Riveted: Drawn Series Book 1

by M. A. Stone

  “Stop this Bleu. You need to be honest with yourself. Are you ready for this? Were you really in a relationship with Carl? Okay, okay too many questions. You have to think about something else. Yes. Anything else but him,” I said, giving myself a pep talk. I looked around the shower stall for the soap.

  “Who are you talking to?” asked Jack. Jumping, I tried to cover myself, turning towards the wall. Damn clear shower curtain.

  “Um, I was actually talking to myself?” I replied. He chuckled.

  “Why?”

  “Why are you up? What are you even doing here?” I screeched. Again, he laughed. Why was he standing there?

  “You aren’t allowed to answer a question with a question. House rules. Besides, I heard the shower. I wanted to make sure you were alright,” he replied softly with that voice that was just as sexy as him shirtless.

  “I am fine. Really. No need to worry!” I squealed over my shoulder, my eyes pinched shut. My warped rationale was that if my eyes were closed, he could not see me. I opened them and shook my head. I was lame.

  “Bleu? It’s almost 3 am. Why in the world aren’t you sleeping?”

  “Every time I try to sleep I think about my brother. And if I am not thinking about him and his stupid ass, I am thinking about your ass!” I replied.

  “My ass? You are thinking about my ass?”

  “I meant you! Not your ass,” I said quickly. He chuckled.

  “You were thinking about me huh?”

  “Yes Jack, you. Alright? I was thinking about you. I don’t want to lead you on. I would feel bad. That’s all.” I replied, my face feeling hot.

  He laughed.

  “This is not funny Jack! Stop laughing!”

  “Actually it is! No one ever said that we had to get married. You act like I am picking out our wedding china. You are like a high strung poodle!” he remarked. He moved closer to the shower curtain. My breath hitched in my chest.

  “Um what are you doing?” I whimpered.

  “Nice view,” he said huskily. My face felt hot and so did my nether regions. Turning around to scold him, I gasped as I realized that I gave him a full frontal view.

  “That view is even better!” he replied. I spun around and covered myself again, earning a chuckle from him.

  “This was not a good idea!” I yelped.

  “What wasn’t?”

  “This, staying over, taking a shower, you. Big mistake,” I said.

  “You think something happening between us would be a mistake?” he asked softly. Flinging the shower curtain open, I looked at him.

  “I don’t want to rush anything. I don’t want you to get hurt,” I replied as I poked him in the chest with a soapy finger. He looked down at my naked, wet body and then back up into my eyes. My body felt hot all over and again the urge to rub myself up against him presented itself.

  “Control is overrated,” he replied after he gave me one last assessing look and left the bathroom. This looked like it could turn into trouble. I turned the water to the coldest possible, but even that could not calm down my racing heart or my scorching girl parts. I finally cranked the water back to warm and positioned the shower head in such a manner that I was able to “take care of things”. I hoped he did not hear my soft moans, or that I called his name under my breath when I came.

  At five am, I finally ended up falling asleep. The alarm on my cell phone blared into my ear at 8 am. Walking out of the bedroom, I saw Jack messing with his cell phone, a cup of coffee on the kitchen table in front of him. He was wearing jeans and a navy blue Affliction t shirt. He was so stinking hot. My cheeks felt hot as I thought about last night, but I pasted on a smile as I approached him.

  “Good morning,” he said with a smile. Mmm he even smelled yummy.

  “Hey,” I replied.

  “There is coffee on the counter,” he said, pushing a button on his phone. I looked over his shoulder at the coffee cups with the Starbucks logo emblazoned on them.

  “Thanks,” I said, grabbing a cup and sipping, eyes closed, in heaven. Sitting across from him, I noticed that he looked a bit worried.

  “Something wrong?” I asked, putting down the coffee cup. He nods.

  “Your brother is AWOL again.You said he came home last night? “He asked as he placed his phone on the shiny kitchen table.

