I hung up with Cori and tossed my phone on the glass display case just as my next appointment came in. Her shorts were barely longer than her pussy and her top left little to the imagination. Shit. I greeted her and she pulled out a folded paper from her pocket.

“I want this on my ankle.” An anchor, how original. But the girl hardly looked like the type to be original.

“Do you want me to draw something up for you? Maybe make it unique?” I knew I was barking up the wrong tree, but it was worth a shot. She drummed her manicured nails on the counter, obviously thinking too hard for her own good.

“No, I like that.”

I shrugged, handed her the form to fill out, leaving to make a stencil. When I came back she handed me the clipboard and followed me to the back. I started setting out supplies. “How long have you been doing this?” She wiggled in the seat, leaning so I could see straight down her shirt. God, I hated fake tits, but she would have been just the thing I took home a few months before. Easy and desperate had been my thing.

“Ten years.”

“So, I bet you’re super good at it.” I motioned for her to prop her leg up and she kicked her flip flop off, sliding her leg up slowly. Even I had to admit her legs were nice. They were long and toned with a light tan, but she was going to be disappointed. Nice or not, her legs did nothing for me. The only legs on my mind were the ones wrapped around my face early that morning.

“Yeah. I’m the best.” She smiled at my words—apparently, we were done talking about tattooing and had moved on to a different topic. I positioned the stencil, let her check it in the mirror, then had her sit back down. I had barely started when she tried to talk to me again.

“I’m Keeley.”

Fitting name for a girl like her. Blonde, flirty, tan. “Griffin.” She was exactly the kind of girl I would be happy to occupy a night with before Cori came around. Or I forced myself on Cori. I felt fucking terrible for not talking to her or listening to her the night before. I couldn’t help it. It had been four months since I gotten any relief that wasn’t by my own hand and she was fucking amazing. By the time I finally got inside her, I was about to explode, and the way my girl fit around me was perfect. Her pussy practically molded to me. I couldn’t let her ruin it with a rehashing of her attack. Cori was enjoying it, had let go enough to feel something, and I wasn’t going to let her fall back into the abyss of fear. I had to shake the images of Cori from my mind to focus on the ink and control the raging boner threatening me.

“I bet you drive a Harley and have a trail of broken hearts behind you.” Keeley batted her lashes at me, blinking her brown eyes rapidly. I had forgotten she was even there and I was tattooing her.

I chuckled. “No, and no.” I used to own a Harley and missed it like crazy, but Celia wasn’t ever riding one as far as I was concerned and the broken hearts thing wasn’t true, either. Most women understood that I didn’t get attached and didn’t call the next day. Unless they were Cori, but she was different. Cori was my girl. When Keeley realized I wasn’t going to flirt back, she settled back in the chair, crossing her arms over her tits. I finished up, bandaged the fresh ink, walking her up front to check her out. Waylon popped his eyebrows at me as he watched Keeley’s ass sway by, but I shook my head. Again, not interested.

“My number is on the receipt, text me if you need some company.” The blond ran her nails down my arm and walked out the door. I tossed her receipt in the trash and Waylon popped the back of my head.

“The fuck is wrong with you, man?” He pointed at Keeley getting in her car. “Go chase that ass. Did you see her rack? I’d tap that so hard.” Fucking liar. The man was so in love with his wife he could barely function.

I rolled my eyes. “Then go get it. I’m good.” Before I could escape to the back, Hattie was blocking my path and Waylon joined her.

“You still on the mom from Celia’s dance class?” Hattie had a shit-eating-grin plastered on her cute little face. “I knew the drinking stopped, but are you settling down too? It’s been a week. You’ve broken the rules, haven’t you?” After watching what my parents went through when my father died, I swore I would never put myself in the position to hurt like my mother did. I never wanted to care about anyone enough to want to die over their death, but then I had Celia. I would die before I let anything happen to her, so why not open up a little more? I tried to shove past my captors, but Waylon stopped me.

“No shame, man, but at least tell us what’s up.” His wife was a fricking peach. His complete opposite. Dana was tall and thin with dark skin. Drop dead gorgeous. She was a kindergarten teacher too. Waylon loved to rub in my face how Dana doted on him and took care of him, trying to get me to settle down and quit whoring. Waylon wanted his best friend to be able to “enjoy the life he had” with him. Settling down wasn’t in my rule book, but Cori had tossed my rulebook out the fucking window. Her stubborn matched mine, and I loved a challenge. She made me want what Waylon and Dana had. In a few days, I was a complete fucking goner.

“I have to go clean up.” I glared, and they parted to let me pass. The next three appointments were all the same, flirty girls getting generic tattoos. Then my last tattoo came in. I was excited as hell about it because I got to draw it out myself. I had three different versions for her, but I knew which she would choose. Harriet understood the need to create instead of replicating. I also knew we could talk about Cori.

Harriet and Jovie walked in together. Jackpot. Jove was a talker, so I knew anything I needed to know would be given freely. She had been texting me relentlessly, teasing me about Cori, so I knew it would be too damn easy. I led them to my station, showed Harriet the sketches, and watched her pick the one I knew she would. The birds and flowers on her upper arm was going to be extended to her forearm and I was psyched to do it. I placed the stencil and got started.

