“Shirt off, belly down on the chair,” Evie said stiffly. She pointed at the client’s chair.

“I thought you had another client coming in,” Antonio said.

“I do. I’m not going to tattoo you right now—I just need to see if this tattoo is worth salvaging, or if we need to do a cover up. I’m not very fond of working on other artists’ pieces. I think most artists will say the same.”

“I know,” Antonio said simply. “But sometimes it’s unavoidable. Dealing with what you’re given, even when it’s not ideal, is the sign of a true leader.”

Evie wished he’d shut up about the head artist thing. Just because Theo had exploded at the worst possible time didn’t mean he wasn’t good head artist material. Everyone got angry sometimes. Case in point, Evie was angry with Antonio. His game of convincing her she was suited for the position was getting old.

She wasn’t going to be worn down.

“Shirt off, belly down on the chair, or I won’t be able to do anything for you at all.”

“All right, all right.” Antonio shrugged out of his expensive suit jacket and hung it from one of the hooks by the tattoo bay door. Next, he loosened his tie. Evie watched, suddenly rapt. Telling someone to take off their clothes was such an automatic part of her job that she hadn’t even considered the implications.

Antonio, her very attractive boss, was taking off his shirt. In private moments, she’d imagined what his body looked like, but this….

This made it real.

She sank her teeth into her bottom lip and tried her best to look disaffected, but when Antonio hung his tie next to his jacket and began undoing the buttons of his shirt one by one, Evie couldn’t help but feel the thrill as it tingled through her body. Button by button, he revealed his chest to her. His body was firm and toned without being overly muscular. The hairs on his chest were fine and brown, matching the brunette color on his head. Antonio was incredibly handsome and his dark hair added to his stern, cold appearance in a way she appreciated as an artist.

The last button was undone. The shirt fell open, and Antonio casually slipped it from his shoulders. His arms were corded with muscle, and every bit of exposed skin was creamy and smooth looking and—

Evie stopped looking when her eyes traveled down his chest to find the darker hairs leading from his navel downward. Imagining what was below Antonio’s belt was strictly off limits. The man was a pushy asshole. She didn’t want to even entertain the idea of seeing him naked.

Nope.

Not at all.

“I’m not seeing any ink,” she remarked.

“It’s only on my back,” Antonio said. “I figured that if I couldn’t even get one piece completed, there was no point in adding to the rest of my body.”

“And yet you’re in the tattoo biz,” she said, gesturing to the chair to remind him to take a seat.

“I am.” Antonio straddled the chair, his flat stomach flush against the back. Evie didn’t need to lower it—not until she was set to work on it, at least. That wouldn’t be for a while. “My father loved working as a tattoo artist. He said that working on real skin meant that his art developed a certain life of its own that couldn’t be mimicked on actual canvas. He loved all forms and would often stop people in the street to talk about the ink they were sporting. My brothers, Luciano and Giovanni, both followed in his footsteps and became incredible artists.”

“It’s a shame that you don’t share your brothers’ passions,” Evie remarked. She sat in her stool and wheeled across, examining the partially completed tattoo on Antonio’s back. It was a family crest. The line work was laid, but there was a hell of a lot of shading left to do, and definitely some details that had been left out. The artist was talented, though. The art was solid, and the groundwork was flawless. With a little bit of work….

“Who says I don’t?” She couldn’t see Antonio’s face, but she imagined how smug he had to look. If he wasn’t icy cold and closed off, he was smug. She really had started to wonder if the man ever smiled.

“I’ve never seen you say anything about art around the shop, or contribute to ideas, or even that you know what the hell tattooing is all about.”

“It’s not my place to insert myself into conversations like that, not when I’m not serving as an artist.” Antonio turned his head so he could watch her out of the corner of his eye. “I am an artist, though. I’m not as prolific or as talented as my brothers, but I know my way around a shading needle. The artwork hanging on the walls in the lobby?”

“Yeah?” Evie asked. She reached out to trace some of the lines of his tattoo without thinking. The second her fingers brushed against his skin, a shiver shot down her spine.

“All of it is mine.” Antonio told her. “Maybe it’s a little egotistical of me, but it’s not often I get to work in the shop. I figured hanging some of my art here would make it feel a little more like home.”

Evie’s fingers parted from his back, shocked. The artwork in the lobby was incredible, from the Japanese style watercolors that were all the rage right now to the detailed black and white linework. She hadn’t realized he’d done it himself.

“I don’t believe you,” she blurted out.

“You can disbelieve me all you want,” Antonio said simply. “If you go look at the signature, you’ll see ADR. If that’s not enough, if you ask nicely, maybe I’ll design something for you.”

Evie blushed. The carefree way he was speaking did something to her that she didn’t like—it made her feel weak. She wheeled back from the chair, arms crossed. “No. It’s not necessary. I believe you.”

“Good. And what do you think of the back piece?”

“It’s salvageable,” Evie said. She did her best to sound as icy and closed off as Antonio usually was. Now that he was exposing parts of his life to her, sharing his hobbies, his talents, and his passions, she wasn’t sure how to treat him anymore. Closing herself off felt safest. “You had a good artist. It’ll be a breeze to work with.”

“I only work with the best,” Antonio said. The words resonated inside of her. Evie knew they weren’t only for his own benefit. “When can you slot me in?”

“I was going to take walk-ins for the last two hours today,” she said. “We might need three, but I’ll stay late to get it done.”

“I don’t mind, either.” Antonio got up from the chair and stretched. The muscles beneath his taut skin moved gracefully as he did so, enchanting Evie who stared, then caught herself being far too interested and looked away. “I’ll be glad to get it done. You might need to help me slather it in vitamin E cream in the days to come, though. I’m not sure the location is going to let me do it on my own so easily.”

The man was a temptation she didn’t want. Evie bit her lip and shook her head. “Yeah, sure, all of us can help you out. No big deal.”

Except it felt like a huge deal.

Antonio was annoying as hell, but damn if he wasn’t everything she never knew she wanted in a man and more.