Meant For You: Rocktown Ink, Book 3 Read online

  He kissed my temple. “Drive carefully.”

  Then he strode back into the gym and I stood there trying to pull myself together for a lot longer than I’d want to admit.

  I moved to the door of the gym, noting Dane had made no comment on Tanner assuming we were an item, and peeked inside.

  Dane and Tanner were in the ring together, with Grifter standing in one corner and another guy in the opposite one. Dane and Tanner circled each other, bouncing on the balls of their feet.

  Tanner came at Dane, fists flying, face red, eyes full of rage. I got the feeling that perhaps they didn’t like each other, or at least Tanner didn’t like Dane. Dane easily deflected his blows and struck back, looking calm and focused.

  Tanner came at him again, and Dane got him in the jaw.

  The last time I’d seen Dane hit someone, he looked more like Tanner, full of rage, not controlled like he was now.

  The more hits Dane got in, the angrier Tanner got.

  Tanner suddenly ran at him, and Dane shoved him off. “We’re just sparring, man,” Dane said, a smirk on his face. “What’s got you so worked up?”

  Tanner’s friend entered the ring and pulled him back, muttering something to him. Grifter, I noticed, didn’t seem worried in the slightest. No, he looked amused.

  Tanner stormed off toward a door on the other side of the gym that I assumed led to the showers, and Dane shook his head. He walked to Grifter and leaned on the ropes, then his head turned and he saw me standing there.

  He straightened.

  My heart thumped in my chest.

  It thumped again.

  God, that kiss. I shivered.

  Dane had done it on purpose, hadn’t he? He’d wanted Tanner to see us. He’d wanted to scare away the guy he thought I was interested in.

  I felt off-balance all of a sudden.

  Dane frowned and took a step toward me.

  I quickly forced a smile and waved, because I wasn’t ready for more of Dane, not then, not the way I was feeling.

  Instead, I spun and ran out.

  Chapter Eight

  Dane

  I had a client due any minute, so quickly finished wiping my table down, and then remembered I’d already wiped it down five minutes ago.

  Christ.

  Everly.

  All I could think about was that kiss.

  That. Fucking. Kiss.

  I’d kissed my fair share of women, not as many as people thought, and definitely not as many as Everly thought. People assumed certain things about me, the way I looked, acted, and I’d never cared enough to correct them.

  But, yeah, I knew what a good kiss was.

  And I’d never experienced anything like that in my life. The way Everly smelled, the tiny hitch in her breath as I moved in closer.

  Her soft lips.

  Her taste.

  Her tongue.

  Fuck. Me.

  The way she’d straightened her spine, determination filling her gaze before she leaned in. The tentative, sweet-as-sugar way she’d started kissing me. I could have kept on kissing her for hours, days, fucking years and not get enough of her.

  No, I hadn’t liked that we’d been interrupted, but I couldn’t say I wasn’t happy that it was Tanner who did the interrupting. No one was going to go near Everly while they thought she was with me, and I’d make sure that everyone did.

  Tanner had a thing for her, and he’d let me know when I got to the gym yesterday, since he’d seen us dancing at The Mule, and had flat-out asked me if I was seeing her.

  When I’d just smiled, because I didn’t owe that fucker anything, he’d looked on the verge of losing his shit.

  He suggested we spar, not me, and I was more than happy to oblige the bastard. Catching Eves and me kissing had just pissed him off more, and he’d brought that rage into the ring. Like a fucking amateur.

  The muscles in my back tightened.

  And Everly had watched it, the whole damn thing.

  I squeezed my fingers tight around the wad of paper towels I’d been using and tossed it in the trash. The last time she saw me fight had been a very different situation.

  What did she think, seeing me in the ring? Was she upset?

  She’d smiled before she’d run away, but it was false as hell. When I’d texted her this morning and told her what time I’d be at the ranch later, I hadn’t been able to tell from her reply.

  So, yeah, I was anxious to see her tonight for a lot of reasons.

  Someone tapped on the door. “Come on in,” I said as I slid my stool out of the way.

