Page 24 of Tiger By the Tail

“Why don’t you tell Carine you can’t do it, then?”

He was working nights to accommodate our Nachtmahr colleague. Mason might look tough, but he was one of the loveliest people I’d ever met. Shrugging one shoulder, he pushed away from the wall and together we crossed the foyer.

“You’re too nice, Mace.”

He huffed a laugh. “I think you’re confusing me with Ed.”

It was true, his youngest brother was even sweeter. Some might call him a pushover, but Oedipus Grant was just a tenderhearted Golden Retriever wrapped in a delightful package. And a damned skilled tattoo artist at that. He’d done all of my ink.

“How is he, by the way? I haven’t seen him in months.”

“Doing well. He’s looking for his own premises, have you heard?”

“No, I haven’t. Why?”

“He’s unimpressed with the owner of his place. It takes a lot for my baby brother to draw a line in the sand, but that guy has been overstepping with him a lot. Giving him the most unattractive times to work to try and wear him thin, asking for more rent but not giving him more hours–and you know his books are full. He could make a ton of money if that guy wasn’t such an asshole.” Mason rolled his eyes.

“Poor Ed. Good for him for refusing to play their stupid games.”

“That’s what I told him. Last thing I heard was that he had a short list of a few suitable places.”

“I hope he finds something before spring. I can’t possibly go an entire year without new ink.”

My colleague chuckled. “I should probably feel bad for getting you hooked on needles.”

It had indeed been Mason who’d taken me along to one of his appointments with Ed, which had resulted in me getting my first piece–a tarot card with two sunflowers to represent my baby sisters.

“Oh God, be quiet Mace!” I shook my head, lightly clapping my hand to his biceps and checking our vicinity to make sure nobody was near enough to have overheard him. “People will think I’m an addict,” I whispered.

“Well you are,” he replied innocently and we both snorted with laughter.

“Just gonna pop to the shops real quick, my fridge is bare,” I told him when we’d reached the far side of the square between the Beta headquarters and the Hut. There was a supermarket fairly close, too close to get in the car.

“Mind if I tag along?”

“Of course not.”

***

It was lovely to be around him. I realised how much I’d missed him with our times in the office barely overlapping on most days. Lo, Mace, Dex, and I had built up Beta, and made it what it was.

“We need to hang out more, mate.” I flung my arm briefly around Mason’s back. He in turn hugged me to his side and pressed a kiss to my brow.

“Penn’s going to be in town in a few weeks. How about we get drinks then, babe?”

“Yeah, let’s,” I said, rather breathlessly.

Penn, the third Grant brother was the perfect mix of brawn and brain, a hot librarian who spent his spare time working out and playing rugby. I couldn’t fucking wait. Although, I knew better than to enter into anything; Penn was way too much of a dom for my taste. And there was still my client…

Mace and I split up inside the shop, and I made my way slowly from the fruit and veg to the rows upon rows of fridges and freezers, shivering slightly in the chill.

“Get over here, you stupid idiot.”

The loud voice from the neighbouring aisle made me halt in my tracks.

What the hell?

A deep, raspy voice with a docile timber tried to calm the other speaker, a woman. Their efforts were in vain, it seemed, because the female voice continued slagging the guy off.

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