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

by LS Anders

  Sliding a second finger in to join the first, she easily stretched around his evasion. Pumping into her as her hips started to rotate, it wasn't long before her inner walls were squeezing around him.

  Pulling free, the shower head clattered to the tub as he turned loose the spray and grabbed for both her thighs. Spreading her delicate folds apart with his thumbs, he growled at the flesh he exposed. A delicate pink, her tunnel glistening with her orgasm. Needing to drink her, he covered her with his mouth driving his tongue in deep.

  He heard her gasp, felt her little nails digging into his scalp as she pressed him tighter to her as if she were afraid he would pull away. She had nothing to worry about, he wasn’t going nowhere.

  His cock throbbed for attention. Thoughts of drilling into her slick heat he kept at bay, not willing to totally give up on his need to return to Netherworld.

  She came for him on an unladylike groan. The sweetest cream coating his tongue and throat as he swallowed what her body rewarded him with as he came along with her, shooting his load between her feet.

  Licking her lips and his as he made sure not to miss a single drop, she sagged against the wall.

  Drying them both, he carried her to the bed. Completely relaxed, she melted into him, snuggling with a deep sigh before falling into a blissful sleep with her head nestled between his pecs.

  He'd never slept with anyone before and found it oddly comfortable to have his fairy wrapped around him like a baby octopus. There was no part of her touching the mattress. She was all over him, even her legs and feet were stretched out over his.

  A rare smile touched his mouth just as exhaustion took him down.

  Alea greeted Sevin with a wide smile. He arched a brow smiling back, then shook his head. Amusement dancing in his eyes as he shared a look between her and Vex.

  They still hadn't had sex, but they'd done everything else over the past few nights and Alea couldn't have been happier.

  Vex had even surprised her with a new reclining loveseat to replace the single chair so she'd have more room to sit. A bittersweet gift, she actually enjoyed sitting on his lap.

  The cramped space made it a little difficult to balance her laptop while she worked on her romance novel, but wiggling around as he watched his favorite sports channel was worth the struggle. And, she liked to see how long it would take before her squirming had him panting and ridding her of her panties.

  Needless to say, she hadn't gotten much writing done since she’d moved in with her demon. That was fine. She thought of their make out sessions as field research for the love scenes she would soon be putting into words.

  Not giving up on her dream, she was merely in pause mode as she enjoyed what she never thought to have as her own.

  Love.

  She hadn't said the words and neither had he, but he'd said it in other ways. A simple case of how actions could speak louder than any words.

  Her hand reached out to lovingly touch the impossibly thin Apple notebook he'd gifted her after she'd sheepishly admitted to wanting to be a writer. One look at her glitchy, old laptop she'd had for years and he’d replaced it.

  Hopping up on her chair at the front desk, she smoothed her hand over her favorite mini skirt. A plaid number with wide pleats, she loved the flirty feel of the garment. Heavy leggings incased her legs and high heel ankle boots adorned her feet. It was her favorite ensemble and tonight she wanted to look her best.

  One of Jason's friends had stopped by the shop a few days ago, inviting them all to the grand opening of her new microbrewery, Wicked Brews. She was an attractive redhead that Sevin had all but dry humped the moment she’d walked through the door.

  She wasn't looking forward to being in a crowded bar with a shitload of humans, but Avie and Arin would be there and she was anxious to mingle with her own kind. She never thought she'd miss other fairies as much as she did.

  Funny how much her life had changed after she'd stepped foot into Mythical Ink. The weight of her worries disappearing as she reveled in her new life with Vex and her new job at the shop.

  Turning in her seat, she admired the width of her demon’s shoulders as he maneuvered his tattoo gun over the shoulder of Gabriel, one of the tattoo artists from Exotic Ink. A gorgeous dragon was beginning to take shape.

  Her male could draw anything, especially shit that looked real. Even from where she sat, the dragon's red eyes seemed to be watching her. So much like Vex's, she was careful not to watch him too closely.

