“What are you doing?” I ask when she answers the phone. Her voice is breathy like she’s been running. Maybe, she is as frustrated as I’m since our impromptu dinner and she was getting herself off.

“I took Rainbow out for a walk, and I’m going to sit back at my desk to stare at a blinking cursor again.”

“Still having writer's block, huh?”

“Yes. I want to write, but everything I write ends up getting deleted. I’m just not feeling it, and I can’t force it, because if I do my readers will be able to tell.” She sighs heavily.

“Well, if you want you can come over to the shop and man the desk this afternoon. I’ve got back to back clients lined up, so having someone to take care of the phone and checking people in would help things run faster.”

“You don’t have a receptionist?”

“I’m a one-man operation right now. I need to hire another artist and a receptionist, but I’ve been putting it off.”

“So, you’re trying to get free labor out of me then.” She laughs at her joke, and it makes me smile.

“Yeah, kind of. But you can bring your laptop and write while you do it. Maybe being surrounded by creativity and people will help. No place better to do that than a tattoo shop.” I don’t know how inspiration works for her. There are many straws, and I’m grasping at one. Mainly, I want to see where she is with everything we talked about and if she is ready to move forward. My dick is beyond ready.

“Ok, I’ll bring lunch with me. What do you like to eat besides Chinese food?”

I close my eyes and stare at the ceiling, what a freaking loaded question. ‘Pussy. Your pussy.’ That’s what I want to answer, but I don’t want to put her on edge—that came later. “I’m not picky.”

“Ok, I’ll grab something and head on over. Thanks, Sebastian.” Her voice is soft and sweet. Too sweet. I wonder if she is ready for her own plan. Will she be able to “date” me and walk away when it is all over? I have my doubts, and for some reason, the thought doesn’t bother me. Jaci said I’m dangerous, but she has no clue what she is capable of.

The answering machine has three messages when I walk into the shop. I hit play to listen while I’m looking over the day’s schedule.

“Hi, Sebastian.” I stop because it is Jaci’s voice, only the tone is different than hers. “This is Kaiya, Jaci’s sister. I want to thank you for following through on the date after you found out you’d been set up. Nadine told me you weren’t happy. Jaci wasn’t either at first, but whatever you did on that date.” She pauses and clears her throat. I heard a sniff in the background and a deep breath drawn in like she is gathering her composure. “Sorry,” Her voice is thick, and I can easily tell she is crying. “I’m not normally like this.” She laughs self-deprecatingly. They have that in common. “I don’t know how you got her to go para—” The message cut off and went to the next one.

“Me again. Anyway, I’m not sure how you got Jaci to go parasailing, but whatever you said to Jaci has made a difference. She’s left the house without Rainbow twice now, and she hasn’t had a panic attack since Saturday. It’s almost like I’ve got my old sister back. Thank you, Sebastian. For whatever you did or said. Thank you.” She hangs up the phone, and it goes onto the next message, which I’ll have to listen to later because I’m stuck on what Kaiya’s message reveals about Jaci.

Panic attacks, leaving the house without her dog. I knew she was scared, but I didn’t realize how much. If it’s as bad as Kaiya says, it’s a wonder she ever got on that boat with Drake and me. Let alone let me touch her. Now, she is asking me to teach her about intimacy. None of it makes sense. I didn’t do anything special to warrant her trust, not yet at least.

I was sitting at my art table, the radio on and Simple Man pouring through the speakers. My thoughts are on Jaci, and I absentmindedly start drawing with her in mind.

The bell above the door chimes and pulls me out of my work, where I’ve drawn a double-headed rose. Flowers aren't typically my thing unless the client wants it. Kaiya’s message and how Jaci talks about her left that image in my head.

“Hi, how can I help you?” I get up from my table and go to the front desk. A pretty young Asian woman is staring at me. The mornings are typically slow. I get busy after lunch and in the evenings. I may close the doors at eleven most nights, but I don’t typically leave until one or two in the morning.

“Hi,” She gives me a flirtatious smile that I’m not even tempted to return. “I want to get a tattoo.”

“Alright. Any idea of what you want?”

“I was thinking Jessica Rabbit on my thigh. Something sexy.” She giggles and shrugs her shoulders causing her boobs to sway. “Maybe she wears leather and has a whip or flogger that the tail coils around my leg?”

I clench my teeth because last week I’d have booked her an appointment. Probably the last one of the nights tatted her, fucked her, and sent her home. Now, I just want her gone. Jaci is on her way, and I don’t want to deal with this girl and her wish for a tattoo she’d hate in five years.

“You’re sure about this tattoo? That’s what you want?”

“Yes. I love Jessica Rabbit; she’s so sexy and hot. Don’t you think?”

“She’s a cartoon character, and it’s not what I want that matters. It’s what you will be living with after you’re inked, hun.” I grab my calendar and look for an opening. “I’m going to schedule you a few days from now for a consult. Will Monday at this time work for you?” I really didn’t want to do this fucking tattoo. Hopefully, a few days will give her cold feet, and she’d rethink this tattoo.

“That’s fine.”

“Good. I’ll have something sketched out, and we can see if you want to make changes then.” I take her name, information, and pencil her into the calendar.

