Read Tattoos and Transformations Online
Authors: Melody Snow Monroe
Tattoos and Transformations (7 page)
Chapter Six
After the fiasco with Morgan, Dakota wasn’t sure her relationship with Clint would work. He and Morgan seemed to be inseparable, and if Jade knew what she was talking about, her two brothers were determined to find one woman they could share.
All week, she’d questioned her decision to go to Morgan’s ranch and pretend she was only there to paint. He hadn’t been rude, but she could tell her presence bothered him. While he’d made a nice comment about her drawing, his quick glance implied he wasn’t into her art. That was okay. Clint appreciated her, but if two people didn’t understand what the other person was passionate about, a long-term relationship would never work.
Clint had called several times to see how she was doing, but with the opening coming up, she’d been swamped trying to get ready. Her cell rang and it was Clint again.
She smiled. “Hey there.”
“How would you like to do something really special on Saturday?”
Her time was limited, but she couldn’t turn him down. “What is it?”
His chuckle made her stomach twist with delight and her pussy rejoice. “It’s a secret. Can you make it?”
“I love surprises. Sure.”
“I’ll pick you up at 9:00 a.m. sharp.”
“What should I wear?” The last time they’d climbed a freaking mountain.
“Pants and a warm top.”
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That gave her no clue. “I’ll be ready.”
When he disconnected, she jumped up and down. If she thought Jade knew what the surprise might have been, she’d have called her.
With Clint, she didn’t even dare to guess what he had in mind, but she hoped it ended with them intimately entwined. The fire he’d lit in her belly needed to be quenched—and fast.
To make the most of the time she did have, she started a list for what had to be done. Ordering the cakes came first. Not only would next week celebrate her grand opening, but Cody Callen had let it slip about his wife’s big surprise, and Dakota wanted to get a cake for her, too. Two more artists were going to stop by with artwork they wished to commission. Lastly, she wanted to contact Harley, as he was an artist in his own right, to see if he wanted to put something up for sale.
Over the years, she’d seen some pretty amazing designs he’d created.
Maybe someone might like his beautiful ink work to hang on a wall.
Between getting the ads in the paper and finally bringing the banner design to the printer, it was dinnertime already. Since she didn’t feel like cooking, she thought she’d take a walk down to the Eatery for a sandwich. That place never failed to have something good to eat. She blasted through the front door and was halfway to the counter when she spotted Clint and Morgan’s younger sister, Erin.
Probably because there was a two-year age difference, they didn’t hang out much.
She debated stopping to chat, but with the way Erin was making goo-goo eyes at some super hunky guy she’d never seen before, Dakota thought it better to leave them alone. She felt pretty safe that Erin wouldn’t recognize her, so her feelings wouldn’t get hurt.
Now she wished she’d taken the time to get to know her better.
When they were kids, two years was a lot. Now, the age gap meant nothing. Jade had mentioned that Erin had quit her job and was looking for something other than working in a clothing store. Dakota wondered if she might like to be a buyer for Devonne Callen, who’d been a top model before coming to Intrigue and marrying Jade’s twin
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cousins.
What she did know was that Clint and Morgan were super protective of all their siblings. She’d never forget the time about three years ago, when she was at the Callen ranch visiting Jade and Tanya, who at the time was nineteen, and some guy stopped by to see her.
Man oh man, did the kid get grilled by those two. She could only imagine what they’d do when they had a daughter. Her hand shot to her stomach. No way she’d ever get that far with her men.
Her men?
Right now, her only hope was to have a fantastic relationship with Clint and enjoy it while it lasted. Sooner or later, Morgan would insist they settle down and find the right woman for both of them.
Dakota’s appetite kind of disappeared, but she ordered a roast beef sandwich to go anyway. She could always save for later what she didn’t eat.
* * * *
“No way I’m jumping out of a plane.” Her hands were already sweaty from watching other people take a leap.
Sure they landed safely, but that was beside the point.
Clint tugged on her waist and drew her near. “I thought you were a daredevil.”
“I like to ride on the back of a motorcycle, and I might even be willing to rock climb someday, but skydiving is a bit out of my comfort zone.”
He stepped around and faced her, his hands still on her waist. “I’ll be with you.” He leaned over and nuzzled her neck. “Doesn’t that count?”
“Like you’ll be holding my hand or something?” He laughed. “No, darlin’. I’m a jumpmaster. I have over six hundred jumps in the last three years alone. I’ll be using a drogue parachute and I’ll strap you on my chest. You don’t have to do a thing
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but enjoy the ride.” He placed his lips to her ears. “It’ll be as exciting as when I licked your clit, only this will last longer.” Her breath hitched. Sharing an experience with someone would bring the two of them closer. Her body pulsed thinking about the rush.
She closed her eyes. “Okay.”
