Branding Gemma [Grizzly Pines 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (6 page)

He gave her a disbelieving look.

“Can I tell you something? It’s something no one knows
.
”

“Of course!”

“I’ve sort of been working on a project the past six months. I’ve been writing a romance novel. My laptop is gone, but Beau said I could borrow his. Thankfully, I stored my files elsewhere and I can access them from any computer.”

“A romance novel, huh?” He grinned. “Your secret is safe with me, but don’t be surprised when Elodie pulls the information out of you. Once she sees you’re working on something on Beau’s computer, she’ll be relentless until you tell her what you’re up to.”

“Good. She can be my first fan. Does she like romances?”

Cody snorted. “It’s all the woman reads. And the more sex in them, the better, far as I can tell. Most of them have naked people on the covers.”

Gemma laughed. “I think Elodie and I are going to get along just fine.”

Synclair spent the rest of the day thinking about the gorgeous blonde who’d come in with his first client. Gemma. The moment their hands had touched, he’d felt like an electric current had travelled through his veins to settle in his balls. His cock had gone from moderately interested to hard as a steel post in a matter of seconds. He’d been around hot women before, had slept with more than his share, but no one had ever gotten that intense of a response from him before. He’d found it hard to concentrate on his work with her standing so near.

She hadn’t worn perfume, unlike most of the women of his acquaintance. Her scent had been light and natural, just soap and woman, and he could have breathed it in all day. When his hand had closed around hers, he’d wanted to pull her into his arms and bury his nose in her hair, inhaling that sweet scent until it surrounded him. Fuck! Next thing you knew, he’d want to cuddle after sex. For some reason, the thought of snuggling next to that soft, curvy body of hers sounded rather appealing. Maybe he needed to get his brain scanned. Obviously, there was something wrong with him. He couldn’t have fallen for her in just a matter of minutes, could he?

He’d always believed women were good for one thing and one thing only. Well, two things. To suck his cock and to fuck until he couldn’t see straight. And if he was really lucky, there would be two of them. God, there was nothing hotter than watching a woman fuck another woman. He’d jacked off to it more than once. But for some reason, when Gemma came to mind, he only saw the two of them in a room together. He wanted the time to worship her body the way it deserved, every curvy inch of it.

His dick had been hard as steel inside his pants ever since that brief touch, but he’d taken notice of her the moment she’d walked through his door. The sun had glinted off her hair, making it shine like warm honey. The long tresses were perfect to wrap around his hand as he fucked her mouth. Oh God! Just the thought of those perfect, plump, pouty lips wrapped around his dick was enough to make him explode. He’d bet anything her mouth would be hot, wet, and oh, so welcoming. She looked like the type who swallowed, too. He’d give his left nut for the chance to find out.

Fuck! If he didn’t get his thoughts off the sexy-as-sin blonde and back on his work, he’d never get anything done. His whole body was tense from the need to come. A glance at the clock told him Sierra would be stopping by any minute. They weren’t dating, because he didn’t date, but he did have an arrangement with the stripper. She got a discount on her ink, and his cock got a little action. For some reason, the thought of the redhead’s mouth anywhere near his johnson made it wilt like last week’s lettuce.

This couldn’t be happening to him, not now. It wasn’t that he thought he’d have a problem seducing Gemma, but she hadn’t exactly been throwing herself into his arms either. She had that look, the look that said she was leery of men. Just what he needed. His dick wanted the unattainable. Well, maybe not unattainable, but he had a feeling she’d certainly make him work for it. Then again, if his cock wouldn’t work for anyone else, he’d have to get the blonde out of his system somehow, and he couldn’t think of a better way than pounding into that sweet pussy of hers. God, he’d bet she tasted sweet! Somehow he just knew that her nectar would explode on his tongue and he’d never want to taste another woman ever again.

The bell over the door jingled and he looked up. His gaze raked Sierra from head to toe, admiring his artwork, of which there was an abundance, and most of it was on display. The woman was showing so much skin, he was surprised she hadn’t been arrested on her way over. She wiggled her way across the room and glued herself to the front of him, something that would have had his dick hard in a minute, pre-Gemma. Now, not so much as a twitch.

