Kane pushed himself off the wall and strolled toward me. He looked relaxed in gray sweatpants that didn’t hide his print, with a hoodie to match.
The air in my lungs evaporated when he stood really close to me. I looked into his eyes, and for a second, I couldn’t hear any other sound in the building. I could only focus on Kane and the way he looked at me.
“Make sure whenever you do, you let me be the one to pop your cherry.”
My mind didn’t register what he meant; instead, it went straight to the gutter, reminding me that I was damn near a born-again virgin. At least that was what it felt like.
“Okay.” His work was good, so I would let him do it. It would give me another opportunity to pick his brain.
“Do you have a taste for anything?” His gaze traveled to my mouth as his tongue swiped across his bottom lip.
I told him what I wanted, and he pulled out his phone to order it. We moved to the couch while we waited for the food.
“So how did you get into tattooing?”
“I started drawing when I was young. I got my first tattoo years ago, and it was something about the needle digging into my skin that gave me a rush. I decided that was what I wanted to do, so I found an apprenticeship, then I worked in another shop for a while, until I opened this place.” He looked around the room.
I heard how tattoos could be addictive. I also knew some people liked to get tattoos to relieve stress, and I always thought they were crazy. How could pain help me?
“That’s cool. What made you call me?”
Kane rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the wall across from where we sat. There was a window in the room that overlooked a small pond, unlike the other rooms he showed me.
“To be honest, I don’t know. It’s like when you are around, I feel shit. I can’t explain it right now. Just know I enjoy your company.” He moved the toothpick to the other side of his mouth.
I didn’t know how to respond to what he said.
“Honestly, I’ve gotten used to being around you, and you aren’t so bad,” I teased.
“Damn, you thought I was bad?”
“Well, yeah. I’ve heard things, especially how you run through women.”
Kane chuckled and turned to face me. A second later, his laughter stopped, and he got serious.
“I’m not that bad. It takes a lot to keep my attention, but for some reason, you got it.”
There was a knock on the door before I could ask what he meant by that. Kane got up and grabbed the food from the delivery driver. He tipped him, then came back over to the couch.
“So why are you single?” Kane asked as he took the food from the bags.
“What makes you think I am?”
Kane placed the platters on the small table in front of us. The aroma of the curry chicken and rice made my stomach rumble.
“Because if you had a man, he wouldn’t let you work in the bar of a motorcycle club.”
“Let?”
“Yeah. Let. Not saying it to be controlling, but no real man would have his woman working in that environment. A real man would have taken care of you to give you time to grieve and work if you wanted to.”
I wish I could have the luxury of not working or at least having an option if I didn’t want to work.
“So if you were in a serious relationship, you would give the woman the opportunity not to work?”
“Damn straight. It would be her choice, but I would voice my opinion if it were somewhere like a bar or club.”
“What if it were your bar?”
