“What’s the name of the place,” I ask, gulping hard as I wait for his response. I already told my parents I was staying in the city for a job. That’s only two hours away from home. I’m not sure I could tell them I’m chasing some professor to Wyoming or wherever this place is, especially for a rival tattoo shop. That would hit too close to home. Aside from that, it’s crazy to think I’m chasing him anywhere. We’ve only known each other for four months. I have to think about me… my future… my degree.
“Rugged Mountain Ink,” he says. “It’s about two hours from here. The place is gorgeous. You could draw the mountains and I’m sure people in town would love portraits. Or you could stay in the city, and I could look for something else local. I just want you to know that I’m leaving the college and you’re graduating, so if we want this to be something… it can.”
A bolt of heat rockets through me and I break out into some kind of cold sweat.
“Are you okay?” He reaches across the table, gripping my hand in his. “Your face is flushing.” He calls to the waitress for some water, but my ears are rushing blood like I’m drowning.
I look toward him. “Yeah, I’m good. I should probably head home, though. I’m feeling kind of sick.”
His forehead wrinkles, but he doesn’t question me. He stands from the table and helps me outside. “I can’t let you drive like this. I’ll take you back to campus. Or better yet, come back to my place tonight. I can keep an eye on you… nothing else.”
We both know that’s a lie. Given the time and space alone, I’d be touching him everywhere, ripping at his clothes, dipping onto his cock like some desperate tramp, hungry for professor’s attention.
I smile, my stomach still turning as I scan his arms, studying his tattoos. I haven’t been this steady and close before. “You really think we’re that well behaved?”
He leans in slow and kisses my forehead. “Probably not. I can’t let you leave like this, though. I said something wrong, didn’t I? I can stay in town. I don’t have to go.”
“No. Rugged Mountain Ink is a good opportunity for any artist. The guys win awards over there for their work. One guy was asked to give a presentation in England on his shading and subsequently did tattoos for royalty. If that’s what you love, they’re lucky to have you.”
His face brightens. “You know the place then?”
I swallow hard and look up at him with a knot in my stomach, noticing now, the tattoo on his arm that explains a lifetime of worry my mother’s had. The man with the shipwreck tattoo. The man that’s she believes will beobsessedwith me. The man I have only now studied close enough to see the details of his sleeve. “Yeah,” I sigh. “It’s my father’s shop.”
Chapter Six
Gage
An agonizing week has gone by since I’ve seen Raven. She won’t answer my calls, my texts, and she hasn’t shown up for classes. I’m not sure what to do. Reason tells me to reach out to the guys at Rugged Mountain Ink and ask to speak to her father. I’m sure he’d understand the strange serious of events that led Raven and I to this place. Then again, I’m twenty years older than her, I was in a position of power when we met, and he’s about to be my boss. I don’t know as if he’s going to be in an understanding mood.
Truth be told, I don’t care about any job. I just want Raven, and I know how close she is to her family. I have to make this right.
I flick my pencil against my sketchpad and stare down the office desk where I had everything I needed just a week before.Everything.How did I fuck it all up in less than twenty-four hours time?
I could quit the tattoo job, but what good does that do? Her father already knows who I am. I’ve already spoken to the guy twice. The last thing I want is for him to think I’m some asshole who wasted his time and messed around with his young daughter.
I glance up at the clock. It’s nearly six p.m. and the lights are going down. They’ll lock the side doors soon, and the halls have emptied to a dull roar. I should go home, but I like it here, where the scent of Raven still lingers.
Twirling the pencil in my fingers, I flip to a blank page in the sketchbook from my bag. Drawing from memory wasn’t a strong suit until I met her. Now, it’s second nature. I can memorize a flower and recreate it on paper like it’s right there in front of me. Likewise, I find myself drawing a desk, this desk, with Raven draped over the top of it, her thick thighs spread, her untouched flower open and willing, as her hair falls gently over the edge like a waterfall. This might be the only thing I have left of that memory. I could be staring at this sketchbook for years with only my thoughts to warm me at night.
“So you’re still thinking of me,” a soft voice says from the hall.
The sound of Raven is like being electrocuted. I’m alive again. I push the notebook away and stand, unsure if I’m having some kind of sanity break. Maybe I’m imagining her there. “Fuck,”I groan.“Where the hell have you been?”
“I had a lot of soul searching to do as I thought about what I wanted my future to be. I knew seeing you wouldn’t help any of that. Plus, I had a job interview at one of those sketching companies downtown. Apparently, they advertise full time, but they’re not full time at all. They’re commission based and guess what… newbies don’t get first dibs. So, I’m not sure that’s going to pay the bills.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I say, desperate to reach out for her and press her against me until we’re one. “Does that mean you’re on the hunt for something else?”
“Sort of. You’re going to think this is weird, so brace yourself,” she says, reaching out for my arm to point to a shipwreck on my left forearm. “My mom went to see a psychic when I was thirteen and she said that I’d meet a man with a shipwreck tattoo. That he’d be obsessed with me.” She smiles. “But I know now that it can’t be true, because I’m obsessed withyou.”
She presses forward into my arms and kisses my lips. “I don’t want to know what it’s like to be with anyone else. I only want you.”
I’m sure now, more than ever that I’m going straight to hell because having this woman in my arms again is like nothing I’ve ever experienced, and I’m not letting go. Not for this job, not for my integrity as a professor, not for her father, not for anything.
“I only want you, Raven, and that psychic was right. I’m obsessed with you. I can’t stop thinking about you. The way you look, the way you feel, the way you talk, the way your sweet innocent smile curves so gently. You’re perfect.” I thumb over the top of her lips, brushing them lightly as a primal growl beats upward in my throat.
“I want you too, Gage. Do you know how hard it was to stay away this week?” She’s panting as she speaks. “I talked to my father. I told him that I’d bring you home for my birthday. If… you’re willing.”
“I’m willing,” I say, gripping her tighter.