by LS Anders
Clearing his throat, she stepped to the side as he leaned forward to grab the door knob. His belly brushed against her perky breasts. The relief he’d gotten from releasing inside his pants came to an end as the feel of her had him growing hard once more.
Vex had managed to avoid Alea for the rest of the day. It was a total dick move considering what they’d done together in the storage room, but his unfortunate attraction to her needed to be squelched.
Once he’d gotten to work tattooing, he’d sorted through his tangled thoughts that were no longer clouded with scents and sights of her. And, he wasn’t even close to being ready to give up on returning to Netherworld, which only added a new layer to his self-loathing.
Before Sevin’s second interruption, she had been looking at him with an expectancy in her beautiful eyes that could only be translated into her wanting more from him than a quickie. That, he couldn’t give her.
He had made no promises above some kisses. It wouldn’t be fair to her if he had. His decision to return to his first home was first and foremost the most important thing on his agenda, not only for him but for Lucian. He owed the hippie an enormous debt and the only way to repay him was to get back to Netherworld and plead his case to have the angel returned to his former position as a transporter.
Smoothing ointment over the back of his last client. He was more than pleased with how the piece had turned out.
Lucian whistled low appreciating his hard work.
“Don’t cover that yet, Jason wanted to have a look,” Lucian said, making his way to the office.
“Vex, that is fucking gorgeous,” Jason complimented as he strolled out behind the angel. “Was that a photograph or did you design the entire thing?”
“Designed the whole thing, and I don’t use stencils,” Vex answered.
“Are you kidding? You free handed all of that?”
“Yep.”
“It’s absolutely incredible. We’ve got to get a website up and running so we can advertise everyone’s work,” Jason planned. “Do you mind letting us photograph your back for our site?”
“Not at all. I’m proud as hell of it,” Vex’s client, Justin, answered as he glanced back at Jason.
“Thanks, man,” Jason said, reaching inside his pocket for his buzzing cell phone.
That was another thing he liked about Jason. The guy was always brainstorming ideas to get the shop as much as exposure as possible, treating the place as if it were partly his.
Vex patted the seat for Justin to resume. Snapping on a fresh pair of gloves, he double checked that he’d covered the entire design with ointment. Smoothing a little more over the demons on the left and swiping a few of the flames on the pyre they were dancing around.
He’d always had a large base of clients that wanted hard-core tats. No girly tattoos for his people, only the one’s depicting death and destruction.
When clients asked for images of demons or hellish scenes, he never took it as the literal and didn’t figure they would appreciate him immortalizing himself in one self-portrait after another, even if what they were asking for was an inaccuracy of reality.
The design he’d just completed was intrigue. A typical rendering of human beings interpretation of Hell, complete with lots of fire, hooved creatures with claws and sharp, snapping teeth. The horns were about the only thing that was remotely accurate to the real thing. Short and standing straight up, his had been longer and curved back along his head.
He supposed the red coloring of the skin on the tattooed demons was similar to how he looked when his body temperature elevated to the extreme. Like it had in the storage room with Alea—
Chopping off the thought before it manifested itself into another episode of him blasting the room in a blaze of color, he focused on covering the new design. Folding the tattoo film in half, he peeled back the protective layer and applied it to the upper left hand side. He’d have to cover it in sections since the piece was so large.
Applying the last piece of film, there was some sort of emergency happening with Jason. Rushing out the front door like his ass was on fire, Vex looked over at Lucian who was heading towards the back door.
“I’ll be back. I can get there faster than he can,” the angel called out.
Well, shit. Let the drama party begin. Humans always seemed to have some sort of catastrophe or another they deemed important enough to drop everything and handle. Probably had to do with that girl he’d changed jobs because of.
His longtime friend was going to put his wings to good use, and he hoped Jason didn’t tweak to the fact that they were something other than just like him. Helping humans was a spotlight ready to have its trigger flipped to the on position if they so much as breathed the wrong way.
They’d all taken one hell of a chance opening their own shop. Even more so when they’d slapped a neon sign over the door announcing to anybody with knowledge of undocumented species that they could be found inside.
Sevin had called dibs on naming the shop since he had found the location. He thought it would be hysterically ironic to name the shop after the very beings that were supposed to be nothing more than fables.
Yeah. It was a real knee slapper.
Then they’d added insult to injury by hiring a human as their manager. Too smart for his own good and theirs, he’d already questioned them about their shared last name of Smith. His eyebrows had raised in doubt over the lack of creativity for a surname, but Jason had bought off on the lie that it was a family owned business. Not a huge fib since they were a make-shift family of their own design.
Walking the short distance behind Justin to the front desk, he laid the aftercare supplies for his client on the counter beside Alea. She didn’t acknowledge him only his client, who she struck up a light conversation with.
Her dismissal stung. But, what did he expect? He’d been treating her the same way all fucking day. If he didn’t like the taste of his own medicine, it was just tough shit.
Wiping down his table for the night, his ass burned from her slight. Grinding his molars to dust, Alea’s words snapped his head around. “I almost forgot to give you back your keys.”
