His hand reached out again to start tracinghis fingertips over my hands. “No, not wildly inappropriate…just interesting. Ilike not having to guess things. Especially when there are already so many newthings about this for me.”
Feeling a little bit relieved, but stillmildly embarrassed, I looked back at him. “Good, I don’t mind being open andhonest about things. You just have to let me know if I cross a line you’reuncomfortable with. I like flirting, but I don’t want to make you nervous.”
His fingers started exploring my hands inthe most distracting way, and I had to fight not to close my eyes. It was soeasy to imagine how his touch would feel other places. Wilder grinned. “I don’tthink chemistry will be a problem.”
I wanted to groan.
No, a lack of chemistry was not going to bean issue for us. I just hoped he was okay with that once everything had achance to sink in.
Chapter 7
Wilder
As I watched Lane laugh, I couldn’tremember why I’d been so worried about the evening. I’d woken up excited andcurious, but as the day had gone on, it’d started to feel more serious. I wasgoing on a date with a man.
I didn’t have any bad memories from collegeabout the few times I’d fooled around with Gray. So I wasn’t sure why the datewith Lane felt so much different. Maybe it was because Gray had never beenanything more than a friend. Adrunkfriend who could talk me intothings when I wasrelaxedas well. With Lane, though, everything feltdifferent.
When I looked at him, I didn’t see apossible new friend. I didn’t see a stranger on the street who eyed my tattoos longingly.He was more than that. I just wasn’t sure why.
“I’m serious. He just dropped his pants,bent over and said he wanted me to tattookiss myon his ass. He waspissed off but sober. So I couldn’t even blame it on alcohol.” We’d beentrading stories as we ate. It had been a fun way to get to know him, and I likedthe way his eyes sparkled when he found something funny.
He leaned forward and rested his elbows onthe table. “What did you do?”
“I was still new enough in the businessthat I wasn’t sure if I should talk someone out of a tattoo. Luckily, my mentortook it as a teachable moment and showed me the best way to handle thesituation.”
Lane gave me a skeptical look. “Teachablemoment, huh?”
I grinned. “Yes, he pointed out the fact thatthere were always going to be people who wanted something stupid. Like a tattooon their ass that saidkiss my. He then went on to point out that evenwhen people are sober, sometimes they’re too stupid to know right from wrong.”
Lane’s eyes widened, and he started shakinghis head with a smile.
“After that, he explained that part of myjob was to prevent people from doing something stupid, because, in the long run,it would harm my reputation. By that time, the guy had pulled his pants up andstormed out. I’d known that people would ask for tattoos in interesting places,but I’d never expected something so angry and spiteful.”
“That’s just terrible. Hopefully, hecouldn’t find anyone else to do it. That would be just awful to calm down afteran argument and end up with something permanent like that.” Lane was stillsmiling, but I could see he was worried about the man.
“I love tattoos, but yes, people need toremember that they’re permanent.” Well, with laser treatments they weren’talways permanent, but people needed to go in with the expectation that thetattoo would be there forever.
“They’re artwork, but it’s not the kind youcan sell or give away when your tastes change.” Lane nodded, but his eyes moveddown to my arms, and I knew he was picturing the tattoos. “They should besomething meaningful and important.”
“Have you thought about getting one?” Theway he looked at mine and the way he talked about them, in general, said thathe was more than curious.
His eyes came back up to my face. “Yes, butwith my job, I’m not sure it’s a good idea. I guess it would depend on what itwas and where it went. I wouldn’t want to have something that clashed with theclothing enough that the pictures couldn’t be used online.”
He’d clearly put a lot of thought into it,and I was glad to hear it. Partly because it said that he thought throughthings clearly. But also, because he gave me an opening to ask more questions.“When I realized where you work, I went online and looked at the website. Ihope that was all right? I hadn’t realized it might be intrusive until afterward.”
Lane shrugged like it was to be expected,not upset at all. In fact, he blushed a little bit and grinned. “No, that’sfine. I’m glad…I’m glad you got a chance to see that part of my life.” His gazemoved down to his plate, and he started pushing around the last of his steak.“What did you think of it?”
The words came out quieter than before, andI could hear worry in his voice. We’d been laughing and talking for so long thatit was a stark contrast. I thought back to the pictures I’d seen online andwhile they were easy to imagine, I wasn’t sure how to explain everything thathad gone through my mind.
“I love artwork. I actually went to schoolfor an art degree, so part of me sees it in that light. I can see the skill ofthe photographer, your skill and artistic side as you moved.” Looking at itfrom that angle was easier to explain. But leaving the rest out wouldn’t befair to him or honest. “When it comes to the actual lingerie, I’ve always appreciatedthat stuff. But I’ll have to admit it was surprising.”
Lane just listened, and I knew I had hiscomplete attention. But we’d reached the part I wasn’t sure of, and sayingsomething that would ruin the evening, even by accident, was the last thing Iwanted. “I’ve never pictured guys wearing that kind of stuff. I thought youlooked beautiful, but sometimes there’s a difference between the way artwork looksonline and seeing it in person. So I guess what I’m trying to say is that Ithink it’s interesting and intriguing, but I’m not sure of anything beyondthat.”
He was quiet for so long I started to worry.Had I not answered his question? Was he disappointed in my answer? Was it ananswer that he couldn’t deal with? The options were endless.
When he finally began to nod slowly, thefirst trickle of relief started to flow through me. There was no anger in hisexpression, and I couldn’t even see lines of worry or frustration. “I canunderstand. The first time I found anything like it online, I wasn’t sure how Ifelt either. It was something that caught my eye and that I kept going back to,but I wasn’t sure if it was because I appreciated the beauty of it or if it wassomething I wanted in my life.”
It was my turn to just sit and listen, butI found that easier than trying to explain my thoughts. As he continued, Iwanted to reach across the table and take his hands, but I wasn’t sure if thatwould make it easier or harder for him to share.