  “Yeah. We argued. But I was the one who left, not him. Why what happened?”

  “Well, he was supposed to open the shop this morning. He had an early appointment. Chloe is there now and was able to convince Axel’s client to reschedule. Matt and Chloe both tried to call him and text him. No response to text messages and all calls go straight to voicemail. Matt went to the house, his truck is gone and everything is locked up tight.” He looked at me, his eyes filled with worry.

  “Shit! That’s not like him. But this is what I meant, the kind of stuff he has been doing since I got here,” I replied. Jack took one of my hands and rubs his thumb over it. I looked up into his chocolate brown eyes and melted.

  “It’s been going on a lot longer than that Bleu. Your Uncle knew and tried to talk to him too. Even tried to get him to go out to Cali with him or go with your cousin Spike. No dice. Axel just resisted. Or bit everyone’s head off.”

  “Well I can help out wherever you may need me. It won’t be much,” I said after a few moments.

  “Thanks, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. If you were not here, I have no idea what we would do,” he said.

  “Um I have a slight problem,” I said softly after taking a sip of coffee.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “I don’t have anything to wear, and Axel has the keys to the house. When I left, I left the key ring on the coffee table,” I replied.

  “Which means you have no way of getting into the house?”

  “Exactly,” I said. He studied me for the moment.

  “I have some jeans you can borrow, and an A shirt. You can wear one of my button downs over it,” he replied, getting up and walking down the hall to his bedroom.

  “Thanks so much.”

  “When you get to the shop, Chloe can probably lend you some stuff,” he said. He walked into his bedroom, with me close behind. Not paying attention, I bumped into him. He looked at me and we laughed. He looked like he really wanted to kiss me. He pulled me to him and placed a gentle kiss on my lips, softly sucking on my bottom lip. I moaned softly and he broke off the kiss, looking down at me. His face was inches from mine. I held my breath as he looked into my eyes.

  “We will finish this later,” he whispered. I nodded. He turned around and began to pull clothes out of his drawers. I could not wait until “later”.

  I kind of liked how I looked in his clothes. Chloe gave me a look and then smiled. Rolling my eyes, I smiled back.

  “Did someone have a rough night?”she asked as I put my bag behind the counter.

  “You could say that, but not in the way you are thinking,” I replied. She giggled and I could tell she did not believe me one bit.

  “What happened?”

  “Short version, Axel and I had a major fight and I left. Jack took me in and I realized I did not have a key to Axel’s so Jack let me borrow some clothes,” I replied.

  “You’re right. Definitely not in the way I imagined. But, I might have some stuff you can borrow,” she replied.

  “Thanks so much Chloe, but aren’t you a bit on the short side? “ I asked. She nodded.

  “My cousin Ember lived with me for a while this past spring, she left a shit ton of clothes behind, some with tags on them. You are welcome to them. She was your height,” she replied. I gave her a hug. She hugged back.

  “Thank you Chloe, I appreciate it!!!” I replied.

  “Don’t worry about your brother. We have been privy to his recent madness for a while now. I have kind of kept out of his way. But things are escalating and it breaks my heart to see him go through this. If you need anything, just let me know. I know all about crazy families,” she said.
She smiled and flitted off to her little piercing room and I saw her begin to wipe everything down. I was in awe. I felt kind of warm and fuzzy inside.

  “She’s a total neat freak,” said Jack coming up behind me. He handed me a cup of coffee. I smiled in thanks and took a sip.

  “Thank you so much!” I replied. He smiled. Matt walked by him. He was eating a Power Bar. He nodded to the two of us and headed into the back, a bright green book bag slung over one shoulder. Jack turned and leaned on the desk. We made small talk for a few minutes and then he trotted off to the back too. The front door opened and a tiny girl with spiky black hair walked in. She smiled at me. She had two cherries tattooed next to her right eye and huge violet eyes.

  “Good morning. I have an appointment with Jack,” she replied, her voice soft and sweet.

