Tegan: Exotic Ink Series (Book Two)

by LS Anders

  She couldn’t wait to get her hands on him.

  Suddenly remembering she looked like a Fredericks of Hollywood ad, she exclaimed, “Oh… surprise!”

  When he remained silent and still as a statue, she took that as a sign that he wasn’t that impressed. Reaching for the sheet, she attempted to cover herself, but he broke a land speed record crossing the room to still her hand.

  “No. Let me look at you.” His eyes seemed to go everywhere at once and then more slowly, traveling over every inch of her body. Taking her hands in his, he led her off the bed to stand before him. He circled her slowly as his eyes continued to devour her.

  “I guess this means you like it.” Her voice had become scarcely a whisper. Her sex bloomed and began to throb as he stopped in front of her and continued to caress her with his eyes.

  “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  Tears suddenly pressed behind her eyes. That look of reverence was what she had always longed for, to be cherished and loved beyond anything else in the eyes of a man that she loved. He hadn’t said the words, but the sentiment was blasting out from those icy blue depths.

  Cupping her face in his warm large palms, he placed a kiss on her lips so light she wasn’t sure if it had actually happened. Her eyes closed, and she could feel the heat from his body as she swayed towards him. The center of her being turned to molten liquid as he deepened the feathery kiss.

  With excruciating tenderness, Tegan dropped his hands to her shoulders, before drifting down her arms to wrap around her waist. Pulling her closer, she rubbed herself against his rigid length through the cotton of his pants, tangling her fingers in the length of his ebony hair.

  Moaning, his hands moved to cup and squeeze her ass encouraging her to rub harder against his erection.

  For the love… this slow, smoldering burn was setting her on fire.

  Pulling away from the kiss, he latched onto one breast then the other, sucking and licking her through the material of the lacy cup. The combination of the heat from his mouth and the dampness of the material was driving her crazy. One hand dropped between her legs to lightly brush across her exposed lips. Her hips jerked from the loss as he took his hand away.

  Lifting her by the hips, he carried her to the bed, laying her gently onto the mattress. Covering her with his body, he was careful not to crush her with his weight. Spreading her legs wide, she ground herself against the soft cotton covering his rock-hard shaft. The friction it created against her exposed lips through the crotchless panties had her writhing beneath him.

  Cursing, Tegan loosened the tie that held the pants on his hips to free his hardness. The tip of his cock was scorching as he touched her lips before pressing into her. She was beyond wet as he slid home. Arching against him, the fullness and heat made her climax instantaneous. Grinding against her pelvis, he was buried deep as she convulsed around him.

  Their kisses turned passionate, their tongues sliding against the other, exploring in a slippery erotic dance. Tegan kept his thrusts smooth and slow, rebuilding her fire. Clinging to his neck and shoulders, she screamed from the intensity of her next release. The evenness of his strokes was lost as he shuddered against her, filling her up.

  Their kisses now languid, their touches now tender, they floated back down together in mutual bliss.

  Tegan was going well over the speed limit, so keeping his promise to Rayna to be safe on his trip to Boston was not going to happen.

  He was beyond pissed that this visit was not going to go as he had originally planned. He was to help Jason get the rest of his shit together to move, meet with his lawyer, and then appear in court where the judge would deem him divorced with a whack of his gavel.

  Was that gonna happen? Fuck no!

  Tracy had been arrested and was currently holed up where he had originally left her in the Boston City Jail before her dealer had bailed her ass out. She had been served the divorce papers as fast as his lawyer’s assistant could get in her car and drive over to the jail.

  After six months of waiting and looking for that crazy bitch, she gets popped for a broken tail light and taken into custody for the arrest warrant issued against her after she skipped court for her prior drug bust. So instead of Tegan going to court and being freed from that drug infested ball and chain, he was going to have to go through mediation before the judge would hear his case in court.

  The cherry bomb on top of the shit cake of his life?

  Tracy had refused to sign the papers. She wanted to mediate to get what she thought she was entitled to before she agreed to end their marriage.

  Fan-fucking-tastic!

  As far as he was concerned, she hadn’t contributed anything to their marriage and wasn’t entitled to a goddamn thing considering everything she had put him through with her drug use. But to rid himself of her, he would jump through a few more hoops if it resulted in her signature on the paper.

  Never in a talkative mood, he was now silent as a tomb, chewing on this new load of bullshit. The more he pondered the situation, the tighter his teeth clenched together and that muscle in his jaw was twitching out a billboard, warning everyone to stay the fuck away.

  He had taken out his frustrations on Rayna, and his heart constricted when he thought about the gruff end to their last phone call. He hadn’t meant to cut her off so abruptly, but talking to her only made his situation seem even grimmer.

  That light at the end of his tunnel had been extinguished the moment his lawyer had uttered the latest and greatest about Tracy. He simply couldn’t find the words to tell Rayna he was about to get fucked in the ass with no lube by his future ex-wife, and that he had no clue how much longer he had to wait before he was declared a free man. So Rayna was still under the impression he was headed to Boston to finalize his divorce, not enter into negotiations with his wife.

