Ink (The Haven Series) by Torrie McLean Read Free Book Online

“ Shit! Sorry ...”
    “Sorry?” Sketch stopped in his tracks to stare at her, seizing any opportunity to tease his colleague. “Whadda ya mean sorry ? Where’s the cussin’ at me for making you jump? You okay over there? Been quiet all morning.”
    “It was my fault. Wasn’t paying attention,” she said softly. “I’ll clean it up.”
    “Cal ...” Sketch trailed off, taken aback by her reaction or lack thereof. Under normal circumstances, he rarely failed to get a rise out of her. But even he could see there was something on her mind. “Hey, screw the mess – it ain’t goin’ anywhere. Talk to me, kiddo.”
    Truth be told, she’d had more trouble than she’d care to admit shaking off Lana’s question. Not that it wasn’t something that had been increasingly on her mind anyway, but the slow day at work certainly wasn’t helping. Too much time to think and not enough by way of a distraction.
    But how could she explain any of that to her boss, when he didn’t even know she was seeing anyone? And Sketch was more than just an employer – despite how their bickering might make it seem sometimes, they were friends and she knew he was going to be hurt at being kept in the dark for so long.
    “I ... I just ...”
    Saved by the bell. Her head turning to follow the sound of the jingling door chimes, Callie’s shoulders slumped in something like relief as a familiar figure walked into the studio and took off his shades to hook them into the top pocket of his leather cut.
    “Colton!” she exclaimed, aiming for casual surprise and missing the mark slightly. “Were we expecting you?”
    “Nah, not today, darlin’,” he drawled, though an eyebrow quirked almost imperceptibly at the greeting. “Just passing and kinda got a favour to ask.”
    “Whatever ya need, bud,” Sketch interrupted easily, something like a plan quickly brewing in his shrewder-than-he’d-let-on mind. “Got a condition though.”
    “Oh yeah?” Colton wasn’t keen on bargaining, even with friends. He was too used to calling the shots.
    “Yeah. Little Miss Sunshine over here needs to ... clear her head, if ya get my drift. Do me a favour and get her the hell outta here for a while before she wrecks the place.”
    Callie’s eyes widened in front of the two men. “What? But--”
    Sketch was more than half expecting his idea to get dismissed out of hand - by the biker, never mind Callie. But dark eyes locked on the little blonde, doing more to see her protests trail off than any arguments ever could. Colton’s head tilted the tiniest fraction, as if to consider her.
    “You ever ride bitch?” he asked curiously, getting a dumb shake of her head in response. “Want to?”
    Throwing her leather jacket at her, Sketch didn’t give the poor girl time to think, let alone speak. Herding her towards Colton, he practically pushed them both out the door. “Go. It’ll blow away the cobwebs – and I ain’t letting ya loose on customers ‘til you’re thinking straight anyway. If you can throw coffee over the floor, fuc k knows what you’d make of ink right now! And Colt?”
    The biker paused in his tracks, his keys in his hand and a questioning look on his face.
    “Bring her back in one piece.”
    ***

    CHAPTER 7
    Tugging on her jacket and watching as Colton strode across the sidewalk towards his bike, Callie couldn’t help the half-smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She didn’t think she’d ever seen anyone look more like a biker in her life.
    It sounded painfully obvious, but she was pretty sure you could take the Harley out of the scenario - the leather vest too - and still get the same result. That fearlessness. A confident swagger in his step that oozed danger and yet held a certain air of invincibility.
    It wasn’t down to the heavy motorcycle boots or the thick chain that swung from his baggy jeans as they rode low on his hips. It wasn’t even the tattoos or the shaved head. Just something that was indescribably, yet