Текст книги "Inked Armour"

Автор книги: Helena Hunting

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33
TENLEY

Hayden looked up from his station when I entered the shop. “Give me a few. Nate and I are almost done.”

“As in done done?” I leaned over the counter where Lisa was, dropped my purse on the floor, and gave her a one-armed hug.

“You need to check it out,” Lisa said. “Cassie’s going to freak when she sees it.”

As I went to take a peek, Nate put up a hand to stop me, and Hayden batted it down. “I’m shading in her face, you stupid fuck—don’t move.”

“You’re not even working on this arm.”

“Doesn’t matter. You move one appendage, the rest of your upper body shifts.” Hayden’s eyes stayed on the design but he pointed right at me. “You. Stay where you are until I’m finished.”

I took a step back. “Sorry, cupcake.”

The tattoo machine lifted from Nate’s arm as Hayden raised his head to glare at me.

Chris, who had been working on a client of his own, stopped what he was doing. “Did I hear that right? Did Tee just call you ‘cupcake’?”

Lisa stifled a laugh. I went behind the counter and used her as a barricade.

“I thought we agreed you’d keep that to yourself,” Hayden said.

“It was a slip.” Sort of.

“You’d better watch it. No one’s going to be around later to save your ass.” He went back to tattooing Nate’s arm.

“Promises, promises.”

I could see him smiling even though his head was down. His hair had grown out some since the trial ended. It was almost in his face again, as it had been when I’d first met him. I liked it a little longer, so he hadn’t gotten it cut.

He took his time with the last few lines of ink. After he put the machine down, he spent longer than necessary checking it over. “All right. You’re good. I’ll want to have a look at it in a week or two in case it needs a touch-up, but we’re done for now.” Hayden’s satisfaction was evident.

Nate pushed up out of the chair. He was wearing a thin wife-beater; his button-down shirt and tie hung neatly on a hook by Hayden’s station. The first thing I noticed—but tried not to—was the outline of a steel ring at his left pec.

“Is that—”

“A nipple ring?” Lisa finished. “I did that for Cassie’s birthday a few years back.”

“Those two are kinda freaky, aren’t they?”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Her grin said it all.

I held up a hand to stop her. I had no desire to hypothesize about any other metal Nate might have. “And I’m good with that.”

Nate and Hayden had gone to the three-way mirror to check out the finished ink.

“When’s your next session?” Lisa pulled at the neck of my offthe-shoulder shirt, peeking down my back at the mostly finished design.

“I have no idea.”

I’d been in Hayden’s chair four times in the past eight weeks; two more sessions and I’d be done. He was taking his sweet time with the shading because it needed to be perfect, and he still didn’t want to work on me for longer than two hours.

I had a feeling he was prolonging it intentionally. It was the place Hayden felt most comfortable sharing what happened during his appointments with Beatrice, so I wasn’t in a rush to lose the time with him. With only two sessions left, I worried how we would achieve the same connection elsewhere.

Lisa clicked the mouse and pulled up Hayden’s schedule. “How’s next Friday night work for you? He’s got two hours blocked off at the end for no reason I can see.”

“That’ll be two weeks since the last session, which is perfect. He has no reason to say no.” Although he was pretty damn good at coming up with one if he wanted to.

Lisa slotted me in.

“All right, girls. Hayden gives the okay to look,” Nate called out.

He angled his arm to give us an unobstructed view of the art. The likeness to Cassie was remarkable. The pin-up version of her was both demure and sexy.

“It’s gorgeous. Cassie’s going to love it,” Lisa said.

Nate smirked. “I’m banking on that. It’s been a pain in the ass keeping it bandaged so she can’t see it. I woke up twice last week to her sneaking a look in the middle of the night.”

“What a shocker,” Hayden said drily. “Let’s cover that up. No friction for at least a few days, Nate. I don’t want to have a two-hour touch-up session.”

“I’ll tell Cassie to be gentle.”

“Dude, really? Don’t you have a censor?”

“Have you taken Tenley back to see the house yet, or are you just partial to the garage?” Nate needled him.

Hayden turned around, ready to fire off another dig. The color of my face was likely the reason he didn’t.

Nate dropped back into the chair. “By the way, if you were thinking to take Tenley there to see it, tonight or tomorrow would probably be good.”

Hayden raised a brow but didn’t look at Nate. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Nate nodded, watching Hayden smooth the cellophane over the tattoo and secure it with medical tape.

