IGNITION

  LAUREN DANE

  IGNITION

  Copyright © 2023 Lauren Dane

  Published by Lauren Dane Media Group, LLC

  Cover Art Design © 2023 Tony Mauro Illustration and Design

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN 978-1-943072-84-2

  This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author/publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental or has been used in a fictional manner.

  CONTENTS

  Ignition

  Foreword

  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

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Acknowledgments

  Sign Up for Lauren’s Newsletter

  Also by Lauren Dane

  About Lauren Dane

  IGNITION

  Xander…

  Alexander Copeland Keenan is a second-generation tattoo artist. He’s got a reputation as a rising star and a six-month waitlist to prove it.

  He’s been focused on work and family, not looking for anyone or anything serious, but suddenly there’s more. Suddenly there’s everything when he meets Pippa Hall.

  Neither is ready for the bolt of instant attraction, or for the intensity of the days and weeks to follow as their chance meeting develops into an exclusive—and very intense—relationship.

  Hamish…

  To most of the world, Hamish Wilson is a talented, hard living, hard loving singer-songwriter. Most people don’t know the real person behind the mask. From their first meeting a year prior, Pippa saw right to the heart of him and hadn’t judged. Even better, she’d been his safe harbor, and a true friend.

  He tells himself he’s not worthy of a committed romantic relationship with her, but fate—and Xander—intervened. Pippa wasn’t the only one either man had history with, and after an unplanned beginning, the three embark on an exclusive triad.

  Pippa…

  Pippa Hall grew up in a family whose idea of discipline sent her and two of her sisters fleeing to start a new life in Seattle. She’s got an excellent job as a mechanic at Twisted Steel, a custom car and motorcycle shop, a close relationship with her sisters and several dear friends, and then…

  She wasn’t prepared to fall head over heels with two very bossy men whose focus was her well-being and pleasure. Pippa is loved. Deeply.

  Ignition…

  In the midst of their happily ever after, the shadow of Pippa’s past casts a threat on the happiness and security of their lives. It will take more than love to overcome the fear. The three must stand, united to defend what is theirs.

  FOREWORD

  Dear wonderful readers,

  Ignition is the second in an expanded series universe that includes my Brown Family, Hurley Boys, Delicious and Whiskey Sharp books under the Ink and Chrome title.

  Ignition is the story of Alexander, “Xander” Copeland Keenan, the son of Erin Brown, Todd Keenan and Ben Copeland (Laid Bare). He works at Written On the Body, a tattoo shop owned and run by his uncle, Brody Brown (Coming Undone) and Raven Warner (Drawn Together).

  The other hero is Hamish Wilson, a singer songwriter we met in Ink and Chrome 3, Coming Back, as he’s Jessi Franklin’s brother.

  And Pippa Hall, entirely new to these books, though she’s close with the Franklin family and besties with Rennie Brown (Brody’s daughter).

  I hope you enjoy these three as much as I loved writing their story!

  Lauren

  CHAPTER

  ONE

  At the hail of his name, Xander set his sketchpad back on the shelf at his station, but when he walked to reception and saw Pippa Hall standing there, a shaft of pale, late-afternoon sunlight caressing her face, his fingers twitched. An urge sent from his brain to the part of him always ready to draw. The curves of her cheeks needed to be put to paper. The coppery tones in her eyelashes caught the light.

  The outside was attractive enough, but something far more than looks called Xander’s attention to her. She exuded an honesty and sweetness like perfume. What he’d considered curiosity had deepened into a craving in the two weeks since he’d first met her at a family party.

  That night they’d chatted quickly about the tattoo she’d been scheduled to receive from his uncle Brody. After some fancy talk, Xander managed to convince her he had several great concepts already for the life cycle of a butterfly she wanted.

  In the weeks since he’d texted her several times, ostensibly to talk about the design she’d finally chosen after tweaks. He was a busy person, but he found himself turning toward her repeatedly. Even if for just a few lines and an emoji.

  And when she turned and their gazes locked, his already very good life got better. All the noise and chaos seemed to fade away when she was near. Like every part of him focused its attention to her.

  “Hi there, Xander,” Pippa said, her mouth tipping up into a smile. “Ready for me?”

  Was he? Hell if he knew. Normally he kept things mellow and casual, but there he was pulling her into his life.

  The open, pleased tone in her voice stirred something deep in his belly. More than the chemistry that hung thick between them, there was a recognition there. Like he’d been waiting for her on some level. It was novel enough he couldn’t wait to see what else was in store.

