You Are My Air: Breathless Book 1 (13 page)

"Earth to Natalie." Maggie threw her wadded up napkin at me.

"Hey," I complained as I batted it out of the air.

"I'd ask you what you were thinking about," she began in amusement, "but from the look on your face, I think I already know." She waggled her eyebrows at me suggestively. I stuck my tongue at her and chucked
my
napkin at her.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, and before I knew it, it was five o'clock and my workday was over. I headed out of my office, deciding to make a side trip to check on Ford before I went home.

I parked in one of the spaces in front of Apex Ink, since the open sign was lit up. I figured Ford already started working again despite his broken foot. I just hoped he was following the doctor's orders and not putting any weight on it yet. A bell rang as I walked in the front door. I looked completely out of place here, with my khaki pants suit and black shell, but I had gotten over that a long time ago. I knew most of the people that worked here, and I didn't judge them any more than they judged me.

There was a young couple sitting on the low black leather sofa in the small waiting area to my right, looking at a portfolio of Ford's work on the glass coffee table in front of them. They glanced up at me oddly then went back to looking at the tattoo photos. I stopped in front of the reception desk and glanced around the room, noting the warm buttery colored walls and the dark brown trim. There were dozens of framed images of tattoos covering several walls. I stared down at the glass counter and looked at all the body-piercing jewelry made of metal, wood, and stone.

Movement caught my eye, and I looked up to see a woman about my age in jeans and a purple tank top approaching me from the back hallway. Colorful eye-catching tattoos covered her bare arms and long dark violet-colored curls with deep-blue highlights framed her beautiful oval face. Her big brown eyes lit up when she recognized me.

"Hi, Natalie," she said with a wide welcoming grin.

"Hi, Angel. Is Ford busy?" I asked. She was Ford's second most popular tattoo artist after himself. Her work was amazing and if I ever got a tattoo, I'd have her do it. Her artwork was colorful and feminine, and all of it spoke to me on a deep level.

"He's with a client, but it's a friend of his, so I don't think he'd mind you popping in on him," she said. "Go ahead and head back." Angel pointed down the hallway she had just walked out.

"Please tell me he hasn't been trying to walk on his foot yet."

"Don't worry Natalie," she said with a wry smile. "I've been watching him like a hawk, and if he does, I'll kick his ass."

"Good," I said. "I'm glad you're here to keep him in line."

"You know men," she added with a wink. "Without us around there'd be nothing but chaos and anarchy."

"Thanks," I told her with a grin and walked down the hall following the buzzing of a tattoo gun as I approached an open door on the right. I peeked in to see Ford sitting on a stool with his foot propped up on another one. He was tattooing the back of a huge muscled guy with short dark hair and a thick beard and mustache. I recognized him as one of Ford's friends, but I couldn't recall his name. I knocked on the door frame to get Ford's attention. Ford paused and glanced toward me.

"Natie," he said as his eyes lit up with a huge grin. "Did you come here to check up on me?"

"I did." I smiled as I entered the room. "I worry about my stubborn, pig-headed brother, for some reason."

"Don't worry." His smile widened. "I'm being good. I only walked a couple of miles on it today."

"Very funny." I glared at him for a second.

"You remember Justin, don't you?" Ford motioned to the bearded guy.

"I do. Hi, Justin." I nodded, grateful that Ford had reminded me of the guy's name.

"Hi, Natalie," Justin said as he smiled at me.

"How about a little break?" Ford asked his friend.

"Sure," Justin answered. "I have no problem with that."

"I'll be back in a few." Ford slid his stool backward, laid his tattoo gun on a tray, and took his gloves off. He grabbed his crutches up off the floor and stood on his good foot. "Come on, Natie. Let's go talk in my office."

"Alright, Gimpy," I said sarcastically, earning myself a glare. I followed him slowly to a door at the end of the hall and followed him in. Ford's office was decorated similarly to the rest of the place. His office was also immaculate. Ford didn't always take things seriously, but his business was very important to him and the orderly state of this room spoke of that. I watched him move past his desk and settle himself on the black leather couch in the small sitting area in a corner of his office. I plopped down next to him and pulled his broken foot onto my lap to elevate it for him.

"How's the pain today?" I asked him.

