Inked Read online

  Cadeon pulled his bike into the parking lot of Ipseity and cut the engine. He climbed off, grabbed the bag of sandwiches he had picked up at Stocker’s Deli down the street and headed inside. As soon as he entered his tattoo parlor the sound of heavy metal music and the buzzing of the needles running along flesh blasted all around him. But if there was fierce and angry music playing overhead it meant Naggie was either in a foul mood or working on some badass piece.

  “Yo, boss,” Ziggy said as he leaned on the counter. His Mohawk today was neon green, and the plugs in both of his earlobes matched his hair.

  “Sandwiches will be in the back when you guys are ready for them.” Cadeon lifted the brown bag and tipped his chin toward the backroom. “Naggie in a pissed off mood or working on something?”

  Ziggy pushed off of the counter and grinned. “I think a bit of both.”

  Cadeon walked the few feet it took to get into the main part of the parlor where all the ink was done. Naggie was seated in front of a big burly fucker, and even though Naggie was working on his back, Cadeon could see the massive amount of chest hair the guy had as it sprouted out the sides of the table. As if Naggie knew he had been asking what the deal with the music was, she lifted her head and glared over at him. Yeah, she was in a bitchy mood all right. He held up the bag and pointed to the backroom. She nodded, but her bleached blonde pixie cut hair was slicked back and didn’t even move from the motion. Cadeon wasn’t about to talk to her about what the problem was, because when he had been stupid enough to do that before all it ended up doing was pissing Naggie off more. If she wanted to vent she knew where he was. The people that worked in his shop weren’t just his employees; they were like his family, too. Reckless may have only been his home for the last three years, but this was the first place since he had been on his own where he felt comfortable.

  He turned and walked into the backroom, if it could really be called that. The main part of the shop where all the work was done was spacious, but the backroom where he kept supplies and where his office was didn’t have much more room than a walk-in closet. He had hours before Stella was to arrive, and although he usually kept the shop open late, he was closing early and sending everyone home for when she came over. Was that the smart thing? Fuck no, because it would mean he was alone with Stella, and the things he wanted to do to her were just nasty and wrong, but Christ, were they so damn good.

  His dick sprang forward with a vengeance, and the ache in his balls that he had to deal with every time he was near her was so uncomfortable that he actually contemplated rubbing one out before he saw her, hoping that it would help relax him enough that he didn’t feel the need to throw her over the counter, or worse yet, fuck her on his tattoo chair. Cadeon pressed his open palm on the front of his jeans, right over his cock, and gritted his teeth. Yeah, he had blue balls from hell whenever he was around Stella, but there was no way to prevent that unless he just stayed away. But that was one hard fucking task seeing as he gave the club their ink, and she was always there.

  “Get your shit under control, or you are going to make shit a whole lot worse for yourself.” Dammit, now he was talking to himself. There was a knock on the door, and he sat in his chair behind his desk before calling out for them to come in.

  Naggie pushed the door open and without saying anything walked up to the brown bag and grabbed a sandwich out of it. She sat her skinny ass down on the edge of his desk and tore into the food.

  “You finished with the tat?”

  She shook her head. “Nah, the guy needed a break. For as big as he is he is a big baby.” She grinned and took another bite of the sandwich. “Although I will say that he has been in that chair for a few hours already. You see the piece I am doing?”

  Cadeon leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands together behind his head. “A portrait? Is that his kid or something?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. It is such a sad fucking story, actually. His kid died a few years back from some rare disease. This is like a small tribute to her, although the thing takes up the entire width of his back, and you saw how big he is. The guy is built like a linebacker.” Naggie started talking about the other clients she had tomorrow, and bitched about the sixteen-year-old that was coming in with her mom to get her first butterfly tattoo. “I mean, come on, a fucking butterfly?”

  Cadeon grinned. A client was a client to him, but Naggie hated when the young girls came in for what she considered clichéd tattoos. It was usually butterflies, flowers, Koi fish, or a Chinese symbol. Although Cadeon liked the more complex pieces to ink into someone, he didn’t share the same kind of … passion to bitch about the simple designs like Naggie did.

  “So why are you closing early? I can’t remember the last time you did that.” She took another bite of her sandwich. For as small as Naggie was she had an appetite that rivaled his own.

  “Got a client coming in, and I didn’t want all the chaos that goes on in the shop to freak her out. This is her first tattoo.”

  Naggie stopped eating. She was a small woman with her nose, eyebrow, and ears pierced. She also had full sleeve tattoos, and a wicked fucking attitude that had most guys steering clear. “When have you ever closed shop early because a client was getting their first tattoo?” She finished off her sandwich and wiped her mouth before leaning back against the wall and crossing her arm. “Well?”

  Shit, what was he supposed to say? She was right. Cadeon had never closed the shop early, and this was definitely special treatment for Stella. When he didn’t respond right away Naggie grunted and hopped off the desk.

  “If you want to screw around with some chick, don’t do it on my chair.” Naggie grinned widely but was already out of the office before he could answer.

