Page 78

When I enter the foyer of Inked, I swing my eyes around the room. A broad grin stretches across my face when my eyes lock in on a feisty blonde going toe-to-toe with another attractive female.
My cock jumps, spurred on by Clara’s strong stance.
I’ve always loved a woman who gives a bit of lip, let alone a fiery-tongued princess.
Things between Clara and I have been staggering this past six months. Although Cormack kept his word by giving Clara back her silver spoon, nothing between Clara and me changed in the slightest. She still lives with me in my loft apartment, she still works at Inked, and she still continues to shock me every single day. The only thing that has changed is that I’m no longer falling in love with Clara. I love her. No doubts. No limits. One hundred percent fucking gone.
So does my grandma.
Although if she keeps nagging Clara for grandbabies, she may see a side to Clara she has not yet had the pleasure of witnessing.
I’ve not yet found Clara’s necklace, but I won’t give up until I do. I keep in regular contact with the pawnbrokers servicing the Ravenshoe area, and I called in a few favors so I have ears close to the ground throughout the entire state. When it surfaces, I have no doubt I’ll be the first to hear about it.
Ryan’s recovery, although rocky, is complete. His relationship with his brother… well, that’s a whole other story. Unfortunately, Sophia’s recovery is still a slow process. She continues to make advancements, but it doesn’t appear that her level of care will be changing anytime in the future.
After giving myself a few minutes to absorb the beauty of Clara in her element, I make my way across the room. Her rich floral scent stirs my cock when I stop to stand next to her. “I heard someone needed to speak to the manager.”
The petite blonde with a pixie-style haircut and piercing blue eyes shifts her gaze to me. “Yes. Becau?—”
Clara shoves her hand in front of the blonde’s face, stopping her midsentence. “We don’t need the manager. We just need someone to give thisidiota hearing test. No matter how many times I tell her she willnotbe served at Inked this evening, thismorondoesn’t seem to understand what I’m telling her.”
I sling my arms around Clara’s waist, being cautious not to touch the newly inked skin on her hip and pull her in close to my side. “What have I told you about insulting the customers?”
Clara’s icy-blue eyes blaze into mine. “I wouldn’t need to insult her if she weren’tstupid,” she says loud enough to ensure the blonde can hear.
The unnamed blonde’s mouth hangs open. Shock is all over her face. My cock firms when Clara maintains her ground, not the slightest bit intimidated by the vicious snarl the blonde hasbestowed upon her. Keeping her eyes locked with me, Clara hands me a sheet of paper. “If you tell me this isn’t a design only astupidperson would have inked on their skin, I’ll apologize.”
I drop my eyes to the sheet of paper. A grin curls on my lips when the reasoning for Clara’s fighting stance becomes apparent. Not only is this tattoo hideous and overly floral, but it also has a name in thick red ink smack bang in the middle of it.
“I’ve explained on numerous occasions the repercussion of having a person’s name inked on your skin, but no matter how many times I spell it out to her, she isn’t listening,” Clara advises me. “There’s no cure for idiocy.”
She spent four hours earlier this week in my tattoo chair having her princess tattoo covered with a new tat I designed for her. I had been working on the design from the day she stormed out of Inked rambling that she would sue me for every penny I had. Although the design was finished before she started working at Inked, I never showed it to her, worried I was exposing my hand too early, but in all honesty, even if I had shown her the tattoo, it wouldn’t have changed a thing. Clara has had me over a barrel from the day I met her. She knew it and so did my cock. It just took me a little longer to submit to the idea.
It was my tattoo design that brought us back together. It was the sole reason Clara was waiting for me at my apartment the night Ryan was shot. After nursing me through my shock by using only her body, Clara admitted she found it while packing her belongings through a haze of tears. I’ve never been more grateful for my inability to leave work at work as I was that night.
I give Clara a cocky wink before turning my eyes to the unnamed blonde. “Is this your father’s name?”
The blonde places her tiny hands on her even smaller hips before shaking her head.
“Your grandfather? Brother? Deceased uncle? Any type ofmale relation?” I query while staring into her squinted eyes. When she once again shakes her head, I say, “I’m sorry, sweetheart, I can’t do your tattoo.”
“Oh, come on. Not even for a family member?”
I chuckle a hearty laugh. “Nice try, but I don’t have any siblings.”
The blonde scrunches her brows together. “Not your sibling. Hers.” She hooks her thumb to Clara.
I drift my eyes between Clara and the unnamed blonde. Now that I’ve managed to drag my eyes away from Clara’s mouthwatering curves, I can notice a lot of similarities between them. Same wintry-blue eyes, platinum-blonde hair, and flawless skin. The only difference is their personalities. This blonde is a little firecracker about to explode at any moment, whereas Clara is full of class and elegance, even when she’s dishing out insults like they’re grenades.
“Cate-with-a-C McGregor,” the blonde introduces, holding her hand out in offering. “This ice queen’s baby sister.”
Clara rolls her eyes at Cate’s snide comment but surprisingly, doesn’t react to her taunt.
I accept her handshake. “Brax.”
“So you’re the famous Brax I’ve been hearing about. The man who thawed Clara’s heart. What do you have? A magic heart-thawing penis?” Cate replies while indecently raking her eyes over my body.
This time, Clara reacts. If I hadn’t tightened my grip on her waist, I have no doubt she would have leaped over the counter and strangled her sister.
My cock hardens more. Fiery Clara is beautiful, but jealous Clara… she’s downright out-of-this-mother-fucking-universe beautiful.
Since I have a firm hold on Clara’s waist, sheissues her retaliation in another form. “I think you should do her tattoo, Brax.” Her tone is sugary sweet, a huge contradiction to her earlier one.
I gawk at her, shocked and confused.
Clara playfully winks before turning her eyes to Cate. “If you’re willing to make a few changes to your tattoo design, I think I can convince Brax to do it.”
Cate eagerly nods. “Sure. I’m happy to make any changes necessary.” She connects her lively eyes with mine. “Do anything you need to make this happen.”
“Great,” Clara exclaims excitedly as she yanks a tattoo contract out of the top drawer in front of her. I bite the inside of my cheek, fighting my hardest battle to hold in my smile when Clara slaps the contract onto the glass counter, hands Cate a pen, then says, “Just sign here, here, and here.”