Vex: Mythical Ink Series (book 1): An Exotic Ink Novel

by LS Anders

  Alright, Alea, don’t fuck this up. He’s just a really hot angel and hopefully will soon be your boss, so get your head out of his ass, she silently scolded herself.

  “Your résumé looks great. I was impressed that you attached it to the application. It was one reason I answered you back so quickly. People like you that have a good work ethic are hard to come by,” Lucian began, hitting her again with that brilliant smile. “Can I ask why you’re interested in the position?”

  Alea watched nearly transfixed as he tucked a lock of mahogany hair behind his ear imaging how soft it must feel.

  Opening her mouth, she was shocked to find herself giving him information that she would have just as soon kept to herself. Surprisingly, she hadn’t told him the color of her panties. Apparently, her kind was susceptible to their mind pillaging charms.

  She’d heard they were like living, breathing sodium pentothal in beautiful wrappers. Something about them made you want to spill your guts. She’d have to remain vigilant around him, or she’d end up telling him what she wanted to do to his delectable body.

  “Wow! That’s ambitious. I wish you the best of luck in your writing endeavors. Well, I don’t need to look any further, the job is yours if you want it.”

  Blinking hard as his words sank in before taking root inside her boggled brain, she shook the hand he offered a little embarrassed she’d told him about her writing.

  Going over and filling out the requisite forms for employment, a half hour later and the job was officially hers.

  Her step was light and quick as she walked down Greene, heading towards home and directly for the internet café with the expensive café mocha that she loved. Treating herself for landing the job, she could afford to splurge on this one thing. Plus, she had her laptop with her and her head was bursting with new book ideas after meeting the gorgeous angel. He was a female’s wet dream no matter what the species.

  Grabbing her order, she seated herself in a spot next to a window. It was the perfect environment for writing. The only noise was the hushed drone of the other customers around her and music softly playing in the background.

  Her mind started churning. She fired up her laptop, and sipped her coffee giddy with the knowledge she would soon be out of the oppressive house.

  She was starting her new job tomorrow, and she couldn't be happier.

  Vex walked into the studio through the back door. Making his way to the front of the shop after a quick hello to Lucian, he wandered over to his station rearranging a few things on his table, getting ready for his day.

  The three of them had officially opened their doors to the public a few weeks ago and Sevin had been correct in his choice of location. The foot traffic in that area had brought in a steady stream of new clients.

  Given the artistic talent all of them possessed, they were already seeing new faces from word-of-mouth and had recommendations to add to the few followers they’d brought with them from the various tattoo studios they’d worked at before joining forces to open Mythical Ink, adding to their new clientele.

  Business was good. They were staying busy all day until they shut the doors and turned off the lights.

  A quick glance around the shop he was partial owner of, plastered a crooked smile on his face and a good mood in his heart. This was one of the best things he’d done since he’d fallen from Netherworld. Working for himself gave him a sense of pride he hadn’t had since he’d fallen.

  The door hit the bell as someone walked into the shop. Looking over at the new arrival as he made his way to the office, he nodded to the human they had hired to manage the shop. He'd had his doubts about Jason Gales, but the guy had proven himself to be an asset he never thought they needed.

  None of them had been very good with running the paperwork part of the business. Lucian was the best of the three, but really sucked at it. But Jason had waltzed in, accepted the job as their manager and additional tattoo artist and had already begun to straighten out the mess that Lucian had made out of their record keeping.

  Jason had had some kind of trouble with a woman and was looking to move on, which proved his theory that females were nothing but trouble. Well, the guy’s issue had worked out in their favor. He'd been the manager at the most prestigious tattoo studios in the damn country, Exotic Ink, and luckily for them, he'd found his way through their door.

  After greeting Lucian, Jason popped back up to the front. “Hey, Vex, I’m headed next door for coffee. You interested?”

  “Nah, I'm good,” he answered taking a seat on his artist stool, watching as the human walked back to the office.

