Page 35 of Broken

She’s been back here before, when I was cleaning up her wounds after the accident. It doesn’t explain what she is doing here now. Or why she’s been here so long.

“I was…” she pauses.

There isn’t anything of real value back here. At least, not to someone who isn’t interested in tattooing. My eyes land on a book on the counter. It’s open. My nostrils flare.

She chews on her lower lip but steps out of the way as I walk toward her, close the book and move it away.

“They’re yours?” she asks.

“They’re private,” I snap.

She flinches, but holds her ground. After a prolonged moment of silence, she breaks it, her words soft. “They’re beautiful.”

I don’t remember leaving it out. My jaw grinds as I stare at her. “You had no right to come back here nosing around. Is this what you do? Invade people’s privacy?”

“No,” she shakes her head. “I just… saw the paintings on the wall when I was in here the other day. I wanted to seethem again. And when I noticed the sketch book, I got curious. It’s obvious the same person who drew the images in the book painted it.” She indicates the canvas on the wall. “You’re incredibly talented, Garrett.”

Here I am worrying about her, and she’s back here nosing through my shit. I don’t show that sketch book to anyone. Ever.

“You shouldn’t have come looking, you had no right,” I snap. “It wasn’t lying around.”

“It was on the counter,” she replies.

“No it wasn’t.” I never leave it out.

“Yes it was, it was right there. Look, I’m sorry if I overstepped,” she shakes her head, looking a mixture of pissed and guilty. “I shouldn’t have come back here, and I shouldn’t have opened your book. I didn’t think it was a crime.”

“I don’t want anyone looking at it. Can’t you get that through your head?”

When Calli flinches back, I realize I’m yelling. I jam my hands on my hips, torn between wanting to throw her out of the room and apologizing. I’m being irrational over a sketch book. But… I don’t let anyone see it for a reason.

“Sorry,” Calli says, staring at me. “It won’t happen again.”

Fuck. What is it with this woman, why does she rub me the wrong way? All the time. And why am I such an ass to her?

She has to brush past me to get by, her bare arm touching my chest as she squeezes through the gap. Damn it.

“Calli,” I call her name, but she doesn’t stop, hurrying to the door. “Wait,” I go after her and take hold of her arm.

“Let go of me,” she tugs her arm back.

I instantly let go. I didn’t mean to do that. There is no reason for me to grab her like that. The momentum of how fast she is going and my tugging her back has her faltering in her heels and she teeters backward.

Reaching out, I try to stop her because I don’t want her to hurt herself. It means touching her again, and now I’m pressing her into the wall where she stumbled. Her back is against it, and we’re up close. And very fucking personal.

The scent of her is intoxicating. I stare down at the smooth bare skin of her shoulder, the dip of her collar bone where her pulse is thumping.

Her hands come up to my chest to prevent me from bumping into her. She doesn’t push me back. Her face is full of anger. There is that fire I saw in her before, with good reason. I had no right to touch her.

My hands are nowhere near her now but hers are still on me, the defiance in her eyes is changing. My gaze drops to her lips, painted in that deep pink color. They part as my eyes flick to hers.

This is wrong. I go to step back, but her fists tighten in my T-shirt. What is she doing? Lifting my arm, I press my palm against the wall at the side of her head. Effectively caging her in, the counter to her left, my arm to her right.

Calli glances at my arm, taking in all the artwork. Some done by Phoenix, mostly by my mentor, Brick. Her chest is rising and falling. The moment is dragging on longer than it should. Reality is, it’s been five seconds.

With my spare hand, I reach up to take one of her wrists. I’m planning on moving her hands away so I can step back. The second I touch her skin, her shoulders press back. Not to get away from me, she thrusts her upper body toward me.

Her breath comes out in quick gasps. Her lips are so enticing, I can’t help lowering my eyes to them.

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