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Contents

Tenley

Hayden

Teaser of Clipped Wings

For my sister.  Your courage astounds me. I love you.

Acknowledgments

Brooks, Micki, and my S&S team: thank you for making every step in this process an adventure.

Alex and Kris: you really are fabulous. Thank you for always being there to clean up my semicolons. Alex, your sage advice and your friendship have been a blessing.

To my Filets, I love you ladies. You keep me sane(ish).

WC crew: your support, excitement, and general awesomeness have been so incredibly helpful through this whole endeavor. I’m so glad I have all of you.

Husband, you are the best.

Fandom, without you, this wouldn’t have been possible.

Tenley

I parked in the lot behind my apartment and cut the engine, taking a last moment to appreciate my air-conditioned car. When I opened the door, the heat slapped me in the face like a wet blanket. It was disgustingly hot and humid, standard for late August in Chicago. It was almost nine at night, which should have meant relief from the oppressive heat, but the forecast predicted more of the same over the coming days. I popped the trunk and grabbed as many bags as I could.

I had to make several trips, and by the time I got everything upstairs, sweat dripped down my temples and my T-shirt was sticking to my skin. The industrial box fan—the most important purchase—made a thud when I dropped it on the hallway floor outside my apartment.

I wasn’t concerned about the noise. Since my neighbor’s ancient Toyota Tercel wasn’t parked in the lot, I assumed she wasn’t home. I hadn’t met her yet, having moved in only a week ago, but my landlady, Cassie, said she went to Northwestern. Like me, she was pursuing her master’s.

I shouldered the door open and shoved the bags inside with my foot. One of them ripped, scattering boxes of microwave popcorn across the hardwood. With a sigh, I went back into the hall, then slid the fan across the floor. It was so brutally heavy that I’d almost dropped it coming up the stairs. My sole source of air-conditioning was the window unit in my bedroom; the rest of the place was like a sauna. I’d left my bedroom door open once, hoping to cool the whole apartment, but when I returned the main living area was still grossly hot, and the bedroom was barely cool.

I made quick work of the groceries, tossing the perishables into the fridge. Then I gathered the boxes of popcorn and dumped them on the counter along with the rest of the easy-fix meals like Kraft Dinner and ramen noodles, as well as baking supplies. I needed an entire cupboard dedicated to my baking paraphernalia.

The next order of business was to make myself a drink. My twenty-first birthday was a few weeks away so I couldn’t buy liquor legally yet, but I’d been smart enough to pack a few bottles of booze before my exodus from Arden Hills.

A bottle of vodka awaited me in the freezer. It was thick but not slushy as I poured a hefty shot and dropped in a handful of ice cubes. I topped it with pink grapefruit juice, swirled it around, and took a sip. Glancing at the microwave clock, I saw that it was just after nine-thirty—perfect. I nabbed a throw pillow from the couch and went to the window, drew back the curtains, and unlocked the latch.

I sat on the wide ledge, propping the pillow behind my back. Taillights glowed on the street below, the occasional honk punctuating the thrum of engines running. I’d never lived on such a busy street and the constant activity was a welcome diversion.

The first few nights after I moved in, I sat at the window and listened to the chatter of the people passing by on the sidewalk below. Opposite my apartment, at street level, the Inked Armor sign glowed against the backdrop of shadows and streetlights. I was fascinated by the goings-on inside the tattoo shop. It was a distraction from the emptiness of my apartment, which was an echo of the feeling in my chest. I’d come to Chicago to escape the memories in Arden Hills; to leave behind the reminders of the things I’d lost and could never get back.

Here, nothing was familiar. It was both a blessing and a curse. The intrinsic loneliness was consuming in such a different way. I missed feeling connected to people, especially after the months of isolation. Observing the interactions of the people across the street had become a safe way to assuage my sense of seclusion. I found myself watching until the last customer left the shop.

Three men and one woman worked there, all in their mid-to-late twenties. The men were tattoo artists; I’d seen them putting ink on skin many times. And all of them, including the woman, sported a variety of ink and metal, defying the conventions I’d grown up with.

One tattoo artist piqued my interest more than the others. Tall and broad, with dark hair, his extensive ink captured my attention as did his facial piercings. A pattern of black ink traveled up his right arm and a vibrant burst of color covered the left, the designs indistinct from my window. I imagined, more often than I wanted to admit, how much more there would be under his shirt. Surely anyone who had full sleeves wouldn’t stop there. And the expanse of his back and his cut arms hinted at a beautifully sculpted canvas for his body art.

Beyond the obvious allure of ink and his unconventional beauty, something about him drew me to the window every night. As interesting as everyone in the shop was, from the huge man with the soft smile to the wiry one with the goatee and the girl with the cotton candy–colored hair, the dark-haired man was the one I couldn’t take my eyes off of. He prowled; he didn’t walk. There was an inherent restlessness about him; even when he was seated, his foot tapped on the floor. Of the four of them, he seemed the most serious and the most intimidating.

He was intensely focused when he engaged in his artistry, his movements fluid and practiced. For all the menace he projected, he was careful when he worked, and his clients seemed at ease with him. Watching him transfer designs onto skin was almost sensual. I often felt like the worst kind of voyeur, observing an intrinsically intimate act. I started to think about what being in his chair would be like. How it would feel to have those hands putting art on my body.

Tonight he was shading a shoulder piece. I was envious of the woman in his chair—he’d been working on her for almost two hours. I’d polished off three drinks in that time, so I was catching a serious buzz. The design, alive with color, spanned from the blade to the center of her back. He was methodical, making passes with ink, wiping down the design before he switched colors. Every so often he’d pause and hand her a bottle of water or a small, round ball that she squeezed as he worked. I wished I could see the detail in the design. Getting closer to the shop was something I contemplated with increasing frequency. More than the art, though, I wanted to see him up close up to confirm what I was already certain of: that his ink was as beautiful as he was.

When he finished the tattoo, he helped the woman out of the chair and took her to the other side of the shop. She spent a good long time staring at the fresh ink as he moved the mirrors to give her the best view. He was inordinately gentle when he cleaned the art and dressed it. It was at such odds with his hard exterior, making him all the more fascinating.

Once his client left the shop, he and his colleagues congregated around the front desk as seemed to be their habit. The girl behind the counter said something that made him laugh, which he didn’t do often. There was camaraderie between them that I envied; it made me long for that kind of easy friendship.

After a few minutes of discussion they dispersed to tidy up. Things were put away and wiped down before the blinds were drawn and the lights turned off. Then they filed out and locked up. The four of them turned right, past two storefronts to the lobby of a condo building. They all stopped while the object of my growing fascination unlocked the door. Then they disappeared inside the lobby, leaving me alone again.

Since this nightly ritual had begun, I’d tried to convince myself my interest was in the clientele. That was untrue. I was constantly waiting for a glimpse of the dark-haired man with the juxtaposing sleeves. More than once, I’d seen him cross the street and go into Serendipity, the antiques and bookstore located beneath my apartment. He always came out with coffees from the adjacent café. We’d never been there at the same time. Not that I was looking for that to happen.

I sat at the window until my drink was gone. Then I refilled my glass and set up the box fan. By the time I finished, my T-shirt was once again damp and clinging to me. I plugged in the fan and turned it on. The papers I’d left on the coffee table took flight and fluttered through the air until they hit the wall, tumbling to the floor. It sounded like a jet plane was landing in my living room, the noise inciting an irrational surge of panic. I took a deep breath and shut down the anxiety. It was just a loud fan. I was safe. I gathered up the papers; I’d need to staple things in the future.

Then I set the fan in front of the window, hoping it would suck in the marginally cooler night air to help bring the temperature down inside. Bypassing the boxes of books that still needed to be unpacked, I turned off the lights, save for the one in the kitchen. Sticky from sweat, I needed a shower in the worst way. I turned on the water, peeled off my clothes, and didn’t bother to check the temperature before stepping under the spray. It was cold enough to make me shiver, but I didn’t mind.

When I couldn’t stand the cold anymore I made the water lukewarm, then reached for the shampoo. As I lathered up my hair I brushed over the ladder of rings in my ears. Each addition had been a minor revolt. I thought back to the events and the people who had incited those tiny acts of rebellion. There was no one to fight me on it anymore. I could do whatever I wanted now, without worrying about repercussions. It would be so easy to go to Inked Armor. . . .

