Mason (Striking Back #2)

by S. M. Shade

  A bell on the door dings when we enter and Tony comes out to lock it behind us. Tony is a six foot four mass of tattoos and piercings, and Evie’s eyes widen when she shakes his hand. “Welcome, honey. I hear this is your first ink. Are you nervous?”

  “A little,” she confesses, smiling at him.

  “Reed looks more anxious than you. The big guys are always like that. Covered in tats and can’t stand to see their girl get a needle. Do you have a sketch for me?”

  Evie nods and waves me away. They spend a few minutes discussing the drawing and changing a few things. When they’re both happy with it, Tony disappears into the back room to prepare the stencil.

  “You can’t go back with me,” Evie insists. “I don’t want you to see it until it’s finished.”

  “Evie, you’re going to be in his chair with your pants down. I’m coming. I won’t look. I’ll just hold your hand.”

  “I can do this by myself.” God, I want to spank the stubbornness out of her sometimes.

  “You can, but you aren’t.”

  “Fine,” she huffs. “What are you getting other than the ring?”

  “Oh no, I’ll show you mine when you show me yours.”

  “Fair enough.” She laughs. I follow Evie and Tony back to the private room and watch her climb nervously into the chair.

  “Pull your shorts down over your hips,” Tony instructs, and she glances at me as she complies. Whatever she’s getting is going to be sexy as hell, but I don’t like Tony seeing so much of her.

  I promised I wouldn’t look, so I scoot a stool to the head of the chair, facing her. I won’t peek if she really doesn’t want me to. “Panties have to come down a few inches,” Tony says, and Evie’s face glows as she lowers them to just above her hairline. Evie watches Tony open the needles and prepare his gun. “Are you ready, honey?”

  Evie nods. I take her hand and she damn near breaks mine when Tony starts the outline. “Relax,” Tony advises. “It’s a tender area for your first tattoo, but you’re doing great. Let me know if you need a break.” Gradually, her hand loosens and she only squeezes when he gets close to her hip bone.

  “Does it hurt worse than you expected?” I ask, tucking her hair behind her ear.

  “It’s kind of numb now. Really stung in the beginning, though.”

  “Finger is going to be worse, honey.” Tony peeks up at her. “Just so you know.” The gun ceases and I know Tony’s wiping away the excess ink by the grimace on Evie’s face. “All done. Come have a look.” Tony leads her to the three way mirror.

  “It’s perfect,” she breathes. I’m allowed to turn around once the tattoo has been bandaged.

  “Let’s do the rings next. Mason’s art is going to take a few hours. Who’s first?”

  “Let me,” Everly says. “Before I lose my nerve.”

  “Rest your hand here.”

  “Fuck,” Evie hisses as the needle starts to move. The cords in her neck stand out and she grits her teeth against the pain.

  “You’re doing so good, baby,” I assure her, stroking her other hand.

  “Will it take long?” she asks, her voice timorous.

  “Just a few minutes, honey,” Tony replies. “Hang in there.”

  Evie sighs with relief, her eyes glassy with unshed tears when he finishes. Tony wraps the tattoo in a thin layer of gauze and places a band aid around it. “You’ve got a tough one here, Reed. Didn’t even cry. The girls usually do. I’ve had a few guys change their mind on a toe or finger tat once I get started.”

  “That’s my girl,” I murmur, kissing her neck. “How does your hip feel?”

  “Like it’s on fire.”

  “Are you sorry you did it?”

  “No, I didn’t expect it to tickle.”

  “Smartass.” She jumps when I smack her ass before taking my turn in the chair. Evie stays beside me while I get a black band tattooed around my ring finger to match hers—it does hurt like a bitch—but I insist she leave when Tony prepares the stencil for my ribs.

  “The T.V. remote is on the desk,” Tony tells her as she heads to the lounge. “Make yourself at home.”

  “Mason Reed getting hitched. Never thought I’d see the day,” Tony says when she’s out of earshot. We’ve known each other for years so I knew he’d have something to say.

  “Fuck, man. Neither did I.” I laugh, stripping off my shirt.

  “You sure about getting her name, man? You know my opinion on that.”

  “Evie’s it for me. I’ll be back for another name soon.”

  Tony laughs, lining up the transfer paper on my skin. “You knocked her up, didn’t you, you bastard?”

  “I can’t help it if my swimmers are superhuman.”

  “Congratulations, man,” he says sincerely. “I’m happy for you. Now hold still.”

  Two and a half hours later we’re all bandaged up and heading home.

  * * * *

  “How does he lose one shoe?” I ask, leaning to look under the couch, and Evie giggles.

  “He’s a boy.”

  “Found it!” Cody cries, running in from the back patio, waving his sneaker. “I forgot I used it to prop up my Hot Wheel ramp.”

  “Good job,” Evie tells him, watching him painstakingly tie his laces. I taught him a few days ago and he’s just getting the hang of it.

  “Why do we have to move? I like it here.”

