a cash box.
“Hi, can I help you?” he asked.
She blinked at him before her gaze was drawn to the inked art on both his arms. He was wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt and every inch of his skin from his wrists up to the edge of his sleeves was covered in tattoos.
“Miss?”
She dragged her gaze back to his face to catch a brief look of annoyance crossing it. He was handsome, maybe even better looking than Preacher, but she didn’t feel any type of sexual attraction to him. Apparently, her vagina was only hot for a particular grumpy tattoo artist.
“Sorry, I thought… does Nolan not work here anymore?”
“He’s off today. How can I help you?”
“Oh, um, I’m here to see Preacher.”
“He’s with a client. Do you have an appointment?”
She stared at the curtained off tattoo station. “No, but -”
“He’s fully booked for walk-in appointments until after next week,” the man said. “You can book with him for mid-August, or you can book with me.”
“You work here?” She winced at her stupidity. Obviously, he worked there.
“I’m Nix.” He held out his hand and she shook it.
“Addison.”
“Nice to meet you. What kind of tattoo were you thinking of getting?”
“Oh, I wasn’t here for -”
“Are you fucking kidding me? You have to give me a refund!”
Their heads swiveled toward the tattoo station as the curtain was drawn back with a rattle. Bethany - she of the four-leaf clover tattoo and naked vagina – glared at Preacher, her hands fisted on her hips and her lips thin.
“I told you not to get it wet. You did. You didn’t follow my advice and you ruined your tattoo. You don’t get a refund.” Preacher’s voice was calm, but Addison could see a muscle ticking in his jaw.
“You asshole!” Bethany shouted. “You didn’t say anything about not getting the tattoo wet.”
“Yes, I did. It’s in the written care instructions you were given, and I specifically told you not to get it wet as well.”
“It doesn’t even look like a four-leaf clover anymore. It looks like a… like a smeared piece of snot on my fucking pussy!”
“Not my problem,” Preacher said. “Next time pay attention to the care instructions.”
“You’re seriously not going to give me a fucking refund?” Bethany’s face was bright red and her slender body was stiff as a rabid dog’s.
“Fucking right, I’m not,” Preacher said.
“You asshole!” Bethany screeched. “I’m gonna tell everyone that you’re a shit tattoo artist who doesn’t know shit about tattooing.”
“Have a nice day.” Preacher folded his arms across his massive chest. A bored look had settled on his face but the muscle in his jaw tick-tick-ticked in rapid succession.
For a moment, Addison was sure Bethany would try and claw Preacher’s eyes out. Instead, she turned and stomped toward the door, pushing past Addison with an irritated huff before pausing at the door and glaring again at Preacher. “I’m glad you didn’t show up at my tent. I wouldn’t fuck you if you were the last man on earth. You’re a pathetic loser who probably doesn’t know shit about making a woman come.”
When Preacher didn’t reply, her face went a darker shade of crimson and, with a final muttered ‘asshole’, Bethany flounced out of the shop.
Silence descended over the shop. The muscle in his jaw still ticking, Preacher frowned at Addison. “What are you doing here?”
Shit. Could she have had worse timing?
“I’ll come back on Monday,” she said and groped behind her for the door handle.
His scowl deepened and she swallowed hard when he stalked forward and stopped just in front of her. “What’s going on?”
She licked her lips. Now that he was closer, she could see how angry Preacher actually was. It should have frightened her. Instead, she wondered how much hotter sex would be with a pissed off Preacher.
“I think it’s infected,” she said.
“Tattoo or piercing?”
“Piercing.”
A muscle in his temple joined the jaw muscle in ticking solidarity. He took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring before he reached behind her and flipped the open sign to close. His hard chest nearly touched her breasts and … God help her, why did he always have to smell so good?
He turned away to stare at Nix. “You can head out. I’ll close up the shop.”
“All right. See you tomorrow.” Nix headed toward the door. “Nice to meet you, Addison.”
“You too.”
When he was gone, Preacher locked the door behind him. “C’mon.” Without looking at her, he walked toward the piercing room.
She followed him to the piercing room. Shamefully, her pussy was already tingling, and