The Tattoo Artist and the Girl from the Coffee Shop

by Terry Towers

  “Chase…” She slowly opened her eyes to see him staring down at her, a soft smirk on his lips, while the intensity of his hunger was so evident in his eyes that despite her release, the fire reignited within her.

  He didn’t answer; instead he stepped back. Tessa reached to grab him, but he bent and scooped her up into his arms, pulling her tight to his chest. “Where?”

  “Huh?” It wasn’t until he chuckled and began carrying her upstairs the question registered with her – though in truth she really didn’t care where he took her as long as it ended with him naked and inside of her. Snuggling up against Chase, Tessa watched him, admiring his strong jaw while longing to feel his lips on her again.

  Even though he’d never explored the second floor of her house he didn’t hesitate as he turned left at the top of the stairs and entered her bedroom. It was a reasonably sized room, large enough to comfortably hold her modest queen-sized bed and chest dresser.

  Walking to the side of the bed, Chase bent and gently placed her naked, trembling body onto it. “Chase?” She reached out to touch him, but he stepped out of the way and the sexy grin that made her melt spread across his lips again as he peered down onto her, taking a second and third step back.

  “You’re so damned beautiful, Tessa.” Grabbing the hem of his t-shirt, Chase pulled it up and over his head, tossing it to the floor. Tessa’s gaze roamed across his amazingly muscled chest and at the sound of his belt becoming undone, lowered to the front of his pants and the thick bulge constrained beneath the denim.

  Propping her elbows behind her, Tessa watched as he slowly – as if teasing – undid the front of his pants. Hooking his thumbs into the waistband of his jeans, he tugged them down along with his boxer briefs, leaving him gloriously naked before her. Just seeing his thick, erect shaft sent a shiver of desire through her so intense a soft moan escaped her lips as the throbbing between her legs intensified. Biting down on her lower lip, Tessa leaned back, stretched her hands over her head and smiled as he approached the bed, his stride cocky and self-assured.

  “So what do you want, baby? Tell me.” At the side of the bed, Chase leaned down and placed a light kiss on her stomach.

  The need between her legs increased, dampness increasing between her legs, eager for his cock. “You…”

  “Be.” He placed another kiss a little closer to her mound. “More.” A little closer. “Specific.” His lips brushed across her mound and her body nearly exploded from the expectation.

  She swallowed hard, watching him intently as he positioned himself between her legs, his breath teasing her wet, eager pussy. Just when she thought he was going to spread her pussy lips and dive into her, he sat upright and shrugged. “Fine then. I’ll get dressed.” He made a motion to get up, but she stopped him, grabbing his upper arm and pulling him back to her.

  “My pussy. I want you between my legs, licking my pussy.” Her cheeks grew warm with the admission, but at the same time she felt so damned sexy.

  That grin, that sinfully sexy grin spread across his lips again as his gaze locked onto her and he once more lowered himself between her legs. Spreading her labia, his tongue lashed out, slipping between her moist folds, causing her to groan, her hands fisting the blanket above her head.

  “Like that?” He didn’t wait for a reply, but repeated the motion, lapping up her juices and taking a moment for his tongue to tease her swollen clit.

  “Mmm. Yes.” Closing her eyes, she fell back onto the pillow and concentrated on the sensations running through her as he finished a third and fourth run along her folds before teasing her entrance and then plunging his tongue deep into her. His tongue and fingers began to work together. Thrusting and teasing, sending tremor upon tremor through her, making her writhe and buck against his probing tongue and fingers.

  The pleasurable sensations became more intense, the feelings so good it was nearly painful. But she couldn’t get him to stop, not until she felt the tremors of release once more. Wave upon wave. She was helpless to his relentless tongue and expert fingers.

  Just as she reached the point of no return, teetering on the edge, her body tensed… the pleasure was gone. Startled, her eyes flew open, a protest on her lips, but she didn’t have time to protest or beg him to resume his sweet torture because his tongue was replaced with his shaft as he slammed into her with such force and so deep that it sent her spiralling over the edge with such intensity it brought tears to her eyes.