“Did you miss me, Synclair?” She batted her false eyelashes at him. Her breath smelled sour, like she’d already been drinking the day away and, more than likely, she had.

“Are you ready for your ink today?”

She looked up at him from beneath her lashes, a smile spreading across her highly glossed lips. Why he’d ever thought her remotely attractive, he didn’t know. She couldn’t hold a candle to Gemma. The heavy makeup couldn’t hide the lines fanning out from her eyes, or the ones around her lips from smoking one too many cigarettes. The look he’d once thought of as seductive, now just looked calculated and sly.

“Why don’t I give you my payment first?” she purred.

“About that. I’m going to need cash today.”

A chill seeped into her eyes and her smile froze in place, but he blinked and it was gone. Sierra was giving him the same heated look she always gave him. Except this time, it didn’t do anything for him.

“Come on, baby. Don’t be like that.” She pouted. “Let Sierra make it all better.”

She slipped from his grasp and fell to her knees at his feet. Her hands made quick work of the button on his jeans, slid the zipper down, and spread them wide. When she saw his lack of arousal, she frowned.

“What the hell, Synclair?”

“I told you, that sort of payment wasn’t going to work today.”

She gave him a determined look. “You want me. You always want me. He just needs to be warmed up a little, that’s all.”

She wrapped her hand around his softened cock and sucked him into her mouth. He gripped her hair, tugging her away, but she sucked at him like a Hoover. Not that it made much difference. His dick didn’t rise to the occasion. He finally pried the leech off him and refastened his pants, suddenly feeling the need for a shower.

“I think you need to reschedule, Sierra. Maybe have your piece finished elsewhere.”

“You don’t mean it, Synclair!”

“Oh, I mean it, sugar. No means no. I told you it was cash today or nothing, but you didn’t want to listen. You think you’re God’s gift and I should be thankful you want to suck my cock? Well, I’m sorry, sweetheart. I don’t work that way. This was a payment system, pure and simple, and the currency has changed.”

Her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. The tenseness of her jaw told him she was grinding her teeth. He’d seen her lose her shit once before and he knew it was about to happen again. Synclair needed to get her the hell out of his shop before she broke something.

“You sanctimonious asshole. You’re the one who set this up to begin with. It was you who said I could pay for my ink in something other than cash. You were more than happy for me to spread my legs for you before.”

Synclair snorted. “Like you weren’t whoring yourself out for less down at the strip joint. We all know what happens in those VIP rooms.”

She slapped him across the face, hard enough that he wondered if she’d left a handprint. When she drew her hand back again, he gripped it tightly and jerked her forward, knocking her off balance on those ridiculous four-inch heels she wore.

“I don’t think so. You get a free pass for the first one. Hit me again and I’ll forget that I’m a gentleman and lay you out cold.”

“Ha! You? A gentleman?”

“I’ve made it a practice to never hit women, but you’re pushing my buttons. Get your ass out of my shop now, before I throw you out.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

He arched a brow. “Sweetheart, if I can’t throw you out, I’m sure the sheriff would like to talk to you about solicitation. How’s a night behind bars sound?”

Sierra jerked her arm from his grasp and tossed her hair over her shoulder, the longer strands smacking him in the face. “This isn’t over, Synclair. If you aren’t fucking me, you’re fucking someone. I know you. Your dick can’t go twenty-four hours without some action. I’ll be watching and waiting and, when I see who the skank is, I’m going to take her out.”

His jaw tightened as he ground his back teeth together and he narrowed his eyes at her. “Don’t threaten me, Sierra. One phone call and your ass is out of a job. Never forget that.”

