Abiding Ink (Inked in the Steel City #4) (5 page)

“Really?” A ripple of amusement swept through him. She didn’t look like a teenaged girl in a gaudy gown – she was the epitome of womanliness in her dress and simple black heels, her tasteful make-up.

“Yeah.” She winced as he opened the passenger side door of his car for her. “My mom actually took a picture of me when I came out of my room dressed for the party. I guess that’s a sign that I need to get out more.”

“Don’t get out much, huh?” It was kind of hard to believe that someone who looked like Mallory didn’t have social invitations flying at her left and right. Why would she turn them down?

Not that he didn’t believe her. She’d asked
him
to be her date after Dr. Creepster had all but said that he’d be happy to fill that role, after all.

“Not as much as some other women my age, I guess. I’ve got work, my mom, and I’ve always been kind of a homebody. I’m not much of a party girl.”

“Your mom – does she have health problems or something?” He hadn’t thought anything of Mallory living with her mother, but when she put it that way, she made it sound like there was something more to their living arrangement than simple preference.

“She’s diabetic. Type 2. She was diagnosed a few years ago and her health has been getting steadily worse… I worry about her a lot.”

“Sorry to hear it.”

“I’m just glad I know enough to help – as much as she’ll let me, anyway.”

He dropped the subject, and as he drove toward Mt. Lebanon – the suburb Mallory’s boss called home – her frown faded. When they reached Dr. Creepster’s house, Tyler wasn’t surprised by the sprawling three story residence. In fact, he would’ve been shocked if someone who’d obviously invested thousands in the whiteness of his smile had settled for anything less.

He had to park on the street, behind a long row of other guest’s vehicles. That was all right; it just meant a longer walk through the winter night with Mallory. Touching a hand lightly to the small of her back, he walked beside her, approaching a half-circle driveway lined with Christmas lights, all bright, white and neatly aligned, just like the doctor’s teeth.

A huge wreath hung on the door, laden with artificial winter berries, and as Tyler opened the door, light and noise spilled out onto the stoop.

The foyer and open living room were packed, the cathedral-ceilinged space filled with partiers and throbbing with music that was somehow both seasonal and trendy, like something they’d play at a night club for Santa’s elves. A towering Christmas tree dominated the room and was supported by a host of carefully coordinated decorations. It all looked like something out of a magazine.

“Wow,” Mallory said. “I guess people weren’t kidding about Dr. Anthony going all-out for parties.”

“It’s pretty impressive,” Tyler admitted.

“Look – there’s a rack for coats.” Mallory stepped to the left and unbuttoned her jacket.

For the second time, she surprised him, leaving him completely breathless as she exposed the top half of her dress.

The neckline, which extended well above her collarbones, would’ve been anything but revealing, if it hadn’t been for the cutout, the dress’s sole adornment. It was narrow, and didn’t show too much, but the little bit it did reveal had his imagination racing, his blood rushing a little faster through his veins… And straight below his belt.

He had to look away.

A forced study of the buffet set up in front of the Christmas tree managed to quell the threat of a full-fledged erection.

“Hungry?” Mallory asked, stepping close to his side.

His mouth watered instantly, and he forced himself to follow her gaze to the food laid out by a huge crystal punch bowl, knowing her question had been innocent. “Yeah,” he said, though cocktail shrimp and cheeses were the farthest things from his mind.

“Me too. Looks like we can help ourselves.”

Mallory turned heads as she and Tyler made their way toward the buffet. Hell, she’d probably been turning heads since the moment they’d walked through the door, but he’d been too busy gaping at her himself to notice. He couldn’t blame others for looking twice, though every time a man stared at her for too long, giving her a slow up and down, his thoughts were undercut by vague, primal urges to utterly destroy the offending individual.

Stupid, but he was only human, and in that dress, she didn’t look like anything near so ordinary.

“Oh my God!” A woman with bright red hair burst through the crowd, her sky-high heels clomping against the floorboards as she balanced a cocktail in one hand and a plate bearing a slice of cheesecake in the other. “Mallory, you look
amazing
. I told you that dress was perfect for you. It looks even better now than it did in the dressing room.”

“Hey, Wanda. Thanks. You look beautiful too.”

Wanda grinned at Mallory, then turned her gaze to Tyler. “So, who’s this – I thought you were coming alone, Mallory?”

“Change of plans.”

“
Well
.” Wanda’s brows jumped up and down, fiery above wide blue eyes. “You two are really going to turn heads together tonight, I can guarantee you that.” She took a long sip of her drink and giggled, looking directly at Tyler over the rim of her glass. “What’s your name?”

“Tyler DeHaven.”

“Ooh, a man of few words,” she said after a few moments, as if she’d expected him to not just give his name, but launch into an epic retelling of his entire life story.

“I met Mallory while volunteering at the hospital,” he offered, wary of the look that flashed in Wanda’s eyes as she mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like “mystery man” under her breath.

“I’m sorry,” Mallory intervened, “I should’ve introduced the two of you. Wanda, this is Tyler – we met at the hospital, just like he said. Tyler, this is Wanda. She’s an RN too; we work together. You two may have even glimpsed each other before at the hospital.”

“Oh, I’d remember if we had.” Wanda beamed. “Anyway, nice to meet you, Tyler.”