  But despite the second orgasm of the night, relief was not to be granted. Chase lowered his body onto hers, bracing a hand on either side of her head supporting his weight from crushing her, and began to move within her. Each inward thrust slammed into her g-spot and forced a soft moan of pleasure from her, and she found herself on the way again, climbing the summit, rocked by the emotions both physical and emotional. The warmth of his hard body covering hers, the feel of his lips as they moved along her neck, the smell of his cologne teasing her nose, everything about the man thrusting into her consumed her.

  “Fuck, you feel incredible Tess,” Chase groaned, his lips moving back up to hers, claiming her before she had a chance to reply.

  Incredible, god yes. So good, she groaned inwardly, circling her legs around his waist and tilting her hips, pulling him in tighter with each thrust as her hands circled around his back, her nails digging into his back, leaving long, deep streaks in the muscled flesh.

  The sensations, good, so damned good, came harder and faster, making her entire body tremble under him as she rapidly climbed the summit of her desire. The pleasure, it was too much, but not enough. She wanted the blissful climax to come, but never wanted this feeling of closeness to ever end.

  “Come for me baby. I want to feel it,” Chase growled against her neck, pulling his lips from hers. And that was her undoing.

  “Yesssss.” She shuddered and a cry escaped her lips as her pussy contracted around his cock and she went toppling over the edge.

  “Fuck!” Lifting his head, he stared down at her as he slammed into her a final time and released. “My God, Tessa. What are you doing to me?” This time when he smiled she felt it, she felt herself falling hard.

  Please don’t hurt me, I’ve endured too much lately. Please, she silently pleaded with him. He seemed to see the concern in her eyes and lowered his lips to hers, kissing her with a tenderness she didn’t think possible and just like that her concerns vaporized.

  Chapter 8

  Chase

  So much for taking it slow, Chase thought, not that he minded overly, not in the least. He looked over at Tessa lying on her side next to him, staring with questions in her eyes, but not brazen enough to say what was on her mind. Bold Tessa who goaded him until he lost control was gone, to be replaced with the shy, introverted girl he met at the tattoo shop. It just made him want her more.

  “What’re you thinking?”

  She chewed at her lower lip, which was slightly swollen from their several hours of ambitious lovemaking. “What’s the deal with you and lawyers? Seems like a big red button for you or something.”

  All right, that came out from left field. Not what I expected her to ask, but… “One that got you what you wanted,” he couldn’t resist challenging.

  Her cheeks turned crimson and she shrugged. “I did what I had to do. Your plan to take off like that had gotten me pissed.”

  Chase turned to his side and propped his head up on his hand, mimicking her position. “I was trying to be a good guy. Take it slow. Taking things slow isn’t necessarily a practice I indulge in normally, but with you it’s different. I like you, Tessa.”

  “And you don’t like the women you sleep with?”

  He groaned, rolling his eyes at her. “I liked them well enough, I guess. They suited the purpose.”

  Her green eyes widened as she peered at him with increased interest. “The purpose? Doesn’t sound very romantic. Sounds a bit sluttish to me.”

  Damn, why did she have to ask questions to make this awkward? The fir
st impulse was to lie; who wanted to be the douchebag who banged a bunch of chicks in the eyes of the woman they had an interest in? But he couldn’t lie to her, didn’t want to. The only thing he could do was to attempt to sidetrack the conversation. “But you’re different, is what I’m saying.”

  “How?”

  Was she playing with him? The way she was looking up at him, looking sweet and innocent, he couldn’t say for sure. At least her lawyer question was derailed. Taking a deep breath in, Chase slowly released it as he swirled a lock of her silky hair around his index finger.

  “If I could describe it to you, I would. But I feel there’s something special about you and simply don’t want to mess this up.”

  A smile spread across her lips as her cheeks took on a rosy glow. “I see.”

  “So tell me about this café you’re going to open.”

