Steam and Ink Read online




  Steam and Ink

  Chelle Bliss

  Carrie Ann Ryan

  Contents

  Delicate Ink

  Delicate Ink

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Delicate Nights Bonus

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  A Note from Carrie Ann

  Afterword

  About the Author

  Throttle Me

  1. The Darkness

  2. Ray of Sunshine

  3. Down & Dirty

  4. Wicked Ways

  5. Only in My Fantasies

  6. Too Good To Be True

  7. I’m not too uptight, am I?

  8. Angles

  9. Broken Rules

  10. Anticipation

  11. Friday ~ Worlds Collide

  12. Passing the Test

  13. Fork in the Road

  14. Stitches

  15. Tattoos and Torment

  16. Fantasies

  17. Wants and Desires

  18. Family Headaches

  19. Friday Countdown

  20. What Dreams Are Made Of…

  21. Sometimes Shit Needs to Stay Fiction

  22. Who’s the Boss?

  23. Mouth-Watering Goodness

  24. Hot for Teacher

  25. Riding’ Dirty

  26. Surprises

  27. Christmas Blessings

  Inked Fantasies

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  A Note from Chelle Bliss

  Also by Chelle Bliss

  About the Author

  Delicate Ink

  A Montgomery Ink Novel

  By

  Carrie Ann Ryan

  Delicate Ink

  A Montgomery Ink

  By: Carrie Ann Ryan

  © 2014 Carrie Ann Ryan

  ISBN: 978-1-62322-110-2

  Cover Art by Scott Carpenter

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person or use proper retail channels to lend a copy. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.

  For more information, please join Carrie Ann Ryan’s MAILING LIST.

  To interact with Carrie Ann Ryan, you can join her FAN CLUB.

  Delicate Ink

  On the wrong side of thirty, Austin Montgomery is ready to settle down. Unfortunately, his inked sleeves and scruffy beard isn’t the suave business appearance some women crave. Only finding a woman who can deal with his job, as a tattoo artist and owner of Montgomery Ink, his seven meddling siblings, and his own gruff attitude won’t be easy.

  Finding a man is the last thing on Sierra Elder’s mind. A recent transplant to Denver, her focus is on opening her own boutique. Wanting to cover up scars that run deeper than her flesh, she finds in Austin a man that truly gets to her—in more ways than one.

  Although wary, they embark on a slow, tempestuous burn of a relationship. When blasts from both their pasts intrude on their present, however, it will take more than a promise of what could be to keep them together.

  Chapter 1

  “If you don’t turn that fucking music down, I’m going to ram this tattoo gun up a place no one on this earth should ever see.”

  Austin Montgomery lifted the needle from his client’s arm so he could hold back a rough chuckle. He let his foot slide off the pedal so he could keep his composure. Dear Lord, his sister Maya clearly needed more coffee in her life.

  Or for someone to turn down the fucking music in the shop.

  “You’re not even working, Maya. Let me have my tunes,” Sloane, another artist, mumbled under his breath. Yeah, he didn’t yell it. Didn’t need to. No one wanted to yell at Austin’s sister. The man might be as big as a house and made of pure muscle, but no one messed with Maya.

  Not if they wanted to live.

  “I’m sketching, you dumbass,” Maya sniped, even though the smile in her eyes belied her wrath. His sister loved Sloane like a brother. Not that she didn’t have enough brothers and sisters to begin with, but the Montgomerys always had their arms open for strays and spares.

  Austin rolled his eyes at the pair’s antics and stood up from his stool, his body aching from being bent over for too long. He refrained from saying that aloud as Maya and Sloane would have a joke for that. He usually preferred to have the other person in bed—or in the kitchen, office, doorway, etc—bent over, but that wasn’t where he would allow his mind to go. As it was, he was too damn old to be sitting in that position for too long, but he wanted to get this sleeve done for his customer.

  “Hold on a sec, Rick,” he said to the man in the chair. “Want juice or anything? I’m going to stretch my legs and make sure Maya doesn’t kill Sloane.” He winked as he said it, just in case his client didn’t get the joke.

  People could be so touchy when siblings threatened each other with bodily harm even while they smiled as they said it.

  “Juice sounds good,” Rick slurred, a sappy smile on his face. “Don’t let Maya kill you.”

