Bastard(123)
Walking towards them, I open the first one to see it’s full of his drawings. I want to sit down and go through them all, but I know that’s going to piss him off, so I’ll leave that for later.
Off to the right is a large, black L shaped counter, with three pendant lights positioned strategically above it. This place has so much class. It’s nothing like what I imagined a tattoo parlour would look like. I’m fascinated by every detail. My fingers run over everything as I pass. The walls are painted in the same turquoise colour as the rug, and the large black and white framed drawings around the walls stand out against the green. I take it all in as I manoeuver through the room. There are recessed lights built into the ceiling above each drawing, illuminating them.
My eyes move to Carter, still standing just inside the doorway. His hands are buried in the pockets of his jeans as he stands back observing me. “I love seeing you in my space,” he says as he stalks towards me. I love that he brought me here.
“This place is beautiful,” I tell him. “I’m so proud of you.” My arms snake around his neck as I tilt my head back to make eye contact with him. “Really proud, Carter.”
“Thank you,” he replies bringing his mouth down on mine. “Can I take you upstairs now?” His comment makes me laugh.
“I haven’t finished my tour yet. Show me around the rest of the place.” He exhales in frustration.
“Fine, but it’s gonna be quick.” He reaches for my hand, pulling me through the room towards a long corridor. There is a stack of doors all the way down. At least ten each side, maybe more. “These are the rooms of my artists. Where all the magic takes place,” he explains.
“You have that many people working for you?” I ask surprised.
“Yes. I have twenty-three people on the books, not including me: twenty artists, plus Vicki, who does all the piercings. Justine works on the front desk and then there’s Jacquie. She does all the stocking and ordering of supplies.”
“Wow.” I don’t know what else to say. For some reason I thought it was just him and maybe one or two other people working here. I’m blown away. “Which room is yours?” He leads me down to the end of the corridor.
“The biggest one,” he chuckles. “I’m the boss, I’ve gotta have some perks.” Of course he’d have to have the biggest. That doesn’t surprise me in the least. He grabs his keys out of his pocket and unlocks the door.
“Why is the door locked?”
“All the doors have locks on them. My guys each have their own keys, and I have a master key that unlocks them all. The equipment we use is expensive. It just made sense to fit locks on the doors when I had the shop fitted out.”
“Makes sense,” I say in agreement. When he switches on the light he steps to the side so I can enter. Again it’s nothing like I imagined. It’s bright and sterile looking. I suppose it has to be given the nature of the business. The walls are painted white. Along the back wall sits a black leather flat bed. Over in the corner is a matching soft black leather reclining chair with an adjustable stool beside it. There’s a stainless steel bench off to one side, with two long lamps that have retractable extending arms attached. Another stainless steel cabinet sits off to the side of that. It has small drawers down both sides.
I walk towards the frames hanging along the left wall. They’re all certificates. “Did you win all these awards?”
“Yeah. Jax made me enter them when I worked for him. I don’t have time for that shit anymore.”
“That’s amazing,” I say looking over my shoulder at him. He has a shy boyish smile on his face that I find very endearing. My eyes are drawn to the large picture behind him. “Oh my God, Carter. That’s me.” It’s a huge framed sketch of my face. It takes up half of the wall. Far out.
“Yeah,” he replies, scratching his head and bowing his face like he’s embarrassed that I’ve seen it. I step around him to get a closer look. It’s beautiful. My mouth is curved up into a natural smile. He has drawn my eyes with such detail they actually look like they’re sparkling. Is this how he sees me? I stand there for the longest time just staring at it. I’m mesmerised.
Carter comes up behind me as I take it all in. His arms snake around my waist and his lips trail a path up my neck. “Let’s get out of here before I bend you over the bed and fuck you senseless. Having you in this room makes me want to do all kinds of crazy shit.” I tilt my head to the side and smile as he sucks my earlobe into his mouth. When he bites down softly, I moan.