  Impressive. Jason showed no fear of him. Usually full-on eye contact with humans, or any species for that matter, had them ready to piss their pants. But this guy had no problem meeting his hellish eyeballs, which was a plus in his book. Besides, his aura was a nice calming shade of blue, a little darker around the edges, but that was most likely the result of his recent heartbreak.

  The back door opened and shut ending the conversation between the angel and their new manager.

  Pulling open the drawer in his work table, he took out a box with a new tattoo machine he wanted to use today. He was going to have to build it himself which was a meticulous pain in his ass, but assembling the gun himself had its advantages. He could make tiny adjustments and fine tune it until he was satisfied with how it worked.

  His back to the door and his head bent to his task, the bell jangled again. Recognizing Sevin’s voice as he chatted with someone, he didn’t bother turning around, but the sweet female voice that responded had him swiveling his head in the direction of the front desk.

  Double-taking the petite brunette, he looked her over...slowly. Unable to stop his eyes from taking all of her in from her blunt cut, black hair that swept her shoulders to her high heel boots that hugged her perfect calves. And, that's when the unimaginable happened…

  He popped wood like a motherfucking teenager.

  His eyes held onto her as her head turned towards him. She gasped, taking a step back before a wide smile warmed her face. Recognition of what he was had her glowing.

  He really hoped Sevin took her on as a client, because there was no way in hell he’d be able to lay hands on her without an orgasm being involved. No females had ever caught and held his attention, but something about this black-haired fairy was captivating. And, it irritated the piss out of him. Relieved to know she’d soon be gone after Sevin tattooed her—

  “Alea is our new receptionist,” Sevin announced to Vex. “I’d introduce you to Vex, but he’s looking rather fierce this morning,” Sevin offered to Alea. Lifting his chin to Vex, he tossed a comment his way, “Did someone shit in your Wheaties this morning, big guy?”

  No. Fucking. Way.

  Lucian hadn’t mentioned he’d hired anyone for that position, and he sure as hell wouldn’t have hired a fairy to fill it. Had to have been Jason. That human wouldn’t have known any better.

  Alea dropped her eyes as Sevin’s smart-assed remark turned his face into a raging inferno which Sevin ignored.

  “Don’t worry about him, he’s not as mean as he looks.” Sevin discounted him with a wave of his hand and continued on with the tour of the shop. “So, this is where you’ll be, and if you need anything, just ask. Back here is the office and the storeroom. You can come in the back door from now on if you want. We’ll get the code for the cypher lock from Lucian. I think he just changed it.”

  As Sevin escorted Alea down the hall past where he sat, he tugged on the hem of his shirt, making certain none of his throbbing hard-on was visible.

  Turning her head as she passed, Alea looked him over as if she were ready to take him up on what he had to offer hidden behind his zipper. His body responded sending out a blast of heat ruffling the ends of her hair.

  “Hey Lu, Vex finally got a blip on his radar.” He heard Sevin call out to Lucian, laughing at his expense.

  Damn Sevin and his mouth!

  Of all the beings he�
�d get a hard-on for. A fucking fairy! They were dangerous as hell. He’d heard they could intrude on a person’s subconscious while they slept and make them do all kinds of shit.

  He heard of a male shifter that had pissed one of them off. Just as soon as he closed his eyes to sleep, she had scrambled his brains.

  Chatter sprang up in the office. Lucian’s voice was as smooth as cream as he easily conversed with Alea, scraping across his nerves like a cheese grater. Cracking his neck, he stood and paced around the half-walled area that designated his workspace.

  What did it matter to him if Lucian talked to her?

  Alea’s words trickled through the shop, putting a halt to his pacing as his ears were filled with a heavy richness that calmed him, but at the same time sent his blood racing through his veins.

  His core temperature began a steady increase. His eyes beginning to cast a red light over everything in his field of vision. This was not good. There was no way to explain the light emanating for his irises and most of their clients were humans, so any paranormal activity was going to get them a whole lot of unwanted exposure.

