Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 45284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“That’s what you do to me,” he says. “You turn me into an animal. I feel like a damn werewolf in these clothes.”
I laugh at the words and his ironic tone. I don’t realize how loud the laughter sounds until a man at the adjacent table turns his head. It’s like he’s thinking, What the hell? Who let in the dork?
I cover my mouth instinctively. Kayden sees what I’m doing, then grins, letting out an even louder laugh, causing more than one person to turn their heads and look.
“No need to be embarrassed now,” he tells me.
“What do you mean, a werewolf?” I go on, still giggling.
“Just that I could tense my body and rip out of these fancy civvies.”
“Now, wouldn’t that be a sight to see?”
“Don’t tempt me, Luna,” he says, his tone becoming even more serious. “You’ll make me end this meal early. I’m trying to be a gentleman here.”
My body answers almost violently, a jolt of lust pressing against my sex, reminding me of his tongue when he pushed against my clit. My thighs shiver and, deep inside, a signal tells me to tell him I want it. No more being stuck in the past. No more worrying about not being good enough.
“You’re doing an excellent job,” I say instead.
He smirks, leaning forward. I’ll never tire of the way he looks at me.
I never dreamed a man like Kayden could look at me with such obsession.
“So, are you going to open your own studio one day?”
“What makes you say that?” I ask, wrapping spaghetti around my fork.
“I was looking at the tattoo earlier in the mirror.”
I imagine Kayden standing in his bathroom, shirtless, looking over his shoulder as his muscles ripple, the outline of a dog staring from one shoulder and a full dog from the other. It makes the shivering in my body even more intense, the pulsing in my chest getting quicker.
“You’ve got serious talent. I’m not sure you realize how impressive that is at your age. I’m not sure you realize how proud you should be.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, emotion touching me heavily.
It’s that feeling of being wrapped in a blanket again, like his words are hugging me warmly.
“So?” he prompts.
“Maybe one day,” I say, after a mouthful of pasta. After a mouthful. Even if he said he’d still want me after spattering my dress in sauce, it doesn’t mean I’m going to lose all my table manners.
“It’s so expensive. I love the idea, though.”
“Is it your eventual goal?” he asks.
There seems to be extra weight on his words, as if we’re discussing a specific course of action and not just a hypothetical.
A selfish, silly thought touches me. He wants to help finance my studio. There I go again. Rushing ahead, sprinting to the finish line that might only exist in my mind.
“Yeah, it is. I’d like to run my own studio and build a reputation in the industry, but I don’t have to rush into it.”
“Maybe a few more years with Marty,” Kayden nods, “but honestly, I think if you threw yourself into it now, you’d kick ass.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” he says firmly, with no hesitation at all.
His firmness pushes aside my hesitation, my own doubts about being good enough.
Not just when it comes to tattooing—to creating a business of my own—but with everything.
“I’ll need to save my butt off. Even then, rent is so expensive in this city. Marty’s been good to me, giving me this chance. I started working with him when I was eighteen.”
“Incredible,” Kayden says.
Every time he gives me a compliment, it’s like fairies are fluttering through me, spreading glittering warmth. Yeah, I know, that sounds like I’ve lost my mind.
Fairies?
I’m freaking giddy to be on this date, to know there’s a chance after the days apart, after I thought I’d gone too far and ended things forever.
“You’re so impressive,” he goes on. “You know that, don’t you?”
I shrug. “I don’t really think about it.”
“You are,” he says huskily. “So talented. Maybe when it’s time for you to strike out on your own, you’ll find somebody to help finance it.”
“Possible,” I murmur, unable to hide the doubt in my voice.
“I was trying to be subtle. I meant me. When it’s time… I’ll help you.”
I gasp. “You don’t have to do that. I’m sure you need the money for your business.”
“Are you going to make me brag about my finances, Luna? I don’t want to be that guy…”
“It’s not bragging. We’re just talking.”
Yeah, just talking, the same as we were talking about kids. Now we’re talking about still being in contact in the future, with him helping with my career. What else am I supposed to think, except he’s putting the pieces of our future life in place?
“I lived frugally when I was in the corps,” Kayden goes on, “and I invested wisely. When I retired, I had a nest egg waiting for me. Many of my investments are still ticking along. I just want you to know… keep honing your craft, nurture that amazing talent of yours, and there’s a big chance your dream will come true.”