“Um, Kellie?” Pandora said hesitantly.
“Hm?”
“Did you sit on something?”
Invisible fingers walked up her spine. She straightened and glanced over her shoulder. “What?”
“You have a mark, here.” Pandora gestured to the back of Kellie’s thigh, right below the curve of her ass.
Where Quin had smacked her.
The box cutter hit the wooden surface. She strode to the mirror hanging at the beginning of the hallway and turned to examine the area.
I’m going to kill Quin.
An angry red oval stuck out several inches below the hem of her shorts. To anyone else, it could be a burn from sitting on a hot tailgate or a bruise from falling. But she knew it was also the perfect size of Quin’s hand.
“Why are you going to kill Quin?” Pandora leaned against the wall next to the mirror.
Had she really said that out loud?
She gestured to the handprint. “He did this.”
“Were you guys sparring?”
Kellie snorted and shoved her hair out of her face. For such a randy girl, Pandora could be pretty naïve at times.
Pandora gasped, her eyes going wide and a hand rose to cup her mouth. “You didn’t!”
“I didn’t what?”
She jabbed a finger toward her. “You had sex in the office!”
Okay, so maybe Pandora wasn’t as ignorant as she thought. “How do you know that?”
“You guys broke the door?” Pandora gave her a once-over. “I don’t think I want to know.”
“It was not like that. The door happened before.”
She jabbed with more enthusiasm. “You did have sex in the office!”
“I thought that was obvious.”
“How did the door get broken?”
“Well, that’s an interesting story. I gave Quin a black eye, and he broke the door down when I wouldn’t open it.”
“Wait, hold up, you gave him the black eye?”
“Yes. I gave Quin a black eye when I saw him kissing this blonde, who he’s not with but is the mother of their kid. Except she’s hitched to someone else now. Quin showed up today to grovel and I closed the door in his face. He went all caveman, broke it down, and now I have bruises on my ass. He’s quite the alpha-hole.” Pandora was lost to a fit of giggles that didn’t bother Kellie, but on principle she glared at her anyway. “This is not funny! There’s a handprint on my ass.”
“I’m sorry,” Pandora heaved.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t laugh at you for having a quickie with Brian at the shop.”
Pandora’s jaw dropped. “You knew about that?”
“It wasn’t that hard to figure out.”
“Has Mary or Autumn done it here?”
“When? Mary’s never here without you or me, and Autumn’s with her mom.”
“Have you heard from her?”
“Autumn? Yeah, she’s going to be out a bit longer, but she’s at least going to call her appointments.”
“Thank god.”
* * * * *
Quin pulled the glass storefront door open and stepped into the eclectic atmosphere of So Inked. Despite being the middle of the afternoon, the shop was empty.
“Hello?” he called.
“Coming,” someone answered from the back of the shop.
He leaned against the receptionist desk and pulled out his phone. He tapped out a quick text to Kellie and sent it, only to hear her phone vibrating on the desk in front of him.
“Sorry about that.” Heels tapped on the floor, heralding the same woman from the previous morning. He vaguely recognized her from the party, but couldn’t be sure. “Oh, it’s you.” She paused a quarter of the way to him and pivoted. “Come on back, we’re almost done.”
Curious, he followed her to a room he’d not been aware of previously. Kellie lay on one of the padded tables, a tray of sadistic-looking tools resting on her stomach.
“See, I told you it was him,” she said to the woman. To Quinn she said, “Come here and hold my hand.”
“Do I want to know what you’re doing?” He gripped her right hand and rested his other on the padding next to her shoulder.
“I’m getting my nose repierced. What does it look like I’m doing?” Kellie replied.
He eyed the tray. “I have no idea.”
“Have you met Pandora?” She gestured to the woman with their back toward them, rummaging through tiny plastic drawers. The tattoo spread across her shoulders and down her back was eye-catching to say the least. Little cherubs made pincushions out of zombies with their heart-shaped arrows.
