Page 6 of Keegan's Promise

I quickly whip my head forward again, staring at the curtain ahead of me. The tattoo gun doesn’t move for a moment before he slowly starts again.

For long moments, neither of us says anything. I don’t know what to say. He looked at me like no one ever has before. And I feel like I never have before. But…that can’t happen.

Why did I have to meet him today? Why couldn’t it have been yesterday? Or the day before that? Or any day before Garrick and his goons reappeared in my life? He doesn’t need to be mixed up in my mess.

And yet…when he finishes the tattoo fifteen minutes later and carefully wraps it up, his hands so gentle, my stomach bottoms out and I realize that I want him mixed up in my mess, even if it’s just for a while longer. I’m not ready to leave yet. I’m not ready to never see him again.

“Come here.” He holds out his hand for me.

I take it without question, allowing him to help me off the table. He walks me over to a group of strategically placed mirrors, allowing me to see myself from every angle.

I gasp, staring at the tattoo with wide eyes.

“Keegan,” I whisper, my gaze flickering to his in the mirror.

“You like it?”

I nod silently, feeling a little like I might cry. The tattoo is a delicate king’s crown perched on the petals of a pink lily. The stem is my name in his handwriting. It’s so damn delicate and beautiful. The entire tattoo is maybe four inches from top to bottom, but there’s so much detail in it.

“It suits you.” Keegan brushes a fingertip alongside a petal on the flower. His gaze flickers to mine again. “Strength, beauty, and innocence.”

I don’t know what prompts me to do it, but I spin, lifting up on my toes to press my lips to his. He grunts, one big hand lashing around my waist to yank me up against him.

His breath rasps in his throat, his body trembling against mine as he devours my lips, kissing me as if he’s starving for me. I hear people murmuring in the crowd, and I know they can see us. They’re watching us make out, his hands running all over me. But it feels too good to stop.

“You shouldn’t tempt a beast, Landry baby,” he growls against my lips. “I’m already hanging on by a thread here.”

His confession makes me feel brave and bold in a way I’ve never been. Maybe I can’t keep him forever, not with Garrick still hunting me. But I’m not ready to walk out of his life with nothing but his ink in my skin to remember him by. And judging by the way he’s holding onto me, his lips still moving against mine, he isn’t ready to let me go yet.

“Take me somewhere,” I plead quietly, praying he doesn’t tell me no. That he gives me one more beautiful memory to keep me going.

He doesn’t even hesitate before brushing his lips against mine again. “Get dressed, sweetness. We can’t walk out of here with your shirt like that.”

My heart swells. And even though it’s impossible, I think I fall in love with him in this moment.

Chapter Two

Keegan

IkeepLandrytuckedup against my side as we slip onto the elevator from the convention floor to the hotel situated above. I texted Slade Stark while Landry was dressing, asking him to cover the booth for me because something came up.

He didn’t ask any questions.

I’m not sure what I’d tell him anyway. That I met my future while Tyler was trying to drag her from the building? I don’t think there’s any explaining the feelings coursing through me. They just fuckingare.

As soon as I saw her, my feet were rooted to the floor. It was impossible to miss her, looking like sunshine in the middle of the crowd. Her blonde hair was tied back with pieces wild around her face, those beautiful green eyes so wide. Her bottom lip trembled as she glanced around, confusion stamped all over her face.

When Tyler grabbed her and she cowered away, I wanted to fucking howl. She sounded so goddamn scared, pleading with him. And that look on her face? Christ, it was haunting.

My heart stopped for a minute as soon as her eyes met mine. It’s like every part of her was crying out for me, begging me to wrap myself around her and promise to keep her safe.

I had to step in and stop him…had to find out who she was. Her name is engraved in my memory now, and so is that sweet little whimper, the feel of her skin beneath my fingertips, and the way she trembles every time I touch her.

She’s so sweet, so innocent. And I don’t mean sexually. I mean,innocent, pure and guileless, untouched by the darkness of the world. She’s shy and trembling, but there’s strength in her, too. I see it in her eyes, as if she’s endured more than anyone her age should have.

I recognize that look. It’s the same one I see in the mirror every time I look at my reflection. I see it in my sister, Elodie, too. Landry is a survivor, a fighter, just like us.

I’ve never wanted to ink someone as badly as I wanted to ink her. But I needed my art on her body, as if it marked her as mine. I’ve never felt any of this before—this absolute conviction that someone was meant for me. But this shy little flower was meant for me.

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