The lock clicked as Giovanni worked the door open and let himself in. Less than twelve hours ago, he’d handed the keys to Mal and instructed him to lock the door, and he’d sat the rest of the night in the ER, waiting to see a doctor who could splint his wrist and wrap it.

There wasn’t any point in going home. Not now. The shop was set to open in four hours, and Giovanni still had a lot to think about. The quarter was ending soon, and they were in desperate shape. Something needed to change, and he had precious little time to figure out what it would be.

Giovanni made his way down the stairs and to the back of the shop, destined for the office. He planned to go over Riley’s notes and suggestions and try to piece something together, but with his wrist officially broken and wrapped in a cast, there were few plausible options.

Before Giovanni made it to the office, he came to a sudden stop and listened. The shop was supposed to be silent, but in the distance, he heard someone speaking. Who the hell else had keys?

“One of the toughest things to learn for new tattoo artists is how to properly handle the machine.” Riley’s voice broke the silence and Giovanni’s jaw dropped. What was she doing there? “You need to angle the machine so that the needle penetrates at an angle. If you let the needle plunge in perpendicular to the skin, you’ll find that the ink seeps out naturally, and when the tattoo heals, much of the color will be lost. What you’re aiming for is a forty-five degree angle, which can seem counter-intuitive at first. At any greater angle than that, you risk blowing out your outline.”

Giovanni followed the sound of her voice to the back of the shop. She was set up in The News’ old room, back facing the swinging doors. She didn’t notice as he entered.

“It’s like learning to hold a brush, or how to apply pressure with a shading pencil. All it takes is a little practice.”

This morning her hair was swept up in a loose bun, like she had just rolled out of bed. The summer dress she wore was light and flowed from the hips down but was tight in the bodice and showed off her tight waist and the swell of her breasts. Giovanni’s eyes traced down the zipper running along her spine, remembering how tight and perky her ass had been. Riley was the most physically flawless woman he’d ever seen. The longer they spent together, the more he realized he would never change his mind about it.

“So to get that exact angle, you’ll want to hold the machine like this…” Riley turned to pick the machine up from the table, but jerked away and gasped. Giovanni figured she’d seen him out of the corner of her eye, so he stepped forward. The show was over.

“You were doing a great job,” he said. “Sounds just like the material I was supposed to cover in tonight’s workshop.”

“Gio,” Riley yelped. One hand over her heart, she turned to face him. “Oh, my god, you scared me. Before I realized it was you, I was sure someone had broken in and I was going to have to take them down.”

“Yeah, what’s that all about?” Giovanni took a few steps closer, naturally pulled to her. He hadn’t forgotten the night they’d spent together. “You flipped me onto the floor without breaking a sweat before. I didn’t think you had it in you. You need a personal trainer at the same time you met Amanda?”

Riley laughed. “No. My sorority was a big promoter of women’s safety and self-defense, so all of us took lessons and pledged to teach other women on campus how to protect themselves as well. Some things stick with you.”

“I guess.” Giovanni looked her over, eager to tell her that she was one of the things that would stick with him, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. There were unresolved feelings between them that still needed to be sorted out. “So. What are you doing here? The shop doesn’t open for four hours.”

When had they drawn so close? They stood almost chest to chest, the scent of Riley’s perfume subtle on the air between them. Giovanni looked down at her, and Riley looked up at him. The chemistry that drew them together raised goosebumps along his arms and teased the hairs on the back of his neck.

“I know,” Riley said softly. She only raised her voice enough for his ears to hear it. “Mal called me last night after you fell, said that you were in the ER and that you were sure you’d broken your wrist. He told me it was your tattooing hand.” Riley tapped her heel against the floor. “So I figured as co-manager, I needed to pick up the slack and help you in your time of need. All of the notes were on your slide show, so I knew what you were going to talk about. The rest was just getting the presentation down.”

Giovanni’s throat tightened, but his face remained a mask. The fact of the matter was, Riley was there early because she wanted to take the burden off him. He knew how uncomfortable she felt while tattooing, but she was taking the lead for him.

Maybe it was time to do something for her as well.

“I think you’re doing great,” he said gently. There was no need for volume when they stood so close together. “Why don’t you give the rest of the presentation to me, and if you do it justice, you can take over… for good.”

Riley’s eyes widened. “What?”

