Page 3 of Fallen Ink

Adrienne met Thea’s gaze, but the two sisters didn’t say anything. If Roxie had something she wanted to share, she would. For now, everyone had other things on their minds. Namely, opening day.

Shep punched Austin in the shoulder one more time before backing away and grinning. “Okay, okay, I’m too old for this shit.”

“True, you are too old.” Austin winked, and Adrienne pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Great way to show everyone that we’re all so professional and ready to lead with our own shop,” she said, no bite to her tone. This was her family, and she was used to it all. If they weren’t joking around and being loveable, adorable dorks, she’d have thought something was wrong.

“It’s sort of what we signed on for,” Ryan said with a wink. “Right, Mace? I mean, the legendary Montgomery antics are why any tattoo artist worth their salt wants to join up with them.”

Mace gave them all a solemn nod, laughter dancing in his eyes. “It wouldn’t be a Montgomery gathering without someone getting punched. Isn’t that what you taught me, Adrienne?”

She flipped him off, knowing that Livvy’s head was down so she wouldn’t see. She tried not to be too bad of an influence on her niece.

“Okay, party people. Finish your drinks and cake and then let’s clean up. We have three clients scheduled between one and two this afternoon, and Ryan is handling any walk-ins.” Though she wasn’t sure there would be any walk-ins since it was day one and they were doing a slow start. Some of their long-time clients had moved with them, and they already had a waiting list because of it, but that could change on a dime. Having word of mouth would be what made their shop a success, and that meant getting more clients in who weren’t just the same ones from before.

The door opened, and she held back her frown. They weren’t officially open yet, but it wasn’t as if she could tell a potential customer off. The door had been unlocked, after all.

As a man in a nicely cut suit with a frown on his face walked in, Adrienne had a feeling this wouldn’t be a client.

“Hi there, can I help you?” she asked, moving her way through the crowd. “We’re opening in an hour or so, but if you need any information, I’m here.”

The guy’s face pinched, and she was worried that if he kept it up, it would freeze like that. “I’m not here for whatever it is this establishment does.” His gaze traveled over her family’s and friend’s ink and clothing before it rested back on her. “I’m only here to tell you that you shouldn’t finish unpacking.”

“Excuse me?” Shep asked, his tone serious. The others stood back, letting Adrienne and Shep talk, but she knew they were all there if she needed them.

“You heard me.” The man adjusted his tie. “I don’t know how you got through the zoning board, but I can see they made a mistake. We don’t want your kind here in our nice city. We’re a growing community with families. Like I said, don’t unpack. You won’t be here long.”

Before she could say anything in response to the ridiculous statement, the man turned on his heel and walked out of her building, leaving her family and friends standing beside her, all of them with shocked looks on their faces.

“Well, shit,” Mace whispered then winced as he looked behind him to where Livvy was most likely with her mom.

“We’ll figure out who that was. But, Adrienne, he won’t be able to shut us down or whatever the hell he wants.” Shep turned to her and gave her that big-brother stare. “Don’t stress about him. He means nothing.”

But she could tell from the look in his eyes, and the worried glances passing back and forth between her family members and friends that none of them quite believed that.

She had no idea who the man was, but she had a bad feeling about him. And every single warm feeling that had filled her at the sight of her family and friends coming together to celebrate the new shop fled, replaced by ice water in her veins.

So much for an easy opening day, she thought, and her stomach roiled again. Perhaps she would throw up because she just knew that wasn’t the last time they’d see that man. Not by a long shot.

Chapter 2

Mace Knight really didn’t want to wake up. His bed was far too warm, and he’d just had the most amazing dream featuring a fantasy woman with soft curves and a mouth that knew exactly what to do with his dick. Getting out of bed and having to shower and act like an adult didn’t really match up to the dream woman and her seductive suction.

He sighed and gripped the base of his cock, annoyed with his morning wood that reminded him of his teenage self rather than a man of his age. But since he still had a few minutes, and he still had the image of the woman with her long, raven hair on her knees in front of him, he might as well enjoy his morning.

Sliding his hand up and down his shaft, he groaned and planted his feet on his bed so he could thrust into his fist. He imagined her licking up his length before swallowing him whole. His eyes still closed, he sped up his pace, fucking his hand. It wasn’t long before he came on his stomach, his body shaking with the release. He’d already been pretty damn close from his dream alone, so all it took was a few touches with as sensitive as he was in the mornings.

“Shit,” he growled out as his heart rate settled back down. He let out a ragged breath. Now, he was not only running late, but he also had a sticky mess on his hand and stomach, and no way to clean it up since he didn’t keep a box of tissues on his nightstand like any sane man should.

Annoyed with himself, he slid out of bed and hobbled his way to the bathroom, still holding his junk so he wouldn’t make more of a mess. He should have just taken care of himself in the shower like usual since he was a single man with a healthy sexual appetite, but the dream woman had made him want to do something different that morning.

Looking down at himself in the mirror, he figured that next time he’d just take the dark-haired woman of his dreams into the shower with him, because now he had to change the damn sheets on his bed, too.

“Happy fucking morning,” he grumbled and set about getting ready for his day. He had two clients scheduled, and any walk-ins that showed up. Since they were only a crew of four, they rotated which days they each took off. Right now, Adrienne and Ryan worked most of the weekends since they’d all decided that Shep needed some time with his family, especially right after the move. Shep would cycle in and out of the weekend shift since it was their busiest time, and he didn’t want to slack off, or so he’d said. Mace only took off on the weekends he had Daisy, his four-year-old daughter, who he only had partial custody of. He didn’t see her often enough as it was, and while it had been a pain in the ass at his old place to get time off for her, everyone was bending over backwards for him now.

He had a good feeling about this place, and he was so damned happy that he’d taken the risk to move to a new shop. Yeah, the guy who had come in and made the vague threat last week on opening day worried him, but Mace knew he’d put his trust in his best friend and her family for a reason. Getting more family time with his little girl was only part of that.

After he’d gotten dressed for the day and went to make himself some coffee, he pulled out his phone to text Adrienne. Since they were on the same shift most days—even at the old place—and lived close to each other, they tried to carpool as much as possible. The strip mall where the new shop was located had decent parking, but on busy days when the other stores and eateries were packed, they wanted to take up less space.

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