“Tell me you’re still my darlin’?”he whispered.Harper remained silent.“You know I don’t want her.I want you.And I know you want me.So tell me.Are you still my girl?”
“You stink of drugstore perfume, but yes, I’m still your girl.”
Trent whooped and picked her up, twirling her around and planting a huge kiss on her with a loud smack.
“Now that we’re friends, can I tell you something without you getting mad at me?I wouldn’t want you dropping the F-bomb on me again.”He looked at her expectantly, laughing as she smacked his arm.
“What?”
“You’re kind of sexy when you’re jealous.”
Harper hit him again, harder this time.“I was not jealous.”She shook the pain out of her knuckles.
Trent picked up her hand and started to kiss her knuckles one by one.
“Yeah, you were.And it was hot.I thought you ladies were going to get into it right here in the bar.Not sure I’ve ever been fought over before.”
Harper grumbled at his comment.
Leaning in, he whispered, “It proves that you like me and I like that a lot.”
She hit him again, this time lighter and with laughter.“You’re an ass.”
“So I’ve been told, Ms.Connelly.So I’ve been told.”
Chapter Twenty
Eight o’clock and the studio was silent.Cutting everyone loose early had been a no-brainer.Harper would be arriving soon for another appointment, and Trent wanted the studio all to himself.
Setting up the small ink pots in their holder, he referred to his notes for the colors he needed.The hugely intricate detailing of the sword handle was going to take a couple of hours.It would be slow and painful work, all focused on a very small area of Harper’s back.
Harper’s sessions were likely to get shorter after today, and Trent was counting them down reluctantly.Beyond tightening up some colors and lines, her back would be pretty much complete, and given her views about tattooing in general, he was pretty certain she wouldn’t be getting on his bed again.
A knock at the front door made him smile.His girl.The thought warmed him as he let her in.Lia had flicked the Closed sign over and turned out the main studio lights when she’d left.The studio was bathed in a warm glow from the little lights above the Second Circle logo.
“Hey, darlin’,” he said, sweeping her into his arms for a warm, soft kiss.He loved the feel of her surrendering against him as he held her.She’d come such a long way in the couple of months that he’d known her, since she’d stood, frozen as still as a statue, the single finger on his belt loop her only point of contact.
Breaking away from her, he took the brown bag off her arm.The smell of food filled the studio entrance and his stomach grumbled in appreciation.
“Thought you might be hungry,” she said with a shy smile.“I know you don’t usually get to eat and it’s way past dinner.”
Throwing his arm around her shoulder, he kissed the top of her head.Having someone care about him the way Harper did pulled at his chest.She’d never been out to get something from him, had simply seen and accepted him for who he was.Where he was.
He was excited about the session.And not just because he was spending time with Harper.Of all the work he did, working with scars—undoing their damage—meant the most to him.Without a doubt, Harper’s confidence was growing as a result of the process.
Leading her to his office, he made a quick pit stop in the kitchen to grab some plates and cutlery.
Harper had pulled water from the fridge and handed it to him as he put the bag down.He stepped behind her and ran his fingertip along the length of Harper’s longest scar before kissing it as softly as he could.
Harper shivered at his touch.“They don’t gross you out?”she asked quietly.
“Not at all.Why would they?They are part of who you are.”He turned her, needed to look into her eyes.“I guess I never explained about Kit.”The slight twinge of betrayal stung him.It wasn’t really his place to share Kit’s secrets, but he wanted Harper to understand, to know with certainty that the scars didn’t bother him.
He took a seat on a chair by the table and pulled Harper onto his lap, savoring the way she molded against him.
“Do you know what a cutter is?”
Harper’s mouth opened in surprise and she nodded.