“Yes! That’s my girl.” He picked her up and swung her around.
“Let’s go pack my chute.”
“You do it yourself?”
“Hell, yeah. I’m the only person I trust. I know I’ll do a good job.
My life, and now your life, is at stake.” That made her feel somewhat better, but her stomach wouldn’t stop churning. Between his pinched brows and fake frown, he really wanted her to try. “Let’s do this.”
“You’re going to love it. Come on.”
If he died, she’d die. She supposed to get the most out of life, she had to try everything once. They headed over to an area where he spread out his shoot.
“This is the D-bag, and I’m going to stuff all this nylon into here, which I’ll then put into another container. I’ll also have a second chute, called a reserve.”
She hoped he didn’t expect her to remember anything. “I’ll just watch.”
He zigzagged the lines and looped them under what looked like rubber bands. His careful smoothing of the nylon and meticulous folding boosted her sense of security. About fifteen minutes later, he was done packing both parachutes.
“Ready?”
No.
“Yes. Maybe.”
“This is something you can regale your kids with.”
My kids?
Too bad he hadn’t said
our
kids
. “If I live long enough.” He laughed and put his parachute on. With incredible care, he strapped her into her harness. “That feel nice and snug?” She wiggled around and nothing moved. “I think so.” He handed
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her a helmet and told her to put on the goggles.
“What does Morgan think of your hobby?”
He glanced to the sky. “What Morgan doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
Interesting
. The two men didn’t share everything.
The skydiving plane landed and bumped along the cow pasture toward them. “Are we next to go up?” She wasn’t sure if she wanted to delay the trip or go now to get it over with.
“Yup.”
She supposed that if she chickened out, she could always stay in the plane while Clint jumped. He grabbed her hand and led her over to the plane. Three other guys joined them, one with a video camera.
They were laughing as if what they were about to do was an everyday occurrence.
Here goes
. When she crawled in, she was surprised to find no seats. She glanced back over her shoulder.
“It would be difficult if we had to crawl over seats, you know.” He must have anticipated her question.
“How come there’s no door?”
“It’s here.” He tapped the ceiling. It looked like the door was rolled upward. “Easier access to the outside. It would suck if the parachute got stuck on the hinges.”
Shivers rippled down her spine.
Trust Clint
. At least he didn’t expect her to pull the cord to release the parachute. She’d have freaked and they both would have died.
The plane taxied over the rather bumpy ground and quickly took off. Since she wasn’t sitting by the exit, she didn’t have to look down.
She wasn’t sure what altitude they were climbing to, but whatever it was, they got there too fast.
“Give me your back. I need to hook us together.” Normally, the idea of hooking together with him would thrill her, but right now she was petrified. “What if I pass out?” She had to shout over the noise of the engine.
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“Then you’ll miss a spectacular sight. As soon as we jump remember to open your arms and spread your legs.” Her mind immediately went to a happier place where Clint was on his stomach licking her pussy. Her blood pressure lowered a bit. “Got it.”
Arms out, pussy open.
“When we get near the land, remember to lift your legs. I’ll do all the work to land.”
“Okay.” She prayed she could keep all of the instructions straight in her head.
The pilot must have nodded or something because next thing she knew Clint had maneuvered her to the door. The air slammed into her face. She got her first glance at the ground, and it was really far away.
Her heart knocked against her chest. Maybe she shouldn’t be doing this. She wasn’t ready.
Before she could back out, they were in the air.
“Holy shit.” Other than the wind pressing upward on her body, the world seemed to stand still.
“Arms out.”
As soon as she assumed the position, she knew she was flying. A quick glance to the right and she spotted another skydiver who was filming her. Clint hadn’t told her, but it was too late to argue.
Deciding to make the most of it, she wiggled her fingers and somehow managed to smile. At least with Clint doing all the work, she didn’t have to worry about messing up. All too soon, she was jerked upward, or so it felt. The descent slowed to a crawl. This was what hawks must experience every day when they rode the currents.
Finally, she looked outward.
Oh, my God
. She could see forever.
Nothing could compare to the excitement of this ride. All too soon, the earth rushed up to meet them.
“Legs up.”
Just in time, she lifted them and Clint landed. He jogged at least ten feet before sliding to a stop on his butt. Laughter bubbled up, probably from relief. Once safely on the ground, she dropped her legs
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and leaned back. Exhilaration swept through her. Even though she was safe, her heart continued to pound.
“Sit up.” He unhooked her. “You can get up now.” Her legs wobbled a bit, but she managed to stand and watch Clint gather the parachute. Her heart still hadn’t slowed. “Wow.” He trotted back to her. “So what did you think?” The words and emotions collided. Coherent thoughts barely registered. “When can I go again?”
He gave her a hug. “I think it’s time we celebrate.”
