Page 7 of Daisy Chain
two
CHAINS
Inthetattooroom,I strip off my shirt, straddle the chair and wrap my arms around the backrest while I wait for Tricia to get the gear ready. The anticipation of the drone and sting of the needle surges adrenaline through my veins. I had a fucked night. Had to fire an asshole stealing money from me and my partners. I won’t put up with shit like that. We pay our employees well.Morethan well. Yet his greedy fingers weren’t satisfied. No one fucks with our business. What’s mine is mine. Instead of punching my fist through his face like I wanted to do, I decided on getting another tattoo. It always gives me the buzz I need and releases built up tension.
Tricia snaps black gloves on and takes a seat next to me. “Since when do you flirt with women?” There’s a teasing tone in her voice.
Over my shoulder, I frown. “I don’t flirt.”
Her eyes widen with mock surprise. “No? What would you call what you were doing with Daisy?”
I face forward. “Having a conversation.” What the fuckwasI doing? She looked like a little church mouse in her loose-fitted jeans, conservative blouse and makeup-free face. Yet, the moment she bumped into me and I stared into her deep brown eyes, an invisible string pulled me toward her. At that, I should’ve left her well enough alone. Not follow her in the shop. There was something about her that made me want more of her.
Teasing and daring her to get a tattoo was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. What shocked me most was that just touching the side of her tit had gotten me hard. No woman pulls that strong a reaction from me.
“I never knew you conversed with women. You only fuck them.” She giggles.
“What am I, a caveman or something? You’re a woman, and I’m talking to you.” She’s not completely wrong. I prefer to bury myself inside women. Not talk. Talking is overrated. I only want sex. And they know it from the start.
“Because you know I’ll never sleep with you.”
“How is Melissa?” Her wife is usually working in the shop too, but she’s due to have a baby.
“Great. Any day now, we’ll be parents. God, I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“I’m sure you’ll work it out.” I’m glad I don’t ever have to figure that out. Being a parent is something I’ll never do. I’d only fuck up their lives like my parents fucked up mine. “Picked any names yet?”
She gives my shoulder a tap. “Don’t change the subject.”
“The subject is dropped. Get to work.”
She huffs. “Fine. Do you want Daisy’s name?”
I sit straight. “Fuck no. Do something else.”
The buzzing of the needle starts, and the first prick explodes over my skin. Closing my eyes, I breathe in deep and take in the sensation. I don’t bother telling Tricia what tattoo I want. Foryears, she’s designed my tattoos. Now she’s adding to them. I trust whatever she comes up with.
“I can’t believe you convinced her to tattoo your name,Kade.” I didn’t lie and give Daisy a fake name. It is my name. No one ever uses it though.
“I thought the subject was dropped.”
“It’s too interesting to ignore. And you tricked her. You made her believe you’d do the same. That’s not nice.”
“No one has ever accused me of being nice.” Yes, I misled her. I should’ve told her from the start that I’d never tattoo a woman’s name on my body.
“Sneaky,” she says with a disapproving tone. “She’s cute. If you didn’t do the dirty on her, you could’ve gotten her number. Oh, but you don’t get a woman’s number either. What a shame. I loved watching you flirt with her. It gives me hope that one day you’ll find someone you’ll fall head over heels for and settle down.”
I choke. “Head over heels… settle down? Fuck no.”
“Why not? You’re hot, rich, and care for the people in your life. You’re a catch.”
She’s forgotten hard, heartless and screwed up. No one needs that shit in their lives. “I’ll stick to being single.”
I’ll admit, for a moment, Daisy was a woman I’d like to strip naked and fuck, but her squeaky-clean image tells me she’s the put-a-ring-on-it first type of girl. No matter how attractive, and how hard I still am thinking about her, it will never happen.
The needling stops, so lost in thought about Daisy I don’t notice the time passing until Tricia wipes my back and says, “All done.”
Rising from the chair, I pick up my shirt from the nearby table. As I’m about to put it on, Tricia says, “Aren’t you going to look at it?”