  He was going to have to find a way to control his bodily functions and keeping as far away as possible from Alea was paramount in doing that.

  Glued to the same spot on the floor, he watched as Alea made her way back to the front, smiling as she passed by. Her eyes never wavered from his as she made herself comfortable on the stool at the front desk.

  A low growl took shape in his belly as she continued to return his stare. His eyes dropped to the fuzzy sweater that hugged her petite curves, roaming lower to take in her short leather skirt and stocking clad legs.

  She was beautiful.

  He had seen other fairies around the city. They were all nearly identical, but Alea was different. Something about her was…different. She was captivating in her sensuality. She was—

  “Dial down your thermostat, bro, before you set off the sprinkler system,” Sevin joked, making his way into his workspace across from Vex.

  Glad for the distraction, he could have done without the unnecessary remark. He was doing a fine job all on his own making a spectacle out of himself without the puppy’s help.

  “Mind your own business,” Vex hissed at him.

  “I am, but you need to get that light show under control before your business becomes that of the whole of New York.”

  Fuck. Sevin was right. He could feel the heat radiating out of his eyes and the veins beneath his skin were beginning to look like the eyes on an electric stove-top.

  Hightailing it to employee restroom, he closed himself in. Cold water rushed out as he turned on the tap. Making a bowl out of his large hands, he collected a healthy amount and leaned over the sink to splash his face. The cold was a shock to his overly heated flesh, so he did it a few more times until he felt himself returning to his normal 125-degree self.

  Peering into the mirror, water droplets dripped off his short beard, and his eyes were back to the yellowish hazel they always were. His veins no longer glowing.

  The back door opened and closed with a bang. Vex toweled off the droplets still clinging to his beard and stormed into the office where Jason was already hard at work correcting the shop’s records.

  The human didn’t flinch when he slammed both fists onto the desk. “Was it your idea to hire the fairy, Gales?”

  “Excuse me?” Jason looked up from where he sat.

  “Fairies are busybodies and bossy as hell,” Vex growled, angry over his reaction to her rather than the fact that she was working there.

  “Vex, I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

  “That little Alea…creature perched at the front desk,” he bitched through clenched teeth.

  “I haven’t met her yet. Lucian hired her,” the human informed him as he got up to make his way around the desk.

  Tight on Jason’s heels as they made their way to the front, he bristled over the human’s reaction to the female that was currently bent over rearranging the display cabinet.

  Annoyance bloomed over his skin as he watched her move around the same items he’d just placed in there. Apparently, the display wasn’t to her satisfaction. Finished with her rearranging of his work, she turned and drew up short to find the human behind her.

  “Holy shit. Do you have a sister?” Jason cursed.

  “No, I don’t. Why?” Alea tried to soften the surprise on her face.

  “There’s a girl at Exotic Ink that looks nearly identical to you,” Jason explained.

  “Ooooh, you mean Avie. No, she’s in my cov—” Her eyes flashed over to him. “I mean, she’s my cousin.”

  He spared a quick glance at the human, but Jason didn’t appear to have noticed her slip-up.

  “That explains it. The family resemblance is uncanny. You two could be twins.” Jason studied her until she blushed, dropping her eyes to the floor which flared his temper. “Sorry for staring. I’m Jason Gales, the new manager,” Jason said, extending his hand to her.

  “Alea, the new receptionist. Nice to meet you.” Hesitant at first, she shook what was offered.

  Crossing his arms over his thick chest, he did not like the human touching her and was prepared to pound him to dust if he so much as made one false move towards his girl—

  Where the fuck had that thought come from?

  “Have you already met Vex?” Jason asked.

  “Oh, yes. We’ve met.” Alea’s eyes latched onto him as if she could read his mind.

  Hell, she probably could. That was the very last thing he needed was her knowing how much he wanted her.

  “Cease your eyeballing, fairy,” Vex warned.