I shook my head and lathered up a body sponge, running it along my arms and over the back of my neck, then moving lower. That was a colossally bad idea, no matter how much I might want to. Better to keep a safe distance. I was still trying to find my way in this new city and this new life. Making friends wasn’t something I was ready to contend with. When I was done washing up, I rinsed off, cut the water, and grabbed a towel. My discarded clothes stayed on the bathroom floor since no one was around to care whether I picked them up.

Wrapped in a towel, I returned to the kitchen to replenish my drink, doubling up on the vodka this time, and headed for the bedroom. The wave of frosty air that greeted me goose-bumped my damp skin, and I basked in the glory of the Freon cold. I had trouble sleeping and didn’t need the heat to make it more difficult.

Done with the towel, I draped it over the chair in the corner of the room to dry. Then I rummaged through my dresser for something to wear. The dresser came from Serendipity; Cassie owned and ran the shop below my apartment. It was attached to a small café that specialized in baked goods and coffees. Since I moved in, I’d been to Serendipity almost daily. If I wasn’t seeking out pieces to furnish my place with I was buying coffees or snacks since I hadn’t gone grocery shopping yet.

In my haste to move to Chicago I’d brought only what could fit in my car. I’d spent the first two nights sleeping on a blow-up mattress until I’d tested out pillow-top varieties and had one delivered. Much of the past week had been spent either seeking out necessary items like a couch and a coffee table or assembling cheap DIY shelving units for my books. My apartment was slowly starting to feel like home.

I put on fresh undies and a tank, then flipped open my laptop and searched for something entertaining to watch. I didn’t like horror since I’d lived the real thing this past year and romantic comedies made me want to vomit, so I cued up a documentary that might help with my master’s thesis. Classes didn’t begin for a few weeks, but I was eager to get started. The more research I did now, the better prepared I’d be for my first meeting with my advisor.

I snuggled into my pillows, ready to get schooled on the art of contemporary body modification. An hour and a half later, I had copious notes. I turned off the lights, pulled the sheets up over me, curled around a soft pillow, and started the documentary again. Halfway through my eyes started to grow heavy and I blinked sleepily as Jesse Jarrell told me, in his calm, soft-spoken way, about sub-dermal implants. . . .

I was reclined in a tattooing chair. The red vinyl was smooth and smelled faintly of lemon. I looked around, disoriented, until I realized I was inside Inked Armor. As I surveyed my surroundings I became acutely aware that it was just him and me in the quiet shop. There was no one else. Not the girl with the pale pink hair, or the tall, thin man who was clearly her significant other, or the jacked-up one with sleeves in black and white. The blinds were drawn and the lights so low, I couldn’t understand how he could see the design he was putting on my skin. My fingers curled around the edge of the chair; tension made my muscles tremble. I blinked and blinked again, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t bring the tattoos covering his arms or the contours of his face into focus.

I looked down at the new ink—singed and smoking feathers in shades of crimson and gold floated over my hip and down the outside of my thigh. It was a version of the tattoo I’d been drawing for the past several months, in stunning detail. But it was in the wrong place.

Between one blink and the next, the scene morphed. The hum of the tattoo machine ceased. Tension became a living thing as I realized I was wearing a tank top and nothing else. Confusion and mortification warred with an unfed hunger I’d forgotten existed as he shifted between my thighs. I tried to close my legs, but he was filling the space, making it impossible.

His face was in shadow, features still obscured, no matter how much I strained to see him clearly. Warm hands smoothed down the outside of my legs and then I felt the satin smooth brush of lips against the inside of my thigh. His mouth moved higher, teeth nipping at skin. And then his fingers were right there, soft and warm and touching me in ways I hadn’t been touched in so long. I reached out, fingers slipping through those dark strands and gripping tight. He laughed, the dark sound moving over me, through me. I arched under him, heat and desire coalescing. . . .

*   *   *

I awoke on the crest of an orgasm, my body and sheets damp with sweat. I lay there in the dark, panting like I’d just run a marathon. I hadn’t had an orgasm in more than eight months. The desire had been absent for so long, I’d forgotten what it even felt like.

I scrubbed my hands over my face, trying to catch my breath. My body hummed with foreign energy; I was still insanely aroused. I closed my eyes and tried to relax, but as soon as I did the images came back with devastating clarity. While his face remained blurry, the imagined sensations were not. Those inked arms holding my legs, the soft brush of lips and his warm, wet mouth on me.

I pulled a pillow over my head, willing the images to fade, but it was useless. After so many months, my body had woken up from its sexual slumber. I threw the pillow across the room and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was five-thirty in the morning; no way would I be able to fall back asleep. I might as well get up.

*   *   *

Later that day I stood in the middle of my living room, trying not to give in to the urge to stand at the window. I’d already changed my sheets, showered, and drank an entire pot of coffee. During the coffee marathon, I rearranged my living room furniture three times. I was trying my best to keep my mind off the tattoo artist across the street. So far I was failing miserably.

I glanced at the boxes beside the bookshelves. I’d been avoiding a few of them on purpose. The box of photo albums had been relegated to the closet in my bedroom. Inside the albums were snapshots of my life and all the people who had passed through it. I wasn’t ready to give them a home on the shelf, though. Instead I filled the shelves with books; texts from my undergrad studies, novels I loved. Books my mom had given me over the years.

When I was done, I stared at the empty space where the albums would go. Eventually I’d muster the courage to put them where they belonged. My whole apartment seemed to reflect that sense of vacancy, no matter how much stuff I filled it with. It made me anxious. I was alone here, with nothing and no one, which was how I’d thought I wanted it to be. But the ache inside was so overwhelming, it scared me sometimes. I had so much to miss, yet back in Arden Hills, the constant reminders had been a kind of torture.

I turned away from the shelves and dropped down on the couch. The new fan was doing its job; the moving air definitely helped offset the heat. I flipped open my laptop and checked my Northwestern email. The only messages were from the student affairs office, inviting me to attend an information session in two weeks. The unstructured time was killing me. Now that my apartment was furnished, my only distractions were my thesis and people-watching. The latter was becoming a problem, particularly after that dream last night. While I was happy to spend a few hours or more each day on research, I wouldn’t meet with my advisor for at least another week, which limited what I could accomplish.

I needed to find something else to do with my time besides sitting at my window, wishing for a life that wasn’t mine.

*   *   *

A week later, I found myself in the basement of Serendipity. Cassie had kindly offered to let me rummage through it for anything I might need. It was like a hoarder’s dream down there and nearly impossible to navigate. I wanted the dining set on the far side of the room for my kitchen, but the maze of furniture and boxes impeded my ability to get to it. I gave up and carried a box of books up the stairs, then went back down to grab another one, in hopes of clearing a path to the table.

As I hit the stairs, I heard the front door tinkle and the thud of boots moving across the floor above. When I reached the landing, I propped the box on my hip and peeked through the gap in the open door. I recognized him instantly, and apparently so did the rest of me. I flushed from head to toe.

He was talking to Cassie, his hand resting on a short stack of books. He was close enough that I could see the strong line of his jaw and intricate, colorful designs on his arm. They looked like vines and what might be flowers, but they were too dark for me to be completely sure. He leaned in and dropped a kiss on Cassie’s cheek, which surprised me, both because of the tenderness of the gesture and the fact that he looked closer to my age than hers. They chatted for a few minutes, and then he continued on to the café. When he was gone, I slipped through the door and set the box on top of the other two.

“Tenley!” Cassie stepped out from behind the desk. “You should have asked for help. My nephew was just here; he would have brought that up for you.”

Oh God, I was having sex dreams about her nephew. How much more embarrassed could I be?

“It’s fine,” I said, my voice higher than normal. “I checked inside these before I brought them up and it looks like there are some classics in here. I noticed you have a few empty shelves in the back where you keep the books . . .” I trailed off, trying to hide my mortification as I rambled. I hadn’t done much socializing for the past several months and my conversation skills were lacking. “I’m sorry. I can take them back down if they’re in the way.”

She smiled reassuringly. “Not at all. I’ve been meaning to get to those, but it’s difficult with just me here.”

“I can shelve them if you want. It won’t take me any time at all,” I offered, wondering if I was overstepping boundaries.

At that moment, her nephew returned with a tray of coffees in hand.

“I almost forgot these,” he said as he tucked a couple of books from the counter under his arm. “I’ve got a client in five, but I’ll stop by tomorrow so we can catch up. You can tell me what’s new and shit, ’kay?”

“Whenever you have time,” Cassie replied, accepting the cup he handed her.

He headed for the door, elbowing it open. His gaze lifted and found me as I tried to blend into the wall. I caught a flash of silver at the corner of his mouth before I looked away, not wanting to get caught staring. I was sure people did that to him all the time.