“No, not officially. Hi, I’m Quin.”
Pandora glanced over her shoulder and grinned as she pulled on a pair of latex gloves. “Hi. So about that door?”
Heat circled his neck and reached for his cheeks. “Yeah, sorry about that.”
“Are you blushing?” Kellie cooed, poking a finger at his chest.
He grabbed her other hand and bent over to kiss her smiling lips.
“Okay, you two.” Pandora stood across from him, holding a mirror. “Make sure that dot is where you want it.”
Kellie pulled her poking hand back and took the mirror. Her bangs were flopped back, putting her face on full display. Today her eyes were heavily lined and smoky colors dusted her lids. Thick eyelashes accentuated her gaze, which was focused on her reflection. A single purple dot marred the outside of her left nostril. She pursed her glossy lips and twisted her hand in his so she gripped him harder.
“Looks good. Let’s do this so I can finish up his tattoo.”
“Yeah? What are you doing today?” Pandora asked as she picked up something that looked like a set of tongs.
“Finishing the samurai on his arm. It’s going to look sick.”
“Awesome.”
She clamped the forceps on Kellie’s nose. Kellie sucked in a deep breath and squeezed his hand. Pandora took what he could only assume was a needle from the tray and placed it against Kellie’s skin. He peered over Pandora to get a glimpse of what she was doing. Was the spot between the tong pieces?
“Hey, get your fat head out of my way.” Pandora laughed and elbowed his shoulder.
“Sorry, I didn’t know what you were doing.”
“Well, I’m piercing her nose.”
“Smart-ass,” Kellie muttered.
Pandora dramatically rolled her eyes. “Fine. She marked where she wanted the piercing with that dot there. I’ve clamped her nose with forceps, and I’m going to pierce her with a hollow-point needle. This is going to hurt like a bitch because someone took their nose ring out and let it grow back in and wants it pierced in the same place.”
“Shut up and shove the needle through already.”
He squeezed her hand, not liking the idea of Kellie hurting. “Are you supposed to do it that way?”
“You can do it any way you want to, but piercing through scar tissue hurts more, and if she lets it grow back in again, the scarring will be worse,” Pandora replied.
“Stop yapping already!” Kellie snapped.
“Fine. Deep breath.” Pandora placed the needle against Kellie’s nostril.
Kellie squeezed his hand, the only indication that she might not be as cool as her exterior suggested. He watched the muscles in Pandora’s arms flex as she pushed the tiny needle through flesh and cartilage.
“Okay, breathe. Not so bad?” Pandora smiled and let go of the needle, which was sticking straight through Kellie’s nose. The forceps came off and were placed on the tray.
He grinned. “Maybe you should leave it like that, doll.”
Kellie glared at him.
He leaned over to get a closer look. Having sat through plenty of staples and stitches himself, he didn’t think the piercing looked that bad.
“What do you do next?” he asked.
“Next we put the jewelry in,” Pandora replied.
“Are you getting a diamond put in?”
Kellie did n
ot answer that question either.
Pandora chuckled. “No, she’s getting a ring for now to allow her nose to swell. Once it’s all healed up she can change out to a stud. You know, I haven’t done this many piercings in a long time.”
“That’s because Autumn’s not here,” Kellie mumbled.
“Yeah.” Pandora glanced at him.
“He knows.”
“Heard anything about her?”
“Nope. Are you going to stick that ring in, or just think about it all day?”
“Okay, hold your breath.”
He couldn’t tell what Pandora was doing, but Kellie gripped his hand hard. For several long seconds Pandora moved in tiny increments, her hands sheltering the piercing from view.
“All done.” Pandora produced a mirror, which he took and held for Kellie when she was slow to respond.
The plain silver hoop was not his favorite. It drew attention to the piercing instead of complementing her beauty. But it wasn’t his place to tear down what she liked well enough to do twice to herself.
“What do you think?” he asked.
