“I’ve got coffee on.” He didn’t bother with a shirt as he headed over to the kitchen area.
She didn’t need a mirror to know her cheeks were flaming red. He’d known she was awake and obviously that she’d been watching him, too. “Thanks,” she said, not wanting to compound the situation by hanging on to the pretense of sleep.
She opened her eyes and sat up as if she hadn’t been caught peeping, or maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal she had been. It wasn’t like he was modest, after all. She debated letting the matter drop completely but her curiosity got the better of her. “How can you tell when I’m sleeping or not?”
“I hear your heart rate quicken.” He smiled ever so slightly. “Does it bother you?” he asked in a way that made her think he already had the answer to that question but enjoyed teasing her.
She’d never seen him smile before. It smoothed his harsh edges, the ones that normally reminded her to keep her distance, like warning signs on a ride that went too fast and rough for comfort.
“That you can hear my heart beating? No, why would it?” Of course it did, and especially if he could hear it now when it felt like it was trying to bang its way out of her chest like a kid jacked up on sugar, bouncing around on a pogo stick. It wasn’t going to calm down, either, until he stopped looking at her like she was his new playmate.
“Just curious.”
He moved about the kitchen, completely at ease with his partial undress, and she wondered if the jeans were for her benefit. She wished his face would get that irritated look it so often had but warning signs or not, she still knew what kind of ride he’d offer up.
“Will I be able to hear people’s heartbeat?” It would be nice to think she wasn’t the only one revved up but she didn’t hear a thing from him. He was as calm as ever.
“Nope. Just me.” He took some stuff out of the fridge and placed it on the counter. “Want eggs?”
“Sure. Thanks.” She went over to her bag and dug out some essentials. “Do you mind if I hop in the shower first?” And a very cold shower at that.
“You don’t have to ask,” was all he said. “Everything you might need is in the closet.”
She left Lars, still trying to decide if she did or didn’t want him to have a shirt on when she came back out.
His bathroom was a state of the art affair, with natural stone and pewter finished hardware. There wasn’t a bathtub but the shower stall was eight-by-eight, with a bench and showerheads coming from every possible direction and angle.
She opened one of the closet doors and found he wasn’t kidding. There weren’t just supplies, there was a wide selection of feminine products right alongside his masculine versions. She guessed he liked to keep stocked up for his dates. And she didn’t doubt he had a lot. She’d known men like him. He had the swagger of a guy who wasn’t used to being turned down.
She needed to find somewhere else to go before she ended up in his corral. Or he brought a woman back here. And what if both things happened and in that order? She hurried through her shower, debating on whether she was safer at Cutty’s, with Keith right outside her window and bloody messages on the ceiling, or here with a half-naked Lars walking about.
She finished up in the bathroom and found him still half-naked. She ate her eggs while trying to avoid looking at a body that outshined the statue of David.
“You ready?” he asked, standing in front of her a few minutes later, still shirtless.
She assumed he meant if she was ready to go downstairs.
“Yeah,” she replied, letting him assume she meant going downstairs as well, while fighting to keep eye contact.
He walked back to the other side of the apartment and finally threw a shirt on. By time they headed down to the shop together, she was leaning towards Cutty’s place and the bloody ceiling.
Chapter 15
Lars held the door to the tattoo shop open for Faith, and she was surprised to find another guy already there. Then she remembered Lars mentioning he had additional artists that worked for him.
“Rick, this is Faith. She’s the new shop manager,” he said offhandedly, as his attention seemed to be pulled away to the appointment book on the counter.
Rick appeared to be in his early thirties, sported a shaved temple, gauged ears and had random pieces of chain connecting different parts of his clothing. He held out a hand and Faith shook it. He had a nice grip and his warm smile contrasted with his edgy look.
“Nice to meet you.” He pointed to a ring in his nose. “I do piercings as well if you’re interested.” His eyes dropped to the snug white t-shirt she had on. “I bet those perky babies would look nice with a little adornment.”
Faith reflexively covered her chest with her arms and shook her head quickly. “I’m good, really. Thanks, but, yeah. They’re okay as is.”
“Calm down, girl. I’m not gonna force them on you. And don’t take that the wrong way,” he said and leaned in close. “I prefer my breasts to be non-functioning and attached to a few more muscles than what you’ve got going on. Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate a nice pair but they don’t do anything for me.” Rick tilted his head toward the office where Lars had just disappeared. “Now him, that’s a different story. Or would be if I didn’t have a man.” He puckered his mouth to the side and got a dreamy look as he watched Lars through the open door of the office. “Or even if I wasn’t the faithful type. He sure does offer up some sweet temptation.”
Lars turned and walked toward them as if on cue. He stopped and looked at Faith. “Don’t leave.”
He was out of the shop seconds later and too fast for her to bother replying that she had nowhere else to go anyway. Considering Rick was standing beside her, it was probably a good thing. She didn’t like to brag about being homeless. She was humble like that.
Rick did an exaggerated shiver. “And he’s so take charge. Gotta love that in a man. So, you sleeping with him?” Rick asked in an excited tone, like a bloodhound on the scent of some juicy dirt.
“No,” she replied, and probably a little too defensively, considering the way his eyebrows rose after she said it.
He pointed his finger at her in an aha motion. “But you want to.”
“No, I really don’t.” Or not the sane portion of her anyway, and that was the part she was clinging to.
“You should do it,” he said, discarding her denial. “I mean yeah, it’ll most likely be a one and done with him, Vivian can attest to that, but what a specimen.” He waved his hand in the air, fanning his face.
“Vivian?” she asked, feeling a spike of jealousy over a name being attached to his. Yeah, she needed to call Cutty and soon. Maybe he had a couch in the basement.
“She’s another artist here but too freaked out to leave her house with all the crap going on. He banged her once and then never touched her again, to her very vocal annoyance.” Rick’s eyes narrowed. “You know, he’s never had a shop manager before. If he’s not sleeping with you, then what’s the deal?”
She was cursing Lars up and down in her head for dumping her in this situation without some sort of story in place and then leaving. “Friend of a friend.”
Rick lifted a single finger to his lips as he visibly thought about what she’d just said. Then that finger wagged back and forth as he pronounced his verdict. “Nah, it’s because he wants to bang you.”
“I really don’t think that’s it,” she said, shaking her head and hoping he’d drop the subject.
Rick laughed. “You know, if he wants you, he’s going to get you. That boy has ways. Seriously, the world is falling apart, every other business on this road is boarding up, but we still keep getting customers and it ain’t cause of me. People are drawn to him, especially the ladies.”
As if on cue, two women in their twenties walked into the place.
“My appointment is here,” Rick said motioning to one of the newcomers. “You ready?” he asked the woman on the right.