There was a long pause before I finally heard, “Later, Cass.”

The door chimed as it closed behind him.

I expelled the breath I’d been holding, my stomach twisting at the memory of my dream. I stepped away from the wall and gave Cassie what I hoped looked like a natural smile, despite the heat in my cheeks.

“I’ll just put these away for you?” I asked hopefully.

“That would be great.” Her smile was genuine.

I hoisted a box into my arms and turned toward the rear of the store. What began as a simple offer to shelve a few books turned into a full-day project. Everything was organized by size and general topic, rather than genre and author. I pulled them down and started over.

Sometime later, Cassie found me between the stacks. “I didn’t even realize you were still here!”

I looked at the piles of books towering around me and then up at her. “I think I got carried away.”

She laughed. “They weren’t very well organized, were they?”

I crinkled my nose. “Not really,” I said apologetically.

“Hayden tells me that all the time. He says it drives him batshit crazy.”

Hayden. It suited him. It was different, like my name. “I can come back tomorrow and work on the rest of this if you’d like,” I offered. “Oh, and there’s a table and chairs in the basement I’d like to buy, but I’m having trouble getting to them. When I’m done with the books could I move some of the other boxes around, as well?”

It would be the perfect distraction from the emptiness of my apartment. Being alone all the time was getting to me and this was the kind of safe interaction I could handle.

“How would you feel about a part-time job?” Cassie asked.

“You don’t have to pay me. I’m the one who pulled all the books off your shelves.”

“I could use the help, though, and I’d be happy to have the company.”

I hesitated. It would be good to have a part-time job, a way to have interaction with purpose. “Okay. I’d like that.”

*   *   *

A few days later, I was sitting behind the register of Serendipity. It was my third official shift in as many days. I’d finished shelving the books; now I was cataloging them on Cassie’s computer. It was slow going, but it would make finding things much easier in the long run. I propped up an old textbook on the desk in front of me. There was an interesting, albeit dated, chapter on body modification practices of various cultures. It consisted of antiquated schools of thought on “deviant behaviors” that had now become almost mainstream.

Completely engrossed, I failed to hear the door chime over the soft strains of jazz filtering in from the adjoining café. When a shadow passed over my book, I glanced up, startled, and found Hayden standing right in front of me, a curious smile playing on his full lips.

Beyond the eyebrow ring and the ones piercing the left corner of his bottom lip, the first thing I noticed was his eyes. They were astonishingly blue. Not a sea blue, or a sky blue, or even a grayish blue. They were icy and pale and shockingly intense against his dark hair and thick dark lashes. He was painfully gorgeous in a severe, atypical way. Just like I imagined he’d be. And that was just his face.

The dream rushed back, and I stammered out a greeting as images of his face and hands between my thighs flashed in my mind. He was taller than I’d thought, towering over me. He was wearing dark jeans and a short-sleeve T-shirt with an Inked Armor logo stretched across his chest. Hugging the contours of his torso, it highlighted the defined muscles underneath, giving my imagination a more accurate vision of what was under the shirt.

Ink, ink, and more ink was visible on his arms, but I was too unnerved to be able to focus on it. I fumbled with the book in front of me and it fell over, hitting the counter with a thud. In the process my caramel latte tipped over, dumping the sticky liquid all over the pages.

Horrified, I hastily wiped up the mess with a pile of napkins. I couldn’t look at him when he reached across to help me or when he apologized for scaring me. Thankfully, Cassie saved me from further humiliation when she came back upstairs. I left the counter and quickly ducked behind the door leading to the basement, standing on the landing for several minutes to calm my racing heart. I could hear the deep timbre of his voice as he and Cassie spoke.

Now that I had a clear image of his face and his body and the sound of his voice, I worried about what my mind would do with them. I stayed in the safety of the basement until I found the lamp Cassie had been searching for.

In the week that followed, Hayden came in every day I worked. Sometimes more than once. Often I was holed up in the basement, battling the chaos. It was both good and bad; at least I didn’t have the opportunity to embarrass myself again. Unfortunately, it also meant I couldn’t cure the insistent desire to have a more thorough look at the art on his arms. Or his stunning face.

I knew whenever he was in the store. Hayden’s walk was distinctive, the soles of his boots heavy against the worn floor, his route predictable. He always stopped at the register first to chat with Cassie, then continued on to the café. After he picked up coffees, he came back through to talk to Cassie again. Sometimes he brought her a coffee or a tea.

Today I had a reprieve from the basement. Cassie had picked up several boxes of books from an estate sale. Hidden in the stacks, I sat amid the books, arranging them by subject matter. It was relatively mindless work, which allowed my thoughts to wander in the direction of Inked Armor and Hayden. The dream about him kept resurfacing during daylight hours, particularly when I wasn’t occupied, disturbingly vivid in visual detail and sensory recall.

The tinkle of the bell above the door alerted me to someone entering the store and I froze, listening for the sound of his boots. When there was nothing but the soft strains of jazz music, I went back to sorting books. Some days Lisa, the pink-haired girl from Inked Armor, came into Serendipity. Sweet and friendly, she always stopped to chat.

She’d invited me across the street to check out their jewelry after I’d expressed interest in getting a nose ring. As I sat there entertaining the idea, I heard the low murmur of voices.

I scrambled to my feet, fighting back a moan as the ache in my hip flared. I’d been sitting in the same position far too long. The pain eclipsed everything for a moment, and I grabbed on to the shelf for support. As I waited for the pain to ease, I peered through a gap in the books. Hayden was in the store. He glanced in the direction of the stacks and I took a step back even though I was well hidden. My heart slammed in my chest and I closed my eyes against the fear coupled with embarrassment that I’d even considered the possibility he might seek me out.

What I was doing was ridiculous. Hiding from someone I didn’t know because I’d had a dream about him. Images of him fully dressed between my thighs plastered themselves against the backs of my eyelids. I cracked one and turned around, checking to see if he was still talking to Cassie, but he wasn’t.

Disappointment was tempered with relief and I went back to sorting books, moving down the aisle for a better view of the door.

As expected, Hayden came through the store a few minutes later, stopping to chat with Cassie before he left. He used his hip to open the door on his way out, hands full with a tray of coffees and a bag of snacks. He smiled slowly as his eyes came to rest on me. I clutched the books to my chest, frozen in his icy blue gaze.

“See you tomorrow,” he said, staring right at me.

A few moments later, Cassie appeared and held out a coffee.

“Thanks.” I inhaled deeply. It was a caramel latte.

“Don’t thank me. Hayden left it for you. He said it was to make up for last time.”

I took a sip to hide my grin.

That night I had another dream about him. This time I could see every line of ink, and I could feel those rings in his lips against my skin as his mouth moved over my body. When I came this time, I wasn’t asleep.

Hayden

The two girls sitting across from me marked the official beginning of what we referred to as “freshman season” at Inked Armor. Every year around this time there is an influx of college students looking to get inked. These two were like deer caught in headlights, gaping openly, though their state of dress was far more outrageous than my ink and steel combined.

The one on the right with hair the color of an eggplant was the mouthpiece of the pair. I already knew what their hometowns were, that they were both studying at the University of Chicago, and they were “besties” even though they’d met for the first time “like, ever” last week.

Dressed completely in black, the purple-haired one also wore sparkly blue eyeliner and lipstick to match. A mix between raver and Emo, it was quite the statement. Her quiet friend rimmed her eyes in thick black liner and her blue-black hair was shaved off on one side. Her chipped fingernails were painted a darker version of the purple on her lips. There weren’t any visible piercings, aside from matching fluorescent pink skulls dotting their lobes. At least they weren’t the preppy shits I often had to deal with this time of year.

The more subdued one was looking for ink. Since they’d been browsing the wall of stock art prior to sitting down with me, I didn’t have high hopes that it would be interesting. Despite having procrastinated with my last client, I’d finished before either of my partners had, so these two rays of sunshine were mine to deal with. Which meant I couldn’t go across the street to grab a coffee like I wanted. If I could hurry things along here, though, I might have time to hit Serendipity before my next client.

“You have a design in mind?” I asked when there was a half-second lull in Sparkle Lips’s stream of chatter.

“Oh my God! For sure she does!” Sparkle Lips shrieked excitedly. “Show him.” In her zeal, she almost shoved her friend off the chair.

I was pleasantly surprised that she had a design concept. My opinion of them shifted slightly and I gave her an authentic, encouraging smile.

The girl rooted around in her Hot Topic bag and withdrew a black binder. She took out a dog-eared piece of notebook paper, smoothed it out, then set it on the table between us.

