Page 162 of Filthy Lovin Heroes

“This.” When I peeled back the top edge of my skirt, panic flooded me. Not because of any emotion tied to the tattoo but what I would be losing when I couldn’t see it anymore. The tie to reason and accountability that has kept me from getting hurt again.

Was I really going to go through with this?

I took in the slight scruff of Diesel’s chin and the warm, patient smile on his lips.

I could do this. I needed to do this. Besides, my brother was right. If I wanted to move on to the next phase of my life, I had to stop torturing myself. I didn’t need a silly tattoo to keep me from making mistakes. I had learned a lot about myself and life while away at college.

Diesel waited as I warred with myself. His dark eyes softened, and for some reason tears filled my eyes. “Come back to my station and I’ll take a look there, okay? Where it’s just us.”

I nodded and followed him to the back of his shop past several other artists working on various stages of ink. I didn’t pay too much attention. All I could focus on was the way the denim of his jeans sculpted over a perfect ass. He held a door open and pointed to his red leather chair. I perched on the edge, heart drumming.

Door closed, we were all alone. “Let me see, Kaila.” His quiet tone soothed. Calmed.

I dragged in a deep breath and lifted my hem to reveal the scrolling inked lines of Wolfe’s name on my hip. It had been the first place he’d touched me, and I’d wanted his name there as proof of love at first touch. In a million years I never would have believed I’d be in this shop—any shop—for this reason. Wolfe had promised to cherish me for the rest of my life. He had wanted sex right away but I convinced him to wait. After Diesel, I figured taking it slow might be the better way to go.

The only smart thing I did. The first three weeks or so had been blissful. That was when the tattoo happened. It was the night he treated me like a precious queen. I was in this fog of perceived happiness.

Then I found out Wolfe was okay with not having sex with me because he was dating three other chicks on the side. He liked to play games. Toy with me. Looking back, I didn’t know his end game, and I was glad I didn’t stick around long enough to find out.

I chewed my lower lip, and Diesel stared at me for several heartbeats.

“You sure you want to cover this, sweetheart? Seems intimate.”

“Positive. And the only intimate thing about it is the location, trust me.” I dropped my hem to hide the letters that made my skin crawl, and a sickness rose inside me. I hated my ex as much as I’d once loved him.

“Let’s do this.”

Three

Kaila

“Okay, it’s a short name, but it’s dark. But I have some ideas. Let me draw something up real quick, okay?”

I nodded, proud of not letting my nerves show. “Yes, please.” I scooted back on the chair a little farther, and Diesel’s gaze latched onto my thighs. Perfect skin, he’d once told me.

Golden, beautiful thighs that are full and sexy like the rest of you. I remembered him whispering those words to me right before he tipped my chin back and gave me the kiss of my life.

A new little thrill passed through me as he tore his attention away and went to another part of the shop to draw.

Several minutes passed. I looked around at his station. Equipment, scraps of paper. Rubber gloves and his machines lined up in holsters as if they were weapons. There was a framed and signed photograph of him and a lead guitarist from a band I followed. I smiled and looked closer at the signature, moving the small photo stuck into the corner of the frame of a bulldog with its tongue lolling out.

The dog’s expression made me smile.

I put it back and waited, thinking about the dark yet soft brown eyes of the dog’s master, the man who was about to ink me.

The music in the shop switched to a song I was familiar with, and I bounced my foot to the beat. By the time Diesel returned, I grew more than intrigued with what he had in mind and the man behind the drawing.

“You ready for this?” His eyes danced, and he held a sketchbook at his side so I was unable to see.

I rubbed my hands together. “Yes!” My excitement returned with gusto. Suddenly I couldn’t wait to bury Wolfe’s name if it meant putting Diesel’s stamp on my body. Like the lead guitarist’s autograph, Diesel’s art on my body would be an honor given.

With a grin, he whipped the sketch under my nose. I blinked down at the fat cherub with wings half-folded as if protecting itself. But it peeked from behind its wing with a playful glint in its eyes. It had eyes as blue and bright as mine.

My jaw fell open. “It’s...” I had no words. I looked up into Diesel’s eyes and shook my head. “How did you...?”

“I told you—I’m good at cover-ups. Plus, I’ve had the sweet honor of having you in my arms once upon a time. I can attest to the angel you are.”

Blood roared in my ears. Did I just hear him right? Did he just talk about our time together? I thought for sure he’d forgotten. Buried it like a bad memory.

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