Kellie took the mirror and turned her face toward him to better examine the piercing. Her eyes saw details he would not, so he waited.
“This ring is fucking huge. Pandora, are you sure we don’t have something smaller?”
“It’s not huge, you just don’t like rings. Give it a week and change out to a stud.” Pandora gathered the tools of her trade and began tidying up at a small counter on the opposite wall.
“Fine.” Kellie sat up and swung her legs over the side.
She was wearing shorts again, in a pastel yellow, and a tank top with the shop logo that was almost transparent. She wrapped her leg around his calf. Maybe the tattoo could wait?
He leaned in but she pushed him away.
“Let’s get started on that arm.”
* * * * *
Kellie swiped the new rag over Quin’s arm again.
“Dude, I’m only going to finish the samurai. I don’t like how much you’re bleeding.”
He flexed his arm, the muscles bulging and dancing. “It’s not that bad.”
“I don’t like it.”
“I’m not a wuss.”
“This isn’t about being a wimp, dumbass.” She dipped the needle in the green ink and continued shading the samurai’s robes. “It’s about bleeding out the ink. That’s probably why the colors don’t pop as much on your other arm.”
He turned his attention to the aforementioned sleeve and examined the myriad tattoos wrapped around the limb.
“Huh, I hadn’t thought of that.”
“You should think about getting touch-ups sometime.”
“Do you do touch-ups?”
“I do. Not everyone will touch another artist’s work, but I’ve never seen the point in turning away business. I’m not too proud to slap a second coat of paint on someone. I do charge to touch up someone else’s tattoo, where I would do it for free from someone getting a touch-up on a tattoo I did.”
“Maybe this is ignorant, but why would someone need touch-ups?”
“Lots of reasons. Too much sun exposure, skin stretching, bleeding during the tattoo, peeling the scab off and bleeding out ink. Some people’s skin just doesn’t hold some colors well. Pandora had to tattoo her boyfriend three times because of scar tissue before it stuck. Think of touch ups to your tattoos like getting your oil changed in your car. It’s maintenance.”
“Huh. I feel kind of dumb for not knowing that.”
“Not everyone looks at it that way. Okay, I think we should call it a day.” She sat up and rolled her shoulders. She wouldn’t say it, but she had a headache and her nose was sore. She’d already had to pause to stop a nosebleed.
“If you say so.” He twisted his arm this way and that, admiring the design.
Both Mary and Pandora were in their corners with clients, and Sam was in the office doing his summer school work. Her stomach growled, demanding attention soon. Quin’s hand cupped her inner thigh, his thumb swiping broad arcs back and forth. Heat pooled between her legs and she forced herself not to squeeze his hand between her thighs.
Instead she swiveled toward him and arched a brow. Quin merely grinned and slid his hand farther up her leg, his fingers disappearing beneath the hem of her shorts. She could feel his body heat scant millimeters from her needy button.
She glared at him. It was that or fuck him. “If you don’t move your hand, I’m going to put my foot up your ass. This is where I work. Not a titty bar.”
He chuckled and squeezed her thigh before obediently removing his hand. “Sorry, doll. Can’t keep my hands to myself.”
“Obviously.”
“Want to teach me a lesson?” He leaned toward her, watching her begin the process of cleaning her station.
“Please, I don’t school little boys. What’s up with the graffiti on the gym?” For some reason it hadn’t stopped bothering her.
Quin blinked for a moment, clearly not following her line of thought anywhere near as fast. “Oh. On Arena Fitness?”
Nahm’s Dojo.
“Yeah,” she said instead. His memories weren’t hers.
“Just came in one morning and it was there. Some idiot spray-painted Fuckers next to the door. Took about six coats of paint to cover it up and you can still tell something was there before.”
“Who did it?”
“No idea. Dumb kids, gang tagging, could be anyone.”
“Jacob said you think someone named Greg did it?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. Greg’s not the most levelheaded person, but it’s not really like him. Cops are working on it.”
