When I’m done, I place the tattoo gun down and stare at the artwork placed on her body by me. I suddenly get jealous at the thought of anyone else ever marking her. “I want to be the only one to tattoo you. Got it, Tripp? I’ll always drop everything if I need to. You know that.”
“Yes,” she says with a hint of a smile. “Of course I know that, and you’re the only one I trust to poke me with a damn tattoo gun.”
Tripp doesn’t open her eyes until I’m done cleaning her off and covering the tattoo with a thin layer of ointment. “All done?” She peeks one eye up at me. I nod and she finally opens the second eye. “That wasn’t too bad. I was expecting it to hurt more.”
Smiling, she stands up. “Can I look now?”
Peeling off my gloves, I toss them into the trash and nod at her, watching to see her reaction.
Turning around to face the mirror, Tripp leans her head to the side to get a good look. She stares at the stars and moon for a few minutes with a look of awe on her face. She almost looks as if she’s going to burst into tears. “Alex . . . is this?”
Walking over to me, her eyes meet mine as she lifts my shirt over my head and throws it behind me. Pulling her eyes away, she lifts my arm up and looks down at the same exact tattoo that is on my right ribcage. She lightly runs her fingers across it. “Your mom’s drawing?”
“Of course it is.” Looking her in the eyes, I wrap both of my hands into the back of her hair and tug. “This is me showing you just how much you truly mean to me, Tripp. You’ve been there through everything and I love you for that. . . . My mom loved you.”
“Damn you,” she says while wiping the tears from her face. “You just had to make me cry before work, didn’t you?”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “You like it?”
She smiles. “Don’t be. This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. I loved your mom too, very much, and I don’t like the tattoo, I love it. A lot.”
Placing my forehead to hers, I’m just about to lean in and kiss her when my door flies open and Ace appears with a huge ass grin. “Your client is here early, but damn . . . they can wait. Maybe I should wait in here.”
Placing my arms around Tripp protectively, I turn her around and cover her body with mine. The thought of him seeing her almost naked infuriates me. If his dick gets hard, I’m going to rip it the fuck off. “Get the fuck out, Ace.” I run my thumb over Tripp’s face to wipe her tears as she leans her head into my chest to hide her face. “Give me five fucking minutes, and knock next time.”
“Not a problem, man. . . . Take your time.”
He’s lucky he leaves when he does, because this is a special fucking moment for me. Being close to Tripp while remembering my mother squeezes my heart. I know she misses her almost as much as I do and that only makes me love her more. I swear Ace has the worst damn timing.
“Thank you, Alex.” She throws her arms around my neck and pulls me to her as tightly as she can. She acts like her being half naked right now and Ace walking in has no effect on her at all. She’s completely lost in this moment with me: my sweet caring angel. “I know how much this drawing means to you and it means a lot to me that you would share that with me.”
“Yeah, sure.” I nod my head, trying to keep my emotions under control. I’m not afraid to cry, but I can’t let myself get so worked up that I won’t be able to focus on the appointments I have for the day. “You’re the only one I’d ever want to share it with, Tripp.”
Trying to change the mood, I kiss the top of her head, slap her perfect ass, and pull away from her. “I need to get this shit cleaned up.” I dig in the pocket of my favorite jeans . . . damn the memories . . . and pull out the keys to my truck. “Take my truck to work.”
Tripp takes the keys and tilts her head as she watches me clean up. “How will you get home if I take your truck? I can just ask Harley for a ride. No biggie.”
I toss my keys back at her when she tries giving them back. “Dax’s is less than ten minutes from here. I’ll walk or run. . . . Take it.”
She smiles down at the keys before slipping her dress back over her head and reaching for her bra. “I promise to keep this thing off now. I know what you were about to say it.”
“Good. Then you know me well.” I smile and look her up and down, my eyes landing back on those perfect tits in that tight little dress. It’s going to be hard to keep my hands off her this week.
I know that Lucas is gone for the week, but Tripp doesn’t know that I know yet. I figure she’ll tell me later after she gets off work. I’m in no rush to hear what I already know.
“Alright . . . I’m out before your client gets pissed and leaves.” She kisses my cheek and heads for the door, stopping to turn back at me. “See you in a few.”
“I’ll be there out of breath and sweaty.” I wink. “Take care of my truck.”
She raises her brows and holds the keys up in front of her. “I’ll try not to ride it too hard . . .” She gives me a knowing smirk and rushes out the door before I can respond.
Fuuuck me . . .
She knows exactly how she’s leaving me: hard, horny, and going crazy to be back between those legs. If she doesn’t know, then she’s fucking crazy.
I’VE BEEN HERE AT DAX’S for the last fifteen minutes, watching Tripp work behind the bar. She’s so fucking sexy mixing those drinks and she is totally fucking clueless to the fact. It makes me want to walk behind the bar, pull her into my arms, and kiss every inch of her body just to see that look she gets on her face whenever I touch her. The one where she knows just how beautiful she truly is.
Every few minutes or so she glances my way and smiles as I tip back my beer and wait for her to have a free moment. After about ten minutes, she finally makes her way over to me, sweaty and out of breath.
“Holy shit . . .” She reaches for a glass and fills it with ice and water. “It’s never been so hot in here. The action never stops behind the bar. Now I know why Harley never wants to help me clean up at the end of the night. Wow.”
I watch her in complete wonder as she quickly tilts her glass of water back and spills little drops all down her chest as she chugs it. My eyes fall from her face, watching the water as it drips further down her chest and disappears beneath the thin fabric of her silver dress.