Page 196 of The Trouble With Bad Boys

“Yep.”

He studies me closely and I studiously concentrate on my task, avoiding eye contact with him. He knows me too well. I started my apprenticeship here with him when I was in my late teens and eventually bought the studio from him when he no longer wanted the strife of operating a business. He huffs but leaves me to my muddled thoughts.

Eight

Sophie

I suck in a lungful of air to erase Lincoln’s sexy cedar scent from my lungs as I leave the office and head to the front desk.

He’s my boss. He’s my boss. He’s my boss. I repeat the mantra, to remind myself of our relationship.

I don’t know why I want to go with him to his appointment. I have a ton of stuff I need to do before work tomorrow. Maybe I shouldn’t go; it’s not like he was keen on the idea. His obvious rejection reminded me we’re nothing more than work colleagues. We’re not friends who hang out outside of work hours. I can catch up with Hope another time.

I shake off my confusion, paste on a smile, and greet the gentleman standing at the counter. When he tells me he’s here for his appointment for his leg sleeve, I lead him to Linc’s station, which is already prepared, and begin shaving his lower leg.

Linc meets us there and pulls Aaron into a familiar man hug, then turns to me. “Sophie, this is my best friend and roommate. Aaron, this is Sophie.”

Aaron raises his eyebrows at Lincoln and turns to me with a wicked grin. “Great to meet you, Sophie.” He thumbs over his shoulder. “Is this guy behaving?”

I chuckle, catching Linc’s eyes over his friend’s shoulder. “He’s a great boss.”

“Good to hear. You let me know if anything changes.” He winks at me.

Linc pushes his shoulder,—“She won’t need to. I’m a fucking exceptional boss.”—then shoves him back into the chair and shows Aaron the final design for his tattoo while I complete my task. Once I’m finished, I clean up the mess and make myself scarce.

I need to keep my distance until I can work out why I feel the need to go to his appointment with him. My first thought is that I’m being a good friend. He doesn’t know Hope, so it makes sense for me to be there.

When I dig deeper, I know I’m lying to myself. I have a lot of respect for Lincoln. He’s wicked talented, and he’s been patient as he teaches me the ins and outs of becoming a proficient tattoo artist. The more time I spend with him, the more my respect grows. But that’s not the only thing that grows. I’m insanely attracted to the man. Where I once thought he was gruff and angry, he’s actually sweet and caring. Every morning, he has a cup of coffee waiting for me at the front desk and he always makes sure I take my breaks. His sheer masculinity calls to my most feminine side, and his appeal becomes more potent every day as I spend more time with him.

Sometimes I sense the attraction goes both ways, which is surprising considering he made a big deal about how young I looked. I admit I don’t know him outside of work, only that he fights, which is a red flag for me. I’m not sure I could bring him around James, but I quickly shake the thought out of my head because I’m getting ahead of myself.

I startle when a hand lands on my lower back and I spin around, whacking the person behind me with the dustpan, sending Aaron’s leg hair everywhere. “Sorry.” I drop to my knees to clean up the mess behind the reception desk, but Lincoln captures my elbow, stopping me.

“Completely my fault.” His eyes catch on my mouth and pause there. See. When he does that, it seems like he’s attracted to me. I drop my eyes to the center of his chest, tuck my loose hair behind my ear, and do my best not to lick my lips, which suddenly feel parched. He dips at the knees, catches my chin with his knuckle, and lifts my head so I have to look him in the eye. We’re having a moment, right? It isn’t my imagination. After a pause, he drops his hand and steps away from me. “Since you’ve already done the initial prep, would you like to position the stencil? I’ll guide you through it to make sure it’s lined up correctly. I’ve already asked Aaron, and he’s okay with it.”

My confusion is forgotten and my grin is instantly obnoxious. “Absolutely.”

“Okay. Wash your hands and meet me at my station.”

My hands shake with anticipation as I put on a fresh pair of gloves. I’ve done this on fake skin, but this is the first time on a real person and I want to get it just right. I want to make Lincoln proud of me, especially in front of his friend. I want to show him he didn’t make a mistake when he hired me.

Linc asks Aaron to stand on the small platform he has on hand and passes the skin marker to me in my kneeled position. “Okay, look at Aaron’s knee, and let’s measure the central point.” I do as he says and look up to him for confirmation before I mark the spot. A mistake on my part, because my eyes land directly on his crotch, which has an impressive bulge behind the zipper. I swallow and shift my eyes up to his face, hoping he didn’t notice. “Yep, that looks good. Mark it.” I do as he says. “Now use your fingers to feel your way down his shin until you get to his ankle. Where do you think the central point is?”

I concentrate hard, ensuring I maintain the line along his bone. “Here?”

“Yep. Good girl. Mark it.” Tingles erupt across my body at his praise. Geez, girl, keep yourself in check.

He passes me the stencil. “See how I’ve already marked the center here at the top and bottom, line the points up, and let’s see how it sits.”

I do as he says, and he tells me to draw a mark across the stencil and onto Aaron’s leg to make it easier to find the right position once we’re ready to apply it. Linc passes the stencil stuff and I shake it like Ken taught me, then rub the white cream uniformly over the area for the tattoo. Once it’s tacky to the touch, I realign the marks I made and press the stencil evenly onto Aaron’s shin. I peel it off slowly and am happy to see the stencil pattern is perfect and exhale a long breath.

“You did a good job. Now we’ll wait ten to fifteen minutes and I can start inking the design. Thanks, Soph.”

I sit and observe Linc as he inks the geometric design to the front of Aaron’s lower leg. This tattoo is being done in two sections because it’s a sizable piece. I completely forget about my need to put distance between us and get lost in the mesmerizing strokes of Linc’s gun.

“Soph?” I spin in my seat toward Ken.

“Yeah.”

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