  They’d made a pact to remain professional at the shop. So that meant no flirting and no undressing the other with their eyes. And, the storage room was off limits. They were to concentrate on their work.

  Ever since they'd routinely been relieving each other from daily stresses, Vex seemed to be more in control of his uniqueness, so there were less chances of light shows in front of the humans. But, at home he let loose and stayed lit up. Her own walking, talking heat lamp. She was always basking in his glowing warmth.

  A smile creased her face as she thought of the shit storm her waitress uniform had caused when she'd made to leave for her second job the other night. One look at the outfit her boss insisted all the waitresses wear and Vex had shredded the skin tight, midriff top and short-shorts with barely any effort.

  She'd been horrified that he'd ruined her uniform, but after he'd laid her out on the bed and tongued her until she shattered into a zillion pieces, the importance of the situation didn't seem to matter any longer. Plus, he forbade her from ever stepping foot into the skeevy established ever again.

  There was no protesting on her part. Not much for others telling her what to do, demands made by her demon were another story. His concerns for her well-being would garner no protests from her. She would be more than happy to let him have his way, because she would just as soon crawl up into his lap and be wrapped in the protective strength of his arms.

  The day passed as any other and she found herself willing the last hour to rush by, anxious to see her friends at the grand opening of the new bar, most especially Avie.

  Ever since that female had hooked up with her human husband, she’d been nearly unreachable always up the guy’s ass and letting her friends fall by the wayside. That was the pot calling the kettle black, having become thoroughly distracted by her own male.

  Unable to pull her eyes away as Vex finished up his last client of the evening, she knew exactly where Avie’s head was at. Love was an all-consuming thing, especially new love. Not that she had many friends, but her demon seemed to take up all of her time even if they weren’t together, she was daydreaming about him unable to do much else except exist just for him.

  She knew as everything else did, that the newness between her and Vex would eventually wear off, but her love for him would always stay strong, even if she hadn’t said the words out loud.

  Going about her nightly routine, she secured the register and carried the cash back to Jason. The male’s voices drifted down the short hall to her ears before she reached the door. The subjects of their conversation slowing her pace.

  “What’s up with Vex lately?” Lucian was saying. “He’s all chilled out.”

  “He’s fine,” Sevin remarked. “It’s the power of the pussy. Never doubt it.”

  Jason coughed and sputtered as if he’d taken a drink of something that had ventured down the wrong pipe.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Oh my God, Lu, seriously! He and Alea have finally hooked up and good for her. She’s brought the demon to heel.” Sevin’s voice was high with disbelief. “Come on guys, neither one of you had a clue they were a couple?”

  She pictured them shrugging their shoulders and shaking their heads.

  She hadn’t considered what the others in the shop thought of her new relationship, but now she found she was immensely curious as to what they thought.

  “His actions don’t say he likes her to me,” Jason commented.

  “Trust me, he does. You’re just reading him wrong,” Sevin
replied.

  Lucian remained quiet and that worried her. She liked the angel and grew concerned as to why he didn’t have anything to say. Maybe the angel wanted to go back to the Realm of the Dead and the only way to do that was with Vex. If he decided to remain here because of her, then she could be ruining Lucian’s plans and Vex hadn’t spoken of wanting to go back to Netherworld since he’d mentioned it that one time.

  Falling in love was never as simple as it seemed. There were always complications to stumble over no matter who the people were. She supposed that’s what made for good romance.

  Tiptoeing back a few steps, she cleared her throat and made her footsteps louder so it wouldn’t appear she had been lurking in the hallway.

  She smiled to the room as she laid the zippered envelope on Jason’s desk. Sparing a glance at Lucian, his eyes were downcast, focused on something on his desk as if deep in thought.

  Maybe she was reading too much into his silence. Maybe he didn’t care one way or the other if they were a couple. But, it would have been nice to have his approval.

