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And that s what scared him.
The day thankfully passed quickly, and he stood up, rolling his neck to try and get the crick out.
His stomach grumbled and he cursed himself. Somehow, he d gone through most of the day without
eating anything except the protein bar he d found in his desk. Who knew how old that thing was. In the
past, Callie might have gone and gotten the crew lunch, but now that she was a full-time artist and not
an apprentice, she was just far too busy. Autumn, Griffin Montgomery s woman, worked up front most
days, but today had been her day off. That meant he d been forced to get his own food and hadn t had
the time between clients.
Go get food or go home, Austin said from his station.
Sloane looked over at his friend. What?
You haven t eaten today, and that s fucking stupid in our line of work. You don t have any
clients on the docket and the walk-ins aren t that bad today. Maya, Callie, and I can handle the
influx.
Sloane ran a hand down the back of his neck. We need more artists.
Austin nodded. I m putting out my feelers for someone who can be here for as many hours as
we are. Or maybe I can get another apprentice.
There were four other artists that worked there on partial shifts, but they weren t full time since
they either lived too far away or had other jobs. What they needed was another full timer.
If I hear anything, I ll let you know, Sloane added.
Good. Now go next door, see your woman, and get some food. Head home and take her with
you. Or at least make her go home. She s been here as long as you have I bet.
His woman.
He sure loved the sound of that. But was it the truth? Was she his? They hadn t truly discussed
what they were doing, other than that they were taking it one moment at a time. The fact she d bared
her secrets to him had meant more than anything.
Sloane nodded at his boss, then the others, before cleaning up his station. After, he headed into
Taboo through the side door and stopped two feet in.
She was magnificent.
Her teeth bit into her lip as she fought not to laugh at whatever Sierra, Austin s wife, had said.
She had flour on her apron, but other than that, she looked pristine not like a woman who had
probably been on her feet for a full shift.
He d always known she was strong, but now that he knew the truth, he saw the depth of that
strength. He was a big man big hands, large chest just big. He could break her if he weren t
careful.
He could break her with more than his strength, he knew. The fragility that slid under the surface
of her skin wasn t easy to see, but he saw it. She could be the strongest woman in the world and still
carry that.
He couldn t hurt her.
But he just might.
She turned to him then and smiled, though there was wariness in her eyes. It made sense, after
all. He hadn t come by for coffee and this was the first time they d seen each other since he d left her
house the night before. He wasn t sure if he should go to her, kiss her senseless, then carry her out of
the building over his shoulder, or stay here and watch her from afar.
He stuck his hands in his pockets and let his smile rise just a little so she would know he liked
seeing her.
Sierra looked between them and smiled like the Grinch at Christmas. She all but rubbed her
hands together in glee. Of course, he only saw this out of the corner of his eye, as the rest of his
attention was on the blonde in front of him the blonde he wanted in his arms.
Hey, he said.
Hey.
Sierra clapped her hands together, this time in truth, and slid off her stool. Hi, Sloane. I m going
to head to Harry and Marie s to pick up the kids. She grinned. They wanted time with the
grandbabies today. Hailey was just telling me she was done for the day since her closing crew is
here. Perfect timing.
She waved and said her good-byes before she headed through the door to Montgomery Ink,
presumably to kiss her husband on her way out.
That left Sloane and Hailey awkwardly standing in front of one another in silence.
Hailey cleared her throat. Uh, yeah, I was about to get off.
He wanted to get her off.
Jesus, his mind needed to stay out of the gutter.
From the way her cheeks blushed, her mind had gone there, too. Interesting.
Want to get something to eat? he asked. His stomach rumbled then. Loudly. He winced.
Apparently, I really need to eat.
She smiled then and waved at the counter. Let me get you some stew. It s the kind you like. I ll
get a bowl, too.
He met her gaze. Can we take it to go?
She studied his face for a moment then nodded. That I can do. Where are we going? She bit
her lip again, this time her gaze traveling down his body, slowly.
Your place, he whispered, and she sucked in a shaky breath.
Oh. Okay. She looked up again and licked her lips. We can do that. She turned back to the
kitchen, and he swallowed hard.
He didn t know what they would do once they got there, but he couldn t wait to find out. She
came back quickly, her jacket on and a large bag in her hands. He took it from her, their hands
brushing.
They both sucked in a breath, and he had to smile. I ll follow you, he said softly before
leaning down to brush a kiss against her lips.
She pressed closer and he had to hold back a groan. They were in public her shop and place of
business. It wouldn t do to have him pick her up by the waist and place her on the counter so he could
get a better angle at her mouth.
He d have to wait for them to be alone for that.
When he pulled back, she licked her lips again. See you at my place, she breathed, then took
his hand and led them to the parking lot.
The relief that hit him was heady. He d been afraid they d have to hide this since things were so
new, but that wasn t the case. He hadn t thought twice about leaning down to kiss her once he d seen
her, and he was damn lucky she hadn t pulled back too quickly.
They needed to talk, but first& first he needed her taste.
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