He leaned back and stared at the design in front of him. He had been back here for the last ten minutes, and although he could’ve just had her back here with him so she wasn’t alone, he needed to be by himself and get his shit together. Cadeon took several deep breaths and told himself over and over again that she wasn’t for him. Age wasn’t the issue, even though he was nearly two decades older than her.
But age was just a number, and at forty, Cadeon knew what he wanted in life, and what he wanted was a twenty-three-year-old woman who was totally off-limits to him. Her family connections meant he needed to back the fuck off—for his health and because it was all about respecting the MC.
Once he was finished with the sketch, he took it back into the waiting room. He stopped when he saw her sitting with a magazine in her lap. He could tell she was uncomfortable by her posture and the way she kept shifting in her seat, but damn did she look gorgeous. “You okay?”
She looked up, and her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “I’m all right.” She shrugged. “Okay, I’m pretty nervous.” Her chest rose and fell pretty harshly, cementing that she was scared. Before he could respond, maybe try to ease her a little bit, she started speaking again. “You able to draw it out?” She stood and set the magazine on the couch beside her.
He nodded and moved closer to her. After handing her the sketch, he stared at her face as she looked it over.
“Wow, this is really good. You did a great job.” She looked up at him and smiled, and all that nervousness he knew was a mixture from the awkward encounter they shared ten minutes ago and getting her first tattoo faded away. “It looks exactly like what I envisioned, but yours is so much more detailed.”
“I’ll add shading and the watercolor effect that you want once I start working on you. That is just a rough sketch of what will be the final product.”
“Well, for a rough sketch, it’s incredible. I can’t wait to see it finished.”
He took the paper back when she handed it to him and gestured for her to walk ahead of him. “First, you’ll stand in front of the mirror to show me right where you want it. Then I’ll have you hop up on the table, and you’ll lay on your side. It’ll be more comfortable for you, and I’ll be able to get all three areas without having to move you much.”
She turned, grabbed her purse, and walked ahead of him, and dammit if he couldn’t stop himself from checking out her ass. Even though she wore jeans, the big mounds called to him, and after he had gotten his cock under control and it was only semi-hard, the fucker now sprang forth like a damn jet taking off. Fuck, this was going to be a long session if he couldn’t keep his body in check.
Clearing his throat, Cadeon turned to the side, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply. Get your shit together, man. “I’ll add the stencil to your side and let you take a look to make sure the size and placement are good.”
She nodded.
Once he had the design on her and she liked where it was located, he gestured for her to go to the table and lie down. He had to stop as he watched her climb up on it. Well, Christ. Her jeans tightened around her ass when she adjusted herself so she was on her side with her back toward him. Stella was a curvy woman in all the right places.
The dip of her waist as it curved down and then up to her ass had him nearly groaning out loud. Cadeon swore he could feel his pulse at the tip of his dick. With his mouth dry, his throat tight, and his arousal pounding fast and fierce inside him, he had to force himself to get his head in the game and his eyes off the luscious fucking bottom right in front of his face.
“So, will this hurt a lot, since it’s on my side?” She looked over her shoulder and lifted her shirt up to expose the area once more. “Or is that a stupid question, since it’ll probably hurt no matter where it’s located.” Her voice was soft, but the slight tremor in it told him that her nerves had risen again.
“It’s different for everyone, but of course it’ll hurt to a point. It’s several needles going into your skin, Stella.” When he said her name, his heart stalled in his chest. This certainly wasn’t the first time he had spoken her name, but for some reason, and with the funky-ass atmosphere that had suddenly surrounded them, saying her name seemed almost intimate. “It might hurt unbearably for someone else, but for you not so much.” He focused on gathering his equipment and setting it beside her.