He latched onto the inside of the doorframe. “Please? Come on, Tenley, I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.”
“Fine. Whatever.” My anger masked my embarrassment as I recalled what Hayden’s not-so-good behavior felt like. I couldn’t avoid him forever. Not if I still wanted him as my artist. Better to deal with the situation on my turf than his. The art was secondary, though. I needed his proximity more than I needed the tattoo. Not that I would tell him. I opened the door and moved aside to let him in.
“Nice outfit.” His eyes traveled down and stopped below my knees. “Are those leg warmers?”
“Do you have a problem with them?” I asked, nervous now that the door no longer created a barrier of safety. I had no idea how to approach this.
“Not at all, but you probably wouldn’t need them if you were a little more covered up.”
I was wearing shorts. The leg warmers covered my calves. “Is my artless skin offensive?”
“Hardly. My life would be a lot easier if that was the case.”
“Why are you here? Other than to comment on my choice of sleepwear.”
“That’s what you wear to bed?”
“Why would what I wear to bed matter to you?”
He tapped his temple. “It helps with the . . . never mind. I brought some stuff for TK, and I thought maybe we could have a beer or something.”
“TK?”
“The Kitten.”
He walked around me, put the beer on the counter, and emptied the contents of the bag. There were treats, kitten milk, and a bunch of toys. Hayden sorted the toys and treats into neat piles. He was thoughtful, which frustrated me more.
I walked around the breakfast bar, putting the counter between us. I needed the distance. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know.” He slid a beer across the counter toward me. When I reluctantly took the bottle, he twisted off the cap. I tipped it back, swallowed, and waited.
“You avoided me yesterday.”
He was right. I didn’t respond.
“And you didn’t come by the shop today like you were supposed to.”
“And you’re surprised because—”
“I don’t know why Lisa thought I could do this. I really suck at this shit,” he said, more to himself than to me. “Look, I should be sorry about what happened the last time I was here, but I’m not, and that’s a problem.”
That was not at all what I expected to hear. “I’m not quite following.”
He shifted, looking uncomfortable. “We have this rule at the shop, and it’s pretty much the only one I ever try to follow. I don’t sleep with clients.”
I couldn’t imagine Hayden sleeping with anyone. I could imagine him doing other things, though. Inside I was flipping out at his inference. The way Hayden was talking, it sounded like he wanted to take it a lot further than the kiss. He was standing in the exact same place he’d been in two nights ago. Except I was on the wrong side of the counter, which made the speculation impossible to confirm.
“Last time I checked, making out isn’t quite the same thing,” I said, maintaining a neutral expression.
“Sorry. Let me clarify. I don’t fuck around with clients.”
“What constitutes ‘fucking around’?”
Hayden’s lip twitched. “What happened when I was here last constitutes fucking around.”
“Right.” I took another sip. I was pushing him on purpose; because I was hurt, because I wanted more and he was telling me in no uncertain terms I couldn’t have him. My natural inclination was to find a way around it. What he offered was so much more than just ink on my skin and the solace of his touch. “So just to make sure I’m completely clear about this, kissing and groping are facets of fucking around.”
“Can you stop saying that?”
“Stop saying what?”
“Fucking around.”
“Why? Does it make you uncomfortable?” I asked.
“No.”
I swore I could hear his teeth grit together. Antagonizing him wasn’t helpful. I could see the issue in getting physically involved with a client, but I doubted Hayden made house calls to other clients or bought their pets toys and treats. He was usually so controlled that breaking some arbitrary rule over me seemed significant.
“Then what’s the problem?” I asked.
“Nothing. Never mind. Say fucking around as much as you want.”
“Would you like to explain the parameters of fucking around? Just so I know.”
His tongue ring appeared between his lips and slid back and forth. He did that a lot around me.
“Just like you said, kissing, groping, anything that would lead to you being naked and underneath me.”
I almost choked on my beer, but I recovered quickly, not wanting to give him the upper hand. “Got it. Because me naked under you would be a bad thing.”
“Very bad,” Hayden agreed. He didn’t launch himself over the counter, but it looked like he wanted to.
“And if I wasn’t your client?”
“But you are.”
“But if I wasn’t?”
Hayden stalked around the counter and stood over me. “I am your tattooist. No one else is putting that design on you.”
“Territorial much?”