Page 10 of Daddy Issues

An imposing man, around six-foot-four, easily more than a foot taller than me, he drew almost every woman’s eye. He followed my gaze to the girls, and a million-watt smile lit his bearded, handsome face. It was the sort of change in his expression that made me feel dirty things I shouldn’t.

“Someone will be right with you, ladies.”

They both murmured and nodded before whispering frantically to each other.

Finished with whatever she’d been doing, Chelsea winked at me and waved them both over to her station.

“I know you have a lot going on and didn’t want to bother you. But you said you’d make it up to me, so why not? It’s a sort of last-minute decision.” Puck made me talk too damn much. I bit down on the inside of my cheek to staunch the flow of needless chatter.

I’d wanted to do this forever, but when we’d been dating, Ghost had said no. And I was pretty sure I couldn’t have handled—no matter how much I thought about it—letting Puck touch me like that and remain emotionally faithful.

Hell, I’d probably have an earth-shattering orgasm if he even breathed in my general direction. Him touching me would be erotic torture.

And life was torturing me enough.

Puck plucked two of the purple barbells from the case and turned back toward his office, gesturing for me to follow. I did, and the other two young women at Chelsea’s station weren’t the only ones gawking. God-damn, that man could fill out a pair of faded jeans better than anything I’d ever seen.

A white t-shirt and denim had never looked better.

“I can wait on Chelsea or Javi, really.” Javi, the young guy covered in bright ink but dressed like a day out on the golf course, was always nice and did great work.

“They’d use my station, anyway.” Puck shut the door behind me.

The vanilla smell dissipated, and I was suddenly wrapped up in Puck’s scent. Warm leather, clean soap, and something faintly spicy.

I licked my lips, thinking about all the other things I wanted to lick.Ugh!Five minutes with Puck and I’d forgotten everything else.

“Besides, Javi’s got another appointment after that one.” He tapped the chair for me to sit. I did. Beneath the heavenly scent of Puck was a sharp disinfectant smell telling me just how clean he kept his station.

On one side of the room sat a desk with a computer and papers, behind that a standing drafting table, an array of artsy things scattered over its surface. On the other side, in front of the one-way glass, was his tattoo station and chair. A short stool sat between both. He reached behind me and pulled the blinds closed. When I glanced up at him, he winked. “It doesn’t fully block out the office. If you lean close, you can see right through it.”

He went to his drafting table and shuffled some drawings around, almost as if he didn’t want me to see them, before turning back to me. I was too nervous to stay curious for long.

Puck was generally a quiet, private guy. I tended to fill long stretches of silence with anything I could think to talk about. When it was too quiet or still, bad things happened. Or at least, that was my life experience.

Right then, I couldn’t think of a single thing to say. He was about to touch me in places I’d only dreamed he would.

What if I had an orgasm right in his damn tattoo chair? Which was ridiculous, but entirely possible. I liked pain; I liked sex; I likedhim.

This is a horrible idea.Yet, I couldn’t make myself leave the room.

“I can wait. I know you’re busy. And I don’t mind paying, I brought cash. I don’t want you to think I’m expecting favors or something—”

Washing his hands in the sink across from me, he tossed an amused look over his shoulder. Puck’s face was expressive. You could tell exactly what he was thinking most of the time. This face, in particular, meant I was doing something cutesy. I’d seen him look at his kid the same way.

Cute was not how I wanted him to see me. I popped a hand on my hip and blew a dark tuft of hair from my forehead and scowled. “What?”

“We talked about this, it’s this or you take the cash for the missed work.” He dried his hands with paper towels, tossed them in the trash, and pulled on latex gloves. The snap of the black gloves was so damn sexy I squirmed.

I had issues. He was the biggest one. Literally and figuratively. When I was with Ghost, it was easy to remind myself that I shouldn’t find Puck so hot. But now I wasn’t with anyone.

“Thought any more about working for me?”

And all the sexy thoughts went right out the window. It was easy to laugh that one off. Tattoo shop receptionist and part time babysitter didn’t pay as well as half-naked cocktail waitress.

“For the right offer? Who knows?” I sighed. “But I need the fuck out of this town.”

He studied me for a long moment, frowning a little, and I almost thought he was going to make me an offer. One I’d probably laugh at, but that he might…turned me on a little.

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