"It's throbbing right now, but I'll be fine."

"Are you taking your pain pills?"

"Not while I'm working, but I'll take one after I'm done here today," he answered. He was frowning now, probably from the pain.

"I imagine Justin is happy about that." I smiled. "I don't think he wants a tattoo that looks like a preschooler gave it to him." That got a smile out of him.

"How did that hot date on Sunday turn out?" he asked me with a gleam of amusement in my eye. "Was he a douche?"

"I'm thinking he's
not
a douche," I answered him honestly. "In fact, I'm really starting to like him a lot."

"Is it serious?" he asked.

"Not yet," I said nonchalantly. "But I think it could be. We'll see. I don't want to rush into anything."

"Let me know if it does," he said with a serious expression.

"Why?" I asked suspiciously.

"So I can tell him what I'll do to him if he hurts my baby sister," he answered with a fierce gleam in his eyes.

I rolled my eyes in exasperation. "For God's sake, Ford. I'm not sixteen anymore."

"Yes," he admitted. "But you'll always be my baby sister, and I'll beat the shit out of anyone how messes with you."

"Really?" I looked meaningfully down at the gray boot on his foot. "You're planning on beating the shit out of people like this?"

He grinned at me. "I've got a really long reach with these crutches. They won't know what hit them."

"Yeah, they will," I said with a laugh. "It'll be the guy lying on the floor waving a crutch at them."

"I could throw it at them."

"Then maybe they'll be nice enough to stay put so you crawl after them."

"Ha, ha," he said with a smirk. He glanced up at the wall clock. "I'd better get back to Justin, so we can close on time." He pulled his foot off of my lap and used his crutches to stand. "I'm glad you came by to see me."

I stood and gave him a hug. "Love you."

"Love you too, Natie."

I followed him out of the office then paused when a thought occurred to me. "Has Mom talked to you about the charity dinner next Saturday?"

He paused, then looked back at me and sighed. "Unfortunately, she has. I think we're both pretty much stuck going again whether we like it or not. She practically started bawling when I barely hinted at not going."

Mom ran the Spencer Foundation, a charity she started when she was still married to Dad. Every year the foundation threw a dinner to celebrate the year's accomplishments, and every year Mom guilted us into going. It was boring and especially uncomfortable for Ford, who didn't fit in with all the rich snobs who showed up for it each year to gloat about all their donations.

"Yeah, me too." I let a deep sigh of my own. "She's been nagging me about bringing a date."

"Why don't you bring this new guy?" Ford suggested.

"I don't know." I frowned. "I thought about it, but I'm afraid meeting Mom too soon might chase him away."

"If that's all it takes to chase him away, then he's not good enough for you," Ford said pointedly. Ford had a point, but asking David to go to the charity dinner seemed like something a serious couple would do, and I wasn't sure I was ready for that. I didn't even know if David was looking for anything serious yet, and I was afraid just asking him to go with me might chase him away too.

"I'll think about it," I said. "Who are you bringing?"

"I don't think I'm bringing anybody, but part of me wants to bring Angel just to freak Mom and her society friends out," he said with a huge evil grin.

"As fun as that sounds," I admitted wryly. "I don't think you want to give Mom a heart attack."

"True." He nodded. "But it sure is fun to think about."

I shook my head at him. "I'll see you later, Ford." I gave him another quick hug.

"Bye, Natie."

I watched him gimp back into the room to join Justin, and then left. I thought about the possibility of taking David to Mom's dinner. After this weekend, I'd have a better idea of where things were heading between David and I. If things went well, maybe I would ask him. Besides, Ford made a good point, if a dinner with my mother was enough to chase him away, then he wasn't worth my time anyway.

**********

David showed up right at seven Friday night. He looked incredible as I opened the door. Tonight, he was wearing dark jeans and a dark-blue button-down shirt that made his eyes pop. The sleeves were rolled up exposing the toned muscles of his forearms. The top two buttons were open exposing some of the fine hair on his upper chest. It made me want to rip the rest of the buttons open and drag him to my room right now.

