Page 29 of Sugar and Skulls

But, Dan is being overgenerous and letting me tattoo someone besides myself and him. I’m not going to pass this opportunity up. No way. Submerging myself in my art will help me more than anything. It will give my mind a much-needed break. It’s why he’s giving me this. He knows my body will heal but healing my soul...well that might not be as easy.

My heart drops as I pull up in front of the shop. There must be twenty or more bikes parked in the empty lot across the street. All the men have Rebel Skull patches adorning their backs. My eyes drop to my lap. What did I expect?

Knock. Knock.

Slowly I raise my head, my green eyes lock onto swirling colored ones. Eyes that have haunted me since the first time I saw them. “Go away,” I yell through the dirty glass that separates us.

Yeah, he didn’t seem like a guy who walks away without getting what he wants. My door opens swiftly before I have a chance to lock it. He bends his tall frame at the waist poking his unwanted self in my space.

“Get out,” I say, shoving his head with my open palm.

He wins. Not because I can’t shove his ass out. No, not because of that. It’s because I’m stupid. A stupid, stupid girl. One who just discovered how soft his hair is.So, so soft.Pulling my hand away quickly, I scoot over to the passenger seat away from him. He slides right in beside me.

“You should know that your dad has assigned me the job of being the stink on your shit.” One thing that is not soft about Dirk is his voice. It’s hard, with rough edges that scrape along my skin, making it pebble with tiny goose pricks. It doesn’t even matter what words fall from his lips. He could tell me to eat shit and it would sound sexy.

Christ.

What the hell is this?

Maybe it’s just because I’ve seen him naked. Yeah, that’s it.Forget, Jesse.Just. Forget.

Now that the image is there it’s ten thousand times worse. A hot coil wraps itself up into a tight ball in the pit of my stomach.

“Did you hear me?” he asks, leaning forward to catch my eyes again.

Well, I’m not falling for that trick again. I stare out the passenger window. “I heard you. What do you want me to do about it?” I manage to spit out.

“I’m not asking you to do anything about it. Just telling you so I don’t spook you, yeah?”

Snorting, I turn to him. Finally, praise Gabriel’s god, I find my balls again. “You? Spook me? Ah, not possible.”

He raises his eyebrows, tilting his head in challenge.

Oh, fuck.

What have I done?

He crowds me again. Except this time there is nowhere to slide. My hand slowly reaches for the door handle.

Click.

“You weren’t spooked when I broke Ricky boy’s fingers?”

Pressing myself into the door, my escape route stollen from me, I shake my head.

“No?” His one-word response whispers across my face.

My green eyes lock onto his stormy ones. The coil that has slowly been wrapping itself around my insides squeezes painfully.

What the fuck is happening to me?

A slow grin spreads across his face.

Just like a cat keeping his prey caught by a strong paw clamped on a tiny tail, he releases me.

Sliding back into his own space, he pulls his smokes from his front pocket. He taps them in the palm of his hand, catching one that slides out between his fingers. When he puts it between his lips I unconsciously squeeze my legs together. The movement catches his eye. He chuckles lightly before releasing the lock button.

I scramble out of the rod, bumping into Big Dan as I do. Goddammit, he is like a brick wall. One that I’m always running right into to. He catches my shoulders, stopping me. His scowls over my head, looking behind me. The tick of a lighter breaks the silence. Hesitantly, I glance over my shoulder, swallowing hard.

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