Page 38 of Sin

“Oh?”

“I’m going to get a tattoo.”

“Tonight?”

“Yep. In fact, right now.”

He chuckled. “Okay, we can do that. Then I want to show you Belladonna.”

She tilted her head. “Your red-light house?”

“Red-light … it’s a whorehouse.”

“I don’t like that name. Women have been called whores for centuries, but where is the slur for men who pay for their services? In fact, men are usually the reason women have to become sex workers.”

“You’re a feminist.”

“I believe in equality among the sexes, yes.”

“I treat those women fairly.”

“Doesn’t that make you a pimp?”

“Yeah, but it’s a legit business. And the girls are there voluntarily. I give them a decent wage, provide health check-ups once a month, and security against men who would take instead of buy.”

“Did you always want to run a red-light house?”

“No. I joined the army and did a tour before I got out. I wandered around aimlessly for a while. Lost, until Ares told me to get my ass to Cardinal so I could join this biker club. He was prospecting with the Death Riders, so it was a no-brainer that I’d join too.”

“They became your family.”

“Yes.”

She thought about her call to her father. “I get it now. Family isn’t who you’re born into, it’s who you choose.”

He smiled. “Yes. I would lay down my life for each of my brothers and their old ladies.”

“How did you two end up running The Pussy Willow and Belladonna?”

“We volunteered. The club needed businesses that made us a lot of money, and sex sells.”

She trailed her fingertips down his nose. Over his lips. Down, down until she reached his heart. “I’ve learned the value of loyalty. I think it may be stronger than love.”

He leaned forward and kissed her, swiping his tongue across her lower lip until she opened for him. Potent, divine. Before it got too heated, he pulled back and quirked an eyebrow.

“Ready for that tattoo?”

She nodded. He took her hand and led her to his bike. She slipped on the helmet he held out and a moment later they took off in the night.

Chapter Seventeen

When Adira stepped into the tattoo parlor, Treat smiled.

“Hey, you! I see you finally found a lover.”

“That I did. Two, actually.”

“Good for you.” Treat nodded politely to Hunter. “Gonna get the heart tattoo?”

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