Page 79 of Mermaid's Wish (Dark Sea Academy 3)

He kisses my cheek. “Do you want to head back to the academy?”

“No. I don’t want to see that place or the castle right now. Have any ideas?”

“Actually, yes.”

“Where?”

He hands me my helmet. “You’ll see.”

“Okay.”

We climb on the bike and hit the road, heading to a part of Valora I’m not familiar with, and stopping in front of a graffitied brick building with dark windows.

I pull off my helmet. “You don’t have to try to impress me.”

He laughs. “You might actually end up impressed by the time we’re done.”

For some reason, that makes my heart race. “What do you have planned?”

Bash pulls me close and presses his lips on mine. “You’ll see.” He takes my hand and opens the chipped door. Inside, bright lights shine and loud music plays. Several people greet Bash by name.

It takes me a moment to realize we’re in a tattoo parlor. I glance at him. “Why are we here?”

He squeezes my hand. “You’ll see.”

I stare at some needles on a table and hold my breath. He’d better not be expecting me to get one, unless it’s filled with magic that can remove my link to Queen Sirena. Then I’d let them tattoo every inch of my skin.

Bash speaks with a heavily pierced guy behind the counter, but I can’t hear a word they say over the song blaring through the speakers. Next thing I know, the dude is leading us through the area where people are getting inked.

My heart thunders, threatening to explode out of my chest. What is Bash doing? Does he know an artist who uses magical needles? Or is that wishful thinking?

The guy gestures to an empty seat, and Bash climbs on. Smiles at me before saying something to the artist, who then nods.

I lean closer to my boyfriend. “What are you doing?”

“You’ll see.” He kisses my cheek.

“Okay.”

“You’ll like it.” Bash sits up straighter and pulls off his shirt.

My heart pounds like a jackhammer and my pulse drums in my ears. Not only is this the first time he’s removed his shirt in front of me, but he is even more ripped than his tight shirts let on. His abs go on for days. And I just realized I’m staring and practically drooling. I glance up to meet his gaze, and he’s beaming, obviously loving the attention. My face flames.

The artist holds up an enormous needle and red ink. He waves to a plastic chair by the wall. “Have a seat.”

I do as I’m told, my heart and mind both racing wildly. Curiosity burns. Did Bash just decide to get a new design, or does this have something to do with my predicament? I kind of don’t care either way. This is a distraction I’ll happily take. If only my pulse would calm down.

He leans back and speaks with the artist. The other merman nods and gets to work. Bash winces slightly, but then seems fine. He glances over at me and winks. I try to smile, but I’m not sure my mouth got the message. When he looks away, I try to tell what the artwork is. A spell? An addition to one of his other tats? Something else entirely?

The suspense is going to kill me! I distract myself by staring at his abs again, and can’t help but wonder when he finds the time to work out. From the looks of it, he lifts weights every hour of every day, but I’ve never once seen him head to the gym. Maybe he just doesn’t sleep. That’s the only thing that makes any sense.

When I look back up to his face, he’s watching me. My face flames again. He blows me a kiss and winks. I pretend to catch it and throw him one. He grins, but then winces again and says something to the artist.

I play with a nail to distract myself from his torso and my curiosity. Finally, the artist announces he’s done.

Bash waves me over. “Ready to see it?”

“Sure.” I shrug like I’m not dying to see it.

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