  “It’s a free country, demon.” Alea smiled at him through her retort.

  Their eyes locked. He studied the thick, black fringe that surrounded her whiskey hued eyes that was unique to her kind. Fairies were able to alter certain aspects of their appearance, but he suspected she was all natural. The ebony of her stick-straight hair went too well with her creamy complexion.

  Perfection.

  Another heat wave began to build low in his belly as he continued to visually examine the lovely female. He wanted her with a ferocity he couldn’t explain. This reaction was not going to bode well with his determination to remain pure if he were given the chance to be ushered back to Netherworld.

  Alea’s lips curved up at the edges. The thin veins in his irises turned hotter. He would soon drown the room in red light if he didn’t get the fuck out of there and away from her.

  Grumbling some serious profanities, he hauled ass towards his new-found place of refuge.

  Jason’s words to the female didn’t make it to Vex’s ears as he vacated the area, but hers rang loud and clear as he was shutting the door to the employee restroom. “Thanks, Jason. That’s sweet of you but Vex is fine. I know his kind. He’s basically harmless. Besides, I wouldn’t mind being put in an uncomfortable position by him.”

  Groaning, he closed his eyes tightly shut. Erotic imagines of the two of them together plastered itself all over Vex’s imagination. Scrubbing his hands over his face, he opened his eyes and bathed the room in a blaze of light.

  Cranking on the cold-water tap, he was destined to spend a shit load of time in this room.

  The remainder of the day passed slower than a child waiting for Christmas morning to arrive. The painful throb in Vex’s cock ticking off the sluggish seconds until the fairy finally left for the night.

  Lucian had picked the right person for the job. She was great with the customers and was giving them one hell of a break now that they didn't have to stop tattooing to answer the phone and book appointments. That's where the convenience ended for him.

  Alea was a distraction beyond measure. No female had ever held any interest for him.

  Since they didn’t procreate in Netherworld, there was no need for a sex drive and there were no female demons. The few female angels that existed, he’d never paid any attention. As otherworldly beings, they weren
’t born in the traditional sense that humans were, having been produced by divine intervention.

  This fairy was nothing but trouble, and it was only a matter of time before his light show made headline news.

  Lucian locked the door behind her. Alea turned for a final wave and hoped for a last glimpse of the demon that had been doing his damnedest to ignore her.

  Smiling as she navigated the sidewalks towards home, the chill of late fall wasn’t as unbearable as it normally was with all the rampant thoughts of that sexy demon running through her mind.

  Stopping at her favorite coffee shop, she was going to treat herself again and type out the notes she had been pondering over all day for her next novel featuring a male character that would resemble Lucian. Now, all she needed was to talk him into modeling for the cover.

  A blast of warm air laden with the intoxicating aroma of fresh roasted coffee beans hit her full in the face as soon as she opened the glass paneled door. Inhaling deeply, she loved the scent.

  Stepping into the short line, she was grateful for once that she didn’t have to work a shift at the dingy bar where she waitressed part-time. Tonight, she could stay until the coffee shop closed and enjoy her night off without feeling stressed that she wasn’t making any money.

  Ordering her café mocha, she smiled to herself. Her first day at Mythical Ink had been amazing, and she could hardly wait for tomorrow.

  At first, she’d been attracted to the flawless angel, but after today, her giddiness had nothing to do with him and everything to do with the smoldering, hot demon that was desperately trying to keep his eyes to himself.

  By the end of the day, her skin felt as if he'd physically touched her every place his yellowish eyes had raked across. Which was everywhere. The intensity of his attraction was a physical thing, measured in the heat that radiated from his body. She'd never felt anything like it in her life. To be bathed in a crush of heat, it was like standing in front of a radiator with the blower set on incinerate.

  She had heard rumors about demons, how their body temperatures were higher than any other beings. Vex was definitely hot blooded. He seemed to be struggling with containing the heat his body was sending her way.