Page 825 of One More Kiss

Anders

My gaze traileddown the length of the gorgeous woman in front of me. The same woman I felt like I knew everything about from getting to know her through Snapchat and Insta messages. We’d spent hours talking. Sending funny memes and GIF’s. Sharing personal stories.

I’d never seen her face in person, only through the few pictures she posted online. Which I only found after finding her profiles. While we talked, we decided not to share any pictures of ourselves, but my curiosity got the best of me and I searched for her.

“Jenika, are you okay?” I reached a hand out as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. She looked like she was ready to bolt out the door, and from what I knew of her, she actually might.

Taking a chance, I cupped her cheek and took a step closer. “Hey, älskade. Breathe with me.”

She relaxed into my touch, her eyes fluttering closed and a deep exhale leaving her lungs.

”That’s it. Good girl.” Fuck,I shouldn’t have said that. Stupid Anders. Don’t call your client a good girl. Even if I did get a hint that she had a serious praise kink.

It didn’t matter that we’d been talking online for almost two months. Or that I’d been looking forward to this day for weeks. The first session to work on her arm sleeve. She’d been so inspired by the piece I’d done for Rhys that she’d blindly messaged me on Insta.

Her story of wanting a collage of images on her arm to help disguise a scar. While she’d never told me exactly what the scar was a result of, when I’d gotten her to send me a picture of her arm to design the piece, I knew exactly what it was.

Because it was the exact same scar Rhys had on his arm. The same one that I’d incorporated into the tattoo that led Jenika to reach out to me.

Jenika didn’t know that Rhys was really my brother. My twin, for that matter.

Fate had a funny way of making itself known. This woman would be one of the most important people in the world to me. I just needed to figure out how to tell her.

“Sorry,” Jenika whispered, drawing me out of my musings. Her skin was soft beneath my rough palms, and she even leaned into my touch before realizing what she was doing and jerking her head away. “Sorry again.”

She took a step back and I almost kicked myself for letting the words slip through.

“No, I’m sorry.” I cleared my throat and reached up to rub the back of my neck. “Why don’t I take you back to my office and we can talk. I’ll show you the stencil and we can get the first sitting started whenever you’re ready.”

Jenika cocked her head to the side, blinking rapidly as she eyed me cautiously.

I spread my hands out wide, holding them up in surrender. “We’ve been talking for months now. You know more about me than some of my friends do. You don’t need to be nervous, okay?” I gave a self-deprecating laugh, because I should take my own damn advice for once.

She finally nodded. “Let’s go.”

Stop being so fucking awkward, Karlsson. Get your shit together. You don’t want to make her run away.

Her head swiveled from side to side, taking in all the various artwork as we moved down the hall to my private area.

What Jenika didn’t know was that I owned this shop. It was my own personal haven, and not everyone was allowed back into my space. I was unusual in that I loved the business side of things almost as much as the actual tattooing. I also did gallery showings for my artwork under a false name.

I opened the door and held my arm out to let her enter in front of me. Gods, she felt so good next to me. Several inches shorter, she would fit just under my arm, snuggled against me as I kissed the top of her head. Those curves pressed against me would be torture of the purest form.

She sucked in a sharp breath, looking around at my personal collection of art. There were some pencil drawings, some computer painted pieces, and even a couple of the book covers I’d designed for some author friends.

Jenika instantly gravitated toward those. It was another thing no one really knew about me, although I did tell Sonya I designed covers. But I hadn’t ever shown her any.

“I’ve read this book, it’s incredible.” Her voice brightened as she picked up another. She was certainly in her element when she found a subject she enjoyed talking about. “And this one. The whole series in fact. I’m dying waiting for the next one.”

Bright green eyes lifted to meet my gaze and my pulse beat erratically throughout my body. She was so beautiful. Both inside and out. “The author is a good friend.”

She opened one of the copies and her eyes widened almost comically as she read the inscription. “Thank you, Anders, for your brilliant eye and making these covers as stunning as they are. My words pale in comparison to the brilliance on the outside…”

Jenika trailed off, then shook her head. “You designed these covers? Holy shit you’re brilliant.”

There was an awkward pause for a few moments before she cleared her throat. She clutched onto the straps of the small backpack on her back. A delicate blush stained her cheeks and she had trouble meeting my gaze.

“Let me grab the full render of the tattoo and then show you what we’ll do in each stage.” Concentrate on work, Anders. That was the way to eliminate the awkwardness. Focus. Stop thinking about how good her voice sounds or how great she smells.

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