Hot Ink Read Online Free PDF Page B

it.
     
    “Great. How soon can you make it to the studio?”
     
    “Don’t you want to wait until my tattoo heals? It’s still a little red around the edges.”
     
    “That’s all right. I can photoshop that out.”
     
    “Well, the next day I have off work is Sunday.”
     
    “All right. Sunday at…how’s noon sound?”
     
    “Fine, I guess.”
     
    “Great. See you then.” Karen hung up, leaving Mina alone with Ashley’s frigid stares. 
     
    Mina ignored her, opening her lunch box and unwrapping the sandwich she’d packed. After a few bites she put down her food and pulled her phone out of her purse. Within moments she’d accessed her e-mail and was skimming through her inbox. Karen’s message was near the top of the list, sandwiched between some spam and a newsletter. She opened it and the turkey-and-cheddar resting in her stomach seemed to turn to stone as she inspected the attached photos.
     
    Karen really had sent Eric eight photos, and only two of them were the tattoo close-ups she’d thought they’d all be. The rest showcased Mina from her head to her hip, highlighting the colorful ink scrawling down her side. Her face was visible from various angles and the photos were…sexy. Her breasts were hidden demurely by the angle and her upper arm, but there was still no denying the sensuality of the pictures. Karen had directed her posing well, and the soft lighting she’d used was more than flattering. And then there was the fact that she’d edited the images to perfection, making sure that Mina’s skin glowed flawlessly and her hair shone. She died a little inside knowing that Eric had seen the photos and shown them to his boss. And then she came back to life, her heart pumping way too fast for someone who was sitting in a chair digesting a sandwich.
     
    A flash of washed-out gold caught Mina’s eye and she turned to see Ashley leaning over her salad and craning her neck. Mina hid the screen and slipped her phone into her purse. Hopefully Ashley hadn’t seen anything. Mina’s tattoo would be just one more thing for Ashley to dislike about her. As Ashley sunk slowly back into her seat, trying to look casual, Mina saw that she’d leaned too low and that a smudge of French dressing had stained her white sweater. The red-orange blotch was positioned directly over one nipple. Mina suppressed a smirk, saying nothing. Ashley would blame her whether or not she said anything, and speaking to her when it wasn’t strictly necessary was generally something she tried to avoid.
     
    ****
     
    “What’s this?” Mina eyed the length of scarlet silk curiously as it slid through her hands like water.
     
    “It’s for modesty,” Karen explained, turning and striding across the small studio to her beloved camera, leaving Mina perched on the stool.
     
    A knock came at the door and Mina jumped, nearly slipping off the edge of her seat. Hastily, she clutched the material to her bare chest, covering herself. “Is someone else going to be here?” She tried to keep the edge of alarm out of her voice as Karen approached the door and laid a hand on the knob.
     
    “I didn’t mention it to you?” She managed to sound amazingly casual.
     
    “No,” Mina said through clenched teeth. Posing for the pictures was one thing. Having a stranger gawk at her while she sat half-naked and chilled on the stool was another.
     
    Karen opened the door and the stranger walked in, only…he wasn’t a stranger.
     
    He was Eric.
     

Chapter 3
     
     
     
    Eric’s sky-blue eyes flickered immediately toward Mina and traveled over her exposed back and side for the briefest of moments before he averted them politely. “I’m not late, am I?”
     
    “No, you’re on time,” Karen assured him. “We’re just about to get started.”
     
    Mina’s throat tightened, choking the words of shock that were whirling through her mind. What was Eric doing at the shoot, and how the hell had Karen forgotten to tell her that he was