I stared down at the image and bit my tongue ring to keep from laughing aloud. On the lined paper was a replica of a popular cartoon kitty icon in some weird fetish get-up. With a riding crop. Despite the fucked up content, it was a pretty decent sketch.

“You draw this?” I asked.

“Jenny’s an art major. She’s really into anime,” Sparkle Lips supplied.

“Is that right?” I asked.

Jenny nodded.

Real talkative, this one. “I can work with this. Where do you want it?”

“She wants it on her hip,” Sparkle Lips cut in again. “You know, so the whip is . . . you know.”

“Michelle!” Jenny hissed, her cheeks reddening.

“What? That’s where you want it,” Sparkle Lips whispered back. Like I couldn’t hear her with two feet separating us.

I set an elbow on the desk and propped my chin on my fist in contemplative fascination. “I’m not sure I follow.”

Jenny leaned in closer, her voice barely above a whisper. “So it looks like the whip is . . .” She made a snapping motion with her wrist and then pointed down to her lap.

“Oh, right.” I nodded seriously. “So it looks like the kitty is whipping your kitty. I got it.”

Jenny’s face went a deeper shade of red. As entertaining as this was, I didn’t want to give them the impression I wasn’t serious about her choice of art. While the design wasn’t particularly to my taste, I’d do the best I could to make it look good on her. I was also curious as to what was behind that quiet, unassuming front of hers.

I took the focus off poor embarrassed Jenny and I directed the next question to Michelle. “No ink for you today?”

Michelle’s eyes went wide. “No way, my dad would kill me if I got a tattoo.”

I heard that a lot, often just before someone sat in my chair—or backed out of a tattoo. I couldn’t even begin to count the number of times a client would return months later to do the piece they put on hold.

I lowered my voice conspiratorially. “He doesn’t have to know. There are lots of places to hide body art.”

She blinked and swallowed audibly, her eyes darting to my neck where a lick of vine peeked out of the collar of my shirt.

“Another time, then.” I turned back to Jenny, who was nervously biting her fingernails.

“You want to do this today?” I asked. “I can fit you in.”

Her hand dropped to her lap and she nodded.

After hashing out critical elements such as color and placement—although from the crotch pointing I had a pretty solid idea where it would go—I sent them across the street to Serendipity. That way they could sip lattes and browse for books and kitschy items while I adapted the sketch. I didn’t need Sparkle Lips’s incessant chatter distracting me.

They took off and I got down to business. It was just after five. My next client was scheduled for seven, but Jenny’s design was small and shouldn’t take long, so hopefully I’d be able to take a short coffee break. And get another glimpse of the girl my aunt Cassie hired recently. That chick was hot, if skittish.

I fixed the kitty-whipping sketch and set up the private room. Jenny was all sorts of hopped up when they returned. I couldn’t tell if it was nerves, excitement, or too much caffeine that made her fidgety. I led her and Sparkle Lips to the private room, and tried to calm Jenny down by walking her through the process. It was debatable whether she absorbed anything I said, but she was slightly more relaxed by the time I asked her to roll down the waistband of her skirt.

She pushed the fabric out of the way to expose plain white cotton underwear. Sparkle Lips stepped in and yanked those down too, exposing more skin than necessary. I abruptly had visual confirmation that Jenny was a natural blonde, nowhere close to the blue-black on her head. But that wasn’t what got my attention. Under the loose shirt and the flowy skirt, she was painfully thin, the bones at her hips jutting out. One of those waifish types who didn’t have an ounce of body fat to cushion the bite of the needle. This was going to suck for her.

Regardless of what the content of the tattoo might suggest about her, it was clear she felt awkward about her friend’s overzealous panty-yanking. I acted like it hadn’t happened and kept on talking as I transferred the stencil to her skin.

Jenny had a low pain threshold. This became glaringly obvious when I began the outline—and that was the easy part. I had to stop four times and let her friend console her before I could pick up where I left off. What should have taken thirty minutes ended up taking more than an hour.

By the time I went over aftercare and sent Jenny and her friend on their merry way, it was after six-thirty.

I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed.

Lisa, the piercer in our shop, was perched on a stool behind the cash desk, polishing a tray of nose studs. She shot me a sympathetic look. “I thought that was supposed to be a quick one.”

“It was. Low pain tolerance.”

“I could have told you that. Girl was a bone rack,” she replied.

I snorted, but didn’t comment. There was a pile of books on the edge of the glass counter. I rifled through them.

“Those are for you. Tenley brought them by.”

“Who?” I asked. That was a different name.

“Tenley. That girl your aunt hired.”

“She was here? She brought these over for me?” I held up the books. “Why didn’t you come get me?”

“You were in the middle of a tattoo.” Her tone intimated my stupidity for asking.

“How long was she here?” I couldn’t get over the fact that I’d missed her.

“Like five minutes, maybe a little longer. She dropped off the books, I showed her some jewelry, introduced her to Chris and Jamie, and then she went back to work.”

“You introduced her to Chris?” I asked.

Jamie I didn’t care about. He and Lisa had been together forever. Chris, my other business partner and the third party in our trifecta of tattooists, would hit on anything with a pulse. He was usually pretty well behaved when it came to clients, but not always.

Lisa looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “He was standing right next to me when she came in. Of course I introduced him to her.”

“Did he hit on her?”

“No. He didn’t hit on her.” She gave me an odd look.

I glanced around the shop. He wasn’t at his station. “Where is he, anyway?”

“He went out to pick up dinner from the Thai place down the street. What’s with you? Why are you acting so weird?”

“I’m not acting weird.” I ran a hand through my hair, trying to figure out what I wanted to say. I was totally acting weird, with no idea why. “That girl’s like . . . I don’t know . . .”

“Hot?” Lisa asked, looking steadily at me.

I hesitated for a second before I scoffed, “Whatever. She’s Cassie’s employee. I just don’t want Chris trying to get all up in that.”

“I don’t really think she’s Chris’s type. Not blond,” Lisa said and slid the tray of nose studs back into the jewelry case.

“Right. Still.” I wouldn’t want this girl to be Chris’s exception. Uncomfortable with the way Lisa was looking at me, I shuffled through the books. They were all philosophy texts, but not the specific one I’d been looking for.

“You know, Hayden—”

The tinkle of the door cut her off as Chris walked in and yelled, “Dinner.” He dropped the takeout bags on the counter and started unloading them. I only had twenty minutes before my next client, which gave me just enough time to eat without having to shovel it in. If I tried to go to Serendipity, Lisa would ask questions. No need to put her radar up any more than it already was. Besides, that Tenley girl was in Serendipity almost every day. I could stop by tomorrow.

*   *   *

The next afternoon I had a break between clients, so I ran over to Serendipity. Cassie’s new employee was there. I didn’t need to see her to know that; I could smell her perfume, or body lotion, or whatever she wore that made her smell so good. Like cupcakes. Which I loved.

I valiantly tried to ignore the psychotic clutter as I glanced around the store, seeking her out. She was under cover. Again. The last time I saw her up close was when she dumped her latte all over her book and ran away. She’d been reading about body modification, which I thought was cool.

A few days back I bought Tenley a replacement latte, thinking it might give me a chance to introduce myself or something. That plan backfired when Cassie took the coffee and offered to deliver it for me. At the time she’d been wearing one of those smiles of hers that I didn’t trust. While I’d seen Tenley from a distance since then, I’d been unsuccessful in my attempts to really scope her out. She always seemed to be in the basement when I came by, and that was annoying.

Cassie was sitting behind the counter, pen poised in the air. “Looking for something, Hayden?”

“Just my favorite aunt.”

“Liar.”

Shit. Maybe she was onto me. “Why would you say that? I thought I’d stop in and say hi before my next client.”

“Mm-hm.” She glanced away from the computer screen, jotted down something on the pad of paper in front of her, and shot me a dubious look.

I ignored it, choosing to believe I wasn’t nearly as transparent as I was starting to feel. “Thanks for sending those books over yesterday.”

“I heard you were busy with a client.”

“Yeah.” I was surprised she knew about that. “I’m, ah . . . gonna check out the philosophy section and see if you’ve got any new stuff.”

“Of course you are.”

She waved me off, wearing a too-sweet smile. I turned away to head to the back of the store, hoping I’d find her new employee.

“Tenley’s in the basement.”

I stopped. Turned around. “Uh, what?” I asked, playing dumb.

“The girl I hired. The one you keep coming in to see?” Her eyebrows lifted in challenge. When I didn’t say anything she continued: “She’s in the basement sorting through acquisitions.”

