Page 6 of Devilish Ink

It hit me like a punch to my guts.

It was the briefest of looks. But it sealed her fate.

Through her sad eyes, she promised me that she would understand me. She whispered that I didn’t have to be alone. With that single look, she tied me to her.

I didn’t even care that she wasn’t meant for me.

I didn’t care that she was my brother’s girlfriend. She had to be, coming out of his apartment so late.

When she tore her eyes away, I felt the loss of it in my fucking chest. Like she’d ripped something important out of me, something I needed in order to breathe.

I stared at her, chest aching, as she marched down the sidewalk, petite hands white-knuckled over a purse strap, black tattoos stark against her pale fingers. Her steps were determined, hurried even.

I wasn’t going to go after her. Although fuck, how I wanted to.

I glanced back to the door, the door I should be knocking on,the brother I should be reconnecting with. Going after her would be a betrayal. I was determined not to give him one.

I didn’t stop to consider why he’d moved on from Eithne, the girl he’d brought home only a few weeks ago. I didn’t stop to consider what had happened. I didn’t stop at all.

I leapt up the stairs two at a time and knocked on Rian’s door, trying to remember the speech I’d prepared.

The sudden heat in my chest made me tug at the collar of my jacket as I waited for Rian to answer. I felt like I’d been working on the farm all day. Muscles warm from hard labour. Body aching, skin searing in the brutal, heartless cold.

But the door remained unopened.

It seemed so inevitable that he’d be there. That he and I were two cars barreling down the highway toward one another, intent on a fiery crash, that the silence took me by surprise.

Rian wasn’t home.

And the one link to him, the one frail string connected to him was getting away.

I glanced back up the street.Shewas still in sight. Small in the distance, nearly anonymous in her oversized black coat.

I warred with myself. Go after her. Wait here for Rian to come home.

But then in that very moment as she turned the corner, the siren glanced back over her shoulder. We locked eyes again. That was it. She was calling me to her. Before the wind swept her black hair across her face, hiding her eyes like a mask.

If I’d taken a moment to consider it, I would have realized that I’d wanted it all along: a reason to pursue her. If I wanted to reconcile with Rian the last thing I should do is to stalk after his new girl.

But I couldn’t stop my feet as I hurried after her. I tried to tell myself I was following her because she might lead me to Rian. Perhaps if I became friends with his new girl, it would give me a way into his heart.

But deep down I knew they were lies.

I wantedher.

I followed her, staying well behind her as I racked my brain trying to figure out how to introduce myself to her. I watched as she realised I was behind her, watched her break into a run. Anger fueled me. Where the fuck was Rian? If his girl was this jumpy, why the hell was he letting her walk by herself at night?

I wanted to make sure she’d never be that scared again.

I wanted to protect her.

If my brother wouldn’t take care of her right, I fucking would.

So I walked into Dublin Ink pretending to be a customer, asking for a tattoo just for a chance to talk to her.

To be close to her.

To get to know her.

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