“Likewise.” He followed Wanda’s gaze down to his forearms, which were partially exposed beneath the rolled-up sleeves of his plain black shirt. Was he underdressed?

Nah, glancing around, it didn’t look like it. Black pants and a shirt that buttoned up – he’d figured the outfit was a safe choice, and most of the other men seemed to be wearing something similar, albeit in brighter colors. A few wore chunky knit Christmas sweaters, but no way was he going there.

It wasn’t his nondescript clothing that had drawn Wanda’s attention – it was his tattoos.

There was a reason Tyler wore his sleeves rolled a few inches up his arms – he liked them that way. Having long sleeves buttoned around his wrists made him feel restrained, and besides, he liked the way Mallory’s eyes lit up when her gaze drifted down to his hands.

“Anyway, they’re making these cute little drinks over at the bar,” Wanda said after a few silent moments. “Red and green, see?” She held up her not-so-little glass, showing off the layered cocktail. “You should both try one! Dr. Anthony said they’re his own special recipe.” She shot Mallory a wink and excused herself. “I’ll stop standing between you two and the buffet – by the way, the cheesecake is to die for.”

Mallory turned to Tyler. “Okay, so now that you’ve met Wanda, my other co-workers should seem pretty tame. Unless that’s an open bar I see over there.”

The bar at the end of the buffet line-up appeared to be exactly that, and it was even staffed by someone who looked like a professional bar tender. “Looks like it.”

“Well, who knows then – people are always joking about how crazy work Christmas parties can get.”

Tyler chose items from the buffet at random, fighting the ever-present temptation to simply stand and stare at Mallory like a deer caught in headlights. Several more of her co-workers approached and she made introductions. Meanwhile the music pulsed, just loud enough to make itself heard without making conversation difficult.

It was only a matter of time before Dr. Creepster noticed that Mallory had arrived.

As he approached, his smile flickered, his gaze drifting toward Tyler and then snapping back to Mallory, giving her one of those up-and-downs that made a vein in the side of Tyler’s neck twitch. Was the doctor disappointed that she’d brought a date?

Looked like it.

“Mallory,” Dr. Creepster said, extending a hand to brush her shoulder as he approached, clutching a drink in the other. A martini, unsurprisingly. He probably stuck to clear liquors in order to avoid staining his teeth. An enormous olive skewered by a little plastic stick lay at the bottom of the glass, the only hint of red and green.

“Hi, Dr. Anthony.” Mallory smiled politely. “Your home is beautiful, and so are the decorations.”

“Thank you.” He arched a brow. “I see you decided not to come alone, after all.”

Mallory introduced Tyler to the doctor, and vice-versa, mentioning that Tyler volunteered at the hospital.

“A volunteer. That’s nice,” Dr. Anthony said. “What do you do for work?” His gaze flickered toward Tyler’s forearms but quickly returned to Mallory.

“I tattoo at a place called Hot Ink.”

Tyler could imagine what the doctor thought of that, although really, someone who had such unnaturally white teeth should hold at least a little appreciation for body modification.

“Well, Mallory, you’ve surprised me.” The doctor inclined his head toward her, like he was conceding a point. “I wouldn’t have expected you of all people to date a tattoo artist. You always seem so serious and focused on your work. This seems more like a stunt Wanda would pull.” His grin widened.

Mallory stood a little taller as her spine stiffened, and her polite smile faded away, leaving her looking … what, disappointed? Maybe a little wary. “I
am
serious and focused when I’m at work. At least, I try to be. I’m not sure what that has to do with Tyler.”

Dr. Anthony laughed it off, like it was all part of a joke, and excused himself, striking up a conversation with someone who’d just walked through the front door.

“Is he always like that, or is that his tenth martini of the night?” Tyler asked, willing the stiffness to go out of his jaw.

“That was so rude of him,” Mallory said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think – I mean, he’s never said anything like that to me before.”

Yeah, and she’d probably never spent time with him outside of work before, either. There was no doubt about it – her boss wasn’t happy that she’d brought a plus one.

Tyler couldn’t even enjoy knowing he’d pissed the doctor off. His mind kept drifting back to the moment when the doctor had touched her shoulder flirtatiously. It was bullshit, a woman being treated like that by her boss. What right did he have to comment on her dating life, let alone touch her?

“Don’t worry about what he said,” Tyler told her, hating the worried look in her eyes. “My ego can handle it – I may look sensitive and delicate, but I’m no fragile flower.”

A smile cracked the surface of her apparent distress. “Want to get a drink?”

“I’ll get you one. What do you want – one of those red and green things?”

“Cranberry and vodka.”

That sounded a lot better than the Christmas cocktails everyone else was guzzling down. Drinks that looked cool usually tasted gross, in Tyler’s experience. When he went to the bar, he ordered Mallory’s drink and a beer for himself. Knowing he’d be driving home, he didn’t risk drinking anything stronger.

She took the glass with a smile and lifted it to her mouth, where the liquid shone like rubies against her lips.

“So,” she said when her drink was gone, “do you like to dance?”

Her lips were still shining with the last traces of her drink, a natural red gloss that glistened beneath the Christmas lights. The music faded as she met his eyes, and the first few notes of a new song filled the room – a slow one.