– peeked out.
Funny, she hadn’t imagined him being heavily tattooed, but if the dark ink swirling all the way up to his collarbones was any indication, he had a chest full of art. And his arms … his shirtsleeves were pushed up almost to his elbows, revealing full tattoo sleeves. He’d been hiding a lot beneath that suit and tie, and she had a feeling she wasn’t seeing the half of it, even now.
She shifted in her seat too, and the resulting friction warmed her a little more in a place where she was already hot. Yes, Noah inspired a definite heat between her thighs. How had a man so sexy made it to thirty-ish and remained single?
It boggled the mind, and as she took a sip of her own wine, she counted herself lucky that she’d been behind the counter at Hot Ink when he’d walked in. Sure, lots of guys came in and out of the shop, some of them undeniably appealing, but Noah took the cake when it came to sexy clients. Being invited to dinner by him had jumpstarted her heart in a way no other client ever had, even the ones who’d flirted with her or asked her out, as occasionally happened.
When a waitress stopped by the table and asked if they’d like their wine glasses refilled, Zoe was surprised to find hers nearly empty. How many minutes, exactly, had slipped by as she’d sipped wine and blatantly admired Noah?
With a fresh serving of red at hand, she forced herself to stop staring at the V of ink exposed by his shirt collar and meet his eyes instead. “So, my brother’s really excited about the Elite East Championship Tournament,” she said, forcing herself back on track with small talk. “If he’s any indication, I’d say that local martial artists are going to be tripping over themselves to register.”
One of Noah’s eyebrows flew upward. “Your brother’s a fighter?”
Zoe nodded. “You, uh, met him briefly today…” Paul had “escorted” her out to the street – nearly all the way to Noah’s car – despite her protests, when Noah had picked her up.
Paul had claimed to want a look at Noah so he knew who to kill if anything happened to Zoe. She hadn’t mentioned that particular fact to Noah. Paul was harmless … well, as harmless as a trained MMA fighter could be. He just couldn’t resist the overprotective big brother act, especially now that their father wasn’t around to glare in the general direction of her dates.
“The one who looked like you, only without the ability to smile,” Noah said.
“I guess you could say he looks like me.” They had the same dark hair and eyes, though beyond that, she’d never seen a huge resemblance. “And he’s perfectly capable of smiling – he’s just suspicious of any new boyfriend of mine at first, that’s all.”
Immediately, she bit down on her tongue, but it was too late. Boyfriend ? She and Noah had just met. She hadn’t meant to make it sound that way , but the word had just sort of slipped out. Great – now he’d think she was taking things too seriously, too fast.
If he thought she’d jumped the gun, he didn’t let it show. “Guess I can’t blame him for wanting to keep his little sister safe. And you said he’s a fighter?”
She nodded, rattling off the name of the local gym he trained at. “He’s been obsessed with martial arts since he was a kid. I think he wanted to try fighting professionally a few years ago, but our mom got sick and he got a day job to help support the family instead. He still trained and competed some on the side, but lately he’s been doing it for a living.” She shrugged, remembering that he’d seen their townhouse and cars and had to know they weren’t exactly living in the lap of luxury. “Well, it’s not much of a living, or an easy one, really, but he loves it. He teaches some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes on the side, too.”
Noah smiled. “I had no idea you were involved in the sport when I hired you. You should’ve mentioned it.”
“Well, I’m not involved, exactly,”
Funny, she hadn’t imagined him being heavily tattooed, but if the dark ink swirling all the way up to his collarbones was any indication, he had a chest full of art. And his arms … his shirtsleeves were pushed up almost to his elbows, revealing full tattoo sleeves. He’d been hiding a lot beneath that suit and tie, and she had a feeling she wasn’t seeing the half of it, even now.
She shifted in her seat too, and the resulting friction warmed her a little more in a place where she was already hot. Yes, Noah inspired a definite heat between her thighs. How had a man so sexy made it to thirty-ish and remained single?
It boggled the mind, and as she took a sip of her own wine, she counted herself lucky that she’d been behind the counter at Hot Ink when he’d walked in. Sure, lots of guys came in and out of the shop, some of them undeniably appealing, but Noah took the cake when it came to sexy clients. Being invited to dinner by him had jumpstarted her heart in a way no other client ever had, even the ones who’d flirted with her or asked her out, as occasionally happened.
When a waitress stopped by the table and asked if they’d like their wine glasses refilled, Zoe was surprised to find hers nearly empty. How many minutes, exactly, had slipped by as she’d sipped wine and blatantly admired Noah?
With a fresh serving of red at hand, she forced herself to stop staring at the V of ink exposed by his shirt collar and meet his eyes instead. “So, my brother’s really excited about the Elite East Championship Tournament,” she said, forcing herself back on track with small talk. “If he’s any indication, I’d say that local martial artists are going to be tripping over themselves to register.”
One of Noah’s eyebrows flew upward. “Your brother’s a fighter?”
Zoe nodded. “You, uh, met him briefly today…” Paul had “escorted” her out to the street – nearly all the way to Noah’s car – despite her protests, when Noah had picked her up.
Paul had claimed to want a look at Noah so he knew who to kill if anything happened to Zoe. She hadn’t mentioned that particular fact to Noah. Paul was harmless … well, as harmless as a trained MMA fighter could be. He just couldn’t resist the overprotective big brother act, especially now that their father wasn’t around to glare in the general direction of her dates.
“The one who looked like you, only without the ability to smile,” Noah said.
“I guess you could say he looks like me.” They had the same dark hair and eyes, though beyond that, she’d never seen a huge resemblance. “And he’s perfectly capable of smiling – he’s just suspicious of any new boyfriend of mine at first, that’s all.”
Immediately, she bit down on her tongue, but it was too late. Boyfriend ? She and Noah had just met. She hadn’t meant to make it sound that way , but the word had just sort of slipped out. Great – now he’d think she was taking things too seriously, too fast.
If he thought she’d jumped the gun, he didn’t let it show. “Guess I can’t blame him for wanting to keep his little sister safe. And you said he’s a fighter?”
She nodded, rattling off the name of the local gym he trained at. “He’s been obsessed with martial arts since he was a kid. I think he wanted to try fighting professionally a few years ago, but our mom got sick and he got a day job to help support the family instead. He still trained and competed some on the side, but lately he’s been doing it for a living.” She shrugged, remembering that he’d seen their townhouse and cars and had to know they weren’t exactly living in the lap of luxury. “Well, it’s not much of a living, or an easy one, really, but he loves it. He teaches some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes on the side, too.”
Noah smiled. “I had no idea you were involved in the sport when I hired you. You should’ve mentioned it.”
“Well, I’m not involved, exactly,”
Similar Books
