Page 50 of Connected By Love
“Oh my God. Was she okay?”
“Luckily, Miles’s best friend was walking to his car and saw the whole thing. He grabbed the guy and threw him to the ground. If he hadn’t been there…” I stop, unable to speak the words or go there in my mind. “She has four older brothers, and not one of us was there to protect her when she needed us the most. ” I clench my fist at the table, and she places her hand on top of mine, forcing me to relax.
“That’s why you got so mad the night we met, isn’t it?” She asks softly.
“I couldn’t protect Sav, but Icouldprotect you. I could tell you were upset with the guy, and there was no way I was taking the chance with him trying something. I was just going to wait until I saw you get safely in your car and then be on my way, but when I saw him follow you, I lost it. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you, but I was so pissed when I saw you walking to your car alone. The thought of something happening to you…” I close my eyes briefly, trying to get my emotions under control.
“Hey, I’m not going to do something stupid like that again. I should have had my friends walk me to the car, knowing that Nathan had been there. My gut was telling me to be cautious of him, and I should have listened.”
“Promise me.” I need to hear her say it.
“I promise.” She smiles at me and squeezes my hand. “Now, let’s forget about Nathan completely and enjoy these tacos and margaritas. I’m starving after our bike ride.” Her eyes fill with laughter, and I feel the tension leave my body.
“Fuel up, wildcat. You’re going to need it.” I grin at her and sip my beer.
The rest of the dinner is spent talking about ourchildhoods. She tells me all about how she and Maverick grew up with Noah and Bella and how she recently found out her best friend was in love with her brother. She explains how Noah and Emma met and their wedding in May.
I tell her all about growing up with my brothers and Sav and how my parents are retired now and taking some time to travel. She loves that my parents put a home in all our names so we would have a place to bring our families for vacations and weekend getaways. I explain how my three brothers will probably live there until they marry off and get a place of their own, how Sav is away at college, and what she had to endure growing up with four older brothers.
Talking to her, I find myself laughing and really enjoying myself, which is something I haven’t been able to do in years outside of my family. Even then, I’m constantly stressing over Max and making sure I’m doing everything possible to take care of him.
“Thanks for dinner,” she says, taking my hand as we walk out hours later. “I had forgotten how good their tacos were here. I usually stick to our little downtown area when I go out to eat.”
Once we reach my bike, I hand her the helmet. “Trust me, the pleasure is all mine. This has actually been my first official date since Max was born. You’re the first girl that even knows about Max outside the family. I tend to keep my private life separate,” I laugh softly. “Seems like I’m breaking all sorts of rules with you.”
“As a teacher, I would usually tell someone to follow the rules, but in this case, I’m really glad you broke them for me. I’ve broken a few myself.”
“I’m glad I broke them, too, and very,veryglad I’m the exception to your rules.” I lean down to kiss her and thread my fingers through her hair, tilting her lips up to mine. The kiss is slow and thorough as I take my time to savor her. “Mmmm…let’s head back to my place. I have plans for you still.” I grin and slide the helmet on for her.
Her hands grip me tightly as we make our back to my house. Anticipation of what I want to do flows through my body. My hands are itching to get started.
Once we get back, I park the bike in the garage, and we head inside.
“Want some wine?” I ask, pulling down two wine glasses from the cabinet. I grab the bottle of red that I know she loves and look over at her.
“I would love some.” She walks over and studies the portraits I have on my walls. Most of them are Max at various stages of his life. I have some of my family up there as well. Most people have pictures to capture the moments…I have my art.
I walk over and hand her the wine glass. “Thanks.” She takes a sip and reaches out to touch the glass on one of the portraits. “This is beautiful.” I look at the portrait of Max as a baby. I drew my hands holding his head as his newborn eyes stare back at you. When I look at it, I can see the whole universe staring back at me. “The eyes,” she murmurs. “I can feel the innocence and everything good in life when I look at them.”
My heart skips at her words and how she is able to see what I feel every time I look at Max. “Eyes tell the whole story of a person. If you can nail the eyes in art, then their story can be told. If I don’t feel something when I look at what I drew, then I’m not doing it right.”
“It sounds like you love drawing portraits, and you obviously could make a living doing it, so why do tattoos?”
“My brother, Jake, and I started our tattoo business together when we were in our early twenties. It’s what got me started in art. I got my first tattoo at sixteen after Ibegged my mom for months to let me get one. I fell in love with the idea of telling your story on your body. We both quickly learned we were damn good at it, and before we knew it, we were well-known in the area and the place to go for tattoos.” She sips her wine and waits for me to continue.
“One day, someone came in and wanted a portrait done of their child who had passed away. She let me keep the photograph so I could study it, but the photo wasn’t doing it justice, so I freehanded it. When I showed her, she started crying. She said I had captured his very soul and feels him close to her whenever she looks at it.” I see her blink tears away, and I reach out to swipe one away that escaped.
“After that, I started getting asked to draw more portraits and eventually got picked up by a well-known art gallery that sells around the world. I’ve been working with them for the past two years. When Jake and I talked about opening another tattoo shop, I jumped at the chance to go someplace new and start fresh. It was time that I got my own place with Max and not rely so much on my family.
“I didn’t have to open another shop, but I like mentoring local artists and giving them a place to do their art, so I’ve been working extra hours to get them all set up and running smoothly. Eventually, I’ll just do select clients and focus full-time on drawing.
“I’ll never be able to fully give up doing tattoos. It’s what got me started, and there is a certain thrill to branding your art into someone’s skin and marking them forever. I really look forward to our session.” My eyes meet her gaze, and I can tell the idea of me branding her turns her on. I feel my dick stir in my pants at the thought of inking her skin.
I see her swallow as she breaks my gaze and looks back at the portrait. “So what you’re telling me is that I’m sleeping with a famous tattoo and portrait artist.”
“I don't know about famous,” I laugh. “But, yeah, I’ve made a name for myself and do well financially with my art.”
“Something tells me you’re being way too modest with your success.” She raises her eyebrows at me, and I grin.
