Page 32 of Under Kid’s Protection

“Oh.” Kid scrubbed a hand up the back of his neck into his hair.

What time was it anyway? He tended to lose track when he got in the zone tattooing people.

“I guess we could go outside,” she said, glancing over her shoulder.

“No,” he said, and her attention returned to him.

The fear in her large brown eyes made the ball of regret in his gut grow. He shouldn’t have touched her last night. She never looked at him like that before. How could he be such a fucking idiot?

“How about the office?” he suggested and waved his hand to indicate past the stations of the small studio. Hopefully, he’d be able to restrain himself in private.

“Okay.” Her expression brightened as though she were relieved.

He offered her a reassuring smile as he waved and turned at the same time. “Follow me.”

The fact she’d agree to be in a room alone with him had to be a good sign. If he’d experienced what she had, he doubted he’d ever want to be in private with anyone again. People didn’t survive that shit without a little damage.

“Be back in a bit,” he said as he caught the eye of one of the artists in their stall.

A nod of acknowledgement was his response.

Each step he took, the harder his heart beat against his sternum. Nervous energy surged through him, and he twisted the thick silver ring around his thumb.

He shouldn’t be anxious. He was perfectly capable of controlling himself. For months, he’d been able to keep it in his pants. However, previously, he hadn’t had to think about the sight of her topless, wearing only pink panties, and asking him to… Nope. He shouldn’t envision that right now. Unfortunately, he’d have to actually put forth some effort.

This wasn’t the first time a woman wanted to speak to him in private. Granted, those talks never went well, but he never cared before. He’d spent tons of hours alone with Carrie. A fact he seemed to have forgotten. He shouldn’t be ready to jump out of his skin.

What the hell did he think was about to happen? She couldn’t kick him out. He’d already left. He hadn’t really forgotten anything important at her apartment. Nothing that he couldn’t replace anyway. No skin off his nose. The cops hadn’t shown up at the Knucklehead or at Inkjection, so she hadn’t reported him to the police. Though, he doubted she would. She hadn’t gone to them about what the Bloody Scorpions had done to her. Why would she for him?

Because she’d gotten help since then. She was healthier. The amount of therapy this woman had been through in the last eight months, she had to know better than to keep palling around with bikers.

Ahhh…

He’d figured it out. Kid may have fled her apartment, but he hadn’t vacated the town. He wanted to be around her. He needed to be… Nope. Couldn’t go there. He’d figured out what was wrong, but he wasn’t about to admit it. Not even to himself.

Sticking his hand in his pocket, he purposely slowed his breathing. In with the good air. Out with the bad. He got the key for the office, stuck it in the lock, and twisted. Opening the door, he waved his hand. “Ladies first.”

20

Carrie

Inhaling deeply, Carrie held the breath as she entered the office. She’d rehearsed what she’d say to him as they walked through the tattoo studio. There was no reason for this conversation to be a big production. They probably didn’t even need to be in private, but she appreciated the offer.

Kid was a thoughtful man.

The space was extremely small. A laptop sat on a desk, and a filing cabinet stood beside it. Atop of that sat a single framed photo of a woman holding an infant. From the attire, she assumed it to not be recent. Her features were similar to Kid’s. Was this his mother? Was that him as a baby?

A question for another day.

She continued to take in the room. The only other furniture in the room was a chair. On the walls were bulletin boards with papers tacked to them. Carrie skimmed them, finding the schedule and some quick first aid information.

The click of the door shutting startled her, and she jerked, turning toward Kid who had put as much distance between them as the tiny room would allow.

As her pulse thundered in her ears, she stared at him. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he cocked his head to the side and held her gaze.

“I’m sorry,” the two of them said in unison.

Both of them furrowed their brows. “For what?” they replied in chorus.