Page 46 of Forbidden Harmony

She hesitated a moment longer. She hadn’tpaid him, and she needed her damn underwear back, but Preacher took her by theelbow and steered her past Nolan and out into the main part of the tattoo shop.

“I need my underwear,” she said under herbreath. Nolan had followed them out and Preacher just gave her a cocky grinbefore opening the door and ushering her into the warm night air.

“Good night, Miss Moore.” His gaze droppedto her crotch. “Remember to keep it clean for me.”

Damn him. Why did he have to makeeverything sound so dirty and why did it have to turn her on?

“I will,” she whispered.

“That’s my good girl.” He grinned again ather. Suddenly feeling awkward and cheap, she turned and stumbled toward Daniel’scar. She was on the verge of tears and as she fumbled open the car door, sheglanced up at Preacher.

The grin dropped from his face and hecocked his head at her. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said. “Good-bye.”

She slid behind the wheel and turned on thecar as he started toward her. She threw it in reverse and stomped on the gasas he stopped on the sidewalk outside of the shop. Blinking back the hot tears,she drove away without a backward glance.

Chapter Twelve

You’re acting both pathetic andstalkerish, Addie. You’ll see him on Sunday at Kira’s place for God’s sake. Gohome.

She hesitated just outside the Crimson DoorTattoo shop. Preacher’s shop was open until seven and she hadn’t deliberatelyshown up just before he closed… that was just how the bus schedule worked out.

Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that, littleMiss Denial.

She continued to hesitate, studying thepeople milling about on Main Street. It might have been almost seven in the evening,but the street was still packed. Most of them were carrying melting ice cream conesfrom Licks Ice Cream Shop two blocks down.

All of them looked hot and sweaty andexhausted.

The last two times you had sex with Preacher,you felt weird and kind of cheap afterwards. You want to be with a guy whomakes you feel like that?

No, but if she was honest with herself, itwasn’t Preacher who made her feel cheap, it was herself. She was judgingherself in the exact same way Harrison would judge her and, dammit, she didn’twant to do that anymore. There was nothing wrong with a woman having casual sexwith a man. Maybe if she kept having casual sex, it would help her get overher stupid inner judgement about it.

There’s also nothing wrong with being a womanwho doesn’t want to have casual sex. Go home, Addie.

No, she wouldn’t. Her nipple piercing wasmaybe –possibly– looking infected and the responsible thing to do wasto have Preacher take a quick look at it once he’d finished with his other clientsand closed up the shop. Once he gave her the okay, she’d hop on the bus andhead back home.

Oh yeah? So, you’re not hoping thatPreacher will take one look at your tits and immediately fuck you again?

Of course, she wasn’t. She would pay himfor the piercing, have him check it for infection and then leave.

You gonna ask for your panties back?

Nope, she absolutely was not. Looking Preacherin the eye and asking him to return her underwear was an impossible task. Besides,nothing sexual was going to happen between them. This was just her being cautious.

Bullsh-

She muzzled her inner voice and stepped asideas a larger man, his bald head gleaming in the sun, stepped out of the shop.His right arm was covered with a bandage from his wrist to his elbow. He heldthe door for her, and she nodded in thanks before stepping into the sweetcoolness of the tattoo shop. A dark-haired man who was almost as large as Preacherwas standing behind the counter and tucking a receipt into a cash box.

“Hi, can I help you?” he asked.

She blinked at him before her gaze was drawnto the inked art on both his arms. He was wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt andevery inch of his skin from his wrists up to the edge of his sleeves wascovered in tattoos.

“Miss?”

She dragged her gaze back to his face to catcha brief look of annoyance crossing it. He was handsome, maybe even betterlooking than Preacher, but she didn’t feel any type of sexual attraction to him.Apparently, her vagina was only hot for a particular grumpy tattoo artist.

“Sorry, I thought… does Nolan not work hereanymore?”

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