  Cadeon didn’t deny that it was a bad idea closing shop early for Stella, but there was a part of him that didn’t want to have her any more freaked out. Just hearing the sound of needles working and of the angry, energized music that played overhead would be enough to have anyone a little nervous on its own. But of course he was also a selfish bastard, and there was also another part of his decision to close shop early. He wanted her all to himself, wanted this first time to be without distractions and he wanted to have all his focus on her.

  “You’re so fucking screwed, man.” Cadeon groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face. Yeah, he really was, but what a great way to go.

  ****

  Stella finished up some paperwork at the club and turned off her computer. Even in the backroom she could hear the loud voices and curses coming through the walls from the guys. They were having a party since a few of the Nomads had stopped by. The club was filled with club whores, alcohol, and pot. Stella may be used to this, but she never stayed around. Her dad may be the President of this biker gang, but that didn’t mean he liked her being around this shit, and she was thankful for that. This was not her scene at all.

  She grabbed her purse and turned to go into the bathroom that was attached. The mirror that hung on the back of the bathroom door let her see her appearance from her foot to the top of her head. She had left her blonde hair down and it brushed the middle of her back. Not one for make-up, she had added a little mascara, which had her blue eyes popping. Why are you trying so hard when you know nothing will happen? Stella grabbed her bottom of her shirt and lifted it up. The thickness of her belly was revealed, and she made a face in the mirror. She turned and stared at her side where she was getting the raven tattooed. It was a fairly simplistic design, but she was going for more of the black watercolor design, than the sharp lines and details of a realistic bird tattoo. There were no illusions that it would probably hurt like a bitch, but her excitement and the adrenaline that she felt inside overrode all other nervousness and emotions moving through her.

  She let the shirt fall back into place and headed out of the bathroom and the office. She could have gone out the backdoor and avoided the raunchiness she was sure she was about to witness, but her dad had wanted her to talk to him before she left, and
Stella could only imagine it would be some kind of warning about the male species. Keeping her head lowered and making her way through the main part of the clubhouse, she steered clear of the bar and pool table as that was where most of the action was. The scent of beer, sweat, and cloying perfume clogged her nose. The music was loud as Aerosmith belted out a song about “Sweet Emotion”, and the almost saccharine smell of pot filtered around her. Once she was by her father’s door she knocked on it and pushed it open after he called out for her to enter.

  Her dad and The Vicious Bastards VP, Booshie, were looking over a map spread across the meeting room table. “I’m heading out, and you wanted to talk to me before I left.”

  Her father nodded, slapped Booshie on the back, and waited until his VP was out and the doors were shut before he started talking. “You going now to get some ink?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, got the design all ready, too.” She reached into her bag and pulled out the slip of paper with the raven on it. She had designed it herself, and although she had known she wanted some kind of bird as her first permanent design on her body, she hadn’t known exactly which one. That was until she had the very vivid dream where her deceased mother had made an appearance and was holding a raven. But it had been raining, and the bird started becoming blurry. The dream had been as strange as it had been vivid, and Stella was just going with it.

  Scars looked at the slip of paper and made a grunting noise. “I like it. Where are you getting it?”

  She lifted her shirt, turned sideways, and pointed at her side. “I want the body on my side, and the wings to reach around my back.”

  Her father whistled, but there was a growly note to it.

  “What, Dad?” Stella sighed out the last part and turned to face him again.

  “I want one of the guys to go with you, and make sure Cadeon keeps his hands to himself.”

  Stella rubbed her eyes and shook her head. “Dad, you do remember that I’m not a little kid anymore, and that I kind of need to do stuff on my own without a biker always hanging around?” She dropped her hand and blinked away the fuzziness in her vision from when she rubbed them. “You need to cut the cord, Dad. How in the hell am I supposed to find someone if you always have one of the guys chaperone your adult daughter?”

  “So, what? You’re trying to date the tattoo guy?”

  Okay, she shouldn’t have said that last part because that totally wasn’t what she had meant, not really anyway. Yeah, she wanted Cadeon like she was dying of thirst and he was the last glass of cold water in the world, but it was more than that. Sure, his physical appearance was what had initially attracted her, but she heard the way he joked with the guys, how hard he worked, and how talented he was. He was smart and badass, and the type of guy she had always seen herself with was one that was strong mentally just as much as he was physically. “Dad, I’m not trying to date anyone. I am just going there for a tattoo. You need to lighten up a bit.” She smiled up at him, because even though he was sometimes overly protective, she reminded herself that she was his child, and no age would ever change that. “But I don’t need anyone coming with me, okay?”

  It took him a minute to respond, and she could tell that he wanted to argue. Scars was not the type of man that people said no to. When he gave an order they obeyed. It was the way it worked, and always had.

  “Yeah, I do need to give you space. But I look at you and see my little girl.” He handed her the picture back and wrapped his arms around her. “I just worry about you. I worry that I’m going to lose you like I lost your mother, and that breaks my fucking heart.” This was not the conversation or frame of mind she wanted to have right before seeing Cadeon.

