Page 146 of Nemesis

He plops himself down in my tattooing chair, then leans forward and pulls off his shirt.

Muscles.

I stare at him, trying to comprehend how someone can have so many muscles. His abs have abs.

“Like what you see?”

My face flushes. He’s smirking at me, leaning back and crossing his ankles like he has every right to sit there.

“I want a tattoo.”

I scoff. “No.”

“Why not?” He glances around. “It’s the line of people begging to get in, isn’t it?”

“For fuck’s sake,” I groan. “I’m not—we have better things to worry about.”

He just waits, and he seems too fucking comfortable in the chair. Like he has all the time in the world.

Finally, he adds, “It’d be a good distraction.”

I narrow my eyes. “Do you have any tattoos?”

“A few. I’m not an amateur.”

And yet, I don’t see any ink on his upper torso.

“Here.” He hooks his thumb in the waistband of his pants, right where his abdomen forms one side of a V, and drags it down an inch.

There’s a line of script. But before I can get a chance to read it, he releases the waistband and smiles wider.

“I’m not tattooing you,” I say. “In fact, I’m going home.”

I make it to the door before he replies, “Oh, so you’re referring to it ashome, now?”

Fucker. I hold it open and point to the street. He slowly gets up from the chair and shrugs back on his shirt.

“I had a friend who said getting tattoos was the ultimate way to remember a place.” He moves past me, his gaze lingering on the ink visible on my throat. “I like his philosophy. Sterling Falls is growing on me.”

I grimace. “Maybe you should consider therapy.”

He laughs. Full-belly, open-mouthlaughthat goes straight into my ears. I grit my teeth and close the door behind us, locking it quickly. Suddenly, he cuts off.

I face him, only to find his somber face staring down at his phone screen.

“I’ve got to take this,” he says.

He answers it and gives me his back—but not only that, he puts distance between us.

My brows furrow.

When he returns, his easy smile is back in place. “Tem said she needs her laptop from Bow & Arrow to work while she stays with Reese.”

Oh, jeez. Artemis tends to be a workaholic at the best of times. Hearing that she wants to catch up on spreadsheets or some shit is not surprising in the least.

“You okay?” he asks me. “You kind of look like shit.”

I scowl. But… yeah. Exhaustion weighs on me, plus a healthy dose of guilt. While Artemis got some sleep before Kade went to find Reese, I stayed awake. I filled Kade in on everything I knew about that place, although I felt uniquelyunqualified. After all, I was pretty much unconscious when Elora and her friends came to get me out.

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