  “I’ve got my own design, but I’m open to suggestions,” a very deep, very familiar voice rumbled through the room.

  My gaze sliced to the door, and Bull stood there watching me carefully.

  I straightened. “You’re my client?”

  “You got a problem with that?” Bull said as he walked in and laid out his design on my drafting table. It was Quinn’s name.

  I swallowed, a fucking lump instantly forming in my throat. “What about…I thought you’d get Cal to…” Christ, what the fuck was wrong with me? “Yeah, no problem.”

  Bull was my cousin but was as close to me as Cal. He’d repeatedly bailed me out of scrapes, making sure I didn’t fucking kill myself being an idiot.

  If it hadn’t been for him, I would have gone to prison eighteen months ago without doubt. He and Cal had looked out for me, were always there for me. No matter what stupid shit I did.

  Bull had also hooked me up with a job through the Ramblers in Black Stone when I’d needed to get away.

  I’d never been able to repay him or Cal for everything they’d done, and for him to come to me now—me, the fuckup, the reckless idiot who’d let them all down repeatedly—to ink his woman’s name on his skin—yeah, it meant something.

  But he knew that.

  Bull looked down at the design he’d done. “What do you think? Any suggestions?”

  The lettering was kickass, but that wasn’t a surprise. Bull was extremely talented. I did have a suggestion, though, but I was hesitant to share. Bull was a far more experienced tattoo artist. He knew what he wanted on his skin. I glanced up at him.

  His brows lifted. “Got an idea?”

  I cleared my throat ’cause it was tight as hell. “You could do something behind it. Make it pop.”

  Bull motioned to it with his hand. “Have at it.”

  Okay, fuck. I sat at my table and drew all over his design, adding the swirls and color I thought would look good—nothing too over the top, but what I felt would work with what Bull already had—and feeling damned nervous for some stupid reason.

  This was Bull, for fuck’s sake.

  If he didn’t like it, no big deal, right?

  Why was my mouth so fucking dry all of a sudden?

  When I was done, I rolled my stool back and gave him room, watching as he leaned over it and took it all in.

  “Fuck…yeah, this is awesome,” he muttered.

  Pride filled my chest. “Cool,” I said, trying not to jump out of my damned seat, my gut a riot of nerves, while relief that he liked it coursed through me.

  Bull and Cal were so talented, some of the best. And I wasn’t sure he had any idea how much his approval meant to me.

  “Let’s get this shit done,” Bull said, yanking off his shirt and getting up on my table.

  I got everything prepped, and a few minutes later the buzz of my tattoo machine filled the room.

  “So,” Bull said. “What’s up with you and your girl?”

  My gaze was locked on what I was doing, fully focused, which was probably why my answer came unguarded and uncensored. “Friends isn’t enough. Gonna make her mine.”

  “Yeah? Like that, is it?”

  “Not yet, not really, but it will be,” I said.

  Bull was silent a couple of beats. “Probably best you tread carefully with her.”

  I dipped my chin. “That’s exactly what I plan on doing.”

  A
short time later, I was finishing up. He put Quinn’s name on his ribs, one of a few clear spots on his upper body. I knew what he already had, and had tried to tie this new piece in. Design and colorwise, I’d gotten it right.

  It looked—shit—so fucking good.

  I wiped the ink and blood from his skin, and Bull stood, moving to the mirror just as Cal appeared at the door.

  “Fuck, brother,” Bull said, checking it out. “Think you get your skill with the needle from me.”

  I chuckled, glancing at Cal.

  “You designed that?” Cal asked me.

  “Collab,” Bull said. “Can’t give him all the credit.”

  “That’s nice work,” Cal said, moving closer and getting a better look.

  I lifted my chin, more stupid pride spreading through me and making it hard to talk.

  “Quinn is gonna love this,” Bull said, a big-ass grin on his face.

  “It’s definitely better than the bull’s head you inked on her ass,” Cal said, laughing.

  Bull grinned, his whole face lighting up. “My woman loves it.”