“Right.” I avoided the jab at my frequent visits and my reason for them. “She’s working out okay for you?”

“She’s quite helpful. Although she’ll likely have to cut back her hours once the semester starts.”

“She’s a student?”

“Mm. She’s in a master’s program at Northwestern. I believe she’s on a scholarship.”

The tuition there was pricey, so a scholarship was no little thing. It meant she was smart as well as hot. “Huh. She live around here?”

Cassie set down her pen and regarded me with speculation. “You have a lot of questions today.”

I shrugged. “You’ve never hired anyone to help in here before. Consider me curious.”

Cassie pointed to the ceiling. “I rented the apartment upstairs to her. She’s only been here for a few weeks.”

I blinked. “No shit.” How convenient, since I live across the street in a condo above Inked Armor.

“She’s from Minnesota,” Cassie said, divulging yet another piece of information. It was like dangling cupcakes in front of me; I couldn’t help but bite.

“Small town?”

“Somewhere outside of Minneapolis, I believe. You know, Hayden, you could just talk to her and get all these details.”

I thought about her initial reaction to me—the spilled coffee, her speedy escape. If she came from some nowhere town, I probably scared the hell out of her. “Yeah. I don’t know about that.”

“She doesn’t know too many people here. She could use a friend.”

I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be good friend material, considering I was developing a semi just talking about her. “She’s been chatty with Lisa,” I said. She would be a good person for Tenley to get to know. Aside from Cassie, Lisa was the only girl I would consider a close friend. She was like a sister to me.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I glanced at the number. “It looks like my client’s early. I gotta get Lisa her coffee and head back to work. I’ll catch you later.” I crossed through Serendipity to the café, ordered coffees, and booked it back through the store on the slight chance Tenley had magically appeared while I’d been in the café.

As I passed Cassie, she looked up from the paperwork on the counter. “She works tomorrow at four. In case you were thinking about stopping by again.”

I just waved as I pushed open the door.

*   *   *

I finished with my last client just after ten. Chris was raring for a night out and I was antsy enough to join him. I wasn’t big into the bar scene anymore, but I needed to let off some steam. With freshman season upon us, the steady stream of walk-ins wasn’t going to end anytime soon. Going out was a good way to take my mind off the impending month of banal pieces coming my way.

We locked up the shop and walked the three blocks to the bar. It was a busy night, college kids were packed in like sardines. Chris led the way through the crowd, people parting like the Red Sea. Chris was a big guy. While we were close to the same height, he was wider and bulkier, which said a lot since I wasn’t exactly wiry. He wasn’t much into piercing, but the guy was covered in ink. When he wasn’t smiling, which was most of the time, he looked scary as shit.

Chris scanned for the bartender. Down at the far end was a slick looking baby-faced guy; guaranteed we’d have to wait five minutes to get served by him. Just a few feet away, a plastic-looking fake-blonde with questionably real tits motioned Chris over. He leaned in, his eyes shifting down to her mountain of cleavage as he ordered a double round of beers. He was so predictable. We clinked on the first one and downed them. Then took the second one a little slower. Still, it wasn’t long before I called the bartender over and ordered another round. Beer in hand, I turned to face the dance floor. Aggressive hardcore rock pounded out of the speakers, making conversation impossible. Not that Chris wanted to talk to me; he was here to check out the women. I was here to keep my mind off other things. It wasn’t working all that well, however.

“You all right, H?” Chris yelled over the music.

“Yeah. Fine.” I clinked my beer against his and took a swig.

Now that I was here, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be. Initially the plan had been to avoid home. Usually I looked forward to the solitude, but something about going back to that empty space just didn’t appeal tonight, so here I was.

A girl with long dark hair was making her way through the throng of bodies. When the light caught her profile, I felt a strange pang of disappointment. I checked out every girl who remotely matched Tenley’s description, in case she was here. Which was stupid, considering the number of nightclubs, pubs, and bars available in downtown Chicago. It didn’t stop me from looking, though. Christ, I really needed a hobby.

“What’s up with you, lately? You’ve got something else going on you’re not talking about?”

“Nah. Just bored,” I said, taking a hefty swig of beer.

“So pick someone up. That should help.” Chris grinned.

I had serious doubts, but I didn’t share that with him.

He chatted up a few girls as he drained his beers, looking for this evening’s one-nighter. He’d already turned two away. The chick he settled on was approaching cougar status, not that he cared. She draped herself around him and fawned all over his ink.

I could hear her asking him if he had more under his shirt. The inevitable invitation—in which he offered to take her back to his place for a detailed exploration—came next. He’d be lucky if they made it that far; his current find was practically humping him against the bar. Chris’s potential orgasm provider wasn’t anyone I’d consider taking home. Her bleached-out hair and collagen-puffed lips were far too reminiscent of someone I’d been involved with previously.

When I saw her hand migrating south to cop a feel below the belt, it was time to leave. I had no plans to take anyone home or accompany anyone home. I used to take those opportunities when they presented themselves, which was often, but over the past year I’d found the prospect less and less appealing. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone home with someone for the express purpose of getting off. Even when I had in the past, I’d never once stayed the night. It was a case of get her off, get in, get myself off, and get out. No exchanging numbers. No promises to call.

I nudged him. “I’m out.”

He glanced at me, a frown making the hard features of his face almost sinister. “You sure? She’s got friends if you wanna stay.” He inclined his head in the direction of two other women, both of whom were watching us, talking to each other. Neither seemed particularly concerned about their friend.

“Thanks, but I’m good.” I tipped my beer back, draining it. “See you tomorrow.”

Pushing my way through the sweaty, writhing bodies, I ended up with an ass grinding against my junk. The girl was far too hammered to know what was going on. She looked over her shoulder, eyes widening in shock as she processed my appearance. She spun around and what was left in her plastic cup sloshed over my arm and my shirt. She slurred out an apology and swiped at my arm with her hand, like that was going to help. I stepped away, not wanting her to touch me, and kept heading for the exit.

I wasn’t accosted again on my way out, which was good because my patience was wearing thin. The air outside the club was just as humid as before but slightly less oppressive. My shirt was damp from the drink and while my arm was mostly dry, my skin was sticky from the fruity concoction.

It took only fifteen minutes to walk home, but it wasn’t long enough. I was pent up tonight and my skin felt tight. It was too late to go for a run, and since I’d had four beers, I wouldn’t have the coordination necessary to manage the treadmill in the condo’s gym. I proved that when I stopped in front of my building and fumbled for my key fob, dropping it on the sidewalk.

When I straightened, my gaze drifted up to the apartments above Serendipity. The one on the right had been occupied for some time, but the one on the left had only been occupied for the past few weeks. Now, thanks to my aunt, I knew who lived there.

There were some lights on in the apartment and the windows were open wide. Faint strains of music filtered down, too low for me to catch the tune. The curtains billowed out on a gust of wind and sucked the fabric against the screen before it fanned out again. It would rain tonight. I could feel it in the heavy, thick summer air.

I swiped my fob and opened the door, stepping into the air-conditioned foyer. I took the stairs to the second floor instead of the elevator. Once I was inside my apartment I reengaged the locks and put my shoes in the closet. Then I hit the lights and did a walkthrough: kitchen, living room, down the hall, bathroom, spare room, master. After every room passed my visual inspection, I returned to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. Everything was how I’d left it; neat, organized, nothing out of place. Draining the contents of my glass, I refilled it and took it to my bedroom. I set it on a coaster to prevent rings from marring the wood surface of the nightstand, because I was anal about shit like that.

I went to the window, planning to draw the curtains closed before I hit the shower. Serendipity was across to the right, the two-story converted house sandwiched between a low-rise apartment complex and a three-story financial building.

My second-floor unit gave me a perfect view of Tenley’s apartment. The curtains were still open and I could see right inside. She had shit for furniture, which made sense since she was a student. There was a couch and a chair with a coffee table set up in the middle, end tables flanking the couch, with small lamps lending a dim glow to the room. Bookshelves lined the back wall. A flat-screen TV hung from the opposite wall.

I was about to drop the curtain when she came into view from the hallway. I knew the layout of that apartment, having been in there before when my uncle Nate bought the place. It had been a shithole, inhabited by addicts. He’d made huge improvements to the neighborhood when he evicted those assholes and started renovations. I’d helped him clean the place out. At the time I’d been battling my own issues, and seeing what rock bottom looked like was one hell of a wake-up call.