  “Hey.” He smiled at her before he leaned down to hug his cousin, Rennie, who also happened to be tight with Pippa. “Wasn’t expecting to see your face. Though I’m not complaining. Are you here to keep Pippa company?”

  If she didn’t say no, Xander was putting coal in her stocking at Christmas.

  “Not today. I’ve got a lunch date with my dad. I’ll see you later, Pippa.” Rennie hugged her and headed toward the back where Brody, the owner of Written On the Body, was working in his office.

  “Again, I do appreciate you fitting me in today,” Pippa told him as he led her to his station.

  Deep-copper curls tumbled to her shoulders. Shiny silver clips caught it away from her face. Freckles danced over her cheeks and nose, peeking through the makeup she wore. She was under five and a half feet tall, petite but powerful in jeans, boots, and a light-purple sweater that hugged her curves.

  There were moments around petite women where simply due to his size, he felt like a marauding Godzilla, or he was so worried about stepping on a toe or whatever that he kept a distance.

  But she invited him closer. Didn’t shrink away from the full force of him, and that was rather delicious.

  Speaking of delicious. She smelled like sugar and something smoky and sexy. He desperately wanted to know what she tasted like.

  Instead of giving in to the wild impulse to kiss her like some fuckin’ weirdo, he led her to his station where he’d left the design they’d agreed upon a few days earlier. “I know we’ve spoken about these, but if you find you don’t like it now that you’re seeing it in person, I can adjust.”

  He’d created the butterfly as the center of the tattoo in blues and purples, with the green and brown of the chrysalis and the caterpillar as pops of color to draw the eye to the way they melded into the body of the butterfly in one instance and parts of the wing elsewhere.

  “My plan is to focus on the purples, blues, and greens.” He indicated the accompanying full-color sketch. “They’ll last longer than yellows or orange would.” He pointed out two other versions. “These are similar.”

  “I’d imagined it as a monarch, so with oranges and blacks, but this…” she held up the one that was his favorite, “…is better. It’s delicate but not weak, if you know what I mean. I love the combination of all the colors and the way it’s made up of individual parts, but when it’s looked at as a big picture, it’s one thing on a continuum. Different and yet the same thing all at once. I know it’s the point. I still think it’s magic.”

  “I’m glad you like it. That one was my top choice too.” There was a warm, pleasant weight in his belly at her words. “Let me get this on a stencil. I want you in that chair, facing the back.”

  In an economic motion, she grabbed the hem of her sweater and pulled it off, leaving her in a halter bodysuit beneath.

  He�
��d already noticed how she blushed. With her pale complexion, he bet he could clock every emotion on her skin.

  Soon enough, he’d set up his inks, got the positioning of the stencil set according to her preference, and his hands were on her right arm as he adjusted the arm and headrest.

  “What’s the longest you’ve sat for a tattoo?” he asked her, putting thoughts of how sexy Pippa was away for the rest of the appointment.

  She held out her other arm to show him a tattoo of a black-and-gray-shaded wrench. It was well done, all the dents and cracks as metal morphed into bone, the shading rendering it nearly three dimensional. A piece like that took a meticulous and patient hand and a great deal of experience. He recognized it without even being told who the artist was.

  “That took two and a half hours,” Pippa said.

  “Raven is so damned good,” he murmured as he took one last look before straightening.

  “I love her work. I had just tossed out some ideas of things I liked, and she created a few different sketches like you did. This one was it for me the instant I saw it. At some point I’m going to have her add some flowers for a pop of color. And the one Brody did is a blackbird on my hip. Simple. That was my first one, and it took less than an hour.”

  “Big jump between less than an hour up to over two. The positioning of this one won’t be as painful as it might be in other places, but there’ll be spots that hurt. If you need to take a break, let me know. There’s no reason for this to be agony.”

  She smiled, and it sent a shiver over his skin. “It’s okay if it hurts a little.”

  Christ. A blast of heat exploded through him. He coughed to cover the indrawn breath, and a dimple to the right of her mouth showed up for a moment.

  He put gloves on and moved the light until he got it perfect. “Tip your head a little to the left.” When she did what he asked and he was satisfied with the way the skin and muscle lay, he said, “Try to keep this arm relaxed.”

  The way she complied so easily flipped every switch he had. He liked being in charge, and not just when someone was in his chair.

  She sighed softly as she settled in, and he picked up his tattoo machine, not missing the way her lips curved up as the hum filled the air.

