She nodded and rubbed her hands on her thighs again. She was nervous, but not because of getting a tattoo. What she was nervous about was being in Cadeon’s tattoo chair with his huge body over hers as he ran that needle over her flesh. She had wanted him since she first saw him in town, and dammit if three years wasn’t a long time to pine after a guy who hardly even looked her way. Stella was just used to guys staying away.
Big-ass biker guys who growled more than they spoke tended to make her dating schedule pretty open. But she couldn’t fault them for looking after her. Hell, she had known all of them since she barely started to walk.
“So, you gonna talk to your old man?” Ranger was grinning again, and it was hard not to smile as well.
“You know I am, but you also know he isn’t going to say no. I mean, every guy in here is covered with them.”
“True, but you’re his little girl.” He put his arm around her and pulled her in close to him. The scent of cigarettes intensified, but she didn’t care.
Stella looked back at Cadeon and felt her heart start to race as she watched him do such mundane things. But it was those little things, ones like him putting his equipment away, that caused the muscles of his biceps to flex and bunch under the thin material. Or when he bent over and his loose and worn jeans molded over his ass. Stella was never an “ass woman,” but good Lord, did Cadeon have a nice one.
“Girl, I’m not even looking at you, and I know you’re checking out that boy.” Ranger chuckled deeply and tightened his arm around her shoulders. “You know your dad isn’t all about you dating older guys, and certainly not one who has a reputation like Cadeon does.”
“Look, he is nearly as old as my dad and therefore not a boy—”
Ranger looked down at her, and by the expression on his face, she knew pointing out Cadeon was nearly the same age as her father probably wasn’t helping her.
“And I’m not sure what you all heard—and don’t know if I even want to know—but he isn’t nearly as bad as you guys.” She was teasing, but there was a look in his eyes, one her father normally gave her when he was being serious about something.
“Listen, I used to bounce you on my knee when you didn’t even reach it standing up.” He ruffled her hair and grinned until the corner of his eyes crinkled. “But you be careful. I may be old, but I can tell when you are making googly eyes at some boy.”
Now it was her turn to lift a brow. “Googly eyes?” She started laughing. Leave it to a biker who cursed in church to use words like “googly eyes” to get his point across.
Ranger stood and headed back toward the bar with the other members and the club whores. She watched for a second and saw Butters—a veteran female who had been spreading herself for the club longer than Stella could even remember—make her way over to Ranger and grind herself all over him.
Stella’s dad had made sure to keep her out of this atmosphere when she was growing up, but even at fifteen years old, when she was learning how to do the books of the motorcycle parts store the club owned, she heard enough rumors to last a lifetime. Then after high school, she experienced her first full-on MC party inadvertently. Ever since then, she was thick in the club and didn’t hide from even the grisly aspects of this life.
The sound of heavy footsteps coming closer had her coming out of her thoughts and looking up to watch Cadeon approach. His focus was on his cell, but she knew if she wanted this done, she had to do it now.
“Hey.”
He stopped and glanced her way. “Hey, Stella.” He grinned, and God was it one of those panty-dropping grins that made girls wet instantly. And yeah, she was one of those girls right now. “What’s up?” He shoved his phone in the back of his jeans and adjusted the bag with his tattooing equipment in his hand.
She looked over at the bar again, saw her dad eyeing her curiously, and quickly looked back at Cadeon. “I was wondering if you’d have time to give me a tattoo, my first one actually.”
He cocked a dark eyebrow, and his grin grew. “A virgin, huh?”
Stella felt her cheeks heat. The first thing she thought about was something totally different. She shook her head, and then her face heated even further. “Uh, no, I mean, yeah.”
His grin widened, and right then she wanted the ground to open her up and swallow her whole.