Page 24 of Royally Twisted

“Ah, you two gonna get nekkid and do it on the table? Asking for a friend,” Ember said, strolling into the room while tossing an apple in the air. He caught it in one hand, then bit into it, letting juice run down his chin.

“You’re such a voyeur,” Lux muttered.

“And?” Ember asked.

“Just pointing out an observation.” Lux moved back to her spot at the front of the store. “But, if you two are going to do it, I suggest you wipe that table down really good, you never know what might’ve spilled on there. I think Ember may have slept there...and had a naughty dream earlier.” She moved her hand up and down in a jack off motion, then made as if an explosion occurred, sound effects and all.

“I did no such thing. Take it back,” Ember hollered, his apple half eaten sticking out of his mouth making the words garbled.

“Link, was Ember snoring and moaning on Tymber’s station earlier this morning?” Lux asked.

Tymber turned to see his other best friend stop in his tracks, looking at Ember, then Lux, then him, his bottom lip getting trapped between his teeth. “Listen, I’m not one to tell a lie, so I’m just gonna go and clean up my station. I’m done for the day.”

“I rest my case.” Lux did her jackoff motion and explosion imitation again, making Ember toss the apple core toward her, before he growled fuck you.

“You sure you want me to tattoo you here? I can take my kit back to my place and do it there?” The thought of inking her where a bed was close, and no spectators had him itching to reach for his keys.

“Alright, I’m out,” Ember announced. “Don’t mourn my leaving, I’ll see you both tomorrow or the next day. I’m sure, I’ll see you before either of you miss me.” Ember leaned over Tymber and kissed Ivy on the cheek, jumping backward to avoid Tymber punching him.

“Lock up,” Lux said, strolling out after the other two, leaving Tymber and Ivy alone.

“Fuck, I didn’t think they’d ever leave.” He ran a finger down her cheek, wiping away the trace of Ember, at least in his mind.

“Hmm, whatever shall we do now?” She leaned into his touch.

Tymber looked toward the huge front windows and the passing cars. “Hold that thought.” He went through the motions of closing up, locking the door and pulling the huge gate across, then realized her bike sat out front. “Let’s move your bike out back. We have a private entrance where we all park.”

Ivy hopped down, hurrying to move her bike around. He finished locking up, meeting her at the back door, his tattoo equipment already in the apartment, ready for him to use. “Come on,” he said, taking her hand.

The small apartment they kept wasn’t anything extravagant, but it was comfortable, fitted with the thought of big men in mind. He led Ivy through the door, engaging the security system. “Did you decide on which design you wanted?” he asked once they were settled at the dining room table.

Ivy pointed at the design that had the sugar skull incorporated with the semi-colon design. He was going to add it to the words he’d already inked onto her ribs, making it the ending to her words. Only it wasn’t the ending to her story, rather a new beginning.

“Will you be able to do a sugar skull that small?” she asked, looking at the design.

Tymber raised a brow. “I won’t be putting a lot of filigree into the design, but enough to make the skull feminine and you. You trust me?”

Ivy’s heart was beatinga mile a minute. She absolutely trusted Tymber with her everything. Why this man, when no other man had tripped her trigger, she had no idea. However, from the moment she’d seen him standing in the crisis center hallway, she’d known she could count on him for anything. Like his name, Tymber, he was as sturdy as the strongest trees in the forest. Unlike her name, which she’d hated growing up. Ivy, like a vine, she never wanted to be clingy. Yet he seemed to like it when she wrapped herself around him. “I do. I trust you.” And she did.

“If I fuck it up, you can tattoo me. Deal?” Tymber’s deep voice rolled over her, making her nipples hard points beneath her shirt.

She laughed. “Trust me, you don’t want me anywhere near you with a tattoo gun. You’d have a bunch of squiggly lines, or probably just one squiggly line that resembled an image of sperm. Have you seen what those look like? You’d be the laughingstock of the tattoo industry,” she sighed. “No, it’s best for you to stick with the art, while I stick with what I’m good at.”

She hadn’t thought she’d be good at anything until Luke and Darian had encouraged her to follow her dreams. Now, she was glad she had so she didn’t have to rely on the MC for her bread and butter. A chick as a mechanic, and hopefully she had enough of a reputation as a good one her business wouldn’t be hurt now that she wouldn’t be working on the Sons shit.

“Hey, what’re you thinking?” Tymber sat her down in a chair, getting down on one knee in front of her.

Ivy bit her lip, wondering how this gorgeous man was still single. “I’m amazed no woman has snapped you up.” Her hand flew up and covered her mouth. “Oh shit, forget I said that.”

He chuckled, pulling her hand away from her face. “Trust me, I needed a little housebreaking. I think you’re just the woman for that job.”

Her face had to be ten shades of red. “I suck at this...relationships,” she blurted.

Tymber shook his head. “Nah, you just hadn’t found the right man. Neither had I. Well, I hadn’t found the right woman. You and me, I think we were just waiting for each other.” He kissed her palm, placing it over his heart.

“What if I fuck up. What if we fight, or this thing fades?” She waved her hand between them.

He grabbed her other hand, standing up, pulling her with him. “Listen to me. Relationships change, but when two people care about one another the way I care about you and hopefully the way you care about me, then we’ll be fine. Better than fine, ‘cause we’ll be together.”

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