She wasn’t talking to him, but to Sevin.
Disbelieving what was right in front of his face, he recognized the apartment key with the cheesy souvenir keyring. The Statue of Liberty giving him a big fuck you as the symbol of freedom and democracy dangled from the metal loop.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Sevin had already had her. That wolf was always sniffing around female tail, having special skills when it came to the ladies.
Sevin took what she offered. “I guess you’ll be shacking up with Vex tonight.”
“Well, I—”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he growled low.
Sevin’s silver eyebrows popped high. “Slow your roll, Vexanator. It isn’t what—”
Alea’s eyes turned stormy as she faced off with him. “I slept at Sevin’s, not with him. There’s a huge difference! I can’t believe after what happened between us,” She slung her hand towards the storage room, “that you would think I had just been with him.”
“Alea—” Sevin tried butting in, but she cut him off.
“No.” She pointed a finger at the shifter. “This is my fight, my reputation that apparently he thinks is tainted.”
Turning her anger back on him, she hauled her tiny stature inches away from him. Standing her ground, she called him every name she could think of. Creating variations of cuss words he had never heard before, but as adorable as she looked all riled up, he was having a difficult time focusing on what she was saying. His attention drawn to the gossamer beauty that had appeared the moment her temper had flared. Looking over her shoulder, he was unable to look away. The myriad of iridescent colors playing along the intricate webbing was mesmerizing in its beauty.
“Alea—”
“Sevin, if you interrupt me one more time, I swear I’m gonna…”
Alea’s words trailed o
ff as Sevin held a mirror up in front of her. Grabbing for the handle, she squeaked and ran to the restroom, slamming the door in her wake.
“Have you ever seen a fairy’s wings before?” Sevin whispered to him.
Stunned into silence, he could only shake his head.
Both males stood abreast staring at the closed restroom door. A moment later she walked out, her fragile wings hidden from view as she marched past them and over to the counter to grab her things, then out the door without a goodbye or a backward glance for either one of them.
Well, fuck him running. That was going to be one hell of an apology he wasn’t looking forward to, but Lucian would skin them both alive if she didn’t come back to work tomorrow.
His cell buzzed inside his pocket. Taking the device out, it was the angel with a text updating them on the situation with Jason.
“Are we talking about Evana Grey as in Kyle Grey’s widow?” Sevin asked, having received the same message. “Are they coming back here?”
“Sounds like they are.”
“Oh my fucking God! I can’t believe she will actually be standing inside our shop. Is it too late to renovate before she gets here?” It irritated the shit out him that Sevin felt their place wasn’t good enough for her as he started running around straightening up. “Dude, help me clean up before she arrives. You want to make a good impression, don’t you?”
“There’s nothing wrong with our shop, Sevin,” he snapped.
“Not for the average person. But, this is the widow of one of the most famous tattoo artist of our time. Well, my time anyway. You’re like hundreds of years old or some shit.” Sevin mouthed off as he straightened some magazines on the table in the lobby. A cab pulled up in front of the studio, halting his progress. “Fuck, she’s here.”
Vex walked over and opened the door. Jason’s face was ashen and Evana didn’t look any better as they emerged from the backseat of the yellow cab. Lucian brought up the rear, scanning the area outside the shop before locking the door behind them.
“Let’s get her to the office. No need to be standing around in front of all this plate glass waiting for them to happen by,” Lucian said, leading the way to the office.
Vex trailed along behind wondering what kind of shit Jason Gales had brought to their doorstep.
Once inside the office, he couldn’t hide the admiration for the woman that was now standing inside their humble new business. Her late husband was a huge reason why he had gone into tattooing. He’d even been a client of his back when the human had started, which was to say he’d known him before he’d become the king of their shared vocation.
“Wow, Evana Grey is actually standing in our shop.” Sevin’s reverence would have been embarrassing if he wasn’t feeling the exact same way.
“Hi…” Evana’s voice gave out as her eyes landed on him. “Thanks for hiding me.”
“Anytime,” Vex said, offering her his fist to bump, wanting to put her at ease.
Jason was wound up tight as a cheap watch, wrapping a protective arm around the girl that was obviously the source of all his heartache. All the male attention she was getting not to his liking.
Lucian stepped in and calmed the situation, using his abilities to soothe and comfort, he touched Evana’s mind to get the answers they needed to whatever situation Jason had made their business.
Evana’s response was immediate. As soon as she locked eyes with the angel, her mouth opened and words began to flow. Going by the astonished look that Jason was sporting, they were words he never expected her to tell anyone.
Apparently, her mother had caused some serious trouble with a motorcycle club in Scottsdale. He’d heard of the MC. The Satan’s Disciples were a nasty bunch of thugs. And, given their reputations, she wasn’t ever going to be safe until those assholes were wiped from the face of the Earth.
Since the mother was ensconced in prison and virtually unreachable, the daughter would pay the price for her indiscretion. Apparently, they had been gunning for Evana for years, and she had somehow remained off their radar…until tonight.
