Free Love Discovered in New York (The Washington Triplets) by Danielle Allen Page B

And I instantly felt vulnerable.
    Why am I telling him all of this? I thought as I pulled my eyes away from him and stared out the window. My vulnerability and baggage hung in the air thickly and I felt like it was swallowing me. How is he getting me to tell him so much? Or better yet, why am I so willingly giving him all this information? I shook my head and we rode in silence for a while.
    I opened my mouth to change the subject when he spoke up. “I am sorry for your loss. It sounds like you had a really good mom…and she was absolutely right.”
    I furrowed my brow and gave him a questioning look.
    He continued, “About moving to New York.”
    Turning in my seat, I folded my arms and balked at him. “What?”
    Colton chuckled. “Hey, I did it too! I’m just saying…it’s pricey.”
    I rolled my eyes and sat back in my seat. “I just rolled my eyes at you, in case you missed it,” I announced, looking out the window again.
    He laughed again. “I did miss it. But thanks for the update.”
    “Where are we going?” I asked, looking at the historic buildings in Harlem.
    Pulling into a tight parking space in front of a red brick building, Colton parked his car. “We’re here,” he announced.
    I climbed out of his car and looked around. People were leisurely walking around and I could hear the loud cries of children in the park across the street. I took in my surroundings before turning and looking at Colton who was resting against his car watching me. He ran his tongue across his full lips and his eyes were trained on me.
    I hadn’t ever had someone look at me quite like that before. Lust was one thing. But the way he looked at me went beyond lust. Goosebumps quickly spread across my skin.
    “What?” I questioned quietly, walking slowly to meet him on the sidewalk.
    His chest rose and fell before he tore his eyes away from me and started walking up the block. “Come with me.”
    I followed him to the opposite end of the block. We stopped at a glass door with brown paper preventing anyone from seeing in or out of it. The store front window also had the same brown paper covering it. Colton used his key to open the door and then he stepped back to allow me to walk in first. As soon as I crossed the threshold, the familiarity of the décor made me smile.
    “This is the newest Inkwell location,” I stated, looking around the fully furnished tattoo parlor. “Very nice.”
    “Thank you,” Colton responded modestly, running his hand over his short haircut. He grabbed my hand and led me down the hallway to a room with the word Colt emblazoned on the wall. “Have a seat.”
    I sat in the chair and looked up at him, my stomach fluttered as his brown eyes washed over me. He smiled at me before sitting on the rolling stool next to me. I watched him roll himself to a small sink to wash his hands and then he grabbed gloves. He rolled himself back to me, giving me the same look he had given me outside. My heart pounded in my chest and my mouth was suddenly dry.
    Taking his finger, Colton touched the heart behind my ear causing my breathing to hitch. “So I know about this one.” He moved his hand down the left side of my body. “And I know about this one.” His fingers danced from my ribcage to my hip. Even through my shirt, I could feel the heat of his hands and my body reacted.
    I watched him as his eyes followed his fingers as he ran his fingertips across my belly to the right side of my body. He trailed his hands up from my hip to my ribcage and then back down again. He toyed with the edge of my shirt. Meeting my eyes, he asked, “Do you mind?”
    Unable to talk, I just shook my head as he lifted my shirt over my head. In just my purple satin bra and jeans, I sat still as his fingers stroked my tattooed skin. My nipples hardened and I saw him take notice. His voice dropped slightly when he spoke again. “Now I want to know the story behind this one.”
    Finding my voice, I answered, “It says ‘ne laissez