She frowned. “We don’t need a chaperone. We’re working on a project, not throwing a keg party.”

“I know that.”

She sighed. “They’re supposed to be here in half an hour. Do I need to call Patrick and ask if we can go to his place?”

“That’s not necessary. Is that dickwad Ian still in your group?”

Tenley’s brow lifted. “He’s not interested in me.”

“Yes. He is.”

“He knows I live with you.”

“That just makes you more of a challenge.”

“He’s got a girlfriend.”

“Only because you’re not available.”

She rolled her eyes and pushed on my chest. “He’s not in our group anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Why didn’t you say that in the first place?”

“Because you’re impossible. Let me go. I need to shower before they get here.”

I let her go. But I caught her when she was getting out of the shower and took advantage of her nakedness. She was still getting dressed when her group arrived, so I greeted them. Just as I’d planned. There was a new girl in place of Ian. She seemed a little nervous, but I was happy to see another female in the group. I set them up in the living room and even brought them drinks like a good host. When Tenley came downstairs, she was wearing her STRYKER hoodie and a pair of jeans.

“I gotta run.” I pulled her in for a kiss. She kept her lips together, even when I stroked the seam with my tongue.

She disengaged, her flush showing her embarrassment. “I’ll be at the shop around seven.”

Shit. I’d meant to broach the subject earlier, before I delayed Tenley with the postshower sex.

I glanced at the Nerd Herd plus New Girl. It might work to my advantage to have them here. Tenley wasn’t as likely to get upset with me in front of other people. “About that—”

She gave her head a vehement shake. “Oh, no. Nope. No way.”

Or maybe she wouldn’t care if she had company. “But I—”

“I’ll be right back, make yourselves comfortable.” She flashed her group a forced smile and grabbed my hand, hauling me out of the room. She stopped once we were in the kitchen, where we’d be out of earshot and their line of view.

“You’ve already rescheduled me twice; you’re not doing it again.”

“But I have this client who needs—”

“You have lots of clients who need things from you, and I’m one of them. I’ve waited long enough. I want this piece finished, Hayden.”

“I get that. It’s just . . .” I had no justifiable reason for holding off.

“First you get all territorial about my group coming over, and now you want to cancel my session again. What’s this really about?” She cocked her head and waited.

I clearly wasn’t getting out of an explanation. I stared at the floor and nudged her toe with mine. “I don’t want this to be the last session.”

Tenley’s arms went around my neck and her cheek rested against my chest. “Finishing the tattoo doesn’t mean it’s the last time I’ll be in your chair.”

“I know.”

Rationally speaking, I understood that. But finishing a tattoo this extensive brought with it a whole barrage of emotions. Not just for Tenley, but for me as well. That was the part I struggled with most because I’d never felt this way about anyone else before. I’d experienced the post-ink high and the comedown many times. Sometimes the positives outweighed the negatives. Not always, though. That was part of the reason I kept postponing—unsure not only of how Tenley would handle the last session, but how I would.

“Then why keep putting me off?”

“I just want this to be good for you.”

“It will be.” She sounded so certain.

There was no backing out now. Before the day was over, Tenley’s tattoo would be complete.

I had a full lineup of clients scheduled for the day. The guy before Tenley showed up late and needed more breaks than I’d anticipated, which meant Tenley had to wait. She didn’t look happy about it, likely worried I would use it as another reason to postpone the final session.

She and Lisa went over to Serendipity to visit with Cassie and grab coffees. Tenley hadn’t resumed her shifts there after she came back from Arden Hills since she didn’t need the money. The job had been a way to fill her time. It had become unnecessary because she wasn’t running from her pain anymore.

It was after eight by the time I finished with my client. Lisa, Jamie, and Chris were all leaving, so Tenley and I would have the shop to ourselves. The session would only last a couple of hours if I took my time and dragged it out, which I planned to do.

Even though we were alone, I locked us in the private room and busied myself with checking the tray of supplies. It was redundant. I’d prepared everything early in the afternoon to get into the right frame of mind.

Things had been so good between us recently. Aside from my display of overt possessiveness this morning, there hadn’t been any drama. I wasn’t losing my shit over towels that weren’t perfectly lined up. She was managing school well; her new adviser was much easier to work with. Calder had lost his tenure when the video was “accidentally” leaked online and then intentionally sent to the dean. I didn’t want anything to mess up the balance we’d finally established.

I’d mulled over my reaction this morning, trying to figure out what my problem was, beyond the obvious. I still hadn’t come up with anything completely rational.

Tenley sat down in the chair, fully dressed. Usually she got mostly naked as soon as I locked the door.

“You’re going to have to take that off if I’m going to get started.” I motioned to the hoodie.

“I have a question first.”

“Fire away.” I started assembling the tattoo machine.

“Why are you so worried about this being the last session?”

“We talked about this earlier.” I almost fumbled with the needle, giving away my nerves. Tenley was perceptive. I couldn’t hide much from her.

She pulled her hoodie over her head, a well-orchestrated move to assure me that if I answered her question truthfully, more clothes would come off. She was wearing a T-shirt underneath that conformed to her curves. “Tell me again. And I already know you like having me in your chair. That’s a given.”

“Technically, I’ve never had you in my chair, but I suppose we could rectify that. . . .” I put down the machine and stripped off my gloves. I was in full avoidance mode.

“You’ve used sex as a distraction once today. You don’t get to do it again.”

“I thought there was a twice-a-day limit.” I leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her head to the side. I bit her neck instead.

“Answer the question.” She sounded just the tiniest bit breathy.

“I already did.” I sucked on the skin. She tasted good, as usual.

“You can’t regurgitate the same response from this morning. After what you pulled, do you think I’m going to fall for it? Give me some credit.”

I hadn’t expected the diversionary tactic to work, but at least I’d tried. I sat back down in my chair and rolled in close. I couldn’t start the session with this tension between us. It wasn’t fair to Tenley.

“I’m nervous.”

“About how I’m going to react to finishing the tattoo? I’m ready for this.”

She hadn’t been visibly upset after a session in a long time. In fact, there’d been a peacefulness about her that I envied as we got closer to the end. I was the one who was having a hard time with it. I traced the veins in the back of her hand with my finger, needing somewhere to focus.

“It’s not so much about you as it is about me.” After a long pause I looked up, meeting her questioning gaze. “I don’t want to lose this.”

“This? Do you mean what we have when we’re here?” She flipped her hand over and laced our fingers together.

“It’s stupid. I’m being an idiot.”

“No, you’re not.” She kissed the back of my hand. “We probably should have talked about this before now. The only reason I’ve let you postpone this session twice already is because I like how connected I feel to you when we’re in here.”