Obviously something was going on, but whatever it was, neither of them seemed inclined to talk about it while Lisa and I were hovering over them. I was glad Hayden and Nate had grown closer over the past months, but I didn’t like not being in the loop.

“So,” Nate said as he pushed his arm carefully through his sleeve, “when is Jamie starting your pin-up?”

“Uh . . . I, uh—we haven’t talked about it—” Hayden stammered.

Lisa coughed to cover an expletive.

“Pin-up?” I asked.

“Oh, shit,” Nate said quietly.

“Would someone care to share?” I crossed my arms over my chest and waited.

Lisa was the one who answered. “Hayden’s been toying with the idea of getting another tattoo for a while. He has a design in mind, but he and Jamie are still working on placement, so nothing’s come of it yet.”

“Why haven’t I seen it?” I asked.

This was the second time I felt that I was missing something since I’d come into the shop. Even Lisa knew about the prospective tattoo.

Hayden rocked back on his heels. “I wanted it to be perfect before I showed it to you.”

“Is it perfect now?”

“Not quite, but I have a copy in my filing cabinet at home. You can have a look later.”

“Sure.” I backed off, aware there was more to this with the way Lisa was twirling the end of her hair and Nate was overly interested in his tie.

Nate tried to pay Hayden, but he refused to take the money. It was after nine by the time Hayden finished cleaning up his station. His first client the next day required one of the private rooms, so he took me with him to set up. I sat down in the tattoo chair and played with the recline lever while Hayden gathered ink and the various implements required for the session.

“So, I was thinking.” He dropped down on the stool beside me. “Maybe you want to go look at the house tonight?”

“So I can see the inside this time?” Cassie hadn’t stopped with the little barbs about that.

“That’s what I had planned.”

“I’d like that.”

“Though if you want to spend a little extra time in the garage, I wouldn’t be opposed.” He rubbed at his bottom lip, trying to hide his smile.

“Of course you wouldn’t.” I grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him closer, and nipped at his lip. “I know you’re keeping something from me.”

He swung one leg over and straddled the chair, facing me. “You are far too clever for your own good. Haven’t you ever heard of a surprise?”

“I don’t like that everyone is in on it but me. I’m supposed to be your person.”

“You are my person.”

He sat down on my thighs, bracing his weight on the backrest. His head dipped down, his teeth skimmed my collarbone. I felt his erection against my stomach. I couldn’t do anything but squirm since he was sitting on my legs.

“Have you ever fucked in here?” I used the profanity on purpose. I’d discovered it turned Hayden on because I used it so rarely.

“No.” He shifted, nudging my legs apart with his knee.

“No?” Every time I was in his chair, I wanted to take off all my clothes and get him inside me.

He shook his head while he settled between my thighs.

“Would you fuck me here?”

He stopped with the kissing and lifted his head to look me straight in the eye. “I don’t fuck you, Tenley. I have sex with you. Sometimes I even make love to you, but we don’t fuck.”

I stared at him in open disbelief. That was completely untrue. On many occasions sheer need had superseded either of our attempts for sweet and gentle. And that didn’t bother me in the slightest.

I was about to call him out on it, but pointing out that he could love me and fuck me at the same time wouldn’t help my current plan. I was horny. He’d been so tired the last couple of nights, he’d passed out on the couch as soon as he got home from work. And my courses and my thesis were demanding a lot of my attention. We hadn’t had sex in days.

“Fine. Will you have sex with me here?”

“Right now?” his voice cracked.

“We could lock the door.”

“No.” His grip on the backrest tightened. “Not with Chris and Jamie and Lisa in the next room.”

“If we were all alone, would you then?” I ran my hands down his back and slid them under the waist of his jeans. He was commando.

His forehead dropped against my shoulder. “Fuck, Tenley. Why are you pulling this shit now?” His voice was muffled by my hair.

“Because you’re awake and coherent and not at risk of falling asleep on me. It’s been days. I miss you.”

He lifted his head and frowned. “How long?”

“Too long,” I said, working to control my frustration. My nails dug into his ass and his muscles flexed under my fingers. I missed more than just the sex, though. I missed the feel of his body, the way he enveloped me, consumed me. I missed the connection we shared when he was inside me, both physically and emotionally. I craved it. Needed it.

I could see him backtracking through time in his head, trying to remember the last time we had sex. His expression changed from doubtful to penitent. “Let me show you the house first; then I’ll make up for neglecting you.”