Tenley crossed over to the fridge and opened the freezer. She pulled out an ice cube tray and a bottle, but it was her outfit that caught my attention. She was wearing shorts that rode high on her thighs, hugging her curves, giving a great view of the contours of her ass. Her white tank top didn’t leave much to the imagination, with straps so thin they were nearly invisible from here. If I squinted, she looked almost naked. All the important parts were covered though, particularly the places where most good girls put their body art. Tenley might be one of those girls, but I preferred the possibility that she could be ink free. I didn’t think about why that seemed to matter.

Instead, like a creeper, I watched as she fixed herself a drink. At one point she opened the fridge door; and the light within accented every dip and curve of her lithe body. She stood there for a good long while, then bent over. For a second I wished I had binoculars; then I realized what an asshole that would make me.

But that didn’t stop me from getting hard or from waiting until she finished making her drink and disappeared back down the hall before I dropped the curtain. Even then I remained at the window, hoping she’d forgotten something and would reappear. When raindrops began to splatter against the pane, I finally turned away.

I stripped out of my clothes and tossed them in the color-coded hampers in my closet. Then I headed for the bathroom. I wanted a shower before I went to bed. I hit the dimmer switch, lowering the lighting to a serene level before I turned on the water. While I waited for it to heat, I brushed my teeth. The room was half filled with steam by the time I stepped under the hot spray.

I stared down at my cock, which was standing at attention with no immediate plans to settle down. I attributed it partly to Tenley’s attire, though I figured it was also a Pavlovian response, part of my daily routine: wake up, shower, whack it, go to work, come home, shower, whack it, go to bed. It was like eating: sometimes perfunctory, sometimes enjoyable, always necessary. Walking around with a semi all day was not only uncomfortable, it was unprofessional and embarrassing.

I didn’t attend to my hard-on right away, even though I wanted to. Instead, I washed my hair and then soaped up. All the while, I replayed the events of the day: from the sessions, to the conversation with Cassie about her new employee, to the gongshow of the bar, finally stopping at the image of Tenley standing in front of her fridge in her barely-there get-up.

I’d been restless as fuck all day, more so after stopping by Serendipity. It reminded me of the days before I had my shit together, when I couldn’t settle because I was looking for a fix. Except now it wasn’t the chemical kind I wanted; it was in the form of warm, bare female flesh. I looked down at my dick again. Now at least I had a valid reason to be sporting a hard-on that rivaled a titanium rod. This fixation with Tenley was ridiculous, and I’d made it worse by peeping on her while she was in the privacy of her own home.

I sighed, reached for the conditioner, and squirted some in my palm. Gripping my erection tightly in my fist, I coated my cock in the slick substance. My head dropped as I braced the other hand on the wall and began stroking. The relief was instantaneous.

I tried to shut off my brain, to focus on just the sensation, but I couldn’t get the image of Tenley out of my head. The light inside the fridge had created a halo around her curvy, slender form, making her look like a half-naked angel. Or a pinup. I let my mind take the fantasy where it wanted to go. The shorts turned into lacy panties, but I left the tank top on because it was white and I had plans for it.

In my imagination, she took a gallon of water out of the fridge. I shut my eyes tight and kept up with the stroking, speeding up as she unscrewed the cap, brought it to her lips, and tipped it back. A thin trail traveled down her chin, dripping onto her chest and between what I envisioned were perky tits with delicate little nipples. The dribble became a stream, which became a cascade—a waterfall drenching that white tank and those lacy panties, showing me exactly what was underneath.

I came so hard, my legs almost buckled.

I stood there for a long while, panting, face mashed against the tile, not sure what the fuck just happened. I could barely find the coordination to shut off the water. When I was finally able to move, I stepped out of the shower and did a half-assed job toweling off, still reeling from the scenario my brain had cooked up.

I cut the lights and made it to the bed, then dropped down on the mattress, expecting to fall asleep immediately. But I didn’t. I lay there for about ten minutes before I realized the orgasm-induced sleep haze had worn off. I rolled over onto my back and glanced down, baffled by the tented sheets at my crotch. I willed it to deflate. It didn’t. Maybe I shouldn’t have prolonged the waiting before. Maybe it was like a back-up, or something. But I wasn’t giving in. It could wait until morning.

Twenty minutes later I was still awake, but at least my hard-on was gone. Mostly. I knew what the problem was, even if I didn’t want to admit it. Somehow this girl had set up camp in the back corner of my mind, and there didn’t seem to be anything I could do to get her out.

Except now I wasn’t thinking about her naked. I was just thinking about her; what she looked like when she was deep in thought, the way she smelled so damn good. Which was unusual, because I never got wound up about a chick like this. Usually when I took care of myself, it was to nameless, faceless bodies.

But I could fix this stupid obsession right quick. I’d just talk to her. The next time I went to Serendipity, I’d find out she was just another vapid, pretentious college brat, and put the fantasy to rest. Except I already knew she was smart. The pretension I couldn’t be sure about, but Cassie wasn’t likely to hire someone who was like that. Whatever. She was working tomorrow. I could suss her out better then.

That I knew her schedule should’ve been a tip-off that my plan was flawed. But denial was a funny thing. It allowed me to justify the images floating around in my head, not all of them lurid. They all contained Tenley, though. And if I was really honest with myself, which I rarely was, I didn’t want the illusion to break.

Because all of a sudden, my controlled, self-imposed exile didn’t seem all that appealing.

For the first time in years, I wanted . . . something. Anything. As long as it was real.

Turn the page for a sneak peek

at how it all began with Hayden and Tenley

Clipped Wings

Coming soon from Gallery Books

1

hayden

My head ached. A night of piss-poor sleep had turned the mildly irritating into infuriating. Between the droves of freshmen who had been passing through the shop recently and the naïve girl currently in my chair, I’d had it.

I rubbed my temple to ease the dull throb that had developed over the course of the day. Ten more minutes and I’d be done with the design if I could stay focused. I was having difficulty winning the battle, because I was preoccupied. Once I completed the unicorn tattoo, there were no more appointments scheduled and more than an hour before closing. If I was unlucky, I would get stuck with another college brat walk-in who wanted a cartoon character slapped on their skin.

The preferred option was to finish with my client so I could duck across the street to my aunt Cassie’s used bookstore and café. Coffee runs to Serendipity had become my new favorite pastime over the last four weeks, ever since Cassie hired the new girl. She was the reason I was so distractible. I hadn’t seen her lately even with my increase in caffeine consumption, and I was looking to rectify that, stat.

I swiped a damp cloth over the fresh ink. The girl in my chair had been relatively quiet since I started shading in the outline, which was fine. I wasn’t in the mood for idle chitchat. Instead I focused on the hum of the tattoo machines. The sound never bothered me. It soothed, like good music.

It was the superfluous stuff that irked: the inane chatter of teenagers, the nervous tapping of a shoe on the polished hardwood, and on the flat-screen, the loud drone of a newscaster as he spouted off the devastation of the day. The nasal timbre of his voice annoyed the hell out of me. Yet I couldn’t stop listening, drawn in by the desire to know that other people’s lives sucked more than mine.

“Can you turn that down?” I called to Lisa, our resident bookkeeper and piercer.

“Just a minute.” She waved me off but palmed the remote.

The other artists in the shop were also working fixedly on clients. I seemed to be the only one with attention issues. The bell over the door tinkled, saving me from further irritation. Lisa changed the station and heavy rock beats filled the air, the bass vibrating the floor. She turned the volume down to a reasonable level.

Pausing, I glanced over, praying it wasn’t another insipid college girl looking to flirt with deviance. The next client would be mine. Then I’d never get to Serendipity before it closed.

Any potential aggravation evaporated the moment I saw Cassie’s new employee. She clutched a pile of books to her chest like a shield, her long hair windblown around her face. Her eyes darted away when she caught me looking at her.

Her name was Tenley. I didn’t know this because we’d been formally introduced—even though I had spoken to her a few times—but because Cassie imparted the information upon my request. Cassie, fountain of information that she was, also informed me that Tenley came from Arden Hills, Minnesota, and was in a master’s program at Northwestern. She didn’t act like one of those typical Ivy League type snobs, though. She seemed pretty down to earth based on what little she’d said to me. Which, admittedly, wasn’t a whole hell of a lot.

The first time I saw her was almost a month ago. I went over to Serendipity to visit my aunt and buy coffee, which wasn’t unusual. However, the new addition to Cassie’s store was. She was tucked behind the counter with a textbook on deviant behaviors propped in front of her, so only her eyes showed. She was so immersed in what she was reading that she didn’t hear the door chime, signaling my entrance.

