In Toy Box: Tattooed Ladies, M. Rode, Editor
Torquere Books: EBook
July, 2010 ISBN 978-1-61040-016-9
Short story, 5000 words
Natalie Gardner can’t decide which is more terrifying – getting a Tattoo, or taking the risk that Cindy McGraw will turn her down.
Heat Rating 
Explicit sex: F/F, sex toys
Check out Cindy’s RECIPE for Edible Body Paint!
BLURB
Just past fifty and freshly divorced, cardiac nurse Natalie Gardner decides it’s time to create her personal bucket list. On the top of her list? A tattoo – but she’s nervous about the pain. Maybe Cindy McGraw, the hot young physical therapist she often lunches with, can help her out. Next on her list? It may be too much to hope for, but she’s definitely angling for more than tattoo advice from Cindy. Would a taste be too much to ask?
EXCERPT
Lying on the massage table, Natalie tried not to scrunch away from the tickle of Cindy’s brush, her soft fingers, or her warm breath. Equally, she resisted wrapping her arms around the petite woman and hugging her tight. The last fifteen minutes or so had to the most torturous of Natalie’s life. Cindy had said she was nearly finished, but that must’ve been five minutes ago.
“There.” Cindy straightened and grinned. “It’s adorable, if I do say so myself. Let me get you a hand mirror and you can see for yourself.”
“Wow! You did that? It’s beautiful.” Natalie thrust out her chest. “It’s too bad no one will see it on my breast, but it’s wonderful. I hope what Mel does will turn out so good. Maybe I’ll have to have a second one on my shoulder so I can at least show it to people. But…” Her eyes watered. “That is so lovely. Do we have to take it off? How long will it last?”
“Not long. Remember, these paints are edible. The colors will run and fade when you shower, but the point was to let you see what a tattoo would look like.”
“I know. I just don’t like the idea of destroying your handiwork.”
“I see a smudge I didn’t take care of.” Cindy wet her finger and slid it along the stem of the flower, which extended down the slope of the breast.
Natalie sighed, placing a hand on Cindy’s shoulder. “You have such a soft, light touch.”
“I can’t get it right without getting it wetter. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Oh.” Natalie peered down to see Cindy’s tongue sliding along the flower stem. She steadied her breathing. This was it. She knew it. They both knew it. It was her call. “I don’t mind at all,” she moaned, lacing her fingers in Cindy’s hair.