Page 15 of Jaz
Chapter Five
Jaz held her curled up in his lap in one of the chairs used for tattoos. He liked having her in his arms. She protested more than once that she was too heavy for him, but he laughed at that. He’d held her more tonight than he ever dreamed he’d get the chance to, and they both knew she wasn’t too heavy for him. She might not be the long-legged skinny pole dancer or the short tight-bodied bartender, but she wasn’t fat. She wasn’t anything other than perfect. For him. Fucking wouldn’t break her. Being on top of her wouldn’t hurt her. He was hard where she was soft.
“Do you enjoy working atKatz?”
“It’s okay. I’ve been able to help out a friend and try something new while working on a side business for myself.Katzis my first waitressing job. Takes me out of my comfort zone. I’ve found that the lower cut the shirt is or the higher hem of the skirt, the better the tips.”
He tensed under her. “How long are you going to keep working there?”
“Why?” She licked his chin and sank her teeth into it, enough for him to feel the edges. “Jealous?”
“Not a bit.” It was a tiny white lie. He had no problem with her dressing in a skimpy outfit while she served food. The problem he had was if she met someone else outside work. If someone else touched her, fondled her, fucked her until she couldn’t stand up straight. But she and Jaz, they weren’t there yet, and for all he knew, after today was over, they wouldn’t ever be there.
And he wasn’t going to think about it. “No. Curious. What’s your side business?”
He stroked her hair, sifting his fingers through the locks, then letting it fall back against her naked shoulders. She smelled of sex and of him. He liked it. A lot. He wanted to coat her body in his come, rub it into her skin, become a part of her inside and out.
Okay, so he was going to think about it. But only a little.
“I make jewelry. I started a few years ago when handmade things started becoming popular again. Working atKatzhas allowed me to build my business online and I now have some steady work coming in. A lot of people like custom work, custom designs.”
“Do they design it or do you when they want custom?”
“Sometimes me, sometimes them. I’ve met a few incredible, independent designers and artists at trade shows who help me out when I need it. Working for Jackie pays the bills, and she even had me design some custom chains for nipple rings.”
“Did she now?” He wouldn’t mind seeing Mandi’s nipples pierced with a pretty chain hanging between them. One he could tug on until she gasped from the mingled pain and pleasure.
“She did. Some of the waitresses and even customers have given me business I wouldn’t have otherwise. It’s been a good experience.”
His hand rubbed her arm, her shoulder, her hand, down the side of her neck to the top of her chest. He caressed her and she mewled as a little kitten might have at the attention. She relaxed deeper into him too, and though he wasn’t sure she was aware of the move, he was. Her weight was now more even between his chest and legs. Her hip pressed into his cock, and if she noticed the way it nudged her, she didn’t let on. That was fine with him. He liked this. There was no pressure to have sex again, but they would. A ton of it. Until well past dawn. It was enough in those moments, in the dark of his shop, to sit with her, learn about her, connect with her in other ways.
“Other than the chains, what do you make?”
“Hmmm. Most want earrings, bracelets, normal things made for them. I’ve done a few chokers, necklaces.”
“Can you make other things?”
“Like what?”
She was teasing him with her fingers, running them up and down his side, his shoulder, his arm, his hip. She was exploring him. He knew because she hadn’t once looked up at his face. She was so focused on his body, on touching him, feeding her crush on him.
She’d tugged more than once on the barbell in his nipple sending a jolt straight to his cock. And she’d given a lot of silent, almost reverent attention to the tattoos on his shoulders and chest. He had no doubt she’d give the same attention to the ones on his back if she could reach them.
Her crush on him. Damn but that was so unbelievable, so hot. It made his heart race and kept a smile on his lips. The sex with her was only intensified by the crush they shared on one another. It was something he couldn’t remember feeling for anyone else. Then again, the Mandi he’d known all this time wasn’t exactly the same Mandi he held in his arms. She was more and she was knocking his entire world right on its side.
“Like nipple rings? Belly rings? Tunnels for ears?” Even as he said the words, he wondered if she would ever get her nipples or her bellybutton pierced. Or … her clit. He had to bite back a groan at that thought. He knew she wouldn’t do something like body piercing to make a statement but rather because she’d want it. He didn’t imagine Mandi did anything she didn’t want to do. But she’d be even more scorching, smoking-hot with piercings. Her already sensitive nipples and clit would become even more so.
“I suppose I could. There’s a series of classes for glass bead making that I want to take in a few months. And a metalsmithing class is coming up too. Right now, I can only embellish, add to and enhance. I shape wire. I add to chains and links. I use beads and crystals, but I want to learn how to create more unique designs, my own signature designs. And the more I learn to do on my own, the more custom pieces I can create for people.”
As she talked, her face lit up. She had that same spark, that same fire for her art that he had for his. “I get it. I always want to know more about tattoos, new technology in the business, new ways to make the ink come to life. I don’t want it to sit on the skin. I want it to move, to reach out, and grab you.”
“Like 3D?”
“Yeah, exactly. A whole new dimension of art for the body. Some people can do it already. I’ve got some contacts who can, so like you, I’ll be learning new things to give my customers more custom work.”
Though her eyes remained animated, heat began to filter in. “Jaz, I …”
She licked her lips and Jaz bit back yet another groan. She moved in, though how she could get any closer was beyond him. She was already so deep under his skin … “What?”
