Free Ink Inspired-epub by Carrie Ann Ryan Page A

time.” Her voice was ice, just like it had been before she’d walked into Midnight Ink the first time and clapped eyes on the man she’d fallen in love with.
    “Hey, what’s up? What’s wrong?” He put his hand on her elbow, turning her toward him. She lowered her head, unable to meet his gaze. “Talk to me.”
    “You need to go, Shep.” The words were torn from her, bile rising in her throat yet again.
    He lifted her head with a finger on her chin. “Why, Shea? Why do I need to go?”
    “You…you have to leave. This has been fun. It really has, but I need to go back to my life. I’ve changed my mind about the tattoo. I don’t want it anymore. I don’t want you anymore.”
    She held back the tears, the agony unbearable.
    Pain flashed across Shep’s face before his expression went carefully blank. “What?”
    “I…I can’t be with you anymore. We’re different people. You’re so…you. So vibrant. So…Midnight Ink. I am ice. I’ve always been ice, and I will always be ice. You need to go, Shep.”
    “What the fuck are you talking about, Shea?”
    “You need to go, Shep. We can’t see each other anymore. It’s over.”
    He looked down at her, wearing that same expression he’d worn when she’d first asked for her tattoo at Midnight Ink.
    “No.”
     
     

 

Chapter Seven
     
    “No,” Shep repeated, keeping the anger—the anguish—at bay. “No. You don’t get to do this.”
    “No? Why do you keep saying that? You can’t just say no and get what you want.” Her chin wobbled, and Shep clenched his jaw. Something was going on here, something more than fear of commitment or whatever he thought it might have been at first.
    No, this was something much worse.
    Shea was scared about something, and he’d be damned if he let her end it now because of it.
    “I said no in the shop because you had no fucking clue what you wanted inked on your body, Shea. It’s permanent. It’s not a fucking dress or some shit like that.”
    Her head snapped back as though he’d slapped her, and he took a breath through his nose. Shit. He hadn’t meant to lash out, but he was just so fucking angry that she was trying to leave him.
    He’d never wanted a committed relationship before, yet now he wanted one.
    With Shea.
    She didn’t get to leave.
    Not when he knew she wanted the same thing.
    Or least had wanted.
    “I know a tattoo isn’t a dress or pair of shoes, Shep. I’m not an idiot. Don’t treat me like one.”
    “Then don’t treat me like an idiot and lie to me. You’re leaving because you’re done with me? Fuck that. You’re lying. Now tell me what the fuck is going on.”
    She swallowed hard, his gaze following the long lines of her throat. “I’m done, Shep. I don’t want this.” Her voice broke, but she didn’t let the tears in her eyes fall. “Just go. Please.”
    He cupped her face, and she tried to move back. He tightened his grip, not enough to hurt, but to show her he wasn’t letting her go.
    Not without an explanation.
    Maybe not ever.
    “You don’t get to leave me, Shea. Not when I know you’re leaving because you’re scared. If you didn’t want me anymore? I’d know. You wouldn’t be on the verge of breaking down. Something scared you. What was it, baby?”
    She closed her eyes. “Let me go, Shep. I…I can’t do this. I can’t let you get hurt.”
    Hurt?
    “Tell me, Shea.”
    “I can’t.”
    “Is it your family?” Her eyes opened, and she nodded. Okay. He was getting warm. “You aren’t who your family is, Shea. You aren’t the person your mother wants you to be.” She flinched. “Baby, you’re so much fucking more. You’re a breath of fresh air and so fucking amazing that I want to find every single layer of your soul and wrap myself in it. I love you so fucking much, Shea. Can’t you see that?”
    Her breath quickened. “Don’t say that, Shep. You can’t mean that.”
    “Stop it. You don’t get to tell me how I feel. I love you. I’ve never loved