  Stella wrapped her arms around her dad and rested her head on his chest. “I know, Dad, but I’ll be okay.” She leaned back and looked up into his face. “I’ll call you after it’s done, okay.”

  He sighed, overly dramatically. “Okay, baby girl.”

  She grinned at the way he said that, like it was some big pain in his ass to let her walk away and be an adult. She turned and left the clubhouse, and as soon as she was outside everything else faded away until all she felt once more was that anticipation of what she was about to do, and who was going to do it.

  Chapter Three

  Stella pulled her car into one of the empty spots in front of Ipseity and cut the engine. The front windows were the kind that people passing by couldn’t see inside, but the ones inside could see outside. There were some of those block style windows high above the main ones, and although they were frosted she could see the lights on inside. The OPEN neon sign was off, and the only vehicle in the parking lot was Cadeon’s Harley. Swallowing her nervousness about getting her first ever tattoo, and the fact she would be alone with the man she lusted after, she climbed out of the car and headed toward the front. First she tried opening the door, but it was locked, so she knocked on the thick glass. The sound of music came through. A minute passed, and then right when she was about to knock again she heard heavy footsteps. Taking a step back when she heard a lock disengaging; Stella swore her heart was about to burst through her chest. The door opened, and standing right inside was Cadeon, wearing a t-shirt that looked like it was tailored to form along his hard, wide chest. The jeans he wore were distressed, but it wasn’t because he’d bought them that way, but because he had worn the hell out of them. And then there was the silver chain that hung against the side of his leg and was attached to his wallet. God, the whole sight of him had a flush spreading along her body at an astounding rate.

  “Hey.” He grinned and held the door open for her.

  She smiled and stepped inside, and the sound of The Beatles playing overhead could be heard even though the volume was low. Looking behind her she watched as he shut the door and locked it.

  “So, you know what you want?” He turned to face her.

  Once again she was struck by how big he was compared to her. He had to work out all the time in order to achieve that kind of physique.

  “Stella?”

  She felt her face heat and realized she had been checking him out and hadn’t answered his question.

  “You okay?” There was this rough, almost gravelly quality to his voice. It almost sounded as if he was trying to force the words out.

  She swallowed and nodded. “Yeah, I, uh—” She reached in her purse and grabbed the design she had drawn up. “You think you can recreate this here?” She turned to her side and lifted her shirt over her belly button and turned, explaining to him that she wanted the tattoo on her side and back. Her words faded as she saw the way he held the paper and looked at her. His knuckles were white from how tightly he clenched her design in his hand, and the hardness on his face matched the rest of his body. Slowly lowering her gaze down the length of his body, she saw the bulge that pressed against the fly of his jeans.

  Holy shit. Am I seeing that right?

  She lifted her gaze up his body once more until she was looking in his eyes. But just as quickly as she had seen the look of heat behind on his face it was gone, and she felt this cold draft come from him. Letting her shirt fall back into place, she ran her tongue along her bottom lip and suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Either Cadeon wanted her, or she was really losing it.

  He cleared his throat and looked down at her design. “This shouldn’t be a problem. Let me sketch something out.” He looked back up at her, but then just as quickly averted his eyes and pointed to one of the chairs in the waiting area. “Have a seat and I’ll only be a minute.” Then he was striding away from her and disappearing into a backroom.

  Stella walked over to a chair and sat down, and although she grabbed a magazine and tried to look through it, she couldn’t stop her body’s reaction to the fact Cadeon had most definitely been acting like he wanted her. That bulge he sported couldn’t be construed as anything but arousal, and seeing as she was the only one here with him, well, logic told her that had been for her.

  But clearly that arousal had pissed him
off, because his whole attitude had turned slightly frosty, and he had refused to look at her. Well, this should be an interesting few hours.

  ****

  Cadeon sat at his worktable and forced himself to focus on the sketch before him. It was near impossible with the hard-on he was sporting, and the fact he wanted Stella so fucking bad that his blood was pumping hard and fast through his veins. She was just a few feet from him, and only separated by a thin wall. He could even smell her still, and that fresh, flowery aroma seemed to surround him. As he closed his eyes, the scent of lavender filled his head, making him feel dizzy and intoxicated, and he found himself gripping onto the edge of the table with enough force his knuckles cracked.

  When she had lifted her shirt to show him where she wanted her ink, all he had seen was lush curves and smooth, creamy skin. It had only taken that strip of flesh that she revealed for his cock to spring to action and all intelligence to leave him. But he had snapped out of that when he realized she was looking at his dick, and could clearly see the bastard pressing against his jeans. Was he embarrassed that she had seen how hard she made him? No. What did make him feel like an idiot was how he had reacted after the fact. He had taken the coward’s way out and had gotten the fuck out of her presence. Yeah, he did need to sketch out her tattoo, but that hadn’t been the only reason he had gotten the fuck away from her. And now here he was sitting alone in the backroom with his dick digging into his zipper. All he could focus on was clearing the drafting table, throwing Stella on top of it, and filling her up with his dick until she screamed out for more.