“Then why are you always so bummed out when you have to give an injection?” he asked.
My fucking lord.
Irritation flashed through me hot and fierce. “Because maybe I’m not a psychopath, and it bums me out a little when I have to euthanize someone’s pet.”
“Vet?” Nyx asked.
“Yeah.” Her question cooled me down at once.
“Tough job.” Fuck, her curved lips, her wicked brows, her deep-set rich chocolate eyes. I couldn’t stop staring, and that was a problem. “How bad are the clients? And I’m not talking to pets.”
I shook my head, appreciation coursing through me. “The toughest part of it by far. You can’t imagine how many people get abusive with the staff.”
“Did you start yet?” Kevin glanced back.
“Nope, I need you to sit up and take a look at the placement.” Nyx shot me a look filled with pure empathy. Clearly, she understood how to deal with problem clients. I just hated that my boyfriend was the problem client. She held up a mirror behind him so he could see where the tattoo would be on his back.
“Sick,” he said, anything but dissuaded from his terrible decision. I didn’t offer to hold his hand. Not only did I know the gesture wouldn’t be appreciated, but this appointment also pretty much confirmed a thought that had been circulating through my head for a while.
“Okay, back on the table,” she said. “If you need me to stop for breaks, let me know. Otherwise, this should be pretty straightforward.” She pulled on her latex gloves in two swift moves that shouldn’t have been as hot as they were.
“What’s the pain level like?” I craned my neck to watch as she pieced her tattoo gun together. To be honest, the pain wasn’t what had kept me from coming here; more the fact that I had a hard time making decisions and sorting through what I wanted compared to what other people did. Clear because I still dated Kevin.
“A lot of people describe it as a bee sting ache,” she said. “If you’ve got a decent pain tolerance, it’s more annoying. Higher pain tolerance, it probably won’t bother you much at all.”
“Shouldn’t be an issue for me, then,” Kevin said.
The tattoo gun buzzed, and Nyx dipped the tip in the black. Kevin wasn’t a massive dude, so the words shouldn’t take a four-hour sitting or anything. It was a simplistic black script,but excitement thrummed through me at getting the chance to watch Nyx in action.
She leaned forward and drew the first line.
“Oh, fuck,” Kevin cried. “That’s brutal.”
I didn’t hold back my eye roll. Nyx’s lips quirked at the side; she’d obviously been expecting this too.
“Buckle up,” Nyx said. “We’re not even in the rough parts.” She continued to trace the lines of the Gothic lettering, which I presumed she’d fill in later. Watching her work was entrancing, even with the godawful noises coming from Kevin. She sucked her lush lower lip in her mouth as she focused on line after line, those dark eyes intense in a way that made my pussy throb. Being the recipient of her undivided attention—fuck, I couldn’t even imagine.
Every couple of minutes, she’d pause to wipe the blood away from the surface, the same deftness to her motions I used during surgery on an animal. The precision was admirable, and all too easily, I could fantasize about the precision applied in other areas.
Fuck, down, girl. I wasn’t even single, and I should feel guiltier than I did for the thoughts emerging.
A steady stream ofowwscame from Kevin in various forms, interspersed with the buzz of the tattoo gun. We didn’t chat, but I didn’t mind the quiet. Watching her work was soothing, seeing the art develop on the skin, even if the art, in this case, was a poor design choice. She’d pass me a look, a quick grin, and those brief moments of acknowledgment hit me deeper than the last time I’d had sex with Kevin, which hadn’t been for a while.
Fuck. If only I’d met her in different circumstances.
A do-over, where instead of my boyfriend on the table, it was me, and I was single.
Where she leaned over me with intense concentration, our bodies in close proximity. Her breath puffing against my back. Her eyes penetrating past my skin, breaking me open.
I swallowed hard, and my whole body was on fire.
God, yeah, I would fantasize hard tonight. She pulled the tattoo gun back and glanced at me. My cheeks heated. Could she tell what filthy thoughts had been parading through my head? She cracked a grin, the hint of wickedness there my undoing.
“We’re going to take a quick break,” Nyx said. “It sounds like you could use it.” She’d outlined the words, so the rest of the session was probably filling in the rest of the black. A sweat had broken out on Kevin’s back, and when he turned over, the pallor on his face suggested he was about to vomit.
“Bathroom’s out by the front,” Nyx said.
Kevin grunted and pushed up. He raced out of the room at top speed.