  Her entire face lit up and her smile widened. “I have the space and everything is about ready to go, I just have to meet with the owner and sign the lease and it’ll be mine. In fact, the location isn’t all that far from your gallery.”

  “That a fact.”

  She nodded. He could see the excitement beginning to bubble within her, gleaming in her eyes. “Yes. It’s going to be. It’s been exhausting and I imagine this next month is going to be insane getting it all set up to opening day, but I know it’ll be well worth it. It’s the most exciting thing I’ve experienced in my lifetime and the month can’t go by fast enough.”

  Her smile and excitement were infectious, his lips forming a wide grin to match hers. “So you won’t be having much time for dating…”

  Her lips took on a cocky little smirk. “Is that your way of hinting you want to see more of me?”

  “It’s a very blatant declaration that I want to see much, much more of you.”

  ~*~ TT ~*~

  Tessa

  Could life get any better? Despite the recent losses in her life, Tessa had to admit that she really didn’t think it could. After a lifetime of struggle and disappointment, things seemed to really be turning around. Images of her late mother and father flashed into her mind and she felt a pang of guilt and longing; if only her parents could be alive to see her dreams coming to fruition. She gave herself a mental shake, fearing the tears may begin to flow at any moment.

  You’re achieving your dreams because of death, profiting, a voice taunted in the back of her mind. A voice that chimed in way too frequently, but she was helpless to stop.

  Anything, think of anything else, she coached herself. Pleasant thoughts.

  Her mind drifted to thoughts of Chase and her entire body came alive, a smile spreading across her lips. It had been several days since Chase showed up at her house, and while she hadn’t seen him since that following afternoon when he left, they’d been texting back and forth and spent hours on the phone. To her disappointment, he had yet to ask her on another date. But she knew in her heart there was something between them, it was strong and special. She was just getting to know him but she felt like she’d known him all of her life.

  One night, it was just one night, I can’t think too much into it, Tessa reminded herself as she wiped down yet another table in the dining room of the coffee shop. But, my god, what a night! The all too familiar tingle raced through her, remembering the feelings he’d awakened within her.

  Twenty minutes and this part of her life would be over – forever. Well, hopefully forever. There were no guarantees in life – she knew this, she’d learnt it the hard way – but she refused to be anything but optimistic.

  “So, come on Tessa. Spill. We only have twenty minutes left and you haven’t said a word about this dream guy of yours. I mean, really, he has to be something spectacular for you to give up on the dreamy lawyer.”

  With a sigh, Tessa looked up from the table to see Samantha leaning over the counter eyeing her intently. Being that she was a private person and wasn’t sure where things were headed with Chase, she’d been dodging Samantha’s questions the entire shift, but considering this was her last shift… She shrugged. What would it hurt, really?

  “He’s pretty amazing.”

  Samantha’s eyes lit up and she shifted from foot to foot with evident excitement. “And… What does he look like? What does he do? Did you get laid? Is he good?”

  And here we go… Tessa fought the urge to roll her eyes at her co-worker.

  “He’s…” So damned sexy I can’t even think of him without getting wet. She grinned. Nope, wasn’t about to say that to Samantha. “He’s an artist. But actual painting and a tattoo artist.”

  “Ohhh. Tattoo artist. So he’s covered in tats? Tattoos can be sexy, but too many and it becomes too much of an overkill, ya know.”

  “He has a few.” She laughed; apparently the part about him being an actual artist was unimpressive in comparison to being a tattooist in her co-worker’s eyes. “A fair amount, but I don’t think it’s overkill. Scales of justice on his back.”

  “His entire back?”

  “A good chunk.”

  Samantha laughed. “So you did sleep with him, you little slut?”

  She could have denied it, pretended to be aghast by Samantha’s assumption, but she could feel the heat colouring her cheeks giving her away. There was no point. She took a moment to regain her composure before lifting her head to look directly at her co-worker. “We might have.”

  “And how was it? I know it’s been a while since you’ve gotten laid and all…”

  “Jesus Sam! You don’t know that!”