His eyes widened as he looked at me. I decided to go for a sexy outfit tonight. I was wearing a charcoal off the shoulder sweater with skinny jeans and tall stiletto black leather boots. I had flat-ironed my thick light brown hair, and it cascaded down my back, shining and smooth. My makeup was sexy with smoky eyes and nude lips.

"Damn, Natalie," he breathed out as his heated eyes traveled down my body. "You look amazing."

"You don't look half bad yourself," I replied with a smug smile. I got the exact reaction I wanted. I stepped back to let him walk in. Instead, he walked right up to me and ran his fingertips across the skin of my bare shoulder and up to my cheek. His eyes were dark and filled with lust. He leaned in and pressed a slow heated kiss to my lips that made my toes curl, then pulled away leaving both of us panting.

"I missed you," he whispered so quietly, I almost didn't catch it. A flush of pleasure surged through me at those words, and it blew me away. Maybe I was unconsciously feeling a lot more serious about David than I thought. I watched a flash of fear flow across David's features before he stepped further into my apartment. He looked around the room, taking in my space. "I really like your apartment," he said matter-of-factly.

He stood in the middle of my main living area, my dining table on one end next to my small kitchen, and my dark-red leather sofa and love seat on the other, around my glass coffee table. A rug with geometric shapes in warm shades of brown sat in front of my couch and there was a fireplace with a mantle on the far wall. He moved closer to me and glanced at a door that was next to my bedroom.

"What's that room?" he asked.

"That's my office," I answered sheepishly. "It's a mess. You don't want to go in there." It was the opposite of my brother's office, and David didn't need to see that.

"That's okay," he said with a smile. He was suddenly uncomfortable as he looked at me.

"What?" I asked him as I cocked my head in concern.

"There's something I want to ask you, but I don't want to sound presumptuous," he said as he walked back over to me.

"Go ahead," I said encouragingly. "Ask me. I don't bite." I slipped some heavy sarcasm into that last sentence, trying to lighten the mood. It got a laugh out of him, and his discomfort slipped away.

"I was thinking that if you wanted to stay at my house tonight, you could go for a run with me tomorrow morning," he suggested nonchalantly, but I could see equal parts hope and trepidation in his eyes. "Would you like to do that with me?" His uncertainty made him seem younger than he was, and it made me wonder what he had been like as a teenager.

"I'd like that a lot," I said with a heartfelt smile.

"Good," he said with obvious relief.

"Let me go pack some clothes." I walked into my room as he followed close behind me. I noticed him looking around my bedroom curiously, looking at my pale green walls and dark wood furniture.

"You know," he said with a wry smile, "I didn't pay any attention to what your room looked like the last time I was here."

"Well, you were kind of distracted." I smiled back, watching a wicked gleam light up his eyes.

"You're very distracting," he said as he stepped close to me and pulled me into his arms. He looked at me with an affection in his eyes I had never seen before, then kissed me again with soft unhurried movements of his lips. It was the sweetest kiss he had ever given me. He pulled back and brushed my hair away from my face as his eyes traveled around my features with a gentleness I had never seen before either. Then he seemed to shake himself out of it with that look of fear in his eyes again. "Hurry up, sweetheart. We have reservations, and I'm starving."

I grabbed a small duffel bag out of my closet, and put my running clothes and shoes in it. Then I put a change of street clothes in it too. I went into my bathroom to grab my toothbrush and a few other essentials. When I came out to tell David that I was ready, I almost laughed. He was lying on the bed next to George, scratching his belly and smiling down at the huge cat. George was wiggling around on his back in feline ecstasy.

"I see George accepted your apology," I grinned at them.

"We came to an understanding," David said as he looked at me, his smile widening. God, he was so beautiful lying there on my green comforter. I felt an urge to pull my clothes off and offer myself to him right now. "If you keep looking at me like that we'll never make it to dinner," he said as his eyes heated.

"Then you better get off that bed before I rip my clothes off and pounce on you," I told him in a stern voice as I pointed at him.

"We can't have that." He got up off the bed. "I promised George he could have the place to himself tonight." David took my duffel bag and my hand, and led me out of the bedroom. I didn't realize I was pouting until he wrapped his arms around me by the front door and spoke. "Don't look so disappointed, sweetheart. I've got big plans for you later." His eyes had a seductive gleam in them that made me feel weak and needy.