She spun toward the door, flinging it open. As she marched through, she turned and flipped him off before hauling butt down the sidewalk. Why he hadn’t thrown her out sooner, he didn’t know. Wait. Yeah, he did. He’d been thinking with his dick. As long as his dick was happy, he’d been happy. While he realized now that he should have been a little more particular about where he stuck his cock, Sierra had been as likely a place as any to find release. Better than his own hand. Obviously he needed to make some changes in his life. For starters, he’d cancel Friday night with the guys. If Gemma heard that he was spending his Friday nights at the Golden Pony, staring at naked women, he doubted he’d ever have a shot at going on a date with her.

Gemma had mentioned wanting a tattoo. Maybe he could offer her a deal on one, as a welcome to Grizzly Pines present? Truthfully, he’d do it for free if he thought it would win him any points with her. Just the excuse to touch her bare skin, even if he would have rubber gloves on, would be reason enough to do it. He wondered what sort of tattoo she’d want and where she’d put it. Would she choose a butterfly like most women? Or something more fierce?

He glanced at his appointment book and realized it was empty for the rest of the day. While he did get walk-ins on occasion, most people called ahead of time. He turned off the
Open
sign and put a note on the door saying he’d be back after six. Pacing his studio with a hard-on wasn’t going to get him anywhere. At the very least, he could go home and work out his frustrations. He could easily do that in the back room of the studio but he wanted more privacy. The studio was fine when it came to one-night stands or a quick fuck to blow off steam, but something told him Gemma would be different, and since he fully planned to think of her the entire time he jacked off, he didn’t want to tarnish her memory by doing it in the studio. He wouldn’t treat her the same way he’d treated every other woman in his life.

His brother would laugh his ass off right now if he could see him. For as long as he could remember, Synclair had put his dick in the first available, willing woman, and now, he’d not only turned one down but essentially told her to not come back. And why had he done it? Because he’d met a woman, one he’d barely spoken to. His brother had always told him that he’d meet a woman one day that would make him regret his choices in life, and damned if he wasn’t right. He might not know Gemma, but he could tell that she was a woman who deserved a man better than him. She seemed sweet and innocent, a far cry from the type of woman he usually went after.

There had been a haunted look in her eyes, telling him that her past hadn’t been all sunshine and roses. He didn’t know what she’d been through, but he knew that he wanted to be there for her. He wanted to take her out for a nice dinner, someplace that served wine, and he wanted to talk to her… just talk. Okay, yeah, he wanted in her pants, but he wanted more from her than just a quick fuck. For the first time in his life, he actually wanted to get to know a woman, find out what made her tick, if for no other reason than so he could please her.

He’d always made sure his sexual partners found release, but for once he was thinking about giving a woman a different kind of pleasure. The kind that came with flowers and long walks, candlelit dinners, and nights cuddling on the couch. He’d never done any of those things with a woman before, and wasn’t sure he really knew how to romance one. Seduce his way into her panties? No problem. Gain her trust and eventually her love? Much harder.

It should have scared the shit out of him, that he wanted something like that, something that could turn into forever. Weddings had always given him hives, mostly because the women who attended them all wanted to get married at some point, and Synclair had never been the marrying kind. But as he’d looked into Gemma’s eyes, he’d gotten a good look at the other side of the fence. The side where couples went on picnics, held hands walking down the sidewalk, shopped together, and made love—not fucked. For the first time in his life, he wanted that.

Before he could change his mind, he picked up the phone and called the sheriff. It was time to make sure Sierra didn’t cause trouble. If he wanted a real shot at Gemma, he couldn’t take any chances that the bitch from hell would screw it up for him. Maybe a few nights in jail would change her tune.

The next three weeks flew by and Gemma settled nicely into her new life. She got along great with Elodie, when the woman wasn’t trying to fix her up with someone. It seemed there was a new man at the adjoining ranch that Elodie thought would be just perfect for her, Everett Richards, until Beau said he’d seen the man kissing Caleb Halston in town. Elodie had seemed disappointed, but Gemma was relived. She wasn’t ready to date anyone yet. Not seriously anyway. She missed having male companionship. All right, what she really missed was getting wild and reckless between the sheets with some hot stud, but she couldn’t very well bring anyone home while she was staying with her cousins.