I scared her when I asked if Cassie was around as an excuse to get a closer look. Her textbook toppled over and her half-full coffee went down with it, dousing the page in beige liquid. When I offered to help clean it up, she stammered a bunch of nonsense and almost fell off the stool she was sitting on. She was gorgeous, even though her face had turned a vibrant shade of red. Cassie appeared from the back of the store to see what all the commotion was. That put an end to interaction number one.

The next couple of times I went in she was either holed up in the basement sorting through the endless boxes of acquisitions or hidden in the stacks shelving books. Cassie didn’t dissuade me when I went to the philosophy section to see if there was anything of interest there, besides this Tenley girl. I found her sitting cross-legged on the floor with a pile of books at her knee, arranging the volumes alphabetically before she shelved them. I was in love with her organizational skills already.

I made a point of clearing my throat to avoid surprising her this time. It didn’t help. She gasped, her hand fluttering to her throat as she looked up at me. She was stunning; her dark hair almost brushed the floor it was so long, her features were delicate, eyes gray-green, framed with thick lashes. Her nose was perfectly straight, her lips full and pink. It didn’t look like she was wearing makeup.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” I said, because it was true. I was also staring. “I’m Cassie’s nephew, Hayden.”

Her eyes moved from my feet up, pausing at the ink on my arms, taking it in before lifting higher. She unfolded her long, lean legs and used the shelf for support to pull herself up. She flinched as she did so, like she’d been sitting for a long time and had gotten stiff. She was far shorter than me, all soft curves and slight build.

“You own the tattoo shop across the street,” she replied.

“That’s right.” I nodded to the shelves. “I’m looking for The Birth of Tragedy.”

She gave me a curious look and trailed a finger along the spines as she scanned them. “I haven’t seen any Nietzsche lately, but if I find a copy I could bring it to you . . . to Inked Armor, I mean.”

I smiled, liking the idea of her in my shop. “Sure. You could stop by even if you don’t come across a copy.”

“Um . . . I don’t . . . maybe.” Her eyes dropped and she bent to pick up the remaining books on the floor. “I should put these away.” Her hair fanned out as she turned away. The scent of vanilla wafted out as she disappeared around the corner, reminding me of cupcakes. Interaction number two was moderately better than interaction number one. I was intrigued, which was unusual for me. Not a lot held my attention.

It was a while before I ran into Tenley again. This time, when I walked into the store, she heard the chime. She was sitting behind the register. There was a sketchbook flipped open in front of her. Beside her was a stack of books with a plate of cupcakes perched on top. In one hand she held a black Pitt pen. In the other was a cupcake. I had a penchant for that particular dessert item.

I caught her midbite; lips parted, teeth sinking into creamy icing. She let out a little moan of appreciation, a sound I might attribute to a particularly satisfying orgasm. At least that was what my imagination did with the noise. Her eyes, which had been closed in a familiar expression of bliss, popped open at the sound of the door. She hastily set the cupcake down, her hand coming up to shield her mouth as she chewed.

“Sounds like it’s good.”

I grinned as her face went a telling shade of red. Her throat bobbed with a nervous swallow, and she swiped her hand across her mouth, eyes on the counter. I glanced at the open sketchbook. A single feather, rendered in striking detail, covered the page. Fire licked up the side, consuming it, tendrils of smoke drifting up as it floated in the air.

“You’re an artist?”

She flipped the book shut, pulling it closer to her. “They’re just doodles.”

“Pretty detailed doodles if you ask me.”

She stored the sketchbook in a drawer under the counter. Her shoulders curled in and she peeked up at me, the hint of a smile appearing.

“Tenley, can I get a hand?” Cassie called from the back of the store.

“Coming!” Her eyes shifted away. “I still haven’t found your Nietzsche, but I’m keeping a lookout.”

“Thanks for thinking of me.”

“It’s nothing, really. Feel free to help yourself.” She motioned to the plate of cupcakes, then disappeared into the back of the store with a wave.

There was no way I would say no to cupcakes, so I took one and devoured the frosted dessert in three huge bites. It was incredible. I nabbed a Post-it, scribbled a note, and stuck it to the plate.

When it was obvious she wouldn’t be back anytime soon, I cut through Serendipity to get coffees from the adjoining café. I came through the store on my way out, but Cassie was at the desk instead of Tenley. I took another cupcake because they were that good.

That was five days ago; hence my impatience with the client under my needle. It looked like I didn’t need to worry anymore now that the distraction in question was standing in my shop looking anything but comfortable.

Her nervousness gave me ample opportunity to check her out again. She wore a long-sleeved black shirt and dark jeans. Lean lines gave way to the soft curve of her hips and slender legs, which stopped at a pair of ratty purple Chucks, like she couldn’t be bothered to care by the time she got to her shoes. As usual, she was untouched by artifice. I wanted to know if she was hiding anything noteworthy under her clothes. If the way she hovered near the door was any indication of her unease with the environment, she was probably an ink virgin.

“Tenley!” Lisa’s excited greeting captured her attention, giving her somewhere safe to look. “Did Cassie tell you I ordered in new jewelry?”

A genuine smile lit Tenley’s features as she approached the desk where Lisa sat. It bothered me that she could hardly look my way but she was all cheer and pleasantries with Lisa.

Ironically, every time Lisa went over to Serendipity to get coffees, Tenley always seemed to be available, based on Lisa’s recent reports. The two of them appeared to have struck up a friendship. It was easy to understand how that might happen.

Lisa’s cotton-candy pink hair and ’50s attire never failed to make an impression. She was like sunshine in human form, with a nose ring, a Monroe piercing, and a half-sleeve. June Cleaver fused with a Suicide Girl. Lisa tended to keep a tight circle, which meant it was difficult for her to escape some of the girls from her past. They weren’t the best influence. Most of them were still immersed in the world of drugs she’d managed to get free from. A new friend couldn’t hurt, and Tenley seemed normal enough, if a little edgy.

Tenley set the books on the counter, the spines facing me. It looked like she found my Nietzsche. I was in for some heavy reading.

“I’m just dropping these off for Hayden.”

Tenley didn’t look at me when she said my name. I wanted her to. Her sultry voice paired with her smokin’ body resulted in immediate discomfort below the waist. It was inconvenient, but unsurprising, considering how attractive I found her, not to mention captivating.

This wasn’t the first time she’d stopped by the shop. Cassie had sent her over a few days after the latte incident with a couple of books for me. Unfortunately, I’d been busy with a client in the private tattoo room, so I’d missed her. Now that she was here, in my space, I wanted to talk to her. Maybe get her to throw me one of those smiles she had for Lisa. That was probably asking a bit much, though; I didn’t exactly exude warmth.

“I’ll be done in five if you want to wait,” I told her, hoping she’d take the bait.

Tenley’s eyes settled on my arms, pausing at the exposed ink. She never made it above my mouth. Yup, I still made her nervous. She thumbed over her shoulder. “Cassie’s expecting me back.”

“I’m sure she can live without you for a few minutes.”

Tenley looked across the street. Through the windows I could see Cassie sitting behind the register, bent over what was likely end-of-day paperwork. As if to drive my point home, the neon Closed sign blinked on.

She turned back to Lisa. “I guess I could have a look at the jewelry.”

The answer might not have been directed at me, but I would take it. Lisa linked arms with Tenley and guided her to the piercing room before she could change her mind. I watched them disappear through the doorway and resumed my work.

After Tenley’s last visit I’d gone over to Serendipity to thank her, but she’d already left for the night. Cassie had promised to relay the message. She’d also told me when Tenley worked next. Not that she’d needed to. I’d memorized Tenley’s schedule. I couldn’t fathom Cassie setting the poor girl up with someone like me; I’d eat her for breakfast. At that, I imagined what she might look like naked, spread out on my kitchen table. I liked the idea.

Despite the distractions, I finally finished the design for the girl in my chair. It looked as good as it could for what it was. Once complete, I explained the aftercare process, strongly suggesting she stay out of tanning beds for the next few months. She hadn’t arrived at the artificial shade of Oompa Loompa orange by simply hanging out in Chicago in late September.

As we chatted, I confirmed my original hypothesis; she was a freshman at the University of Chicago, and it was her first time living away from home. She’d even managed to score a fake ID, which she proudly showed me, like she thought I’d be impressed. I didn’t bother to tell her she’d been ripped off, since the card looked like crap. She would find out when she tried to use it. For the past several weeks my client base had been primarily composed of varying versions of the same girl. It was becoming tedious.

College kids tended to be the most deviant at the beginning of the school year, when their freedom was freshest. Nothing screamed nonconformity more than a rose strategically placed on a tit. I rarely turned anyone away, but it crushed my artistic soul a little every time one of those kids picked a design off the wall and asked me to put it on their body.