  “Territorial bastard,” Cal said, still laughing.

  “Like you’re any better,” Bull muttered back.

  I stood there while Bull and Cal gave each other shit, smiling like a jackass.

  Fuck, it was good to be home.

  * * *

  I rolled my bike to a stop by the barn at the ranch.

  Dusk was an hour away, and the sky was streaked with oranges and pinks. Perfect time for a ride.

  And to cross another thing off Eves’s list.

  The sound of hooves against packed dirt had me turning around.

  Jesus.

  Everly was on the back of her horse, galloping across the field, auburn hair streaming out behind her, a huge smile on her face. She was an image of pure joy. The exhilaration she felt in that moment was impossible to miss.

  Fuck, I wanted her.

  All of her.

  Her gaze finally found me, and my heart did this weird pause-then-explode-into-action thing.

  Then it did it again, but for another reason. Instead of climbing off her horse and opening the gate, she fucking jumped it.

  I lost ten years off my life in that moment, but Everly looked alive, eyes bright, that smile still there. Her laughter rang out as she slowed the horse to a walk and headed toward me.

  I wanted to yank her down and tell her to never do that again, that I wasn’t okay with her risking her neck like that. I wasn’t that stupid, though, and neither was Everly. She knew what she was doing, knew how to ride and how far she could push her horse.

  Instead, I focused on calming my breathing down as she got closer. Not just because she’d scared the shit out of me, but because she was so fucking beautiful she took my goddamn breath away. The old me wouldn’t have had the same restraint.

  “You’re here early,” she said, jumping down from her horse.

  “Am I?” I said, or more croaked.

  “Let me just take off Aiko’s saddle and brush her down, then I can get changed.”

  “I’ll do that,” Cassy said, walking out of the barn. “You go have fun.”

  I wanted to hug the shit out of my sister-in-law right then because I was kind of desperate to get Everly on the back of my bike.

  “Are you sure?” Eves said.

  “Of course. Now get out of here.”

  Cassy led Aiko away, and Eves tilted her head to her quarters. “Come on. You can wait while I grab a quick shower.”

  “I can think of nothing I would rather do,” I said, grinning, already picturing her naked and wet and slippery. Shit.

  She gave me a shove. “Smart-ass.”

  We walked into her room, and my eyes slid to the bed all on their own, to the rumpled sheets. An image popped into my head of Eves lying there in that old thin tank top of mine and nothing else. Hard not to when it was currently lying on the covers where she’d obviously taken it off that morning, tormenting me.

  She opened and shut drawers, getting stuff out, and I watched her trying to see if she was pissed at me or worried after seeing me and Tanner spar. Well, I was sparring. Tanner had been trying to take my head off. Prick.

  The mystery was too much for me. “So you ran out of the gym kinda quick the other day.”

  “Did I?” she said, taking something out of another drawer.

  Panties. They were fucking bright blue panties.

  I took a steadying breath and cleared my throat. “I was worried you might be…upset or something.”

  A bra came out next. Bright blue as well. Lace. You’d be able to see right through it, see the color of her nipples.

  “Nope, not upset,” she said and turned to me. “I’m not some fragile little miss who crumples at the sight of fighting, Dane. I did live in that house with you for three years. You know what I’ve seen. I was pissed off, though.”

  Eves didn’t swear. Pissed off was not something I’d heard her say very often. I’d seen that flash of annoyance in her brown eyes a time or two, though. “Okay. Why?”

  “You knew Tanner was going to catch us kissing. That’s why you were so insistent. It was underhand, Dane. I didn’t like that or the way it made me feel.”

  I stood straighter. “Whoa. Back the fuck up. That’s not what that was, not at all.”

  Her brows shot up. “You’re telling me you had no idea Tanner would come looking for you to spar?”

  “I had no damn clue. Was I broken up he caught us?” I shrugged. “No. The guy’s a fuckwit and I’d rather you stay away from him. I didn’t plan it, though. I’m not that much of an asshole.”

