Get Inked: A Pucked Series and Clipped Wings Crossover Novella (Pucked #5.5)
Helena Hunting
DEDICATION
To Jessica, the editor who edits angst and puckers like none other. But seriously, you’re the best.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Mr. Lohgnhorn, I love you. Thanks for being so awesome all the time.
Mom, Dad, Mel and Chris, you’re the best kind of family.
Pepper, turkey and avacado forever.
Kimberly, you’re magic and I’m honoured to be on this journey with you.
Jenn, one day I will be super organized, it just won’t be today.
Jessica thank you for straightening out my crooked edges.
Shannon you’re like the Harry Potter of cover magic.
Teeny, I’m not sure why you put up with me, but I’m sure glad you do.
Sarah—thanks for sticking around even when I forget my own name.
Hustlers, you’re an awesome team and I always feel so incredible fortunate to have all of you!
Beavers and Wood, I wouldn’t laugh nearly as much without all of you.
To my Backdoor Babes; Tara, Meghan, Deb and Katherine, I’m grateful none of us are sane.
To my Pams, the Filets, my Nap girls; 101’ers, my Holiday’s and Indies Tijan, Vi, Penelope, Susi, Deb, Erika, Katherine, Alice, Shalu, Amanda, Leisa, Kellie, Kelly, Melissa, Sarah, Tracey, Teeny, Nina, Melanie—you are fabulous in ways I can’t explain. Thank you for being my friends, my colleagues, my supporters, my teachers, my cheerleaders and my soft places to land.
To my friends outside of the writing community who love me even though I’m stuck in my own head half the time, thank you for being so amazing and supporting me on this journey.
To all my author friends and colleagues; I’m so fortunate to have such an amazing support system in this crazy, awesome industry.
To all the amazing bloggers and readers out there who have supported me from the beginning of my angst, to the ridiculous of my humour; thank you for loving these stories, for giving them a voice, for sharing your thoughts and for being such amazing readers. I’m honoured and humbled and constantly amazed by what a generous community you are.
To my Originals; my fandom friends who were with me back in the day when Wednesday postings were the way of things, thank you for giving me the gift of your feedback and your excitement. It’s such an honour and a joy to know that you’re still with me, on this road and that you’re the reason I took this journey in the first place.
Chapter 1
DESIGNS
LILY
Randy’s on the couch stroking Wiener. Not his wiener, but the wiener we’re dog-sitting for the weekend. Sunny’s been having some trouble sleeping thanks to being pregnant, so we’re taking Wiener off their hands for a few days. Also, Randy loves dogs, and so do I.
Wiener sits to Randy’s left, making little whimpery noises while he alternates between patting Wiener’s butt and scratching under his chin. Meanwhile, he’s using his free hand to flip through a magazine in his lap. Randy, I mean. Not Wiener.
I flop down beside him, fully expecting it to be hockey-related, since Randy’s a professional hockey player and all. Except it’s not. It’s a tattoo magazine. I curl into his side, checking out the designs along with him. Some are pretty and colorful, others are dark and macabre. Randy’s mostly a landscape and nature guy, based on his sleeve, but there’s a lot of empty canvas, so maybe he’s looking to diversify.
“Is this for entertainment or research purposes?” I ask.
The Vagina Emporium really, really likes the idea of Randy adding to his ink. She’s already preparing to open the doors and give him an all-access pass based on the thought alone. I didn’t put on underwear before I pulled on my sleep shorts, so it isn’t going to be much of a problem.
Randy folds the page over and flips to the next one. “Me and the guys planned to get some ink together a while ago. I have a consult with my artist, ’cause I’m thinking about incorporating it into a new sleeve, and he’s got a few design ideas he wants to go over.”
“Oh?” I remember Randy and Miller talking about tattoos last week, but I didn’t think anything of it because, well, Randy has an arm full of them. I look over at his sleeve, and that warm feeling spreads from between my legs through my whole body. “Another sleeve?”
He stops leafing through the magazine to look at me. “Are you okay with that?”
At first I think he’s kidding, and then I realize he’s actually quite serious.
“Are you asking for permission?” I glance at the flower on his right hand. His dominant hand. His fingering hand. “Or just my blessing?” I try really hard not to sound all breathy and excited.
“Is this you giving it?” He’s wearing an odd expression. I’m not sure where he’s going with this, but I’ll play along.
“Why would you even need it? It’s your skin.” I trace the outline of a tree on his forearm. “You can put whatever you want on it.”
His smirk makes an appearance. “So you’re cool with me starting another sleeve?”
He knows I like the tattoos. I trace them all the time with my fingers, and sometimes my tongue, which is exactly what I want to do right now. “Why wouldn’t I be cool with it?”