  “You’ll love our new house. You’ll have your own room and I think your daddy has a little surprise for you.”

  His eyes light up. “What is it?”

  “You’ll have to wait and see,” Evie teases.

  I have a little surprise for her as well. We’ve discussed what changes we want to make with the remodel, but she has no idea I hired the contractors weeks ago and they’ve just finished. The furniture we picked out was delivered just yesterday.

  No sooner than the engine is off, Cody is out the door and bouncing toward the house. “Look at him. You got him all worked up.” I wrap my arm around Evie’s waist, careful of her new tattoo.

  “Hey, you put in a porch swing! I love it.” Evie grins and curls up on the wooden swing. I know the wraparound porch on this place, and the den, are what sold her on the house.

  “I may have made a few more improvements since you were here last.” Two weeks recovering from gunshot wounds gave me plenty of time to arrange the remodel. I’m sure the contractors thought I was a pain in the ass for rushing the work, but I paid them well.

  The shock and joy on Evie’s face when she steps into the living room is worth every cent I spent to surprise her. “When did you do this?”

  “Do you like it? We can change whatever you want. It’s ready for us to move in when we get back from Vegas.”

  “You sneaky son of a bitch,” she exclaims, throwing her arms around my neck. “You did all this behind my back.”

  “Hey, I have to get you moved in before you change your mind.”

  “Never going to happen. You’re stuck with me,” she replies, slipping her tongue between my lips and giving me a long hot kiss.

  “Quit it before you make me hard,” I growl.

  “Daddy! Evie! Look! The Hulk!” Cody cries.

  “Looks like he found his room.” I chose one of the downstairs bedrooms for him, a good distance from mine and Evie’s. I’d hate for him to overhear the dirty things I plan to do her. The bedroom adjacent to his will be for the live-in nanny I plan to hire. With our work for Striking Back, we need to be able to leave at a moment’s notice, and I don’t want to drag him out of bed to leave him with a babysitter.

  “Is this my room? Can it be? Please?” Cody rushes into us at the bedroom door.

  “Well.” I pretend to think about it. “I really like those bunk beds, but since Evie will just steal the top bunk, I think you’d better take this room.”

  “Yay!” He grabs Evie’s hand and tugs her toward the 3-D mural painted on the far wall. I hired a local artist, and he did an amazing job. The Hulk appears to
be smashing through the wall and coming right at us.

  Cody digs into the toy box in the corner while I lead Evie to her favorite room. I left the brown carpet that she loved and had the walls painted a deep red. That isn’t what causes the catch in her breathing or her soft exclamation, “Oh, Mason.”

  All three shelves are now full of books. She runs her fingers across the spines, reading the titles, and for a second I think she might cry. “How did you know what books to get? These are my favorites.”

  “I may have peeked at your Goodreads account when you left it signed in. These are from your list marked Favorites.” I gesture to the wall beside us before pointing to the next. “Those are from a list titled To Be Read. The others were listed as Recommended Reads.”

  I’m nearly knocked off my feet as she barrels into my chest. “You are too damn good to me.”

  Cradling her head against my shoulder, I run my fingers through her soft hair. “I know it won’t always be easy to live on the grounds of a domestic violence shelter. There will be lots of women and kids running around. My brothers and their drama. I want you to have a place to escape and relax.”

  “I love you,” she murmurs.

  “I love you too.”

  “I was talking to the room.” She grins up at me, and I smack her ass.

  “I’m going to fuck you in front of that fireplace the first cold night we have.”

  “Come on, winter.”

  Cody charges into the room. “Wow, look at all the books!”

  I scoop him up. “This is Evie’s library.”

  “Cool. There are guys digging out back. I saw a dump truck.”

  “Uh-huh. Let’s go have a look.”

  Cody wanders around while I point out the progress of the construction to Evie. A few walls of the apartment house are up and the framers are hard at work. Between the apartments and our back door is a large frame with a few glass panels installed.

  “A greenhouse?” Evie asks.

  “Not exactly. I’m having a large sunroom built, large enough to house an in ground pool. We’ll be able to swim no matter the weather.”

  “Cody will love that.” She turns to study me. “You’ve thought of everyone but you. Where’s your escape?”

  “Ah, you haven’t seen the basement yet. Pool table, bar, every video game known to man.”

  “You have a man cave? No girls allowed?” Her little smirk is so sexy.

  “I’ll need someone to bring me beer and show me her titties.”

  “I’ll start looking at applicants.”

  “Spitfire,” I growl, pulling her against me.

  Cody returns, a grin on his flushed face. “Was The Hulk room my surprise, Daddy?”

  “One of them.” He giggles as I sweep him onto my shoulders. “Let’s go see what’s in the garage.”

  His eyes widen at the sight of the little red bicycle. “I don’t know how to ride a bike,” he worries.

  “It has training wheels so you won’t fall,” I assure him, settling him on the seat. A few minutes later, he’s riding around the driveway, smiling from ear to ear.

