Tenley shook her ass as she shelved books, arranging them with no plan I could see. But then, she subscribed to the Dewey decimal system rather than the Hayden Stryker System of organizing books. I leaned against the doorjamb and watched. It was pretty damn entertaining, even though I wanted to get in there and move everything around. There were no straight lines, no continuity. It was mayhem. Or maybe I was being a little overdramatic. It happened occasionally.
When the box was empty, she broke it down and tossed it in the pile of discarded cardboard. The view as she bent over was stellar. I had the better part of an hour before I had to be at work; that was plenty of time to get into those shorts of hers.
Tenley turned around with a gasp, yanking out one of the earbuds. “You scared me!”
“Sorry.” Not even a little bit.
Her hands went to her hips. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough.” I rubbed my mouth to hide my smile. “I like your rendition of that song way better than the original.”
“Ha-ha. You’re such a comedian.” Her cheeks were pink.
“I’m serious.” Her voice wasn’t half-bad and she knew it. She was always singing along in the car.
She ignored the comment and turned back to the pile of boxes. “What time is it?”
“It’s just after eleven.”
“What? I didn’t realize I’d been at this so long. I need to change.” She abandoned the box and tried to get past me.
I snaked an arm around her waist to stop her. “Where do you need to be?” Nothing was on the calendar, and she didn’t teach or have classes today.
“I have a meeting with my group. We scheduled it yesterday. I forgot to tell you last night.”
Last night I’d been snooping around in some of her boxes. I found her porn stash. It was eye-opening; a lot of the stuff in there I hadn’t expected. After she got over her unnecessary embarrassment, I kept her pretty well occupied. I could see how she might have forgotten to tell me about the meeting.
“With the Nerd Herd?”
“Don’t call them that,” she said, smiling.
“What time do you have to leave?”
“I don’t. They’re coming here.”
“Here? To our place?” She tried to worm her way out of my grip, but I wouldn’t let her get away.
“I thought that would be okay. It’s more convenient than meeting on campus.”
“But I have to go to Inked Armor.” During the last group project, that Ian fucker weaseled his way back into her group. The rest of those guys were harmless nerds, but Ian thought he was slick. He was always trying to buddy up to me, telling me what a great girl Tenley was. As if I didn’t already fucking know.
She frowned. “We don’t need a chaperone. We’re working on a project, not throwing a keg party.”
“I know that.”
She sighed. “They’re supposed to be here in half an hour. Do I need to call Patrick and ask if we can go to his place?”
“That’s not necessary. Is that dickwad Ian still in your group?”
Tenley’s brow lifted. “He’s not interested in me.”
“Yes. He is.”
“He knows I live with you.”
“That just makes you more of a challenge.”
“He’s got a girlfriend.”
“Only because you’re not available.”
She rolled her eyes and pushed on my chest. “He’s not in our group anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Why didn’t you say that in the first place?”
“Because you’re impossible. Let me go. I need to shower before they get here.”
I let her go. But I caught her when she was getting out of the shower and took advantage of her nakedness. She was still getting dressed when her group arrived, so I greeted them. Just as I’d planned. There was a new girl in place of Ian. She seemed a little nervous, but I was happy to see another female in the group. I set them up in the living room and even brought them drinks like a good host. When Tenley came downstairs, she was wearing her STRYKER hoodie and a pair of jeans.
“I gotta run.” I pulled her in for a kiss. She kept her lips together, even when I stroked the seam with my tongue.
She disengaged, her flush showing her embarrassment. “I’ll be at the shop around seven.”
Shit. I’d meant to broach the subject earlier, before I delayed Tenley with the postshower sex.
I glanced at the Nerd Herd plus New Girl. It might work to my advantage to have them here. Tenley wasn’t as likely to get upset with me in front of other people. “About that—”
She gave her head a vehement shake. “Oh, no. Nope. No way.”
Or maybe she wouldn’t care if she had company. “But I—”
“I’ll be right back, make yourselves comfortable.” She flashed her group a forced smile and grabbed my hand, hauling me out of the room. She stopped once we were in the kitchen, where we’d be out of earshot and their line of view.
“You’ve already rescheduled me twice; you’re not doing it again.”
“But I have this client who needs—”
“You have lots of clients who need things from you, and I’m one of them. I’ve waited long enough. I want this piece finished, Hayden.”
“I get that. It’s just . . .” I had no justifiable reason for holding off.
“First you get all territorial about my group coming over, and now you want to cancel my session again. What’s this really about?” She cocked her head and waited.
I clearly wasn’t getting out of an explanation. I stared at the floor and nudged her toe with mine. “I don’t want this to be the last session.”
Tenley’s arms went around my neck and her cheek rested against my chest. “Finishing the tattoo doesn’t mean it’s the last time I’ll be in your chair.”
“I know.”
Rationally speaking, I understood that. But finishing a tattoo this extensive brought with it a whole barrage of emotions. Not just for Tenley, but for me as well. That was the part I struggled with most because I’d never felt this way about anyone else before. I’d experienced the post-ink high and the comedown many times. Sometimes the positives outweighed the negatives. Not always, though. That was part of the reason I kept postponing—unsure not only of how Tenley would handle the last session, but how I would.
“Then why keep putting me off?”
“I just want this to be good for you.”
“It will be.” She sounded so certain.
There was no backing out now. Before the day was over, Tenley’s tattoo would be complete.
I had a full lineup of clients scheduled for the day. The guy before Tenley showed up late and needed more breaks than I’d anticipated, which meant Tenley had to wait. She didn’t look happy about it, likely worried I would use it as another reason to postpone the final session.
She and Lisa went over to Serendipity to visit with Cassie and grab coffees. Tenley hadn’t resumed her shifts there after she came back from Arden Hills since she didn’t need the money. The job had been a way to fill her time. It had become unnecessary because she wasn’t running from her pain anymore.
It was after eight by the time I finished with my client. Lisa, Jamie, and Chris were all leaving, so Tenley and I would have the shop to ourselves. The session would only last a couple of hours if I took my time and dragged it out, which I planned to do.
Even though we were alone, I locked us in the private room and busied myself with checking the tray of supplies. It was redundant. I’d prepared everything early in the afternoon to get into the right frame of mind.
Things had been so good between us recently. Aside from my display of overt possessiveness this morning, there hadn’t been any drama. I wasn’t losing my shit over towels that weren’t perfectly lined up. She was managing school well; her new adviser was much easier to work with. Calder had lost his tenure when the video was “accidentally” leaked online and then intentionally sent to the dean. I didn’t want anything to mess up the balance we’d finally established.