  Rick blinked his eyes open, the adrenaline running through his system giving him the high that a few patrons got once they were in the chair for a couple hours. To Austin, there was nothing better than having Maya ink his skin—or doing it himself—and letting the needle do its work. He wasn’t a pain junkie, far from it if he was honest with himself, but he liked the adrenaline that led the way into fucking fantastic art. While some people thought bodies were sacred and tattoos only marred them, he knew it differently. Art on canvas, any canvas, could have the potential to be art worth bleeding for. As such, he was particular as to who laid a needle on his skin. He only let Maya ink him when he couldn’t do it himself. Maya was the same way. Whatever she couldn’t do herself, he did.

  They were brother and sister, friends, and co-owners of Montgomery Ink.

  He and Maya had opened the shop a decade ago when she’d turned twenty. He probably could have opened it a few years earlier since he was eight years older than Maya, but he’d wanted to wait until she was ready. They were joint owners. It had never been his shop while she worked with him. They both had equal say, although with the way Maya spoke, sometimes her voice seemed louder. His deeper one carried just as much weight, even if he didn’t yell as much.

  Barely.

  Sure, he wasn’t as loud as Maya, but he got his point across when needed. His voice held control and authority.

  He picked up a juice box for Rick from their mini-fridge and turned down the music on his way back. Sloane scowled at him, but the corner of his mouth twitched as if he held back a laugh.

  “Thank God one of you has a brain in his head,” Maya mumbled in the now quieter room. She rolled her eyes as both he and Sloane flipped he
r off then went back to her sketch. Yeah, she could have gotten up to turn the music down herself, but then she couldn’t have vented her excess energy at the two of them. That was just how his sister worked, and there would be no changing that.

  He went back to his station situated in the back so he had the corner space, handed Rick his juice, then rubbed his back. Damn, he was getting old. Thirty-eight wasn’t that far up there on the scales, but ever since he’d gotten back from New Orleans, he hadn’t been able to shake the weight of something off of his chest.

  He needed to be honest. He’d started feeling this way since before New Orleans. He’d gone down to the city to visit his cousin Shep and try to get out of his funk. He’d broken up with Shannon right before then; however, in reality, it wasn’t as much a breakup as a lack of connection and communication. They hadn’t cared about each other enough to move on to the next level, and as sad as that was, he was fine with it. If he couldn’t get up the energy to pursue a woman beyond a couple of weeks or months of heat, then he knew he was the problem. He just didn’t know the solution. Shannon hadn’t been the first woman who had ended the relationship in that fashion. There’d been Brenda, Sandrine, and another one named Maggie.

  He’d cared for all of them at the time. He wasn’t a complete asshole, but he’d known deep down that they weren’t going to be with him forever, and they thought the same of him. He also knew that it was time to actually find a woman to settle down with. If he wanted a future, a family, he was running out of time.

  Going to New Orleans hadn’t worked out in the least considering, at the time, Shep was falling in love with a pretty blonde named Shea. Not that Austin begrudged the man that. Shep had been his best friend growing up, closer to him than his four brothers and three sisters. It’d helped that he and Shep were the same age while the next of his siblings, the twins Storm and Wes, were four years younger.

  His parents had taken their time to have eight kids, meaning he was a full fifteen years older than the baby, Miranda, but he hadn’t cared. The eight of them, most of his cousins, and a few strays were as close as ever. He’d helped raise the youngest ones as an older brother but had never felt like he had to. His parents, Marie and Harry, loved each of their kids equally and had put their whole beings into their roles as parents. Every single concert, game, ceremony, or even parent-teacher meeting was attended by at least one of them. On the good days, the ones where Dad could get off work and Mom had the day off from Montgomery Inc., they both would attend. They loved their kids.

  He loved being a Montgomery.

  The sound of Sloane’s needle buzzing as he sang whatever tune played in his head made Austin grin.

  And he fucking loved his shop.

  Every bare brick and block of polished wood, every splash of black and hot pink—colors he and Maya had fought on and he’d eventually given in to—made him feel at home. He’d taken the family crest and symbol, the large MI surrounded by a broken floral circle, and used it as their logo. His brothers, Storm and Wes, owned Montgomery Inc., a family construction company that their father had once owned and where their mother had worked at his side before they’d retired. They, too, used the same logo since it meant family to them.

  In fact, the MI was tattooed on every single immediate family member—including his parents. His own was on his right forearm tangled in the rest of his sleeve but given a place of meaning. It meant Montgomery Iris—open your eyes, see the beauty, remember who you are. It was only natural to use it for their two respective companies.