“There’s a bike rally up in New Rochelle. They must have come into Manhattan to sightsee,” Sevin deduced. “If they already knew where to find you, they would have gone to Exotic Ink.”
“The bank is just a few blocks away. Maybe they had already been by there and saw the closed sign,” Evana theorized.
“Is there anyone there now?” Sevin asked.
“No, everyone had already gone home when I left to go to the bank.”
“You need to stay someplace else tonight and let us take care of these motherfuckers for you,” he offered.
“That’s nice of you, but I don’t want to drag anyone else into my mess,” Evana smiled.
“After tonight, there won’t be any more mess for you to worry about,” he said cracking his knuckles for emphasis. Simply out of respect, he wanted to fix her issue, but especially now that she had no husband to protect her.
“We got this, Evana,” Sevin added.
“You need to find a hotel way outside the city and let us help you,” Lucian directed Jason.
“That’s good advice, but if anyone’s going to take care of anything, it will be me. You guys don’t even know her.” Jason’s aggressive posturing announced he was going to be a problem.
What Jason said was true, he didn’t know that much about Evana, but her pristine aura spoke volumes. The need to help an innocent had always been part of his genetic makeup.
He had no clue what prompted him to turn his back and remove his shirt. Possibly the desire to present her with a token of his loyalty.
“That’s Kyle’s work,” Evana gasped.
The warmth from her fingertips was an unexpected touch. Jerking at first, he held himself still as she ran her hand over the design that covered his entire back. Skeletons in the midst of an epic battle, it was all Kyle Grey’s artistry.
“We all respect his work and yours. The cover ups you do are the best in the business. You’ve done well with Exotic Ink since his death, even expanding on his business. He’s very proud of what you’ve accomplished,” Lucian said. “When this is all over, I’d loved to pick your brain.”
Tensing under the blunder he hoped no one else picked up on, he was going to make it a point to kick Lucian’s ass later.
The angel was somehow still holding onto a few fragile ties with the dead. Kyle Grey was one of them, but announcing to his widow he’d had recent contact with the guy was just plain stupid. And, to think, they were worried about him giving up their secrets with his uncontrollable light show.
“Enough with the phone calls, demon!” Alea yelled at her cell phone.
Throwing the device across the room was nearly irresistible, but taking her anger out on her phone wasn’t going to get her anywhere except having to replace the electronic device.
She should be screaming at Vex instead of her phone. He was deserving of her fury, but she didn’t trust her emotions enough to hide them if she answered one of his many calls.
For once, she was thankful for the constant noise in the house. The other fairies hadn’t heard her railing…or her angry tears.
Vex’s assumption about her had cut deep and it was going to be a while, if ever, before she rebounded from that.
If she was going to continue to work at Mythical Ink, she was going to have to swallow her pride with a vat of acid, otherwise she would be back to where she’d started, which was where she was headed. The dingy hole-in-the-wall bar where she waitressed part-time. If it wasn’t for her shift tonight, she would have stayed and put the demon in his place.
Wiping away the endless tears streaming down her cheeks, she shimmied into the skin tight shorts and top the bar owner insisted all the waitresses wear. “It was good for business to have nearly naked, hot chicks waiting tables,” he’d said.
What would have been better for his business was a major renovation featuring a blowtorch. Even the city’s rats side-stepped that raggedy assed pl
ace.
Slipping on a three-quarter length winter coat to cover her slutty waitress attire, she grabbed her purse, set her phone to off and headed out. Skirting around the gyrating fairies as they dry humped one another to the dance music, she headed for the door. Sweeping a path with her foot as she went, pushing aside the empty beer and liquor bottles, she made a path through the fairies self-destruction.
Grinding her teeth from the falling temperatures, it was almost as frigid as the cold shoulder Vex had been giving her once they’d stepped out the storage room.
Good lord, what she’d let him to do her was wicked and dirty. She’d done nothing to stop him, had just spread her legs wider for his consumption. Once he’d had a taste of her, he’d turned cold.
What was the deal with that, anyway? He hadn’t even attempted to have sex with her which made her feel even worse about the situation. Did he just not find her appealing enough to use his cock on her?
But, then there was that tender moment at the end that had been the most confusing part. How could she discount that? That look of great adoration that had wrapped around her heart, gently squeezing until a warmth had worked its way in and spread throughout her limbs could not be ignored.
Well, she’d wanted to fall in love.
Pissed off at herself, she should never have allowed Vex to affect her like he did. She’d been a fool to become infatuated with him to begin with. Now that infatuation was turning more aggressive, his sudden rejection stung like nothing else she’d ever experienced.
Taking the longest strides she could, given her tiny stature, she reached the bar in no time.
Sighing, she placed her hand over the well-worn door pull and stalled out.
Why was she here? Why did she put herself through this?
This place was like a horrific pit stop on the way to where she really wanted to be, except the stop seemed infinite. A pothole in the road of her journey that was in no hurry to mend itself and there didn’t seem to be any help on the way.
Lucian had come to her rescue, hadn’t he? Giving her the opportunity she needed to fund her writing project. He believed in her, and she needed to pull her head out of the demon’s ass and believe in herself.