With a wicked grin, he unhooked my legs from his waist and pushed out of the chair. Holding out a hand, he helped me up and pulled me close. “Just so you know, I’ve wanted to do you in that chair ever since I put the cupcake on you. So be prepared for me to follow through on that as soon as I have the chance.”

When we arrived at the house, several sets of tire tracks were in the snow on the driveway. “It looks like someone’s been here recently,” I observed.

“We decided to start renovations early.”

He hit a button on the windshield visor and the garage door trundled open. Hayden parked inside and we got out of the car.

“It’s warm in here,” I said.

“The floors are heated. I didn’t know that last time.”

He flashed a sheepish grin and crossed over to a set of stairs leading to a door. He grabbed my hand and led me into the house, flicking on lights as we walked down a short, recently painted hall. More lights came on when we reached another doorway. This one opened into an expanse of open space.

I surveyed the state-of-the-art kitchen. “I thought you said this place needed to be renovated.”

“It did.”

“How much work did it need?” I kicked off my shoes so I wouldn’t scuff the hardwood.

“Enough.”

I glanced at him. He was chewing on his lip, even though the viper bites were gone. He only did that when he was anxious or interested in sex.

“Come on”—he pulled me forward—“there’s more to see.”

I bit my tongue against the other questions I wanted to ask; such as, why was this the first I’d heard about the “early start” to the project? The main floor was open concept with nine-foot ceilings, painted in neutral tones. A formal dining space was carved out beyond the kitchen, with an ornate chandelier. The living room was massive, with clean lines and pale walls. It reminded me of Hayden’s condo, except three times the size, with architectural embellishments.

When we finished the tour of the main floor, Hayden took me upstairs. There were four bedrooms. He saved the master for last: vaulted ceilings, huge floor-to-ceiling windows, and even a reading nook.

“This is incredible.” I walked around the perimeter. Like every other room, the walls were neutral. These were a soft, pale gray.

“When did you start all this?”

“Mid-January.”

I spun around. “You’ve been keeping this from me for two months?”

“Nate suggested we get started on the interior, so all that would be left in the spring was landscaping and exterior painting. I needed a distraction from the trial. And I wanted to surprise you.”

“Why?”

“I funded all of the renovations. I want to buy Nate out.”

“I thought you were going to flip it.”

He was so nervous; his eyes kept darting away. “That was the original plan.”

“Why did the plan change?”

“You don’t like the house?” He looked almost hurt. I was getting more confused by the minute.

“Of course I like it. It’s beautiful. I just don’t understand when you changed your mind, and why I’m only hearing about it now.”

He looked up at the beautiful ceiling medallion. “I like the layout of the house, and this room. It’s a lot of space for one person, though.” He pushed away from the door and took a couple of steps toward me. “It’s a little closer to Northwestern, too.”

My heart did a little leap. “That’s true.”

“The house should be ready within the next few weeks.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “It might not feel like too much space if there were two people living here. And TK, of course.”

“Are you asking me to move in with you?” I was almost positive I had to be misunderstanding him.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Is it too soon to be asking?”

“I don’t know if I can be as tidy as you.”

He smiled. “I wouldn’t expect you to be.”

“I’d try, though,” I said, unable to contain my excitement.

“This house is huge. You can have a room where you leave shit lying all over the place, if you want.” He hooked a finger in my belt loop and pulled me closer.

“Don’t promise something like that if you can’t follow through,” I teased.

“You can keep the door closed. I’ll never see it.”

“That might work.” I laughed and looked around the bedroom, imagining it as ours. The magnitude of what he’d done started to sink in. All the late nights and the passing out on the couch had been because of this. He’d been doing this for us.

His arm wound around my waist. “So you’ll move in here with me?”

“I pretty much live with you already.”

“But you still have the apartment.”

“I haven’t slept there in months.” I rose up on my toes to kiss him. “I’ll give Cassie my notice tomorrow.”

34
HAYDEN

I hung my keys beside Tenley’s in the new house and headed for the kitchen. If I was lucky she would be pulling her domestic routine, outfitted in one of her aprons and little else. It was sexy as fuck. Much to my disappointment, she was nowhere to be found.

“Tenley?”