  “Okay, give me a sec. He just walked in, but I will tell him you are here,” I replied. She nodded, walked over to one of the couches and sat down. She picked up a magazine and leafed through it. I walked over to Jack, who was at one of the drafting tables and tapped him on the shoulder.

  “What’s up?” He asked, as he stopped drawing to give me his full attention. I looked down at his drawing what looked like two huge, angel wings, spread in detailed, feathered glory.

  “That is amazing looking! “I replied in awe.

  “Thanks. It’s meant to go on either hip and end in the back with an angel, looking over her shoulder with a kind of smirk or something on her face, you know where the wings meet,” he said. Nodding, I look at it closely.

  “Who is it for?” I ask. He shrugged.

  “I don’t know. It’s just a rough sketch right now. Sometimes the ideas just come to me,” he replied, tacking it up on the wall behind the drafting table.

  “You have a lady out front. She has an appointment,” I said, as I forced myself to tear my eyes away from the drawing. It was something to behold that was for sure.

  “Okay thanks,” he replied, looking at me and the drawing again. He tapped me on the shoulder and walked away. What was it about that drawing? I tore my eyes away it and went back to work.

  Jack and Matt were busy all morning. I was too, rescheduling Axel’s appointments for the day. There was a steady stream of people. Five or six of them were waiting for the garage. Two girls came in to get pierced and Chloe took them into the back. A few minutes later she flung her door open and cleared her throat. I looked over my shoulder.

  “Bleu? “She called. I walked into the back, putting the cordless phone for the front desk in my back pocket in case we got a call. Chloe had the door of the piercing room cracked and her face was visible. She looked worried.

  “Yes?” I asked.

  “Supply closet, smelling salts, pronto,” she ordered. Rushing down, I opened the door and grabbed the box labeled “smelling salts”. Grabbing a handful, I jogged down to the door, and hurried inside. There was a girl with blonde hair sitting in a chair next to Chloe’s station. There was a second girl in a chair that resembled a chair in a barber’s shop; she was slumped down and out cold. Chloe held out her hand, taking one of the little capsules in her palm. She snapped it in half and held it under the girl’s nose. Her eyes snapped open and she gasped. Chloe patted her arm and smiled. The girl was naked from the waist down and she was obviously getting her clit pierced. Chloe went back to work and I walked out, shutting the door behind me.

  “You look ten shades of pale,” remarked Jack. Nodding, I sat down on one of the chairs at the drafting table.

  “You ok?” he asked, coming over and putting his hand on my shoulder.

  “Chloe had a girl pass out. I went in, gave her smelling salts and she was…having her...uh...clit pierced,” I said, my voice sounding far away.

  “First time seeing something like that?” he asked with a laugh.

  “Shut up, it’s not funny,” I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

  “I take it you’re not thinking of getting one?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “Do you feel that way about all piercings?” he asked.

  “No. Just that one,” I replied.

  “Good to know,” he said and walked to his booth. Soon, a tall, burly looking man followed after him. He took off his shirt and I saw a huge back piece of St. Michael. It was amazing. He must have felt me looking, because he turned around and smiled. Smiling back, I stood up and walked back to the front.

  Later in that day, I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood during my official lunch break. It was a beautiful sunny day, and everyone seemed to be taking advantage of the beautiful weather. I smiled and chatted briefly with the Asian woman who worked the produce booth at the farmer’s market. I picked up some fruit and then I walked back to the shop after grabbing some sushi as well. Jack stood outside smoking a cigarette. He waved as I came closer, which of course made me smile.

  “Hey Bleu, what’s shaking?” he asked.

  “Not much. Almost forgot to eat. I grabbed some fruit at the farmer’s market and sushi. Besides, it slowed down a bit,” I replied, sitting on the bench.

  “I was thinking,” he started.

  “Uh oh,” I joked. He laughed and stubbed out his cigarette.

