Cuffs - Cara Lockwood Page 0,34
is tomorrow. No distractions.”
Gael felt Maeve’s eyes on him. He looked up, and they both exchanged a look of worry. Everyone was focused on Ava. For good reason.
Ava rolled her eyes in disgust. “I don’t need this much attention. Besides, you can’t multitask even a little?”
He thought about Mags’s wicked mouth. Maybe he could, indeed.
CHAPTER EIGHT
MAGS SPENT THE day feeling out of sorts and not quite herself. Even now, as she focused on a new client’s back shoulder tattoo—a crow sitting on an eight ball—she found herself distracted, her brain immersed in fog. All she could think about was Gael’s hands on her body and that damn fine man’s mouth on hers. The sound of his commanding voice. She wanted to hear it again.
Everything reminded her of him, even this stranger’s tattoo. The eight ball. The one he’d sunk easily at the bar when he somehow had talked Clint into buying them all a round of drinks. The man had a silver tongue. Hell, not just silver. Strong. Commanding. A voice she had no choice but to obey. Plus, she’d sneaked out on him. Would he be mad? Peeved? In the mood to punish her? And was that what she wanted? A little punishment from his big, strong hands?
She gave herself an inward shake. She needed to focus. Hell, she was liable to scrawl Gael on this stranger’s back by accident. Mags was not the type to suffer crushes. She didn’t get giggly, and she sure as hell never mooned about over a boy. Not as a kid and not as an adult, either.
It was just good sex, that’s all. Nice little role play. No need to go crazy about it.
Yet the chemistry between them had been undeniable. Even she had to admit the sex had been amazing. Hell, amazing didn’t even begin to cover it. Life altering? Her skin almost felt seared by Gael’s touch, as if he’d been the one who tattooed her and not the other way around. Giving her very will over to him...was damn hot. Hotter than she could’ve imagined. Even now, as she worked on the crow’s beak of this tattoo in front of her, she itched to call him. Wondered what he might be doing.
He’d texted her several times that morning, but she hadn’t responded. She’d half hoped he’d lose interest and go away. Make the decision for her. Make it easier for her not to face the feelings he stirred in her, the feelings that flat out scared her. Mags wasn’t used to needing anyone or anything, and she wasn’t about to start now, especially with a suit. The mere idea was ludicrous. Why did he have so much power over her, anyway? She knew why. Because she gave it to him. Because she wanted him to have it. And that troubled her.
It was lust, pure and simple. Nothing more.
After a few more weeks, she’d forget all about Gael, forget about the way his body melded to hers, the way he tasted: like everything she’d ever wanted. But giving in to her cravings for the man’s body would only make it harder to break from him later. She knew better than to go down that road. She much preferred friends with benefits like Clint, men who were passable, fun even, but not in control. Not dangerous. Not addictive. Gael felt like a hit of the most addictive drug she’d ever tried. She knew better than to go back for seconds.
“Ow,” the man in the chair cried and shifted a little.
“Sorry,” she mumbled into the man’s back. Her mind had wandered and her customer had suffered. Not the best start of the day. Focus before you really hurt somebody, Mags told herself. She finished off the last bits of the man’s tattoo and sat back, relieved she’d managed to get through it without any more snags. Gael was already disrupting her life in ways she didn’t like and they’d only fucked once. It was one night, yet she was dreaming about him like some tween with a crush on a Korean boy band. “There you go.”
The customer stood, glancing at the full-length mirror, using the smaller one in his hand to view the finished product. He nodded once, satisfied at the crow with its wings outspread on his back, and then tugged on his shirt as Mags moved to the front counter near the door. John wasn’t there—again. He was more three hours late for shift today. She’d have to let the kid