I dropped the bag on the counter and unloaded the groceries. I called a second time but she still didn’t answer. I rearranged all the misplaced items in the fridge and the cupboards, looking over my shoulder every so often to make sure I didn’t get caught. I was working on my organization problem, but I was under no illusion I’d ever be cured of it. So long as it didn’t impede my ability to function or get inside Tenley, I figured it was okay.

I searched the rest of the main floor and came up empty. Halfway up the stairs, I caught the sound of her voice. She was singing. She had to be unpacking.

I found her in the spare bedroom she’d claimed as her office. The den of disorganization. She was wearing earphones and had on ’80s music-video attire: short shorts and leg warmers. Her shirt, which was virtually transparent, hung off one shoulder. She wasn’t wearing a bra. The white, gauzy fabric gave me a hazy view of her entire tattoo. If I looked hard enough, I could make out the six-inch block in the middle of the right wing that hadn’t been shaded yet.

Our last session was scheduled for later this evening. I’d pushed it back twice now. We’d moved into the new house. Everything but this room was organized. Tenley had a handle on her studies. I had no more valid excuses. Tenley’s patience with me was running out. I was stalling for no reason other than I didn’t want to be done. But I was still going to try to put it off again.

Tenley shook her ass as she shelved books, arranging them with no plan I could see. But then, she subscribed to the Dewey decimal system rather than the Hayden Stryker System of organizing books. I leaned against the doorjamb and watched. It was pretty damn entertaining, even though I wanted to get in there and move everything around. There were no straight lines, no continuity. It was mayhem. Or maybe I was being a little overdramatic. It happened occasionally.

When the box was empty, she broke it down and tossed it in the pile of discarded cardboard. The view as she bent over was stellar. I had the better part of an hour before I had to be at work; that was plenty of time to get into those shorts of hers.

Tenley turned around with a gasp, yanking out one of the earbuds. “You scared me!”

“Sorry.” Not even a little bit.

Her hands went to her hips. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.” I rubbed my mouth to hide my smile. “I like your rendition of that song way better than the original.”

“Ha-ha. You’re such a comedian.” Her cheeks were pink.

“I’m serious.” Her voice wasn’t half-bad and she knew it. She was always singing along in the car.

She ignored the comment and turned back to the pile of boxes. “What time is it?”

“It’s just after eleven.”

“What? I didn’t realize I’d been at this so long. I need to change.” She abandoned the box and tried to get past me.

I snaked an arm around her waist to stop her. “Where do you need to be?” Nothing was on the calendar, and she didn’t teach or have classes today.

“I have a meeting with my group. We scheduled it yesterday. I forgot to tell you last night.”

Last night I’d been snooping around in some of her boxes. I found her porn stash. It was eye-opening; a lot of the stuff in there I hadn’t expected. After she got over her unnecessary embarrassment, I kept her pretty well occupied. I could see how she might have forgotten to tell me about the meeting.

“With the Nerd Herd?”

“Don’t call them that,” she said, smiling.

“What time do you have to leave?”

“I don’t. They’re coming here.”

“Here? To our place?” She tried to worm her way out of my grip, but I wouldn’t let her get away.

“I thought that would be okay. It’s more convenient than meeting on campus.”

“But I have to go to Inked Armor.” During the last group project, that Ian fucker weaseled his way back into her group. The rest of those guys were harmless nerds, but Ian thought he was slick. He was always trying to buddy up to me, telling me what a great girl Tenley was. As if I didn’t already fucking know.

She frowned. “We don’t need a chaperone. We’re working on a project, not throwing a keg party.”

“I know that.”

She sighed. “They’re supposed to be here in half an hour. Do I need to call Patrick and ask if we can go to his place?”

“That’s not necessary. Is that dickwad Ian still in your group?”

Tenley’s brow lifted. “He’s not interested in me.”

“Yes. He is.”

“He knows I live with you.”

“That just makes you more of a challenge.”

“He’s got a girlfriend.”

“Only because you’re not available.”

She rolled her eyes and pushed on my chest. “He’s not in our group anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Why didn’t you say that in the first place?”

“Because you’re impossible. Let me go. I need to shower before they get here.”

I let her go. But I caught her when she was getting out of the shower and took advantage of her nakedness. She was still getting dressed when her group arrived, so I greeted them. Just as I’d planned. There was a new girl in place of Ian. She seemed a little nervous, but I was happy to see another female in the group. I set them up in the living room and even brought them drinks like a good host. When Tenley came downstairs, she was wearing her STRYKER hoodie and a pair of jeans.

