CHAPTER 4

TANNER

I head to the shop after running some errands, hitting the private bathroom in the back for employees after I tell everyone hi. Penelope has me all kinds of worked up and I can’t get the sweet scent that she wore out of my nose as I rip the button of my jeans open.

Damn it. I look back to assure myself that the door is locked before I take my hard, painful cock into my hands. The second I saw Penelope, I got hard. I want to send my dad and the head guy out of the room and nail her right there on the desk. Her ass is juicy and tits just the way that I like them. I could see some innocence in her big green eyes but the part of me that is hot right now wants to change that.

I want to make her scream my name, begging for more. I saw the look in them as I damn near pressed her against the wall in the office, wide and hungry. Her style is business conservative but I imagine her wearing a black lace bra and panties underneath, at least until I rip them off.

My hand moves hard and fast with the images and I close my eyes as I lean my head back. I just fucked a girl two nights ago after giving her some ink. I should be fine for a little while but no… I’m hard as fucking steel and need to come before I think about anything else today. I shoot down to the floor, not caring about clean up right now.

“Fuck me,” I hiss as I jerk forward with the movement, surprising myself with the force of the release. I glance down as there’s a tap at the door, wincing as Trinity calls my name.

“Tan? You in there?” she calls as I reach for tissue to clean off my cock, breathing in at the sensitivity of it. That is new with jerking off.

“Yeah. I’ll be right out.” I clean the floor and toilet seat, checking it again before I wash my hands. I’m not an asshole.

I leave the bathroom and go to the front where my head artist is at the desk, looking over appointments for the day. “What’s up?”

“Do you think we can get a sandwich at the deli before we have our meeting? I got up late and I’m starving!” Trinity looks at me with pleading brown eyes as she tosses her pink-this-week hair over her shoulder and I let out a drawn-out sigh.

“Fine. If we must.” She knows how much I love the place and it’s not an issue. Hell, she is my best artist and I’d buy her lunch. It is a write-off for me. She gave me a sweet, fake smile.

“Thank you, boss.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I murmur as I lean over to take a look at the day’s schedule. “Pretty full.”

“Mollie’s coming in to finish her back tattoo tonight, though. I think this is it.” Trinity beams and I smile at her. It is probably some of the best work in Trinity’s career and I look forward to seeing the finished product.

Mollie is hot too, so seeing her wouldn’t be a hardship. She flirts with me every time she comes in but I haven’t tapped that. I was dating a girl for a few months up until two weeks ago when I decided to end things. I didn’t feel too much for her to begin with and being more than casual was all her idea.

“I can’t wait to see it, Trinity. That’s a great angel, and that’s not normally my thing.”

I did the most portrait tattoos in the shop, which were a hot item. I glance at the clock, knowing the shop opens in a little while before reaching for the keys.

“Let’s get some food and then we can take care of the meeting stuff before we open shop for the day.” Even if we ran a little over, she has some wiggle room with time since her first client isn’t going to be in for an hour after we unlock the door.

I am glad that we leave a little after twelve-thirty because there are a few empty tables in the restaurant. “Grab a table. I’ll get your usual.”

Trinity kisses my cheek before walking to a corner table as I shake my head. We’d grown up here together in the city. Our dads were friends back in the day so we were kind of stuck with it and luckily, we get along fine. I walk to the counter and order as a formality since they already know what we like, adding a couple of beers. I’ll need every bottle the restaurant has to get the pretty blonde from earlier out of my head. I turn to take the bottles to the table, earning a grin from Trinity before I go to get the order a minute later.

We discuss shop business over lunch, dragging it out a bit as I sip the beer. I can’t get buzzed since I have a few scattered appointments today, but it tastes fucking good after my morning. It’s thinning out a bit inside when I hear the chime, feeling something new in the room. I glance around, looking right at the door to see a familiar pair walking into the deli.

I narrow my eyes as Marshall leads Penelope to the counter with his hand on the small of her back, both laughing.

“What’s wrong with you?” Trinity asks me before she follows my gaze. “Do you know them?”

I hear the laughter in her tone since Penelope isn’t my type but my focus is on the way he leans close to her. Maybe Penelope isn’t a good girl and she’s fucking her boss. Maybe he just wants her too.

“Tanner?”

“What?” I snap at her as she raises a perfect eyebrow at me. “Who’s the blonde?”

“Tanner?” Marshall calls out as Trinity swings her head over to look. “Is that you?”

“Marshall,” I say dryly as I look at him, carrying a tray with sandwiches and sodas. “Fancy meeting you here.” I know he’s doing the ad so I’m not a total dick but my eyes rest on Penelope as she blushes and tries to hide behind him.

“It is the best. Come on, Penelope.” He moves to the table next to us and she slips into the seat as Trinity tilts her head at them. Penelope glances at me and then Trinity as I watch distress cross her face, making me wonder if she’s jealous. The idea makes me grin and I feel Trinity’s hand on my arm before I stare at her.

“What are you doing?” I hiss at her as she smiles.

“Who’s the girl, Tan?” Trinity asks in a low voice as her eyes light up at me, knowing that Penelope is seeing everything.

“I’ll tell you later.” I drink some more beer, draining it as Trinity smirks at me. Her hand is still on my arm and I know that she’s doing it to make Penelope jealous. It’s what we do for each other all the time but today, it feels wrong. I pull my arm down and rest it on my leg, glancing over to see Penelope staring at me with a mix of heat and something else in her eyes. Is it insecurity? Did Trinity do too good of a job?