  She chewed the side of her lip. “If you say that’s how it was, I believe you. But I need you to promise me you won’t be all overprotective while we’re doing this.”

  I couldn’t promise that. I crossed my arms.

  “Dane,” she bit out.

  “Fine,” I said, but we both knew it was a lie.

  She leaned against the wall, crossing her arms as well. “So what was that all about then, that kiss, if it wasn’t about Tanner?” she surprised me by asking. Eves wasn’t the direct type. At least she never used to be.

  My gaze held hers. “Exactly what I said, practice makes perfect.”

  She stared back at me for a long time. She had to know I was full of shit. It was the lamest excuse in the history of a guy wanting to kiss his girl.

  But instead of calling me on it, she nodded. There was a reason for that. I knew it. I wasn’t sure if she did yet, if she was going to let herself even think it. But Everly wanted me kissing her. That was the only explanation.

  She cleared her throat, the pulse there under her skin pounding hard. “So, um, what happens tonight?”

  “I’ve made plans, but why don’t you tell me what you want?” I said, because I wanted this to be perfect. I had to do this right. “Where do you want to start?”

  “You’re the one who has all the dating experience,” she said and opened the bathroom door. “Surprise me.” Then she walked in and shut the door behind her.

  The shower came on a moment later.

  I had no such thing. Dating was not something I’d done a lot of, but if acting like I had got me Everly, helped me win her over, made her love me as more than her best friend, then I’d work that shit out.

  I just hoped like fuck I got it right tonight. Bull sure as shit hadn’t had anything intelligent to add when I was in the bar earlier. His great advice had been “take her somewhere” and “buy her some girlie shit.” I’d worked out that much on my own, and I didn’t even know if Eves liked girlie shit, whatever the hell that was.

  That’s when Quinn, who’d overheard her fiancé’s lame advice, had stepped in. She’d offered some help, well, guidance really. And she’d know better than me.

  I glanced around the room to Everly’s overflowing bookshelf and smiled. Christ, she was a bookworm. I used to love watching her read. She’d pull all these cute-as-fuck facial expressions, li
ke she was so immersed in the book she was right there with the characters.

  I spotted something at the bottom poking out from the shelf. A folder. One I hadn’t seen in a long time. My gut churned at the sight of it.

  I walked over, slipped it free, and dropped it on the bed, flipping it open.

  My gaze moved over the drawing at the top of the pile. Cartoon versions of me and Eves. I’d drawn it for her. As usual, there’d been a party going on in the house and I’d taken my pad and pencils and started sketching, something Eves had loved watching me do.

  I flipped through. There were more cartoons of us, more of other people we’d known. Tattoos I’d tried to design, other silly stuff I’d done to try and make her laugh, anything to take her mind off what was going on outside my bedroom door.

  The water turned off, and several minutes later, Everly stepped out.

  In skintight jeans and another tit-hugging shirt that made my mouth water.

  “You kept them,” I said, motioning to the folder on the bed.

  Her head tilted to the side. “Of course I kept them. I loved every drawing you ever did. They were precious to me. Still are.”

  “Yeah?” It was all I could manage for some fucked-up reason. I shut the folder, not wanting to look at them anymore, not wanting to go back to that place, that time they took me to.

  “Yeah,” she said back, voice soft, sweet.

  When I said no more, she didn’t push, obviously working out I was struggling with something.

  “I just need to dry my hair.”

  I dipped my chin, put the folder back where I found it, and watched her, trying to get my shit under control as she dried her hair. When she was done, she applied something to her lips—gloss maybe. It made them shiny and matched her naturally pink mouth.

  She turned to me finally. “Okay, ready. Where are we going?”

  “You said to surprise you,” I said, amazed when my voice came out strong and not shaky as hell, and grabbed her hand. “Bring a jacket.”

  She frowned but picked up a worn-looking denim one as I led her out the door. It was hot, but it could get cold on the bike.

  When we stopped beside it, her hand squeezed mine. I turned to her and her eyes were wide, excited.