“I gotta run.” I pulled her in for a kiss. She kept her lips together, even when I stroked the seam with my tongue.

She disengaged, her flush showing her embarrassment. “I’ll be at the shop around seven.”

Shit. I’d meant to broach the subject earlier, before I delayed Tenley with the postshower sex.

I glanced at the Nerd Herd plus New Girl. It might work to my advantage to have them here. Tenley wasn’t as likely to get upset with me in front of other people. “About that—”

She gave her head a vehement shake. “Oh, no. Nope. No way.”

Or maybe she wouldn’t care if she had company. “But I—”

“I’ll be right back, make yourselves comfortable.” She flashed her group a forced smile and grabbed my hand, hauling me out of the room. She stopped once we were in the kitchen, where we’d be out of earshot and their line of view.

“You’ve already rescheduled me twice; you’re not doing it again.”

“But I have this client who needs—”

“You have lots of clients who need things from you, and I’m one of them. I’ve waited long enough. I want this piece finished, Hayden.”

“I get that. It’s just . . .” I had no justifiable reason for holding off.

“First you get all territorial about my group coming over, and now you want to cancel my session again. What’s this really about?” She cocked her head and waited.

I clearly wasn’t getting out of an explanation. I stared at the floor and nudged her toe with mine. “I don’t want this to be the last session.”

Tenley’s arms went around my neck and her cheek rested against my chest. “Finishing the tattoo doesn’t mean it’s the last time I’ll be in your chair.”

“I know.”

Rationally speaking, I understood that. But finishing a tattoo this extensive brought with it a whole barrage of emotions. Not just for Tenley, but for me as well. That was the part I struggled with most because I’d never felt this way about anyone else before. I’d experienced the post-ink high and the comedown many times. Sometimes the positives outweighed the negatives. Not always, though. That was part of the reason I kept postponing—unsure not only of how Tenley would handle the last session, but how I would.

“Then why keep putting me off?”

“I just want this to be good for you.”

“It will be.” She sounded so certain.

There was no backing out now. Before the day was over, Tenley’s tattoo would be complete.

I had a full lineup of clients scheduled for the day. The guy before Tenley showed up late and needed more breaks than I’d anticipated, which meant Tenley had to wait. She didn’t look happy about it, likely worried I would use it as another reason to postpone the final session.

She and Lisa went over to Serendipity to visit with Cassie and grab coffees. Tenley hadn’t resumed her shifts there after she came back from Arden Hills since she didn’t need the money. The job had been a way to fill her time. It had become unnecessary because she wasn’t running from her pain anymore.

It was after eight by the time I finished with my client. Lisa, Jamie, and Chris were all leaving, so Tenley and I would have the shop to ourselves. The session would only last a couple of hours if I took my time and dragged it out, which I planned to do.

Even though we were alone, I locked us in the private room and busied myself with checking the tray of supplies. It was redundant. I’d prepared everything early in the afternoon to get into the right frame of mind.

Things had been so good between us recently. Aside from my display of overt possessiveness this morning, there hadn’t been any drama. I wasn’t losing my shit over towels that weren’t perfectly lined up. She was managing school well; her new adviser was much easier to work with. Calder had lost his tenure when the video was “accidentally” leaked online and then intentionally sent to the dean. I didn’t want anything to mess up the balance we’d finally established.

I’d mulled over my reaction this morning, trying to figure out what my problem was, beyond the obvious. I still hadn’t come up with anything completely rational.

Tenley sat down in the chair, fully dressed. Usually she got mostly naked as soon as I locked the door.

“You’re going to have to take that off if I’m going to get started.” I motioned to the hoodie.

“I have a question first.”

“Fire away.” I started assembling the tattoo machine.

“Why are you so worried about this being the last session?”

“We talked about this earlier.” I almost fumbled with the needle, giving away my nerves. Tenley was perceptive. I couldn’t hide much from her.

She pulled her hoodie over her head, a well-orchestrated move to assure me that if I answered her question truthfully, more clothes would come off. She was wearing a T-shirt underneath that conformed to her curves. “Tell me again. And I already know you like having me in your chair. That’s a given.”

“Technically, I’ve never had you in my chair, but I suppose we could rectify that. . . .” I put down the machine and stripped off my gloves. I was in full avoidance mode.

“You’ve used sex as a distraction once today. You don’t get to do it again.”

“I thought there was a twice-a-day limit.” I leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her head to the side. I bit her neck instead.