  Two weeks ago, Pippa had picked her friend Rennie up from a family party at her parents’ house. When Pippa had gone inside to get her, she’d been enveloped by a wave of Rennie’s loved ones. She’d been introduced to what felt like a hundred people, all of them colorful and charming and attractive. It had been no small amount overwhelming. Though she’d already known Rennie’s parents and sister, the place busted at the seams with the genetically gifted.

  And that had been before she’d been introduced to Xander. She’d sort of forgotten they were on their way out the door as he’d flirted and charmed her. Not a bit of artifice to it. He was smart and funny, and she hadn’t been able to get him off her mind in the days since.

  By the time she and Rennie had managed to get to the car, Pippa had found herself with an appointment in two weeks’ time to get a tattoo from one of the country’s next generation of ink superstars.

  They’d texted and emailed back and forth to consult on the design, and she’d wondered if that arc of attraction they’d had at the party was a one-time thing. She got her answer when he’d come out to the waiting area and her senses had gone into overtime. Absolutely gorgeous.

  More than tall, he was broad-shouldered. He was bigger than she’d remembered, even after looking—like fourteen times—at a recent magazine spread that featured multiple pictures and poses.

  In person he also had…substantial energy. It drew her attention and held it. Magnetic. A lot of men his size made her uncomfortable. Their energy felt more like restless aggression. Xander took up space but not at her expense.

  Sun-kissed skin, hazel eyes with lashes so thick and dark it looked like he’d lined his lids with black. He had a septum piercing which took the prettier parts of him and gave them an edge. It was mid-September, and it had dropped to the low fifties, and he wore a navy long-sleeved shirt that hugged his shoulders distractingly. His beard was perfectly trimmed, and when he smiled, her stomach and parts lower warmed and got a little fluttery.

  His hair was short on the sides and back, but the top was thick and longer, a fetching bit of caramel brown he’d shoved back from his face with a very large hand at the party, but at work he had it caught away from his eyes.

  Even as he jabbed ink into her skin with multiple needles, his touch was patient and gentle. The sound of the machine and the haze of pain that wasn’t entirely negative seemed to lull her into a place where she floated as he spoke.

  “We didn’t get to talk much at Brody’s birthday party,” he said as he stood next to her, the heat of his body washing over her exposed arm and shoulder. “Not as much as I’d have liked. How’d you meet Rennie?”

  He would have liked? All sorts of happy chemicals surged in her. “Twisted Steel is in a warehouse district. There are several other businesses and a few industrial art spaces like Rennie’s in the same area, so multiple food trucks show up daily. My first week there, Rennie and I ended up in line together more than once. Friday morning, over a breakfast burrito, I asked her if she wanted to come to the film festival with me and another friend. We’ve hung out regularly since. Rennie was sort of a package deal, because when Martine moved back to Seattle six months ago, we became close. After I got to know Brody and Elise, I understand why their daughters are so wonderful.”

  “I can’t believe I’ve never met you before that birthday party.”

  “I wager we’re most likely not in the same social circles.” He was in the super-gorgeous, inked-up-son-of-a-rock-star club, and she was in bed by nine thirty and took her slippers and an extra blanket when she traveled.

  “My cousins are my social circle,” he said, amused.

  “You mean your cousin Miles, the international superstar? Or his fiancée, also a famous musician? Or do you mean Rennie, with her art shows and accolades?”

  Rennie painted hyperrealistic works that were so detailed, the color so perfect, the application so precise, they looked like photographs. Miles was the lead singer of a band called Earthquakes, and they’d spent the last three years on back-to-back sold-out tours to support back-to-back hit albums. Handsome, talented, newly engaged, and he’d just wrapped his first major film role.

  Xander spoke as he worked, his voice wrapping around the whine of the tattoo machine. “Okay, so we’re not normal in the usual sense of the word. My family is huge, but super tight. A lot of us work together. We’ve never met an occasion we won’t throw a party for. We’ve taken vacations together my whole life. There are chefs and caterers in the crew, so we’re always well fed. Naturally there’s fantastic music. We’re like a small town really.”

  “Okay, I can see that.” She tried to stay still when she laughed. That would be some magical small town. “I imagine being famous makes it even more important to have that safe and trusted circle of people. The outside world is sketchy enough without fans.”

  “That’s totally true.” He paused a moment. “My sister was killed by my mom’s stalker. Back before I was born. But it changed everything. She withdrew from the spotlight. Stopped touring for several years until after my dads came along. And then me.”

  “I’m sorry I brought up a sad memory.” She wanted to kick herself for not even thinking about that. The story of what had happened to Erin Brown and her young child had been the subject of more than one of those ripped-from-the-headlines-style shows the entertainment channels loved.