I had a feeling he was prolonging it intentionally. It was the place Hayden felt most comfortable sharing what happened during his appointments with Beatrice, so I wasn’t in a rush to lose the time with him. With only two sessions left, I worried how we would achieve the same connection elsewhere.

Lisa clicked the mouse and pulled up Hayden’s schedule. “How’s next Friday night work for you? He’s got two hours blocked off at the end for no reason I can see.”

“That’ll be two weeks since the last session, which is perfect. He has no reason to say no.” Although he was pretty damn good at coming up with one if he wanted to.

Lisa slotted me in.

“All right, girls. Hayden gives the okay to look,” Nate called out.

He angled his arm to give us an unobstructed view of the art. The likeness to Cassie was remarkable. The pin-up version of her was both demure and sexy.

“It’s gorgeous. Cassie’s going to love it,” Lisa said.

Nate smirked. “I’m banking on that. It’s been a pain in the ass keeping it bandaged so she can’t see it. I woke up twice last week to her sneaking a look in the middle of the night.”

“What a shocker,” Hayden said drily. “Let’s cover that up. No friction for at least a few days, Nate. I don’t want to have a two-hour touch-up session.”

“I’ll tell Cassie to be gentle.”

“Dude, really? Don’t you have a censor?”

“Have you taken Tenley back to see the house yet, or are you just partial to the garage?” Nate needled him.

Hayden turned around, ready to fire off another dig. The color of my face was likely the reason he didn’t.

Nate dropped back into the chair. “By the way, if you were thinking to take Tenley there to see it, tonight or tomorrow would probably be good.”

Hayden raised a brow but didn’t look at Nate. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Nate nodded, watching Hayden smooth the cellophane over the tattoo and secure it with medical tape.

Obviously something was going on, but whatever it was, neither of them seemed inclined to talk about it while Lisa and I were hovering over them. I was glad Hayden and Nate had grown closer over the past months, but I didn’t like not being in the loop.

“So,” Nate said as he pushed his arm carefully through his sleeve, “when is Jamie starting your pin-up?”

“Uh . . . I, uh—we haven’t talked about it—” Hayden stammered.

Lisa coughed to cover an expletive.

“Pin-up?” I asked.

“Oh, shit,” Nate said quietly.

“Would someone care to share?” I crossed my arms over my chest and waited.

Lisa was the one who answered. “Hayden’s been toying with the idea of getting another tattoo for a while. He has a design in mind, but he and Jamie are still working on placement, so nothing’s come of it yet.”

“Why haven’t I seen it?” I asked.

This was the second time I felt that I was missing something since I’d come into the shop. Even Lisa knew about the prospective tattoo.

Hayden rocked back on his heels. “I wanted it to be perfect before I showed it to you.”

“Is it perfect now?”

“Not quite, but I have a copy in my filing cabinet at home. You can have a look later.”

“Sure.” I backed off, aware there was more to this with the way Lisa was twirling the end of her hair and Nate was overly interested in his tie.

Nate tried to pay Hayden, but he refused to take the money. It was after nine by the time Hayden finished cleaning up his station. His first client the next day required one of the private rooms, so he took me with him to set up. I sat down in the tattoo chair and played with the recline lever while Hayden gathered ink and the various implements required for the session.

“So, I was thinking.” He dropped down on the stool beside me. “Maybe you want to go look at the house tonight?”

“So I can see the inside this time?” Cassie hadn’t stopped with the little barbs about that.

“That’s what I had planned.”

“I’d like that.”

“Though if you want to spend a little extra time in the garage, I wouldn’t be opposed.” He rubbed at his bottom lip, trying to hide his smile.

“Of course you wouldn’t.” I grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him closer, and nipped at his lip. “I know you’re keeping something from me.”

He swung one leg over and straddled the chair, facing me. “You are far too clever for your own good. Haven’t you ever heard of a surprise?”

“I don’t like that everyone is in on it but me. I’m supposed to be your person.”

“You are my person.”

He sat down on my thighs, bracing his weight on the backrest. His head dipped down, his teeth skimmed my collarbone. I felt his erection against my stomach. I couldn’t do anything but squirm since he was sitting on my legs.

“Have you ever fucked in here?” I used the profanity on purpose. I’d discovered it turned Hayden on because I used it so rarely.

“No.” He shifted, nudging my legs apart with his knee.

“No?” Every time I was in his chair, I wanted to take off all my clothes and get him inside me.

He shook his head while he settled between my thighs.

“Would you fuck me here?”

He stopped with the kissing and lifted his head to look me straight in the eye. “I don’t fuck you, Tenley. I have sex with you. Sometimes I even make love to you, but we don’t fuck.”

I stared at him in open disbelief. That was completely untrue. On many occasions sheer need had superseded either of our attempts for sweet and gentle. And that didn’t bother me in the slightest.

I was about to call him out on it, but pointing out that he could love me and fuck me at the same time wouldn’t help my current plan. I was horny. He’d been so tired the last couple of nights, he’d passed out on the couch as soon as he got home from work. And my courses and my thesis were demanding a lot of my attention. We hadn’t had sex in days.

“Fine. Will you have sex with me here?”

“Right now?” his voice cracked.

“We could lock the door.”

“No.” His grip on the backrest tightened. “Not with Chris and Jamie and Lisa in the next room.”

“If we were all alone, would you then?” I ran my hands down his back and slid them under the waist of his jeans. He was commando.

His forehead dropped against my shoulder. “Fuck, Tenley. Why are you pulling this shit now?” His voice was muffled by my hair.

“Because you’re awake and coherent and not at risk of falling asleep on me. It’s been days. I miss you.”

He lifted his head and frowned. “How long?”

“Too long,” I said, working to control my frustration. My nails dug into his ass and his muscles flexed under my fingers. I missed more than just the sex, though. I missed the feel of his body, the way he enveloped me, consumed me. I missed the connection we shared when he was inside me, both physically and emotionally. I craved it. Needed it.

I could see him backtracking through time in his head, trying to remember the last time we had sex. His expression changed from doubtful to penitent. “Let me show you the house first; then I’ll make up for neglecting you.”

With a wicked grin, he unhooked my legs from his waist and pushed out of the chair. Holding out a hand, he helped me up and pulled me close. “Just so you know, I’ve wanted to do you in that chair ever since I put the cupcake on you. So be prepared for me to follow through on that as soon as I have the chance.”

When we arrived at the house, several sets of tire tracks were in the snow on the driveway. “It looks like someone’s been here recently,” I observed.

“We decided to start renovations early.”

He hit a button on the windshield visor and the garage door trundled open. Hayden parked inside and we got out of the car.

“It’s warm in here,” I said.

“The floors are heated. I didn’t know that last time.”

He flashed a sheepish grin and crossed over to a set of stairs leading to a door. He grabbed my hand and led me into the house, flicking on lights as we walked down a short, recently painted hall. More lights came on when we reached another doorway. This one opened into an expanse of open space.