“Answer the question.” She sounded just the tiniest bit breathy.

“I already did.” I sucked on the skin. She tasted good, as usual.

“You can’t regurgitate the same response from this morning. After what you pulled, do you think I’m going to fall for it? Give me some credit.”

I hadn’t expected the diversionary tactic to work, but at least I’d tried. I sat back down in my chair and rolled in close. I couldn’t start the session with this tension between us. It wasn’t fair to Tenley.

“I’m nervous.”

“About how I’m going to react to finishing the tattoo? I’m ready for this.”

She hadn’t been visibly upset after a session in a long time. In fact, there’d been a peacefulness about her that I envied as we got closer to the end. I was the one who was having a hard time with it. I traced the veins in the back of her hand with my finger, needing somewhere to focus.

“It’s not so much about you as it is about me.” After a long pause I looked up, meeting her questioning gaze. “I don’t want to lose this.”

“This? Do you mean what we have when we’re here?” She flipped her hand over and laced our fingers together.

“It’s stupid. I’m being an idiot.”

“No, you’re not.” She kissed the back of my hand. “We probably should have talked about this before now. The only reason I’ve let you postpone this session twice already is because I like how connected I feel to you when we’re in here.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised she was on to me, or that we shared the same fears. “I’m sorry I kept putting you off.”

“I figured you had your reasons.” She shifted and I parted my legs so hers could fit between them. The fingers that weren’t already twined with mine pushed through my hair. Her palm came to rest on the back of my neck. “This tattoo isn’t a representation of loss anymore, Hayden. It started out that way, but time has changed that. You’ve changed that. This isn’t an ending. It’s like closing the circle, bringing us back where we started.”

“I’m just worried that finishing the tattoo will mean you’re finished with me.”

She stroked my cheek with her thumb. “That’s not going to happen. You’re far too important for me to walk away from, Hayden.”

I caught her hand and brought it to my lips. Even though they were just words, it was the reassurance I needed. “I love you.”

“I know. I love you, too. Now let’s finish what we started.” She leaned back and waited.

I wanted to prolong every part of this process, knowing this first for her, and me, wasn’t one we could re-create.

I took my time removing her shirt, skimming the delicate cage of ribs. The red bra with black polka dots and the lacy ruffle at the top came into view. I could guarantee she had on the matching panties. She was the life-size version of the outline Jamie had put on my forearm a week ago.

I didn’t trust myself to undress her any further without taking things too far, so I snapped on a pair of gloves while she unclasped her bra. She was wearing the cupcake nipple shields again. She smiled innocently, waiting for me to stop staring at her breasts and get with the program.

“You need to turn around, kitten,” I said to her chest. “Please.” Sessions with Tenley had become like foreplay and were almost as intimate. With the two-hour limit she wasn’t put out of commission, and the connection carried over into the bedroom later. The sex was always mind-blowing. Another reason I’d wanted to postpone the final session.

She turned around and straddled the chair, allowing my brain to function again.

The area I was working on tonight was small, only about six inches high by eight inches wide. “Ready?”

“For you? Always.” Tenley’s coy grin alleviated some of the tension.

I started with the golds and silvers, then moved on to the reds and blues in the flames licking up the underside of the wings. I choose this section because it represented the light and dark equally. For me, she would always be the light in my darkness.

Tenley’s hand rested on my knee as I shaded in the wing. She didn’t complain when I went over her ribs or hit spots that were inevitably tender. She’d been like that for almost every session. Even when I went over the scarred parts, the only sound she would make was one of relief when the needle lifted from her skin and I wiped away the residual ink. The sole sign that she was in pain came from the tension in her body.

Our conversation was light, nothing like that of some of the earlier sessions, which had been full of difficult revelations.

This one was over too quickly.

When I finished, I looked over the entire piece, searching for spots that needed touching up. There weren’t any. I’d been meticulous. I turned off the tattoo machine and set it down. Then I wiped the ink with a fresh cloth, admiring the completed piece for the first time.

“It’s done.”

Her smile was full of warm satisfaction. “I want to see.”

I helped her out of the chair and led her to the three-way mirror, angling it so she didn’t have to crane her neck. The reds and blues and smoky shades of purple at the base of the wings presented a striking contrast against the ethereal golds and silver at her shoulders. I doubted I would ever put anything so darkly beautiful on another person.

Her fingers trailed along the tip of the wing. She looked like an angel on fire.