Page 116 of Wild Card
Fox’s hand replaced his on my thigh, squeezing gently. “Take a few minutes to recenter. Do you want a drink?”
“Could use a shot of tequila about now.”
He chuckled. “That wouldn’t help as much as you think it would. I’ll grab you a Mountain Dew.”
I glanced up in surprise that he knew my drink.
“I’ve seen you here with Angel enough times. You always drink it. Or am I wrong?”
“No, that’s right. Thanks.”
When he got back, it still hurt like a bitch, but I had been through longer, more intense sessions. Twenty or thirty minutes in, I was floating in a kind of fugue state when my phone rang.
Fox paused. “Want to get that? Might be a nice distraction for you.”
I shifted to pull it out, gritting my teeth as my sore skin protested, and answered the call without looking at the screen. “Hey.”
“Axel, man, what the fuck is the holdup?”
Shit. It was Jett, and he sounded annoyed.
Fox lowered the tattoo gun, going back to work, buzzing loudly enough for Jett to notice.
“Are you getting a tattoo right now?”
“I sure am. Hurts like a bitch, too. Gonna look great, though.”
“You finally getting those poker cards?”
“Yep.” I blew out a breath. “Sorry I’ve been MIA, man. I just have a lot going on. This isn’t a good time for me.”
“So you’ve said,” Jett muttered. “Since when is there a bad time to make some cash, man? The natives are restless.”
“I know. It’s just…” I chewed my bottom lip. “I can’t exactly do it without Dalton noticing.”
“Dalton?”
Shit. “Deputy Harvey.”
“Jesus Christ, are you still fucking around with that guy? Just move on to someone else like you always do, and let’s get this shit done.”
I laughed grimly, the discomfort making me a little less delicate than usual. “Fuck off, man. You think if I ditch him, he’ll belessof a problem?”
“Fine, then let’s do it now while he’s all happy sucking your dick. Maybe he’ll look the other way.”
Fuck no. Everything in me rebelled at that idea. Dalton wasn’t that kind of guy. He believed in right and wrong.
“Just have some fucking patience,” I said. “I’ll figure something out.”
“Well, it better be soon. Enough stalling.”
He hung up on me, but that was just as well. I was about to tell him where he could stick his goddamn poker game.
I lowered my phone and closed my eyes.
“You good?” Fox checked in after a minute or maybe twenty. Who could even tell anymore?
“Yeah.” I realized it was true. My body had made the transition from pain to pleasure. I was floating in a cloud of euphoria. Damn. My cock was even hard. “Real good.”
