Inked (2 page)

He stopped and glanced her way.
“Hey,
Stella.”
He grinned, and God, was it one of those panty dropping grins
that made girls wet instantly. And yeah, she was one of those girls right now.
“What’s up?” He shoved his phone in the back of his jeans and adjusted the bag
with his tattooing equipment in his hand.

Stella looked over at the bar again, saw her dad
eyeing her curiously, and she quickly looked back at Cadeon. “I was wondering
if you’d have time to give me a tattoo, my first one actually.”

He cocked a dark eyebrow, and his grin grew.
“A virgin huh?”

Stella felt her cheeks heat. The first thing she had
thought about was something totally different. She shook her head, and then her
face heated even further. “Uh, no, I mean, yeah.”

His grin
widened,
and right
then she wanted the ground to open her up and swallow her whole.

She stood and smoothed her suddenly sweaty hands over
the back of her jeans. “But yeah, I was actually thinking of getting one. I
mean look at the guys I am surrounded by. They are all covered in tattoos, yet
I don’t even have one.” Now she was stuttering out her words and felt like some
kind of fifteen year old girl talking to the first guy she ever crushed on.
Three years of knowing him, and having very small and “safe” conversations with
him, clearly did not make this any easier. But honestly all she could think
about was having him so close, having his hands on her, and knowing she was
going to be a nervous wreck when he finally pressed that needle down on her
skin for the first time.

He ran a hand over the back of his head, and she was
riveted at the way his bicep tensed and flexed from the movement. “Yeah, I can
give you some ink. Just tell me the time and place and I’ll work my schedule
around it.”

Her heart started to work double-time, and she
smiled. “What about this weekend?” In her peripheral vision, she saw her dad
walk toward her. She turned and looked up at her dad, saw the nasty scar that
started right below his left eye and moved all the way down to where his
jugular was. He had gotten that a couple of years after she was born and it was
how he had gotten the nickname “Scars”. She might have been young, but he had
told her how he had gotten the scar, and how her mother had died. Stella hated
that story, hated thinking that a rival MC had come seeking retribution and her
mother had been in at the wrong place at the very wrong time. It had cost her
her
life, and nearly killed her dad. This life was ugly and
violent, but it was all she knew, and all her father and the men in this club
knew.

“Hey, baby girl.” Her dad wrapped his big arm around
her and pulled her in close to the side of his body. Stella wasn’t a “small”
girl by any means, and even considered herself on the thicker side. But
standing next to any of the guys within the club had her feeling like she was
petite. “What are you guys grinning about over here?” her father asked, but his
focus was on Cadeon. He may have been the exclusive ink man for The Vicious
Bastards, but her father was very protective of her and usually jumped to
conclusions before getting all the facts.

“I was actually talking to Cadeon about getting my
first tattoo.”

Her dad looked at her, and she saw the flash of
surprise on his face.
“Yeah?
Uh.”
He rubbed his hand up and down her arm. “I was wondering when you’d finally get
one.
Where you thinking about getting it?”
He turned
and looked at Cadeon again.

“I don’t know. I was hoping Cadeon could help me on
placement.” There was a silent moment among the three of them, even though the
sound of deep laughter and filthy words came from right beside them.

Her dad looked over at her again. “Well, let me know
what you decide.” Scars slapped Cadeon on the back, and turned toward her and
leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. He headed back to the other members by
the bar.

“Come on, I’m heading out to my car anyway. I’ll
walk you out.” She tilted her head toward the front door, but before she could
leave a few of the guys had to stop what they were doing and say bye, too. She
had never been embarrassed by the affection the guys gave her, and really
wasn’t right now either; but she felt Cadeon watching everything, and couldn’t
help but feel her face heat at all the attention she was getting.

A lot of people in their small town hated The Vicious
Bastards MC. She was known as the “biker bitch princess” and although she
shouldn’t take offense at names like that, she did take offense to people
disrespecting her family.

