Page 9 of The Inkslinger

I cut her off mid-sentence. “I don’t know what his problem is, but he knows who I am and what I do. And you can believe we’ll be having a conversation about this when I see him tomorrow.”

“What did Laine do now?” Adam asks catching the tail end of our conversation.

“I’ll tell you later,” Lily says giving him a look that says leave it.

I can’t help but laugh. Skye was right when she said the people in this town are all up in each other’s business.

****

It takes us aroundthirty minutes to cash out and get the worst of the mess cleared up. I made a bunch of tips that I will be using to stock the fridge and get some decent coffee in my new place.

The cleaning staff for the bar come in early tomorrow morning before The Hideaway opens for the day so we don’t have to do too much, and luckily, I only have to be there for the evening shift.

My feet are killing me, and I make a mental note to find a store that sells any kind of flat-soled shoes tomorrow. Driving down the street I take in the peacefulness around me, and I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to live here permanently. I mean, I already have a job, and I don’t think my new landlady is keen to sell her house in the near future. I don’t mind traveling for conventions and such, and I have a nice little nest egg if I ever need it. Besides, I’ll be thirty in little more than a month, and being a tattoo model is a young girl’s gig.

Most of the girls doing this today are in their early twenties and full of collagen and plastic. I have been lucky enough that I escaped having to get any plastic surgery, but the competition is becoming more and more ruthless. Unless I plan on getting work done in the near future, I won’t be at the top much longer and I’m not sure it’s something I want to do.

Lost in my thoughts, I swing my blue Mustang into the drive. I am surprised and a little perturbed to see someone sitting on the porch swing. I think about backing out or perhaps calling the police but once I realize who it is, I release a calming breath. I glare at him from the driver’s seat while I wait for my heart to return to its normal state of beating before I exit the vehicle.

“Are you trying to kill me?” I ask as I cut across the lawn. “I’ve been in Franklinton for less than twenty-four hours. There should not be a man waiting on my porch.”

“Sorry.” Laine has the decency to look chagrined. “I didn’t think about that. I just wanted to apologize.”

“What for?” I ask when I reach him, plopping down beside him. “Telling Lily I may not like people staring at me, or trying to get me fired? You have fucked up in so many ways.”

“All of it. I got a little protective and it isn’t my place to feel that way,” he explains, never looking at me but staring at his heavily inked fingers. “I know you’re new to town and I just don’t want you to feel like you’re being taken advantage of.”

“That’s not fair!” I throw my hands in the air. “How am I supposed to be pissed off at you when you are acting like a gentleman and shit?”

“Don’t be angry?” he suggests with a smirk, finally facing me.

There is mischief dancing in the hazel depths of his gaze, and I have the strangest urge to kiss him. Instead, I turn and head to the door.

“Fine. But go home. I am falling asleep standing here and I need my beauty sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow. Noonish.”

“Not that you need any beauty sleep,” he mutters while descending the stairs, and I don’t think I was supposed to hear him.

I have a wide smile plastered on my face as I kick off my shoes once I close the door. All girls like hearing they are pretty and I’m no exception. Getting undressed, I slide into bed and let darkness overtake me, happy for the first time in days.

****

The best dream I’vehad in months is interrupted and I wake up with violence in my heart. My fist swings out and connects with the side of someone’s face.

“Fuck!” a male voice curses.

It takes me a moment to realize I am fully awake before jumping out of bed. I glare at the young man standing in my room, his hand covering his left eye.

“Who the fuck are you?” I yell, looking around for something I can use as a weapon.

“Damien. Laine’s brother,” he says his gaze taking me in from the top of my head to my toes and back again. “You may want to cover up.”

I can see the similarities between him and the two brothers I have already met. He seems a lot younger than Adam and I briefly wonder if he is the baby. They certainly have an exceptional gene pool. His words finally filter through, and I realize I am naked except for my thong.

“Jesus Christ,” I yell quickly grabbing my red and gold kimono from the back of the door and slipping it on.

“Sorry,” he says with a crimson blush.

“What are you doing in my house?”

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