  “Seriously? Listen, I saw how interested you were in the drawing I made. Would you ever think about getting it tattooed on your hips and lower back?” he asked. Thinking for a minute or two, I finally looked up at him and smiled.

  “Yes. But... wouldn’t that be expensive?” He tossed his cigarette butt in the coffee can next to the side of the garage and then came to sit next to me.

  “No. I would do it for free,” he said. I raised an eyebrow.

  “What? Why? You barely know me,” I replied.

  “It’s nothing shady calm down. If you let me put it in my portfolio and submit it to a few magazines, then it would be worth it,” he replied.

  “Hmmm are you sure you are not looking to trade booty for ink?”

  “Why? Are you offering?” he asked with an evil grin. I smacked his arm and he laughed.

  “Totally legit. You should be honored. I don’t normally offer free ink to people. Well except my mom,” he replied.

  “Your mom? She has ink?”

  “Uh yeah. Two whole sleeves. You don’t remember my mom do you? Ruby? She used to waitress at Johnny Rotten's?” he asked.

  “Your mom is Ruby? That’s right. Yeah she does have some pretty sick ink!”

  “See? So my intentions are good, for the most part,” he replied. I shrugged.

  “Hmm, I don’t know. I am going to have to get back to you on it? Okay? I did not mean to imply you were some kind of scoundrel or anything, I just, I don’t know,” I said, sighing sadly. I was a mess.

  “Scoundrel? Who uses that word?” he teased.

  “Sorry, I have been reading some trashy historical novels on my Kindle. The women call the men scoundrels a lot,” I explained. He laughed.

  “And cads??” he asked.

  “You know it! Thanks again for the offer and I will definitely give you an answer!” He nodded, patted my arm and walked back into the shop.

  When I got back inside, I walked over to the bookshelf and took out Jack’s portfolio. I leafed through more than half of it, gazing at the pages and pages of colorfully inked skin. His work was amazing! He did a lot of cover ups and they were phenomenal. He did, in fact, have pictures of his mother’s sleeve art. She had a sleeve of nothing but musical notes and what looked like sheet music and musical instruments. The other sleeve was a flower/fish theme with fat juicy looking koi fish and beautiful water lilies. They were incredible. I laughed as I saw that Ruby still had the same fire engine red Mohawk that she had when we were kids. Seeing his work, it made me think long and hard about whether or not I wanted to do it. Carl was no longer a deciding factor in my final decision. I made my own decisions now.

  “You look lost in thought,” remarked Chloe, making me jump. She giggled and patted my arm. I closed the portfolio and placed it back on the bookshe
lf.

  “Can I ask you something?”I asked her.

  “Sure,” she replied.

  “Jack did this amazing drawing. And he asked me if I would consider letting him tattoo it on me,” I said.

  “Do it! He did a back piece for me...kind of a naughty Alice in Wonderland. It is my favorite of all my tattoos! And have you seen his mom’s arms? Amazing! Like I said, you should do it!!!” she clapped her hands excitedly and bounced up and down excitedly.

  “Maybe I will. I want to think on it a little more,” I replied. Her customer trotted out and paid for his piercings. Chloe waved good bye and then leaned her little body against the desk. I looked up at her expectantly.

  “Anything else lined up for me?” she asked. Looking it up in the computer, I saw she had three more.

  “Three. One in an hour and two after that,” I said. She smiled and skipped into the back. Drumming my fingers on the counter, I noticed that the office door was still shut. Jack and I needed to talk about whether or not I was sleeping over again. Grabbing my cell phone, I dialed Axel’s number and it went straight to voicemail, like it had been doing all day long. Ugh, I wish I knew where he was. Finally the office door opened and Jack walked out slowly. He looked exhausted. He gave me a tired smile and walked over to me.

  “You look hot in my clothes,” he whispered. He nuzzled my cheek and breathed me in. I sighed and tried to keep my composure.

  “Why thank you. They smell like you,” I replied with a smile.

  “Is that a good thing?” he asked.