  Sam crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged. “Am I wrong?”

  “Fine. Yes. After Eric dropped me off, Chase showed up. We had a nice night.”

  “That ended up with you getting laid.” The oven dinged in the background signalling the bagels were done. Samantha flipped the mouthpiece down on her headset. “Tell me about it while I get the bagels.”

  Laughing, Tessa straightened and crossed her arms over her chest, watching Samantha as she spun on her heel and disappeared into the back. Tessa flipped down her mouthpiece to talk to Sam without having to shout through the restaurant. “Yes. He’s insanely hot.” Deciding to have fun with it, she lowered her voice so it took on a soft, sultry-sounding tone, “like drop to your knees and worship his body hot.”

  “Ohh, and…”

  “And it was the best sex I’ve ever had.”

  “You whore! I want details, juicy details.”

  Tessa opened her mouth to respond when she heard a voice behind her, stopping her cold. “May I ask who this mystery man might be? Do I have reason to be jealous? It isn’t the lawyer, is it? I’ll admit it, that would be hurtful.”

  Tessa’s entire body froze, and she swore she felt her heart stop for a fraction of a second. She knew that voice – too well – just hearing his voice made her entire body tremble. Four dates, including her trip to get tattooed and his stopovers. So truly only one real date and she was turned into a trembling schoolgirl at the sound of his voice. Of course, it didn’t help that she’d just embarrassed herself worse than she could have ever imagined possible. No, that wasn’t an accurate statement, his finding her stash was worse, but only marginally.

  Slowly she turned from the table to peer up at his grinning face. “Chase. I – umm.” She crossed her arms over her chest, hugging her torso. “You’re pretty light on your feet.”

  He laughed. “I can be. And again, do I need to be jealous?”

  “No. No, of course not.”

  “So you referring to me?”

  Oh god, she groaned inwardly as she nodded, lowering her eyes to the floor, embarrassment flooding through her. “It would appear so.”

  Hooking his index finger under her chin, Chase tilted her head back up so her eyes met his. Her breath hitched in her throat as she waited. Was he going to kiss her? Here? In front of everyone? Not like there was anyone there, except her and Samantha, but still…

  “Chase. What?”

  Her question was answered as his
lips came down onto hers. She tensed for a brief moment. They were in the middle of the dining room, anyone could walk in and see. Well, fuck it. Did she really care anyhow? It’s not like she’d get fired. Such a silly thing to obsess over on her last day.

  His finger left her chin and his hand slid to the back of her head, pulling her tighter. Tossing the cloth onto the table she’d just finished wiping down, Tessa slipped her arms up the broad expanse of his chest and laced her fingers behind his neck, pressing her body tight to his. Her lips gave in to his, submitting to the kiss and immediately forgetting why she’d been so insecure about kissing him in the first place.

  Moaning softly she pressed herself tighter to him, her tongue teasing his. His hand fisted her hair tightly. Slipping his free hand around her waist to the small of her back, he pulled her even tighter, so tight she could feel the ridge of his thickening dick against her stomach.

  When he eventually pulled away, he left her breathless and longing for further contact. One step back and then another and he was fully out of her grasp. Her eyes locked with his and it wasn’t until that moment that she heard the tap, tap, tap of fingernails tapping on the countertop. Chase’s grin widened.

  Spinning around, she expected to see Samantha enjoying the show, but it wasn’t. It was a well-known regular of the coffee shop, a woman by the name of Gretchen. Well known because she was a heinous bitch and by the way she was glaring at their public display of affection, she didn’t appreciate the show put on before her eyes as she waited. Flushing and chancing a glance at a smirking Chase, she could tell he knew the woman was behind her and hadn’t cared.

  “I’m so sorry, Gretchen.” Tessa rushed across the dining room floor and behind the counter.

  Gretchen took one more glance at Chase, who’d taken a seat at the table Tessa had just been cleaning before turning her attention fully to Tessa, flipping her blonde locks over her shoulder. “Yes, well. I’m in a hurry.”