  If they couldn’t reach an agreement then another court date would be set. They would both have to go in front of the judge and plead their cases, and that could take for fucking ever! It could also cost him a great deal of money he didn’t have in attorney’s fees once it was all said and done.

  Tracy, on the other hand, was privy to free counsel, because she was indigent. She could drag this shit out as long as her free lawyer wanted, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

  Whatever the outcome, it was not going to be in his favor. He was at Tracy’s mercy if he wanted to reach an agreement today and avoid a lengthy divorce. He knew the other shoe was bound to drop sooner or later, and it was going to land like a steel toed combat boot, knocking his momentary happiness completely unconscious.

  Nothing good ever remained in his life. He already knew his days of contentment were numbered. He had gotten too comfortable in his new life in NYC with Vehn and his makeshift family at Exotic Ink.

  The Massachusetts State Line came and went and before he knew it, he was pulling into the driveway of the home he had shared with Tracy. The miles from NYC to Boston had rushed by as quickly as the various scenarios of his future had played out inside his aching head. Normally riding cleared his mind, but not this time. His brain was so full of unknowns and unanswered questions, that it had sucked all the pleasure out of his journey.

  Turning off the motorcycle and removing his helmet, he regarded the now unfamiliar house. Seeing it again after all this time was like looking at a stranger with a familiar face. Completely void of any lights, the windows were soulless black holes that met his stare.

  He had hoped the place was going to be a starter home for him, Tracy, and his unborn child, the tiny human that was never given the opportunity to see the light of day. But that day had never become his reality. The little abode as closed off as he was again.

  Unlocking the door, he strolled through the cozy living room, aiming directly for the coffee maker in the kitchen at the back of the house. Leaving all the blinds drawn, he chose to leave off the lights. Spots of sunlight that had found a way through, scattered across every surface.<
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  Draping his leather jacket across the back of the dining room chair before rinsing the dust off the coffee pot. He popped the lid off the container that rested on the counter and sniffed the coffee grounds that had remained untouched since he was last here months ago.

  Taking a seat as the coffee pot gurgled to life, he sifted through the pile of residual mail that for whatever reason hadn’t made it to his forwarding address. Jason had been dropping by every few days to check on the place and had been good enough to collect the mail, tossing what didn’t look important enough to forward on the table in the kitchen.

  Tegan was glad to have found the opportunity to help Jason by referring him to Evana for the position at Exotic Ink and helping him pack up the rest of his stuff that would be placed in storage until he could find a place of his own. At least he could say he was able to return one favor, but that still left him with quite a large debt, and he had yet to come up with any ideas on how to pay back Vehn and his family.

  Looking around the dimly lit space, he recalled the day when they’d moved in. Tracy had been four months pregnant, and they’d made the long journey from his birthplace in Vail, Colorado to Boston in a matter of a few days in a U-Haul truck that carried his bike and what few possessions they had between them.

  Mama C had tried to buy him and Tracy all kinds of gifts to help them get set up in housekeeping after Tegan had been given the opportunity to apprentice for Jason at Gales Tattoo Studio, but he had declined her generosity with the exception of the baby furniture that still adorned the second bedroom. A room that waited ceaselessly for a child that would never come.

  He had always felt weird about people doing shit for him and besides, he already owed Mama C his life for taking him in when his drug infested mom had damn near starved him to death. If it weren't for Vehn and his generous family taking him away from the starvation and cold, he knew he wouldn't be alive today.

  Vehn didn't know this, no one did, but Tegan's mom had taken off with her dealer and had left him at the age of eleven to fend for himself in a rundown single-wide trailer for nearly two years. It was a wonder he had survived. He never thought what he was doing was stealing since what he was taking was food and not some luxury item, but he was fortunate that he never got caught. Luckily, the people in his community were generous enough to turn a blind eye when he was stuffing apples in the pockets of his tattered hoodie. He’d bet Rayna would stop looking at him with such reverence if she knew he had grown up as a thief.

  He had failed Mama C despite her best efforts to finish raising him right by getting a seventeen-year-old, Tracy, pregnant. He had just turned nineteen, having graduated a year late from high school, because his mom had forgotten to send him off to kindergarten at the age of five.

  Tracy was jailbait. Thankfully her parents hadn’t cared what happened to her and didn’t have him locked up, but had allowed them to marry after seeking judicial approval that was granted because of her pregnancy. They’d had a hasty ceremony just before leaving for Boston.

  Looking over into the living room, it seemed impossible now that he had once thought of this house as a home. It was nothing more than a box full of bad memories he would just as soon get rid of.

  Rubbing the center of his chest, his head turned toward the back door in the kitchen imagining the backyard beyond. He had fenced in that yard for the child... his child. There was even a swing set he had erected after they had settled in.

  Popping up out of his seat, he needed to get moving if he was going to grab a shower and make the jail at his appointed time. Time to get this bullshit mediation over with. Pouring a cup of coffee, he drank it black. The harsh bitter taste matching his putrid mood and the guilt that had been festering in his gut all these years.

  He had failed his mother.

  He had failed Mama C.

  He had failed the tiny person he had helped to create.

  He had failed his wife.