  Not that the Ink vs Inc. wasn’t confusing as hell, but fuck, they were Montgomerys. They could do whatever they wanted. As long as they were together, they’d get through it.

  Montgomery Ink was just as much his home as his house on the ravine. While Shep had gone on to work at Midnight Ink and created another family there, Austin had always wanted to own his shop. Maya growing up to want to do the same thing had only helped.

  Montgomery Ink was now a thriving business in downtown Denver right off 16th Street Mall. They were near parking, food, and coffee. There really wasn’t more he needed. The drive in most mornings could suck once he got on I-25, but it was worth it to live out in Arvada. The ’burbs around Denver made it easy to live in one area of the city and work in another. Commutes, though hellish at rush hour, weren’t as bad as some. This way he got the city living when it came to work and play, and the option to hide behind the trees pressed up against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains once he got home.

  It was the best of both worlds.

  At least for him.

  Austin got back on his stool and concentrated on Rick’s sleeve for another hour before calling it quits. He needed a break for his lower back, and Rick needed a break from the pain. Not that Rick was feeling much since the man currently looked like he’d just gotten laid—pain freaks, Austin loved them—but he didn’t want to push either of them too far. Also, Plus Rick’s arm had started to swell slightly from all the shading and multiple colors. They’d do another session, the last, hopefully, in a month or so when both of them could work it in their schedules and then finish up.

  Austin scowled at the computer at the front of shop, his fingers too big for the damn keys on the prissy computer Maya had demanded they buy.

  “Fuck!”

  He’d just deleted Rick’s whole account because he couldn’t find the right button.

  “Maya, get your ass over here and fix this. I don’t know what the hell I did.”

  Maya lifted one pierced brow as she worked on a lower back tattoo for some teenage girl who didn’t look old enough to get ink in the first place.

  “I’m busy, Austin. You’re not an idiot, though evidence at the moment points to the contrary. Fix it yourself. I can’t help it if you have ape hands.”

  Austin flipped her off then took a sip of his Coke, wishing he had something stronger considering he hated paperwork. “I was fine with the old keyboard and the PC, Maya. You’re the one who wanted to go with the Mac because it looked pretty.”

  “Fuck you, Austin. I wanted a Mac because I like the software.”

  Austin snorted while trying to figure out how to find Rick’s file. He was pretty sure it was a lost cause at this point. “You hate the software as much as I do. You hit the damn red X and close out files more than I do. Everything’s in the wrong place, and the keyboard is way too fucking dainty.”

  “I’m going to go with Austin on this one,” Sloane added in, his beefy hands in the air.

  “See? I’m not alone.”

  Maya let out a breath. “We can get another keyboard for you and Gigantor’s hands, but we need to keep the Mac.”

  “And why is that?” he demanded.

  “Because we just spent a whole lot of money on it, and once it goes, we can get another PC. Fuck the idea that everything can be all in one. I can’t figure it out either.” She held up a hand. “And don’t even think about breaking it. I’ll know, Austin. I always know.”

  Austin held back a grin. He wouldn’t be surprised if the computer met with an earlier than expected unfortunate fate now that Maya had relented.

  Right then, however, that idea didn’t help. He needed to find Rick’s file.

  “Callie!” Austin yelled over the buzz of needles and soft music Maya had allowed them to play.

  “What?” His apprentice came out of the break room, a sketchbook in one hand and a smirk on her face. She’d dyed her hair again so it had black and red highlights. It looked good on her, but honestly, he never knew what color she’d have next. “Break something on the computer again with those big man hands?”

  “Shut up, minion,” he teased. Callie was an up-and-coming artist, and if she kept on the track she was on, he and Maya knew she’d be getting her own chair at Montgomery Ink soon. Not that he’d tell Callie that, though. He liked keeping her on her toes. She reminded him of his little sister Miranda so much that he couldn’t help but treat her as such.

  She pushed him out of th
e way and groaned. “Did you have to press every button as you rampaged through the operating system?”

  Austin could have sworn he felt his cheeks heat, but since he had a thick enough beard, he knew no one would have been able to tell.

  Hopefully.

  He hated feeling as if he didn’t know what he was doing. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know how to use a computer. He wasn’t an idiot. He just didn’t know this computer. And it bugged the shit out of him.