“That sucks. This is going to be cold.” She squirted green soap onto a rag and wiped away excess ink and blood, taking a little joy in the sharp hiss that rattled his teeth.
“Dang, that’s going to look good.” He twisted his arm in her grasp.
“Will you hold still so I can finish? You’re going to get crap all over your clothes, weirdo.”
“Aw, thanks for caring, doll. What are you doing after this?”
“Food.”
“Want to go grab something?”
She did, but was it a good idea? They’d promised to see each other when they could, no expectations, but simply being together fostered a sense of relationship. And with relationships came more responsibility.
She needed to run by the house and check on Grandma. She felt as though she’d been neglecting her since the shop reopened and Quin came into her life. It didn’t matter that Grandma didn’t know Kellie hadn’t been around, she knew. And she felt like a crappy granddaughter. Still, what was an hour or two for herself, when she’d spend tonight sponge-bathing her only parental figure?
“Sure. Let me wrap up your arm.” She grabbed the bandages out of her drawer, irritated when she came up with the last one. “Hey, Mary, Sam needs to restock my drawers. I’m out of large bandages.”
“We’re out of them,” Mary replied.
“What?” She swiveled to face her co-owner.
“We had a long chat about it last night and I ordered some. Should be here in a day or two. I paid for two-day shipping.”
Kellie groaned. She hated having to spend a penny more than they had to. “You should have said something. We could have gone to a medical supply store and bought some instead of getting gouged by shipping costs.”
Mary pursed her lips and narrowed her gaze. “I made a decision. Sorry it wasn’t the one you wanted.”
Kellie ignored the cool apology. Sometimes she forgot how young Mary was. It wasn’t her fault she’d had to make a choice. It was done. There was no point in picking a fight over it.
“It’s cool. Next time let’s just go pick stuff up ourselves, okay?”
Mary relaxed. “Okay. Hey, Shin called the shop line and asked for you, but I told him you were with a client.”
Kellie groaned and ripped the bandage open with more force than was necessary. “Thanks. I have no idea w
hat’s up with him lately.”
“He’s always had something shoved up his ass.” Mary dropped into the chair at her station and began shuffling papers.
“Who’s this Shin guy? Anyone I need to know about?” Quin asked.
Kellie rolled her eyes and pressed the bandage to Quin’s arm. The ointment held it in place while she ripped off lengths of medical tape and used that to secure it in place.
“There. Shin’s no one you need to be worried about. He’s my crazy neighbor and a general pain in the ass.” There was no contest between him and Shin. Now why did she get the damn fuzzies at the idea of Quin being jealous?
“So, food?” Quin folded his arms over his chest.
“Whatever you want.” She shrugged and started sanitizing her equipment, putting away her machine and clearing off the space.
She could see him lean toward her, felt the brush of his fingers across her shoulder as he swept bits of hair down her back. She shivered at his touch. This wasn’t a moment when she should be turned-on, but Quin was a sexy specimen of man, with the added bonus of being a rough fuck.
“Hey.” He tugged on a tendril of hair.
“What?”
“Don’t be pissy at me. I didn’t do anything.”
“Everything is your fault.”
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m going to order a pizza. Let’s go back to my place.”
“Is it always sex with you?” She shrugged his hand off and put some space between them.
“Actually, I need a hand with some drywall.”
“Hardy-har-har.”
“Cute. Pick up the pizza. It’ll be quicker. I’ll meet you at your place.”
Kellie parked behind Quin’s truck in the driveway and leaned against the door, phone in hand.
“Glad to hear we’ll be seeing you soon. Keep me updated, okay?” Kellie said.
Autumn chuckled into the phone. “Where are you in such a rush to be?”
“I have a night off. Sue me if I don’t want to spend it talking to you.”
“Whatever. You’re going to see that guy, aren’t you?”
Kellie smirked at her reflection in the rearview mirror. “Bye, Autumn.”
The Harder He Falls: 2 (So Inked) Page 16