* * * *
Dakota still couldn’t believe she’d jumped out of a plane, but her body and mind were spinning even after five hours. On the way home, Clint proposed yet another plan to get Morgan involved with them.
She couldn’t think straight from the adrenaline coursing through her system, but she agreed to give it a try.
Morgan was going to barbecue for him and Clint tonight, and she was supposed to show up unannounced. Clint would say he’d forgotten to mention it to Morgan that she was coming over. The rest would be ad-libbed from there.
She’d do whatever it took to have Morgan as a willing participant, but she wanted him to come to her because of who she was. Tricking him would probably end in disaster, but since Clint seemed to think this would work, she’d give it a try. If she understood why Morgan was so against her, she might be able to handle the rejection better.
Since the plan involved them swimming, she wore a skimpy suit under her shorts and a tee. In her bag, she’d stuffed a warmer set of clothes for after she changed. She rang the bell and swayed back and forth. At the moment, she was almost more willing to jump out of a plane again than chance a rejection by Morgan. Finally, someone answered. Thank goodness it was Clint.
“Hey, gorgeous.”
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His flattering words helped, but she was still fearful about how the evening was going to go. Pissing off Morgan was the last thing she wanted.
He pulled her into a hug and kissed her. “We’re going to have fun.
Relax.”
“You a mind reader now?”
“The stiff shoulders will give it away every time. Come on, we’re out back. Just play along.” He kissed her and her body let go of some of the tension.
With his arm around her waist, Clint led her through the ranch house and out to the back patio. She’d never seen the inside, but from the quick glance, these men lived a nice lifestyle. That shouldn’t have surprised her. After all, they were Callen men.
The leather furniture and big comfy pillows seemed to be a place a group could come and relax, and the huge flat-screen television seemed perfect for large gatherings.
“Look who stopped by!”
Morgan spun around. His eyes widened and his shoulders straightened, but he kept his true reaction to himself. “Dakota.” He shot a glance at Clint. “I’ll go put another steak on. You should have told me.”
Ah, there was the censure she expected.
“Hey, I’ll get one from the kitchen.” Clint faced her. “Be nice to Morgan.”
That made her laugh. She wanted to be a lot more than nice to him, but unless he was willing, that wasn’t going to happen.
“So how’s it going?” Stupid comment, but her nerves were strung tight.
“Good. How’s the opening coming?”
He remembered!
His tone held no censure, but she was sure that given his upbringing, he’d learned to control his emotions.
“You going to come?”
Please say yes.
A small smile lifted his lips. “If I want to remain in the family I’ll
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be there. Jade threatened to cut me off if I didn’t show.”
Oh
. She’d hoped his curiosity would make him want to see the new place. “There are some nice pieces.” She’d noticed their place had a few of Jade’s pieces, but not many paintings or photos on the wall.
“Here ya go.” Clint handed her a beer and tossed another steak on the grill. “How do you like it?”
“Medium rare.” Morgan nodded.
“Since it’ll be a few minutes,” Clint said, “how about taking a dip before the sun sets.”
That had been the plan. “Sure.”
She stepped out of her shorts and pulled off her tee. Once she kicked off her sandals, she was ready to go.
Morgan glanced over at her. “I think this visit was perhaps planned.”
Damn
. They hadn’t thought through why she’d be wearing a bathing suit. “Guilty. Sorry. I hope it’s all right.” She tried to give him her best smile.
“Sure. It’s Clint’s house, too.”
Couldn’t he for once say he was happy to see her?
Whatever
.
A loud splash sounded behind her. “Come on, Dakota.” Trying to forget Morgan for a few minutes, she turned around.
Clint was grinning. The beaded water on his face added to his sexiness. She walked down the steps and stopped halfway. The pool wasn’t heated.
“It’s a tad cold.”
Clint shoved his hand against the surface of the water and created a spray that fortunately missed her body. “Sissy.” Okay, that did it. Determined to get in, she lunged into the pool and dunked down. As soon as she got over the shock, she swam toward Clint. She reached him in three strokes and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Warm me up.”
“Darlin’, we might have to wait until after we eat.”
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“Dummy.” She plastered his chest to her and absorbed his heat.
Before she realized what he was up to, he’d tugged on the knot around her neck as well as the one on her back. He lifted her top in the air and held it over his head.
She screeched and chased after him. “Give that back, Clint Callen.”
He balled up her top and flung it toward Morgan. “Go get it.” She shook her head. “You will pay for this.” Keeping her gaze on Clint, she walked backward to the steps and got out, holding her shoulders back. She tried to act as if walking naked in front of Morgan was an everyday occurrence. In truth, her body was throbbing with need. When she made eye contact seconds before she picked up her top, Morgan’s gaze was lasered on her breasts and his mouth partly open.
If she thought jumping out of a plane was exciting, seeing his reaction was a much bigger thrill.
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