Reckless, Colorado would have been ideal as more of
a retirement community than being the home of a bunch of outlaw bikers, but
this had been their home before all the “old folk” started making roots here.
People talked in a small town, as they usually did, and whenever a Vicious
Bastard walked down the street people tended to stay away. Yeah, they were big,
mean, usually dirty from fixing their bikes, and were the most dangerous men
Stella had ever met, but if they were treated right then they treated others
like gold.

The picturesque mountain town was perfect for the MC
though, and not just because it was out in the middle of nowhere. The club had
pipelines set up with adjoining cities in and around Colorado, and they all had
to come through Reckless to get their shit to their final destination.

Stella stepped through the clubhouse front doors
first, and although she didn’t turn around to know Cadeon was right behind her,
she could feel his very presence. The sun was starting to set, and prospects
and members were wrapping things up for the evening.

“So, about that tattoo.”
Cadeon stepped in front and looked down at her. He grabbed his sunglasses that
he had placed in the collar of his shirt and slipped them over his eyes. God,
that man had no idea the effect he had on women, or maybe he did, and that had
been what Ranger meant about his reputation. Just because she had known him for
the last three years didn’t mean she knew his business. Cadeon did a pretty
good job of keeping to himself, but if someone lived in Reckless then The Vicious
Bastards knew everything about them.

“Your dad is kind of worried about you,” Cadeon
said.

His words had Stella lifting both of her eyebrows in
surprise. “You got that from that tiny interaction back there?” She pointed
behind her at the clubhouse even though it was a stupid move. Of course he
would know what she was talking about.

The corner of Cadeon’s mouth kicked up.” Your dad
didn’t need to tell me to watch my step for me to know that was what he meant.”
Before she could respond he was talking again. “Don’t let the tattoos and
Harley
fool
you. I am a pretty harmless guy.” Now she
didn’t know if she believed all that.

Stella smiled and glanced down at her feet. “Well,
he can be pretty badass without saying much.” She looked up at him again. “But
if I’m going to get my very first tattoo I’d like you to be the one to give it
to me. I trust you.” Her pulse was pounding so hard and fast that she could
hear it in her ears. But Cadeon was like stone in front of her and didn’t move
or respond, which had the effect of making
her
feel
like a fool. “I mean, if you want to be my first.”
Oh God. Just shoot me now.

He grinned this time, flashing his straight white
teeth and making all of her erogenous zones jump up and down in feminine
excitement. “You know what design you want?”

She nodded, but before she could tell him he was
speaking again.

“How about you come by the shop tomorrow evening? My
last client is at six, so any time after that.”

“Okay, thanks.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but
he smiled even wider, and turned and headed toward his Harley. Yeah, the man
could wear a pair of jeans like no one’s business.

Stella stayed right where she was and watched as he
put his bag into one of the saddle compartments on the side of his bike,
straddled the Harley, and put his skullcap on. Then he started the engine, she
swore she could feel the vibrations from where she stood, and they traveled
right through her body. He looked her way, or maybe it was just wishful
thinking on her part, because honestly she couldn’t quite tell because of his
sunglasses.

She didn’t know how long she stood there even after
he had rode off but she knew that come tomorrow she was going to have one hell
of a time keeping her hormones in check. With Cadeon so close to her, him
touching her in an intimate way, and even though it might not be that way for
him … yeah, she was wet right now just from the thought.

Stella was in for one hell of a tattoo session if
she couldn’t get herself under control.

Chapter Two

Cadeon was having a really fucking hard time getting
his dick to go down, and since he was on his Harley that was one uncomfortable
fucking ride. He had been thinking about Stella all damn day, going over the
things he felt for her, and that said things were not good at all. What he
wanted to do to her since the moment he saw her three years before were filthy,
hardcore, and would get his ass kicked ten times over by each and every Vicious
Bastard. It was just a tattoo after all, but then again it wasn’t. He would be
up close and personal with Stella, and that was dangerous, seeing as he wanted
her like he had never wanted another woman before. He had done a good job of
keeping his dick in his pants where Stella was concerned, and pretty much
keeping his distance. It was better that way, safer, too. The last thing he
wanted to do was piss off the President of The Vicious Bastards because he had
fucked his little girl. That, right there, was ground for him to go missing …
like the six feet under kind of missing.

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.