  Evie lays her head on my shoulder, and I tuck her little body against mine, cupping my hand over her belly. “We’re going to be so happy here,” she says with a sigh.

  It’s exactly what I wanted to hear.

  * * * *

  We’re all packed for our weekend in Vegas. We booked rooms for Alex, Parker, Ian, Macy, and Amy as well so we can share the occasion with our friends and family. Twenty-four hours from now Evie will be my wife.

  Cody is asleep when we retreat to our bedroom.

  “We need a proposal story I can actually tell people,” Evie complains, grinning at me. “It’s bad enough the story of how we met includes us being naked.”

  “Tell them the truth.”

  “I’m not saying you proposed with your face in my crotch.”

  “Like you said, baby. We met naked. I think it fits us perfectly.” I pull my shirt over my head while she rolls her eyes at me. “We can take the bandages off our tats,” I remind her as she strips off her tank top and shorts.

  “You first,” she replies with a smirk.

  “No way, baby. I can’t wait any longer to see what means enough to you to permanently mark your beautiful skin.”

  I’m rewarded with a soft smile. “Okay.” She bites her lip when I kneel and slowly remove the gauze. It’s not the sight of the bright yellow daisy that stuns me, but the script beneath it that spells my name. My name permanently etched on her soft skin.

  “In Norse mythology, daisies represent love and fertility. Sensuality and motherhood.” Her eyes tear and her hand tightens in my hair. “You’ve given me all those things.”

  I rest my forehead against her bare belly, trying to get a grip on my roiling emotions. I’ve chased this woman until I was half crazy and even when I caught her, I could never be sure she loved me like I do her. But she does. She does.

  “Do you like it?” she asks softly.

  “Sweetheart, there are no words.”

  She tilts my head up to look at her. “You don’t mind I copied your flower idea?”

  “I’m honored.” I lead her to the bed and pull her into my lap. “It was my mother that taught me to appreciate the beauty of flowers. She spent hours in her garden, explaining to me what each represented and why she loved them. They’re my happiest memories of her, listening to her in the garden. It brought me peace, made me happy. I haven’t felt that since she died. Until I met you. Looking at you, being with you, brings me the same peace and joy.”

  Tears pour down her face. “I’m not good at this, Mason, at explaining how I feel about you. You say the sweetest things and I just can’t…this is the best way I know to show you how much I love you. How I need you. You’re so important to me. Like you said, there just aren’t words.”

  “It’s perfect, love. And you show me how you feel every day.”

  Evie stands and looks into my eyes while her fingers graze the edge of my bandage, seeking permission. I nod, and she peels it away. Her lip trembles and she shakes her head. “You…did Tony tell you I got your name?”

  “No. I had this planned before you decided on a tattoo. Tony drew it up weeks ago.”

  Her fingertips trace the life-like Panda resting on my ribcage. It’s no cartoon rendering. The detail is amazing, and Evie’s name is nestled among the pile of bamboo surrounding the bear. “I love it.”

  “Do you?”

  Closing her eyes, she presses a feather light kiss on the ink. “It’s beautiful. It’s me. I’m your Panda.”

  “Rare and special,” I murmur, repeating my words from our first real date when I took her to the zoo.

  We remove the band aids circling our fingers and lay back on the bed, holding our hands up to admire our rings. “Tomorrow, some minister or Elvis impersonator is going to make it official, but this is all I need. You’re mine, Evie.”

  “I’m yours.”

  Epilogue

  Evie

  One Year Later

  We burst from the courtroom in a crowd of smiles and laughter. Alex, Parker, and Ian all hug Cody, who has just officially become my son. Even with Mason’s connections and Jamie’s fifteen year prison sentence it took forever to get her parental rights terminated.

  Cody has grown into a happy outgoing boy who does well in school. It was just after our wedding that Cody asked if he could call me Mom, and I approached Mason with the idea of adopting him. Needless to say, he was on board.

  Some mornings I sit up in bed and gaze at my sleeping husband, then at our baby boy in his bassinet and wonder if I’m still asleep and dreaming. A little over a year ago, I was alone and content to stay that way. Now, I’m surrounded by the one thing I’ve always craved. Family.

  I’m his.

  The End

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  Other Books by S.M.Shade

  The Last Woman, All That Remains : Book One

  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HYO0AHI

  When Abby Bailey meets former model and actor, Airen Holder, in a darkened department store, romance is the last thing on her mind. A plague has decimated the population, leaving Abby to raise her son alone in a world without electricity, clean water, or medical care. Her only priority is survival.

  Traumatized by the horror of the past months, Abby and Airen become a source of comfort for one another. Damaged by her past and convinced Airen is out of her league, Abby is determined to keep their relationship platonic. However, Airen is a hard man to resist, especially after he risks his life to save hers.

  When a man named Joseph falls unconscious in their yard, and Abby nurses him back to health, everything changes. How does love differ in this new post apocalyptic world? Can three unlikely survivors live long enough to find their place in it?