leave isn’t about being shut out of the concierge service, Twist.”