  After a couple of keystrokes and a click of the mouse, Callie stepped back with a smug smile on her face. “Okay, boss, you’re all ready to go, and Rick’s file is back where it should be. What else do you need from me?”

  He bopped her on the head, messing up her red and black hair he knew she spent an hour on every morning with a flat iron. He couldn’t help it.

  “Go clean a toilet or something.”

  Callie rolled her eyes. “I’m going to go sketch. And you’re welcome.”

 

    From Our First: A Promise Me Novel Read onlineFrom Our First: A Promise Me NovelInk by Numbers Read onlineInk by NumbersInked Persuasion: A Montgomery Ink: Fort Collins Novel Read onlineInked Persuasion: A Montgomery Ink: Fort Collins NovelFalling With You: A Fractured Connections Novel Read onlineFalling With You: A Fractured Connections NovelFalling With You Read onlineFalling With YouMy One Night: An On My Own Novel Read onlineMy One Night: An On My Own NovelMy Next Play Read onlineMy Next PlayForever Only Once: A Promise Me Novel Read onlineForever Only Once: A Promise Me NovelTaken With You: A Fractured Connections Novella Read onlineTaken With You: A Fractured Connections NovellaForever Broken: A Talon Pack Novel Read onlineForever Broken: A Talon Pack NovelFrom Flame and Ash: An Elements of Five Romance Read onlineFrom Flame and Ash: An Elements of Five RomanceWrapped in Ink Read onlineWrapped in InkMy First Glance: An On My Own Prequel Read onlineMy First Glance: An On My Own PrequelBreathless With Her Read onlineBreathless With HerSated in Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Boulder Novel Read onlineSated in Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Boulder NovelShouldn't Have You Read onlineShouldn't Have YouForever Broken Read onlineForever BrokenEmbraced in Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Boulder Novel Read onlineEmbraced in Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Boulder NovelForever Only Once Read onlineForever Only OnceWrapped in Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Boulder Novel Read onlineWrapped in Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Boulder NovelCaptured in Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Boulder Novella Read onlineCaptured in Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Boulder NovellaFrom Spirit and Binding Read onlineFrom Spirit and BindingReckless With You Read onlineReckless With YouWhiskey Undone Read onlineWhiskey UndoneFar From Destined: A Promise Me Novel Read onlineFar From Destined: A Promise Me NovelSeduced in Ink Read onlineSeduced in InkAshes To Ink Read onlineAshes To InkRoyal Line Read onlineRoyal LineSeduced in Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Boulder Novel Read onlineSeduced in Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Boulder NovelMoments in Ink Read onlineMoments in InkSated in Ink Read onlineSated in InkJagged Ink Read onlineJagged InkTaken With You Read onlineTaken With YouBreaking Without You: A Fractured Connections Novel Read onlineBreaking Without You: A Fractured Connections NovelJagged Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Colorado Springs Novel Read onlineJagged Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Colorado Springs NovelFrom Flame and Ash Read onlineFrom Flame and AshBreathless With Her: A Less Than Novel Read onlineBreathless With Her: A Less Than NovelDante’s Circle Reborn: A Dante’s Circle Collection Read onlineDante’s Circle Reborn: A Dante’s Circle CollectionA Very Montgomery Christmas Read onlineA Very Montgomery ChristmasThe Hunted Heart Read onlineThe Hunted HeartAn Alpha's Path Read onlineAn Alpha's PathFrom That Moment Read onlineFrom That MomentHarder Than Words Read onlineHarder Than WordsWhiskey Reveals Read onlineWhiskey RevealsFallen Ink Read onlineFallen InkFierce Enchantment Read onlineFierce EnchantmentEver After Read onlineEver AfterAn Immortal's Song Read onlineAn Immortal's SongEmbraced in Ink Read onlineEmbraced in InkWhiskey Reveals (Whiskey and Lies Book 2) Read onlineWhiskey Reveals (Whiskey and Lies Book 2)Tangled Innocence