  And, he was going to fail Rayna, because he wasn’t brave enough to love her. She would be the new mantle of guilt he was going to be wearing for quite a while.

  Wandering into the bathroom, he took one last sip of coffee before he stripped. Pausing with his shirt bunched under his arms the overhead light glinted off something, winking at him from the floor. Peering around the edge of the vanity, his lip curled back in disgust as he recognized the needle that had once been shoved in Tracy's arm. It laid forgotten where it had rolled, settling against the base of the vanity after the paramedics had taken her to the hospital. The heroin residue still plainly visible merely reinforced his need to rid himself of her. It seemed that most of his bad memories had originated in this very room.

  Soon after they’d moved in, she had bled out on this same tile floor. A nightmare brought to horrific life in the small space. The sight resurrected every time he walked in here. Their child’s life had ended as her womb spilled, giving up its life-giving contents. He could still smell the tinny sharpness of the blood. The air had been so thickly saturated with the scent, that he could taste it on the tip of his tongue when he'd helped her up off the floor.

  She had been so high that day, she’d had no idea what had happened and had fought him and the paramedics all the way to the hospital. Once she’d sobered up, the selfish bitch hadn’t seemed to care that their child was dead. She had killed their son, and she hadn’t even cared. For her, there was no mourning the loss. For him, he still tried to imagine what his son would have been like. A son that would have been eleven years old this summer had he lived.

  “Sorry, little dude,” Tegan spoke into the emptiness of the room. “I’m so fucking sorry I couldn’t save you.”

  He’d come full circle, back to the place where he had originally left her. The Boston City Jail looked as uninviting as it had all those months ago. The impound lot was around the back of the dingy gray structure, and he wondered if Tracy’s car was still parked in the spot where it had been towed.

  Samuel Knowles was just pulling into a parking space as Tegan planted the kickstand onto the asphalt and swung a long leg off his Harley. Nodding to his attorney, they made their way up the stone steps into a lobby full of people in various moods ranging from pissed the fuck off to scared shitless.

  Thankfully they didn’t have to join the menagerie of people waiting but continued on to a barred window where a cop buzzed them through a door that opened into a hallway. Following behind Samuel, they ended up in a room that appeared to be used for interrogations.

  The only furnishings were three matching metal chairs surrounding a small rectangular table. A round wall clock covered by a cage, hung high on the wall. Desolate and sad, the room seemed fitting for what it was going to be used for today. Not getting too comfortable, Tegan chose to remain standing.

  A wormy looking man in a cheap suit joined them a few minutes later. Samuel was already familiar with the man and was introduced to Tegan as Richard Chance, the lawyer that would be acting as the mediator. Tegan shook the man’s hand even though he wasn’t in the mood for socializing, it was in his best interest not to be a dick.

  Both parties felt it was in everyone’s best interest to keep him and Tracy in separate rooms for the mediation, so Mr. Chance would be toggling back and forth between the two until an agreement could be reached.

  Everyone took a seat around the square metal table, and Samuel began the mediation by detailing the offer he and Tegan had decided was fair. Tegan wanted out and had decided to give her half of everything that the court considered community property. He’d thought that would appease her, and he could go on his merry way. This little shindig was costing him hundreds of dollars an hour, better to just split everything down the middle so he could get on with his life, and he might even be able to keep the shirt on his back.

  The offer was carried to the room next door by a confident Mr. Chance who had smiled at Tegan for being so accommodating given the circumstances.

  After a half hour had passed, he and Samuel exchanged questioni
ng glances. “Sorry, Tegan, I didn’t think there would be any issues. I personally thought we would be wrapping this up by now.”

  “Me too. What the hell could she be after that is taking this damn long?”

  Before Samuel could answer, an ashen faced Mr. Chance stepped inside the room. Not daring to look in Tegan’s direction, he could smell the fear coming off the man in waves. This could not be good.

  Clearing his throat several times before speaking, Mr. Chance spared Tegan a glance and blanched an even paler shade of white. “Um… Mrs. Steele has declined your offer.”

  Tegan abruptly sat forward in his chair causing the lawyer to jump back a full step. Samuel whipped his arm out as to block any kind of altercation. Pfft, like the tailored suit clad scholar was going to be able to hold Tegan back if he went for Mr. Chance’s jugular.

  “What does she want?” Samuel spoke up quickly.

  More with the throat clearing. “She wants…. everything.” Mr. Chance’s eyes took in Tegan’s posture before he continued as if judging whether to make a run for it or continue reciting Tracy’s demands. “It appears that Mrs. Steele—”

  “Stop right there—” Tegan began.

  “Tegan, let’s just go about this calmly and—”

  “Don’t interrupt me, Sam.” The lawyer clapped his mouth shut allowing Tegan to finish, clearly not accustomed to being shushed. “She is no longer welcomed to use my last name. You call her Tracy. Now… what exactly do you mean by everything?”

  “As I was saying, it is likely Mrs… Tracy will be spending a long stint in jail. Because the marital home will remain empty while she’s away, she has asked it to be sold and all the proceeds go to her. She has also requested the entirety of your 401k and all monies in your shared bank accounts be signed over to her.”

  Tegan was quiet for a long while.