Page 19 of Painless
“You weren’t.” I dropped a kiss to the top of her head, sliding an arm around her shoulders to hug her close. “I just kept turning it over in my head, trying to see it from all angles like I do with everything. You’ve cleared up a lot for me, really.”
“I have?”
“Yeah.” I held her close enough to feel her heart beat again. “Just seeing that look on your face, knowing for sure that they’re good to you and make you feel like that... It’s a big weight off my mind.”
Warm fingertips slid up my back, making water trail down my skin.
“It doesn’t mean I don’t miss you, Gunner.”
Eight
MARIPOSA
“Icannot believe this!” Jandro whined dramatically. “I’m getting kicked out of my own house.”
“You were going to the shop anyway,” I reminded him, watching Shadow wipe down a chair with bleach out of the corner of my eye.
“I was going to ditch and make the prospects do the work so I could watch you!”
“Prospect, singular,” I reminded him. “Larkan is the only one now.”
“Slick is still my little bitch,” he grinned viciously, leaning into me.
“Stop.” I tried in vain to dodge his attempts to tickle and kiss me. “This is why I didn’t want you here! You’ll make Shadow’s work look like chicken scratch.”
“You were one of my squirmiest clients,” Shadow added. The large, quiet man seemed at ease as he set up his tattooing area. Every passing day in my company seemed to make him more and more comfortable with me. That moment in my office with Freyja seemed to break another one of the many barriers between us. He looked like he’d never pet a kitten before, and it was oddly wholesome to watch.
The kitten in question was curled up in Gunner’s lap, who reclined on the couch with his feet on the coffee table. His long fingers dragged luxurious scratches over Freyja’s head, if her halfway closed eyes were a sign of anything. On Gunner’s shoulder, Horus kept staring at the cat, either protectively or like he wanted to eat her.
“That’s ‘cause it was my ribs, dude!” Jandro protested. “That shit hurts.”
“You picked the placement. My job is the same no matter what spot you choose. So maybe think ahead next time.”
My eyes bounced back and forth between the two of them. Watching them talk and banter like two normal friends was utterly surreal. Usually it was Shadow being silent while Jandro spoke close to his ear. Judging by Gunner craning his neck to look, he didn’t see this often either.
“Fine, I’m a bad example. I can take a hint.” Grabbing hold of my arms, Jandro gave me a deep, toe-tingling kiss. “But I wanna see it right after.”
“We’ll see you and Reap by the pool when we’re done,” I told him, almost wishing he wouldn’t let go. My heart started to pound. It was almost time.
He cocked an eyebrow. “We?”
“Gunner’s coming too.”
Jandro clicked his tongue in surprise, his gaze sliding over to the blonde man on the couch. “All right then. See you both there.”
He stole another kiss and went out the door. The moment it shut behind him, I turned nervously to face Shadow. For the first time since I walked in, he looked just as stricken with nerves as I felt.
“Have you, ahem,” he cleared his throat, “decided where you would like the tattoo?”
I nodded just as Gunner came up behind me, placing a kiss on the back of my head as he rubbed warmth into my arms. A small bit of tension immediately released from my shoulders.
“I would like it on my upper back, please.”
Gunner hissed in a breath, then I felt his smile on my cheek and an affectionate squeeze around my shoulders. “We’re gonna match, baby girl.”
“Yeah,” I grinned back at him. “It just seemed like the best place to be able to see it.”
“Okay,” Shadow said. His jaw clenched as his dark eye settled on Gunner’s face above my head. Was he blushing too? “I’ll need to, um—”