“Start talking, Griff.” Jove pretended to be bossy, but the girl was a giant wimp. “I catch you having yogurt with my employee, find out you have a kid, then you are storming into my shop like you own the place because you are caught up on one of my employees.”

I laughed, dipping my gun back in the ink. “It’s like you only hire the sexiest women to work at your shop. What’s a guy to do?” I used to be hell bent on getting in Jovie’s pants. I couldn’t count how many times I nearly begged her to fuck me, but she knew better than to get involved. Smart woman. Jovie was one to fall in love, and I was one to hit and quit. Or I was until Cori. I had been after her sister for years before that, but the Reed girls were like damn Fort Knox until they found their man. Lydia found hers in high school, and I had seen it happen, but had no idea.

“Told you it would happen.” Jovie was all cocky, smiling, crossing her arms. “I straight up told you some girl would come along and whip you into shape. Gods, I love when I’m right.” I grumbled at her, rolling my eyes, working on the Mandala portion of Harriet’s tattoo.

Fuck, was Jovie right. They teased me, having Waylon and Hattie join in after a while. Fuckers. I acted put out, but I loved it. What I loved more was knowing I would get to be deep inside Cori again in a matter of hours. We needed to talk too, but after getting a taste, I was a fucking addict.

* * *

Cori opened her door in a long shirt that barely covered her ass and her hair was in a messy bun on her head. Fuck me, she was gorgeous. My dick hardened at the sight of her. She looked tired but swept her arm for me to come in. My girl was stressed out over the shit with her ex, and it was all over her face. Nothing I couldn’t fix.

Before the door closed, I picked her up and her legs wrapped around my waist. Then I kissed her. The taste of wine was on her lips, making me need more. I held on to her ass, carrying her to the couch, and she kept my face in her hands kissing me. My girl missed me. Cori practically clawed my shirt off over my head while I toed my boots off. We still hadn’t spoken a word to each other.

I stripped her shirt off and my hands flew to her naked tits. Her eyes closed and her head fell back, exposing her neck, so I licked a line up her throat then kissed back down to the bite on her shoulder. She worked the fly of my jeans while I licked her nipples. It took her forever because I kept distracting her, but she finally got the job done. My pants hit the floor and I tossed her panties down with them. I snatched the condom from my wallet, looking over the fucking amazing body that Cori quickly tried to cover when she saw my heated gaze.

I dropped the condom to the floor next to me, grabbing her wrists, making her uncover the scar crossing her stomach. Her face flushed, and she tried to fight out of my grip. It was so hot when she got pissed. I laid back, pulling her on top of me and let her go. “Don’t hide from me. You’re fucking beautiful.” She gave her best screw you look and I picked up the dropped condom, handing it to her. Then she smiled a little, face turning red.

I watched while she slid down my body toward my cock, dragging her tits over my stomach and licked me slowly up from base to tip, paying special attention to the piercing at the end, before wrapping her lips around it. I groaned, grabbed her hair, and watched her take as much as she could into her mouth. Fuck. Me. Sideways. I was putty in her hands. She knew it, too.

Cori worked my cock, taking it to the back of her throat, using her hand to stroke the rest until I couldn’t watch anymore without losing it entirely. She stopped, rolled the condom on slowly, and climbed on top of me. I sat up, grabbing her hips and impaling her with my dick. Kissing her just in time to catch the scream I knew was coming. I had to be still, hold her chest to chest while her pussy convulsed around me.

“Give me a second, baby.” Cori wiggled her hips, making me groan. Not that I would ever find out, but her pussy had to be what heaven was like. Tight and warm, like it was made just for me. I finally started moving making her hum the sexiest sound.

Cori fucked me like her day had been worse than mine, tensing around my dick every time she came, digging her black nails into my back. Her tits rubbed my chest; her hands tugged my hair. I could have fucked forever and never got tired. Her last orgasm did me in and I came hard, ramming into her as far as I could as the sensation ran down my spine and straight through my balls. I slumped back, she fell into my neck. We stayed that way for a while. When Cori climbed off me, she stretched, and I had to smack her ass before going to dispose of the condom.

My clothes were on the corner of her bed. She was stretched out on her stomach in the same panties and shirt I ripped off her. I got dressed and laid next to her, cupping her ass, smelling her hair. “I can’t stay.” For the first time ever, I hated saying those words. They burned my throat, making me sick. I treated her like a casual fuck the way I showed up.

“I know.”

“Are you good?” I jerked her closer, rolling to hold her against me and tracing my teeth marks on her shoulder with my finger. She nodded, rubbing her nose into my neck. “I’m not sure I believe you.” I needed to make up for my jackass move from the last time, and I would die if I found out she had a panic attack after I left.

“I’m fine, honey.” Cori kissed my neck. “But don’t get used to this. I’m not a booty call.” My girl leaned back to glare at me. The woman could glare all she wanted, but I hadn’t missed her calling me honey.

I smiled, kissing her nose. “No, you certainly are not a booty call, but today was fucking awful after watching you deal with the shit this morning.” She nodded, closing her eyes, nuzzling back into my neck. “I’ll stay next time.” My arms made her look so tiny curled up next to me. When I started getting too tired, I slid away from her, kissing her head, and left her a note by the coffee pot before leaving for home.

Fuck, leaving her was harder than I expected.