“Great. Thank you.” She gives me a heated look and a sexy smile. Her eyes all but beg me to fuck her. I’m not interested. My dick doesn’t even twitch.

“Was there anything else you needed?”

Too easy. Too eager. Not Jaci.

Fuck. A week ago, I would’ve been all over this chick. It wasn’t just Jaci’s rule that was holding me back. It was just Jaci. I want her, and this girl would be a poor substitute.

“No. Guess not.” She seems disappointed and leaves stomping her way out the door. Rejection is probably something she isn’t used to getting. She’d been hot. I would have to be dead not to notice that. Her body is athletic and generously curved in all the right places. I let out a breath and mutter to myself, ‘Jessica Rabbit in leather with a whip.’ Domme Jessica Rabbit ever since that damn book about the billionaire dom came out. Everyone seems to want to be in that lifestyle or appear to be.

It isn’t anything I want to be a part of. I like my woman to give as much as she gets in the bedroom. We will be equals, giving and taking in equal amounts. Being honest about what we want and need from each other. The rules I had Jaci come up are more for her peace of mind than anything.

I don’t want her ruling out pain because she may be into having her hair pulled and ass spanked as I take her from behind, or having her nipples pinched. I wouldn’t mind things like that, but I also don’t care if her nails are digging into my ass as she’s holding onto me. Or her teeth biting down on my shoulder to keep from crying out. That kind of pain is part of hot, dirty sex, and I don’t want her to miss out on it because of fear. So, I gave her rules to help her deal with it and a demonstration that had my balls aching even now.

I go back to my table and look at the double-headed rose again. It is something out of a fairytale, and it is double like her, a twin. I’m sure that will be something she’d love, but she is more than just half of a whole. Sometimes I think she loses sight of that.

The bell overhead chimes again and I turn to see another customer coming in. The guy wants gages to put in his ears. It is an easy task, so I gave him the piercings he wants and was sending him on his way with instructions for care when Jaci walks in.

She is wearing a pair of jeans that are old and worn. She has chucks on her feet and a black shirt that says, ‘Write like you mean it.’

“Nice shirt,” I say, nodding towards her. She grins at me, and that damn dimple shows up.

“Thanks. I have a whole collection of them.”

“You do?”

“Yep. One says, ‘Be careful what you do or say an author is watching.’ That’s my favorite.”

I chuckle, this feels more like Jaci, “Your sister chose your clothes on Sunday, didn’t she?”

Jaci looks up from putting the food out on the table. “Yes, but not my shorts,” She says hesitantly. “Why?”

“You dress more for comfort, and you don’t show as much skin.” I grab waters from the fridge and walk towards her. When she bends forward again, I rest my wrists on her hips with my fingers still curled around the water bottles at her sides. I notch my hips against her ass and she, stands quickly, her head almost catching my chin. I move my head to the side just in time, putting my jaw over her shoulder. My nose is buried in her hair. She smells like lavender and vanilla.

“I like your look better.” It isn’t a lie. She seems much more confident when she isn’t worried about how she looks. “You looked good on the boat, but you look and smell,” I take another breath nuzzling my nose against her ear, “delicious right now.”

“That’s the fajitas.” She sighs and leans her head back against my shoulder.

“No, it’s not.” I kiss her jaw and back away. My cock is painfully tight in my jeans, but if I don’t get away from her, I’m going to break the no public place rule.

Jaci stands frozen with a look of confused wonder on her face. Her eyes are glassy, and her cheeks are flushed with heat and need.

“What is the book about you’re working on?” I ask while trying to get my mind off closing the shop and fucking her on the front desk.

She takes a breath and sits down across from me. “It’s about a woman who’s afraid of commitment and falling in love for the first time with a man that’s completely off limits.”

I sit back and watch her. A woman who’s guarded and falling in love for the first time. It could easily be a story about herself.

“Why is the guy off limits?”

She bit her lower lip and hesitated before speaking. “He’s a biker. She’s the daughter of the President.”

“The president of the club? That doesn’t seem too off limits.”

She laughs, “No, the President of the United States.”

I grin, “So, guarded as in secret service.” I make myself a fajita, “How did they meet?”

“Since she’s at college she has minimum secret service but still getting stifled by their presence. So, she devises a plan with her dorm mate to sneak out and gets in a bad spot where he’s the one that rescues her. They start seeing each other, and when someone tries to kill her, she gets protection from the club because there’s a mole in the secret service.”

We continue talking about her book as we eat. It is interesting to hear about her characters and to see how her mind works. We are finishing up lunch when my first appointment for the afternoon walks in.

“Hey, Mike,” I say when he came in.

“Hey man. Did I interrupt?” He says looking between Jaci and me. His eyes skim over her appreciatively, and I clench my teeth. Mine. I want to stake my claim right then and there.

“No, we are just finishing up lunch. Go on back; I’ll be right there.” When he is out of the lobby, I turn to Jaci and pull her against me. “Thank you for lunch.” I kiss her hard and quick. “Make yourself at home. There are messages on the machine I’ll get to later. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to come on back.”

She smiles up at me, “I should be fine. Hopefully, I can get some work done.”

I kiss her again, “Good luck.”