Chris, one of my partners, managed to finish with his client before I did. He was already at the register checking out the schedule as I rang up my client and sent her on her way. I waited for the ribbing to start. If nothing else, Chris was predictable in his enjoyment of my irritation.

“That one seemed like a load of fun. She flip you her number?”

I didn’t respond. Her number was already in the system, and I would never use it for personal purposes. Beyond her unappealing fakeness, we had one rule in the shop that couldn’t be broken: Don’t fuck clients. Both Chris and I had learned the hard way why it was in poor taste, particularly when we got involved with the same client. Not at the same time, but still.

“We hitting the bar tonight? Or maybe The Dollhouse? I can’t remember the last time you came with me,” Chris said as he flipped the page in the appointment book to check tomorrow’s lineup.

“Depends. You and Lisa coming out?” I called to Jamie, the third partner in our trifecta. Jamie and Lisa had been together since we opened the shop. Where she went, he went.

“Maybe? Ask her when she’s done with Tenley,” Jamie responded as he worked on his client.

If Lisa was in, The Dollhouse wasn’t an option. Lisa wouldn’t be interested in watching strung-out, mostly naked women humping poles. Particularly since many of them were her former colleagues.

But I hated The Dollhouse for other reasons, not the least of which was the people Chris associated with. Damen, the guy we apprenticed under before we opened Inked Armor, hung out there on the regular.

He’d been a colossal prick back then, and nothing had changed since. Ever the entrepreneur, Damen ran a side business, dealing illegal substances. He took advantage of The Dollhouse’s close proximity to his tattoo shop to facilitate his second income. The real kicker was that the manager of The Dollhouse, Sienna, encouraged her dancers to indulge in whatever drugs he had available and happily took a cut of the profits. Aside from my disdain for their moral low ground, I had a long history with Sienna, and she liked to remind me of that every time I ran into her. I hadn’t seen her in more than a year, and I wanted to keep it that way.

“You all right, man?” Chris asked.

I shrugged him off. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just done with freshman season.”

The influx of college kids might have been part of the issue, but they certainly didn’t encompass the whole of my problem. Every time Chris suggested a trip to The Dollhouse, I declined. I didn’t feel like I owed him an explanation, but it was clear he wanted one. I had no desire to get into it, though, with him or anyone else. Further discussions about where to go were thwarted when the door to the piercing room opened and Lisa stepped out, Tenley following close behind.

“What’s the damage?” Chris asked as they approached the counter.

“I’d hardly call it damage.” Lisa stepped to the side, bringing Tenley into view.

Chris let out a low whistle. “Very sexy.”

I wanted to punch him. Which made no sense. Chris flirted with everything that had boobs. It didn’t mean a damn thing, but I still had the irrational urge to lay the beats on him. I slid between Chris and Tenley, cutting off his view to get one of my own. “Let’s have a look.”

Tenley appeared startled by my interest, so I gave her my best nonthreatening smile. She inhaled sharply as I put a finger under her chin. Sliding my thumb along the edge of her jaw, I turned her head to the side. It felt like there was a current buzzing just beneath the surface of her skin. An electric jolt zipped through my veins and headed south, ending right behind my fly. It took all my reserve to block out the barrage of perverse images invading my mind.

While reveling in the intensity of benign contact, I studied the contours of her face. The tiny diamond stud was artfully placed on the right side of her nose. Her full lips were slightly parted, eyes downcast, making her look particularly subdued. The rapid thud of her pulse told me otherwise.

I was being a dick. She was uncomfortable and I was the cause, but I didn’t want to stop touching her. It was fucking weird.

“She picked the one you liked,” Lisa said, elbowing me in the ribs.

It was a not-so-covert way of telling me to back off. I ignored her. I swept Tenley’s hair over her shoulder. It was as soft as her skin and silky as it slipped through my fingers. The kind of hair I’d like to bury my face in or wrap around my hand. I tucked it behind her ear, exposing a ladder of rings traveling the shell. A minor show of rebellion, which denoted a hidden predilection. Interesting. Maybe she was a closet deviant.

She met my curious stare with a timid one. The uncertainty there flared to life and she took a step back, severing our contact. A slight tremor passed through her. If I hadn’t been paying such close attention, I never would have caught it. Tenley brought her fingers to the place mine had been, confusion marring her otherwise flawless features. I’d made an impact. It made her all the more intriguing.

“I should probably get back.”

“Already?” That was a disappointment. I tapped the books sitting in a neat pile on the counter. “Tell Cassie I appreciate her letting you bring these by for me.”

I would personally thank Cassie the next time I saw her and dig for more information on this girl. There was something about her I liked, beyond the fact that she was gorgeous and clearly into steel.

“It’s not a problem.” Tenley edged toward the door and away from me. “What do I owe you?” she asked Lisa.

Before Lisa could reply, I cut in, “Don’t worry about it. This one’s on the house as long as you promise to come by again.”

Chris coughed.

“But it wasn’t just the—”

Lisa cut her off. “It’s cool. We can work it out next time. I’ll stop by Serendipity tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Tenley nodded, her face fiery as she looked anywhere but at me.

That sucked. Apparently I’d overstepped my boundaries more than usual. She said a hasty good-bye and rushed out of the shop, almost tripping on the curb when she crossed the street. We all stood there, staring at the door after she left. Well, I stood there staring at the door while everyone else stared at me.

Lisa was the first one to break the silence. She punched me in the shoulder.

“Ow. What was that for?”

“Are you serious? What the hell is wrong with you?”

I gave her my best bewildered look. I probably came off a little too . . . me. But Tenley was hot and I found her intriguing. Maybe it was because she seemed so damn uncomfortable around me and completely at ease with Chris and Lisa. Maybe it was the hint of rebellion hidden beneath that hair. I still planned to corner her again and attempt a real conversation. One that consisted of more than a couple of sentences.

“Dude. You have a problem.” Chris scoffed and hid a grin with his fist. I wanted to knock it off his face.

“What’s the deal?” I asked, looking back and forth between him and Lisa. I understood I might have breached the whole personal space continuum, but other than that I couldn’t see a horrific social faux pas.

Chris pointed at my crotch and snickered. I looked down. Huh. My brain wasn’t the only part of me that found Tenley enthralling. I seriously hoped she hadn’t noticed, because my shirt didn’t come close to camouflaging the issue.

“That’s just disturbing.” Lisa covered her eyes with her hands. “You need to get a handle on yourself.”

“It’s probably better if I wait until I get home.” The masturbation joke wasn’t appropriate, but I was deflecting.

Lisa ignored my attempt at juvenile humor. “She wants a tattoo, you know.”

“Oh? Where? What kind of design?” Chris was way too interested.

I pointed a finger right in his face. “You’re not touching her. So don’t even think about it.”

My territorialism was unwarranted. We took clients based on our skill sets. Chris specialized in lettering and tribal art, Jamie had a talent for portrait pieces, and I ran the gamut from dark and sinister to light and feminine. Whatever body art Tenley wanted could fit any one of our strengths.

“Have you seen the design?” I asked.

“No. But I almost convinced her to bring it by so you could have a look. Then you ruined it when you got all up in her space and tried to dry hump her.”

“I didn’t try to dry hump her.”

“You would have if there hadn’t been witnesses present.”

It was hard to argue, given my current issue. “I wasn’t intentionally a dick.”

“I’ll see Tenley tomorrow and do damage control. If I can get her to agree to bring the design over, you have to promise you’ll keep your hands to yourself.”

“You do realize that won’t be possible if I’m putting ink on her, right?”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

Lisa shook her head. “I don’t know why I even bother with you. It’s like herding a cat.”

I laughed. She wasn’t wrong. When it came to walking the line, I didn’t have much patience. People stuck to social codes because they worried about what other people might think. I didn’t give a shit. Mostly. There were a select few whose opinions impacted my decisions. Aunt Cassie’s was one, and Lisa’s was another. For that reason I would try to be on my best behavior where Tenley was concerned, but I couldn’t guarantee I’d be successful.

Coming soon by Helena Hunting

Clipped Wings

Inked Armor

FOLLOW HAYDEN AND TENLEY’S JOURNEY FROM THE BEGINNING

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ISBN 978-1-4767-6433-7

Table of Contents

Cover

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Tenley

Hayden

Teaser of “Clipped Wings”

Copyright

Table of Contents

Cover

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Tenley

Hayden

Teaser of “Clipped Wings”

Copyright