  “Would you mind locking the door behind me? I gotta go pick up my girl,” Jason said as he started to leave.

  “Sure. We’ll see you at the opening,” the angel called after him.

  Jason winked at her as he passed, lifting her spirits.

  Two thumbs up and one angel to go, she thought and sighed.

  Coats on and ready to go, Vex reached for her hand as they all walked the short distance to Wicked Brews microbrewery.

  Stepping into the jam-packed lobby of the place, she squeezed her demon’s hand harder and clung to him like a lifeline afraid she would get lost in the current of humans.

  Vex steered them towards where Jason stood huddled together with a gorgeous, amethyst-eyed woman who was introduced to her as Evana Grey.

  Aw, so this was the woman that Jason wore the mask of sorrow over. Well, they seemed to have resolved their differences and gone was the sadness that had clouded his blue eyes.

  Avie spotted her and waved like a crazy person as she pushed through the throng of people to get at her. Rushing forward to embrace the other fairy, it was a relief to be in the presence of one of her own kind. She was splitting at the seams with wanting to tell Avie all about her new love.

  Dragging Avie over to Vex, she introduced the two.

  Avie’s eyes were huge as she took in her demon, whether from his ever-menacing features or his colossal size, she wasn’t sure.

  Avie’s husband, Cale, caught up to them. Introductions were made, but he was more impressed with her than with Vex, tilting his head at her as if trying to figure out why she looked so much like his wife.

  How could Avie be married to a human and keep her secret as to what she really was? Fairies were adorned with unique features of their species with their softly pointed ears and gossamer wings. Granted, the ears could be more easily explained as a birth defect than a pair of translucent, butterfly like fliers.

  They had special abilities too, where they could make subtle changes to their appearance. Avie had always used hers to the extreme wanting to set herself apart from all the other females. Forever changing her hair color to the most extreme hues, tonight her long locks were a brilliant shade of peach.

  Meeting the rest of the Exotic Ink crew, she liked the redhead the least. Callie, she thought that was her name. She had enormous boobs and this itty-bitty waist followed by a booty butt that—

  Ok, now she was just being mean. Her inner bitch had gone on high alert when the redheaded slut had touched her demon.

  Trying again for a genuine smile for this Callie person, jealousy was a monster she had never had to combat. It took extreme concentration for her to keep her wings hidden as she allowed the anger and misplaced hatred to wash over her.

  The girl was sweet, and the truth was, she had done nothing more than shaken the hand Vex had offered. Besides, she was with a male super-model that had his image plastered all over New York, so she wasn’t interested in stealing her demon away.

  Their table was ready, and they followed a pretty blonde to the opposite end of the bar. Before she could find her seat, Arin joined them. Busy with her own life in the human world, she hadn’t seen her in forever.

  The three of them formed a little circle, catching each other up on what was new in their lives. Talking a mile a minute, the bar and the plethora of humans fell away as they brought each other up to speed.

  Vex gained her attention by tugging gently on her skirt and speaking a warning in a crude version of the language of the fairies.

  Shit!

  Everyone had turned quiet and all eyes were on them. They had all forgotten where they were as they’d chattered back and forth, but no one commented on the language they’d been speaking that was unknown to humans.

  Sitting her ass down would be a really good idea about now. Slipping into the seat beside Vex, she took a great interest in the menu so everyone would get bored and stop staring at her.

  Vex finished off his fifth glass of the most delicious stout that had ever touched his lips. It was the only thing keeping him from blasting out a solar flare that was sure to disintegrate the perfectly polished wooden bar that made up the elaborate centerpiece of the microbrewery.

  He’d been fighting off the urge to unleash the heat boiling low in his belly on his sexy little fairy ever since she’d all but marked her territory around him after he’d shaken hands with that redhead.

  Callie Mackenzie was one of Exotic Ink’s tattoo artists and had set the standard for new school tattoos in the country. That bar was way over his head as he didn’t possess a lick of talent for that style of tattooing. He specialized in realism, so the art she created was both fascinating and totally foreign.

