Free Clipped Wings by Helena Hunting Page B

work to get Cassie.
    I dropped my pencil and pushed away from my desk. We did the man-hug back-pat thing. Chris and Jamie greeted him with the same enthusiasm as I did. It had been a while since I’d seen Nate. We both worked long hours, and he spent his spare time doting on my aunt. He was whipped, but he didn’t seem to mind.
    “I’m glad you stopped in,” I said. “When are we going to start planning that piece you’ve been talking about?”
    “Soon? I’m picking Cassie up again tomorrow. I’ll bring some pictures with me and we’ll figure something out.”
    “Excellent. I’m holding you to it this time.”
    Nate had been going on for a while about getting a tattoo, but he hadn’t committed. I figured if I could get him to bring something in for me to work with, it wouldn’t be hard to persuade him to put it on his skin. Cassie might not be open about it, but she had a thing for ink.
    At six o’clock Nate went over to Serendipity to get Cassie. After they left, Tenley took up residence behind the register. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I was between clients and wasn’t expecting anyone for at least another half hour, which gave me time to talk Tenley into bringing her design by later.
    “Getting coffee.” Chris called after me, but I waved him off and rushed out of the shop. It was warm for the beginning of October, so I pushed up the sleeves of my shirt, feeling overly hot and nervous. I hadn’t planned this out at all. I tried to tell myself she was just a girl. All I was going to do was invite her over so I could persuade her to let me put some art on her body. What a crock of shit.
    The bells above the door jingled my arrival. So much for the surprise angle. She looked up from the book clutched in her hands, then quickly down again. I was off to a fantastic start. The skittish kitten was back. Clearly Lisa was right; I hadn’t been as well behaved as I’d thought when I’d last spoken to her.
    I smiled as I approached the desk and made a futile attempt not to check her out. It worked for all of three seconds. I was thankful for the warm weather, because Tenley wore a gray top baring enough skin to make me want to see more. A shiny silvery strap cut a line across her shoulder to disappear under the collar. Tenley was focused on the black bands of ink on my arm. The way she looked at my art made me feel naked. And not in a sexual way. I was used to being stared at. I hadn’t covered my body in ink and invested in facial piercings to blend in with the general population. But this was different. It wasn’t the typical bad-boy eye-fuck. It was something else entirely. It felt like she was trying to decipher the meaning in my art.
    I studied her face. Beyond the understated beauty there were dark circles beneath her eyes, as though she wasn’t getting enough sleep. Even exhausted, she was still gorgeous.
    Mild unease made her shift in her seat. “Hi, Hayden. You just missed Cassie.”
    “I know. I’m here to see you.” I leaned forward, bracing my forearms on the counter. That way she could have a better look at my ink if she wanted to and I could keep checking her out.
    Her eyes dropped, then she looked up. “Oh.”
    I was positive she had no idea how sexy she was when she did that. I swept the pad of my thumb under the hollow of her eye. “You look tired.”
    Touching her made me feel high. Like she was plugged into me or was plugging me in. I wanted to know what it would feel like to have my hands on her. Everywhere. I severed the contact in order to regain control of my brain.
    “I have nightmares,” she said. “Bad ones.”
    Like there was some other kind? She lined up the books on the counter. Obviously that was the only answer I would get.
    “Did you want to go back down to the basement? Sort through the rest of those boxes?” she asked.
    “Can you come with me?”
    “I have to watch the desk and deal with customers.”
    “There’s no one in the store. You could