Rock Steady Read Free Page A

before he knocked her flat. Sweat popped out on her forehead, but her hands responded perfectly. Art was like a living force inside her. A place she could take refuge in as well as being a gift she might share. She let it consume her, the drawing coming to life beneath the strokes of her pen. It was a little like giving birth: first she had to let it grow and form before it was ready to breathe.
    “That is smokin’ hot,” Taz said as he leaned on the counter to peer at her work.
    “You’re good,” the blond said in a tone full of awe.
    Ramsey reserved judgment until she’d shaded in the last few areas on her sketch. When she lifted her pen, he swept it up and studied the drawing. It was a metal dragon crawling down his abdomen toward his cock. Its front claws would be where the cherry blossoms were, and its tail would wrap around his lean hip and onto his lower back. It wasn’t a reptilian dragon. It was a steel one, a merging of metal and mythical creature.
    His eyes narrowed as he studied it, seeing more than just the black lines. He was seeing the attitude she’d tried to capture and portray. His expression gave her a hint of the man inside him. She got the impression he spent a lot of time covering up that man with his don’t-give-a-rat’s-ass attitude.
    But she saw it.
    His attention shifted to her, their gazes locking over the edge of the paper. For a moment, she caught a flicker of understanding in his eyes. Just a moment of awareness, a few seconds when he admitted to himself that she saw him.
    Really saw him.
    It didn’t last long. In fact, she found herself questioning if it had really been there, when his gaze hardened and sealed her out of that place he was determined to keep private.
    “You recognize me,” he said.
    It wasn’t a question, but she felt inclined to answer anyway. “It isn’t hard to peg you for a metalhead when you’re wearing nothing but leather and have a stud bar through your nipple.”
    “I’m a metal god,” he said.
    “Right,” she countered, feeling a rise of heat in her cheeks. “I’m good at what I do.”
    “You are,” the blond interrupted. He was studying her portfolio. “So why are you working the graveyard shift?”
    “I wanted to work at the best shop in town. That left me to choose between Spike Collar and here,” Jewel said without hesitation.
    “But you’re not a lesbian,” Ramsey finished for her. “Bet that was a bit of a problem with getting hired over at Spike Collar.”
    “Definite ripple in the pond,” she confirmed. “Not on my side, mind you. They just don’t like straight girls. Shame really, they know how to do tats.”
    “So do you.” Ramsey was thumbing through the pictures of her work. He wore that businessman expression.
    “Who are you?” she gave in and asked. All three men looked up at her. “I mean, since it sounded like you were trying to impress me.”
    “Impressing you will involve more than my name,” her client said. His lips curved, and his expression became sensual. He flattened his hand on the counter between them and leaned toward her. In one flat second, it felt like her breath caught in her lungs. She was hyperaware of him, fighting not to take a step back. There was a flicker of approval in his dark eyes as she managed to stand her ground.
    “Count on that fact.” Her voice had turned raspy, but his arrogance was rubbing her pride raw. “I do tats. Only tats, for pay. So if you’ve got a problem understanding boundaries, the door is behind you. There’s another place a couple of blocks up that opens in a few hours.”
    Taz reached over and shoved Ramsey. “I told you not to piss her off.” He shook his smartphone in the air between them. “She’s the best in the nearest three cities—checked her out.” He turned to look at her. “Your references rock. Why are you working in this dump?”
    “Because my boss might be a prick, but he’s also got twenty-five years’ experience, and references to top