  “So, it’s true about you and fairy?” Lucian turned fully to face him.

  The angel’s curious eyes boring into him as the rest of the people at the table were engrossed in their own conversations. He wondered how long the hippie had been holding onto that question.

  “How’s that?” He played ignorant for the sole purpose of giving him a hard time.

  “You two are an item now?”

  “I suppose we are,” he admitted.

  “That’s good, Vex, now maybe you’ll give up this cockamamie notion that you need to return me to the Realm of the Dead. I’m happy to live my life here—”

  “I’m glad you approve of me and the fairy, but I don’t need you bullshitting me about wanting to stay here.”

  “I’m not bullshitting you, you hardheaded prick. You have to give up this decades-long guilt trip that you owe me amends, because you don’t and you never have.”

  Vex glanced around the table to make sure their conversation wasn’t being overheard. “Don’t concern yourself with my guilt, hippie. It’s my fault that you’re here, I’ll—”

  “Listen to me.” Lucian cut him off, his eyes turning hard. “I know you better than you know yourself, and I can tell you haven’t sealed the deal with Alea, but you want to. Give it up already, demon. You’re torturing yourself for no good reason unless you want to return. Because I’m telling you, I don’t want to go back.”

  Lucian scooted his seat in closer. His voice dropping to a harsh whisper. “Do you have any idea how unsettling it is to witness the demise of so many innocent people? The bad ones were never an issue, but to stand by while the good ones draw their last breath. To see their loved one’s anguish as I wait there to collect their souls while they exit their flesh and bones? Do you have any idea what that was like? I never knew how horrible it was until I didn’t have to do it anymore. I’m not going to lie. At one time, I did want to return, to go back to being a transporter. But, now that I haven’t had to deal with any of that anymore, I don’t miss it, and I don’t ever want to have to go back there and do it again.”

  His jaw unhinged, and he just stared dumbfounded at the angel. This changed everything.

  Everything!

  “So, go be with your f
airy and stop worrying about me. I’m perfectly fine to live in this realm,” Lucian said, holding up a hand that gained the waitresses attention and pointed at his and Vex’s now empty glasses.

  Self-inflicted guilt that he’d carried for so long lifted like a coarse veil. The weight tremendous, he hadn’t realized the load he’d been shouldering until he was out from underneath it. He was so light now, he gripped the edge of the table in fear he would float away up to the newly polished wood of the ceiling above his head.

  Through new eyes he looked around the table at all the new and familiar faces, taking in the features of each person that surrounded him.

  He was looking forward to getting to know these fellow tattoo artists he’d just met. Especially the human, Tegan, who’d shown no fear of him when he took the vacant seat next to him. With his brutal warrior eyes and his hardened smirk, the man wore all his scars beneath the surface. His aura still tinted with the dimness that survivors of horrific ordeals possessed. A kindred spirit, Vex was drawn to him more than the others.

  For the first time since he’d fallen, he was exactly where he wanted to be. In this moment. In this life. Looking forward to a future that wasn’t tainted with longings from his past.

  His eyes swung in the direction of his new voracious desire. Alea was deep in conversation with Avie, so she didn’t notice the erotically evil smile that spread across his face.

  Raking his eyes over her petite form, she was everything he found desirable in a female. She’d been jealous of the redhead, Callie. Probably because the woman was in possession of serious curve appeal, but her voluminous physique would never draw his attention.

  However Alea with her high, pert breasts and tight hips and thighs, was what made his brain go all mushy and set his cock on fire. Literally. The female had him seeing red. Her tight, little body only adding fuel for his flame.

  Now that he didn’t have a reason to remain pure, he didn’t have a reason not to get his cock inside of her. Finally, he was going to give his little fairy what she’d been after. And, he couldn’t wait to sink himself in deep.