“One second.” He closed his eyes. He dragged in her ocean scent and shifted his painful erection in his pants. “Home?”
“Don’t you have to work?”
“It’s a Thursday night. No clients.”
She sucked her bottom lip in, chewing until it was a bright raspberry color.
“Dammit, Darc.”
She smiled. “Show me your chair?”
“My… Oh.” He grinned, surprise and pleasure blending together. He twisted their fingers together, first drawing her up the steps to lock the door. But the light was out and the bolt was already thrown. Cesar was too smart for his own good some days.
He redirected them into his work station.
Her fingers tightened around his. “Oh wow.” She looked around in wonder. One wall was an illustrated mural of all his original designs. He liked to test it out with airbrush before inking on someone. Each design was paneled like a comic book highlighting the best of the design.
She slipped off her coat and went right to the wall, her fingertips tracing over the curves of a mermaid he’d done for a famous model last year. “Did you do this on a woman?”
He came up behind her, drawing her back against his thighs. “Yes.”
She looked over her shoulder, meeting his gaze, her mouth inches from his. “Where?”
“Her hip.”
Her blonde lashes fluttered down so he couldn’t see what was going on in her eyes. She was focused on his mouth. His dick tightened, strangling behind his zipper. “How long did it take?”
“Three sessions.”
Her gaze lifted. “How long’s a session?”
“For Amelia? It was three, four and two.”
“Hours?”
His mouth tipped up. “Takes a long time to work on someone, darlin’.”
“And you did it here?”
He shook his head. “When I worked in Boston. Though she did come in for a touchup a few months ago.”
“How does anyone deal with that much pain?”
“For Amelia it was a lot of pain actually. The hip,” he smoothed his hand over her corduroy pants, “is full of pain nerves. Even I haven’t gotten one there.” The velvety zip of the material under his palm kicked his texture lust into gear. He made a light circle on her hip and the side of her thigh.
“No.” She swished her ass against his zipper. “I found all yours.”
“Yes, you have.”
“Do you get off on the pain?”
His Darcy was certainly curious tonight. “No. You get into a sort of zone when you’re getting inked. Endorphins kick in and the pain sort of fades into a dull, hot ache.”
She nibbled on her lip again. Her eyes were dilated with interest and curiosity. “Oh.”
He drew the backs of his fingers up her ribs to tease just under her breast. “Do you want to get inked, Darcy?”
“I’m not sure.”