Page 94 of The Hallows Queen

I nod, pursing my lips, and like some sort of miracle, at that moment, the sound of the tattoo gun shuts off.

“Done,” Travis says. “Let me just clean you up and you’re good to go.”

I stand up, eager to see what Hayden has added to his growing collection of tattoos, and walk over to him.

He already had a large piece covering most of his back, but now it’s extended to just below his hips. There’s a huge portrait of a wolf, snakes wrapping around the decorative shading behind it, horns coming out of its head, and a quote underneath it in a skinny font.

ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE

My breath gasps from my lungs, but my attention is pulled when Hayden looks up at me under hooded lids. “Could you go grab me some water from the lobby, P?”

I nod, spinning around and heading out of the room.

I find a minifridge next to the empty front desk and kneel down, pulling it open then grabbing a bottle of water. When I walk back to Travis’s office, I’m greeted by the sound of the tattoo gun again. Hayden is sitting up on the table, and Travis is focused on the area of his neck that he’s tattooing now.

“I thought you were done,” I say as I walk up, putting the bottle of water down on the table.

After another minute, Travis shuts off the gun again and grins at me. “Now I’m done.”

Hayden grabs the bottle of water and twists off the cap, turning his head to the side so I can see what he’s had inked on his neck.

On the side of his neck, just over his jugular is the letterP.

“You didn’t,” I breathe, grabbing his jaw to turn his head more so I can stare at it.

“I did,” he says, sliding his hands around the sides of my legs.

I study the small tattoo, and my gut churns with adoration. A small laugh escapes my lips, and I have the urge to kiss him all over. “I don’t know what to say.”

He smiles at me, and I get waves of happiness from my head to my toes. Nothing’s going to beat this feeling, the feeling of being loved by Hayden Monroe, being the first and only person he’s ever had this close. I’m…honoredto be loved by him.

“You like it?” he asks, making little circles with his fingers on my thighs.

“I love it,” I say, leaning forward to kiss him.

“Last chance, Penelope,” Travis says, making me pull away from Hayden’s mouth to look at him. “You wanna get inked before I close up?”

I narrow my eyes in thought, I don’t have any tattoos, and the thought of getting one never really crossed my mind, but being here, in New York City, with my favorite guy and his family, there’s part of me that wants to commemorate the trip, the feeling, the moment.

“Fine,” I say, and Hayden’s face turns to confusion. I tap him on the thigh. “Go sit over there with Olivia. You can see it when we’re done.”

He laughs, but slides down from the table. “You sure about this?”

“I’m sure. Now get lost.”

His eyes narrow, but he walks across the room and sits down carefully on the couch next to Olivia so he doesn’t bump the fresh tattoo on his back. Travis makes work of cleaning up the area, changing the needle in his gun, and putting on fresh gloves. When he steps up to the table, he raises his brows at me. “What’re we doing?”

I lift my shirt, pointing to the spot underneath the band of my bra on my side, then I lean forward and whisper what I want into his ear.

He smiles when I’ve pulled away, then I sit down on the table and roll my shirt up.

Travis fills a little cup with fresh black ink, then turns on his tattoo gun and leans toward me. “Ready?”

I nod. “Go.”

The first touch of the needle against my skin makes me want to pull away, but I keep my body still. It feels better than I thought. I imagined intense pain that I wouldn’t be able to handle, but Travis has a light hand, and it almost feels like he’s just scratching my skin.

A few minutes go by, and then he turns the gun off. “Done. Let me just clean you up.”

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