Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
She took a breath and met his gaze.
“I love you more than life itself. I have for a long time. I know you feel the same way about me. You’re the sunshine in my world. Bright orange like the kumquat on that tattoo. Every time I see that slice of kumquat between your sweet breasts, I’m going to be reminded of sunshine. And I plan to keep you naked often so I can see it.” He smiled.
She returned his smile, but hers was slightly strained because she had a secret. It needed to come out.
He leaned in closer. “Rainbow, this is stressing you out. I don’t like it. We won’t do it until you’re ready.”
She shook her head. “I’m ready, Daddy. I promise.” She grabbed both his hands. “It’s not that. I just… I need to tell you something.”
His brow furrowed. “Okay. You can tell me anything, Rainbow.”
She tipped her head to one side. “I know I come across to the general public as feisty and badass and strong and all that, but I uh…” She drew in a deep breath. “I’m a big baby when it comes to tattoos. I love how they look, but I always have to work up to getting each one, and then I panic in the chair and grip it like I’m going to die. I cry and cringe and…I’m very dramatic.”
He slowly smiled. “You’re serious?”
She nodded. “Uh huh. Only at first of course. When he starts working, I get into the zone. It’s hypnotic. Eventually I calm down.”
“That’s why you get all your tattoos done with the same artist in another town on days he’s not even open, isn’t it?”
She nodded again. “Yeah…”
He grabbed her hips, pulled her off her chair, and situated her on his lap, straddling him. He cupped her face next and kissed her all over her cheeks and neck. “Thank you for sharing that with me, Rainbow.”
“It wasn’t like I could avoid it forever. You would have thought I’d gone bonkers when we got to the shop.”
He chuckled. “Probably. Do you still want to do this today? We don’t have to.”
“I want to do it so badly, Daddy. We are doing it. Today. But I just wanted you to understand I’m going to act like a big baby especially because this one is going to hurt more than most others.”
He brought his lips to hers and kissed her soundly. “Daddy will be there, not just for this one but for any future tattoos you want to get. I can either do them myself or hold your hand.”
She smiled, relieved her secret was finally out of the bag. “Thank you, Daddy.”
“Who’s that?” Tatiana asked as she walked hand in hand with her Daddy toward the tattoo parlor. A man was standing out front, leaning against the door as if he were waiting for them to arrive.
“I don’t know. I don’t recognize him,” Daddy said. When they got close enough he spoke to the man. “Sir? Can I help you?”
The man righted himself. “Oh, hi. Are you the owner? I was waiting for the owner to arrive.”
“We both are, but we’re not open today. If you’re interested in a consultation, you’ll have to come back on Tuesday.”
The man shook his head. “Oh, sorry. No. I’m not interested in a tattoo. I… Well, I understand my wife came in here a few weeks ago.”
Tatiana glanced at Maniac. Oh, shit. There was nothing worse than spouses upset with a tattoo their other half inked on their body.
Maniac gripped Tatiana’s hand tighter as they came to a stop next to the man. “A lot of people come in here every day, sir. I’m not sure if one of them was your wife or not.”
“Her name is Beth.” The man said no more, waiting for a reaction.
Maniac flinched. “Oh. Beth. She’s married?”
Tatiana stiffened. This was taking a weird turn.
“Yeah. It’s rather embarrassing because she seriously duped me. We met in an online chat room, and she presented herself as perfectly normal while we had a whirlwind romance and got married way too fast.” He waved a hand through the air. “But that’s not your problem. I just came by to thank you for encouraging her to call me when she came in. I hadn’t seen her for two days. She needed help. She took your advice, called me, I picked her up, and now she’s getting the help she needs.”
Tatiana’s breath hitched. Her Daddy was such a good man. The best. He hadn’t told her he’d convinced Beth to call someone for help.
Maniac rubbed his forehead with his free hand. “I’m glad to hear that. I could tell she was in emotional pain, but I didn’t know what else to do other than encourage her to call a friend. I had no idea she was married.”