Read onlineTangled InnocenceShameless With Him Read onlineShameless With HimInk Ever After Read onlineInk Ever AfterDusk Unveiled (Ravenwood Coven Book 2) Read onlineDusk Unveiled (Ravenwood Coven Book 2)Inked Obsession Read onlineInked ObsessionDreams of Ivory Read onlineDreams of IvoryAn Unlucky Moon Read onlineAn Unlucky MoonWicked Wolf Read onlineWicked WolfFallen Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Colorado Springs Novel Read onlineFallen Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Colorado Springs NovelPassion Restored Read onlinePassion RestoredRestless Ink (Montgomery Ink: Colorado Springs Book 2) Read onlineRestless Ink (Montgomery Ink: Colorado Springs Book 2)Ink Reunited Read onlineInk ReunitedFlame and Ink: An Anthology Read onlineFlame and Ink: An AnthologyRestless Ink Read onlineRestless Ink1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Nine Read online1001 Dark Nights: Bundle NineStrength Enduring (Talon Pack Book 8) Read onlineStrength Enduring (Talon Pack Book 8)Her Lucky Love Read onlineHer Lucky LoveFinally Found You Read onlineFinally Found YouProwled Darkness (Dante's Circle Book 7) Read onlineProwled Darkness (Dante's Circle Book 7)Steam and Ink Read onlineSteam and InkAn Alpha's Choice Read onlineAn Alpha's ChoiceInk Enduring (Montgomery Ink #5) Read onlineInk Enduring (Montgomery Ink #5)Love Restored Read onlineLove RestoredDust of My Wings Read onlineDust of My WingsA Night Away Read onlineA Night AwayWritten in Ink (Montgomery Ink #4) Read onlineWritten in Ink (Montgomery Ink #4)Charmed Spirits Read onlineCharmed SpiritsInked Memories (Montgomery Ink Book 8) Read onlineInked Memories (Montgomery Ink Book 8)Love, Honor, and Ink: (A Montgomery Ink Novella) Read onlineLove, Honor, and Ink: (A Montgomery Ink Novella)Dark Fates (A Paranormal Anthology) Read onlineDark Fates (A Paranormal Anthology)Moments in Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Boulder Bonus Romance Read onlineMoments in Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Boulder Bonus RomanceTempting Boundaries Read onlineTempting BoundariesDestiny Disgraced Read onlineDestiny DisgracedFractured Silence (Talon Pack Book 5) Read onlineFractured Silence (Talon Pack Book 5)An Immortal's Song (Dante's Circle #6) Read onlineAn Immortal's Song (Dante's Circle #6)Executive Ink Read onlineExecutive InkTattered Loyalties Read onlineTattered LoyaltiesInked Nights: A Montgomery Ink Novella Read onlineInked Nights: A Montgomery Ink NovellaInk Exposed Read onlineInk ExposedLoving the Omega Read onlineLoving the OmegaEternal Mourning Read onlineEternal MourningDelicate Ink Read onlineDelicate InkInked Expressions Read onlineInked ExpressionsDelicate Nights Read onlineDelicate NightsSecond Chance Ink: A Bonus Montgomery Ink Romance Read onlineSecond Chance Ink: A Bonus Montgomery Ink RomanceMated in Mist Read onlineMated in MistAdoring Ink: A Montgomery Ink Novella Read onlineAdoring Ink: A Montgomery Ink NovellaA Beta's Haven Read onlineA Beta's HavenSteam and Ink: Two Novels of Ink Plus Two BONUS Short Stories Read onlineSteam and Ink: Two Novels of Ink Plus Two BONUS Short StoriesWhiskey Undone (Whiskey and Lies Book 3) Read onlineWhiskey Undone (Whiskey and Lies Book 3)His Choice Read onlineHis ChoiceExecutive Ink: A Montgomery Ink Romance Read onlineExecutive Ink: A Montgomery Ink RomanceFighting Fate (Redwood Pack #7) Read onlineFighting Fate (Redwood Pack #7)Wolf Betrayed Read onlineWolf BetrayedBlurred Expectations Read onlineBlurred ExpectationsInked Nights Read onlineInked NightsHidden Ink Read onlineHidden InkInk Inspired-epub Read onlineInk Inspired-epubDropout Read onlineDropoutSecond Chance Ink Read onlineSecond Chance InkProwled Darkness Read onlineProwled DarknessWhiskey Secrets Read onlineWhiskey SecretsHope Restored (Gallagher Brothers Book 3) Read onlineHope Restored (Gallagher Brothers Book 3)Strength Enduring Read onlineStrength Enduring[Montgomery Ink 00.5 - 01.0] Box Set Read online[Montgomery Ink 00.5 - 01.0] Box SetTrinity Bound Read onlineTrinity BoundSanta's Executive Read onlineSanta's Executive