“You’ve got the skill to do it. All you’re lacking is the portfolio.” Giovanni shrugged. More than anything, he wanted to reach out and run his hand along her arm, then draw her close to his chest. He missed her touch. One night together was all it took. He’d never felt so strongly about a woman before.

Riley was something special.

“I think, with the right exposure, you’re going to find that the rest of the world thinks you’re made of the right stuff, too. Clearly, Amanda Tate thought so.”

Visibly stunned, Riley took a small step back and nodded. The pink on her cheeks matched her lips, and Giovanni’s heart soared at the sight of her. God, was she gorgeous.

“I’ll do my best,” she promised.

Giovanni already knew that she’d surpass his expectations and rise to the occasion.

If he resigned, he thought to himself, beneath Riley’s management, Thorn Tattoo just might have a chance.

* * *

The summer dress she wore framed her body perfectly. Beneath the bright lights of the Royal Caravan Casino, her dark eyes sparkled and her skin was more radiant than ever.

Bit by bit, Riley was letting go of all the negativities that held her back, and she was coming into herself. It showed, and Giovanni felt blessed he was there to witness it.

“Outlining is one of the fundamentals of tattooing, but it’s something where a lot of young, inexperienced, or careless artists go wrong. Because outlining is so necessary to the tattooing process, it’s important to nail it the first time around. Remember that the more passes you make, the bigger the chance of causing dermal trauma. The last thing you want is to break your client’s skin. Some bleeding is bound to happen no matter how careful you are, but if you overwork the skin, it can lead to really terrible damage. That’s the kind of thing that will tear apart a good tattoo, and can cause serious infection if proper aftercare isn’t taken. It’s vital to get it right.”

Giovanni sat at the front of the room beside some tattooers from a smaller shop off the main strip. Everyone in the room was visibly inked except for the instructor, but despite her virgin status, Riley commanded their attention. No one in the room doubted her prowess, and Giovanni wondered if word had already started to spread about her unexpected skill.

“Depending on the style you’re going for, your outlining will be different. Sometimes you’ll need bold and thick lines. Sometimes you’ll need subtle lines. What I can promise you is that in your piece, no matter what size your lines are, they should be uniform with each other as long as they’re on the same field. Varying thicknesses will lead to visual imbalances that’ll throw off the composition of the tattoo, and that’s the last thing you want when that client is going to be wearing your work for the rest of their life.”

No one spoke over her, no one interrupted, and as far as Giovanni could see, no one refused to pay attention. The turnout was spectacular, and Riley was commanding the audience with the grace of a tattoo artist with a reputation ten times bigger.

Riley changed slides, and a side-by-side comparison of two tribal tattoos appeared on the screen. One was expertly done with fine attention to detail, and the other was novice. Riley turned away from the screen and looked directly at Giovanni, smiling. There was something about her in that moment that was airy and liberated, like he’d given her the keys to the world, and she was finally confident enough to take them.

“My colleague, Gio, is an expert with line work, and I’m sure he has a lot to say on the topic, especially concerning pictures like these.” Riley gestured back at the screen. “Gio, you want to come up here and tell us a little bit more about the outlining process, and what different styles of tattoos need?”

Giovanni had been so busy watching Riley that he was caught by surprise at her question. As he rose to his feet, Riley winked at him and gestured to the empty spot beside her.

Even though he’d handed her the reins, she still wanted to include him. A tingling feeling spread through his chest, and he joined her at the front.

“Tribal tattoos are a great example of why line work is so important.” His mouth spoke on autopilot, but his attention was all on Riley. He watched her out of the corner of his eye and saw how she smiled at him. It was as though he was the most important person in the world.

Even when she was put in a position of power, Riley didn’t abuse her station, and she didn’t take anything for granted. There was nothing obligating her to bring him into the presentation, but she’d gone out of her way to include him anyway. A smile quirked the corners of Giovanni’s lips, and no matter what he did, he couldn’t shake it. Riley was looking out for him. Riley was caring for him in all the small ways she could. Riley cared.

It didn’t matter what the future held for him professionally, or what steps he’d need to take to make things right with Thorn Tattoo. Whether he quit, or whether they found another way, Giovanni knew that he needed Riley in his life as more than his coworker.

Since she’d come to Thorn Tattoo, Riley had done everything she could to make things right for him. It was time he finally returned the favor and did right by her.