Page 21 of Painless
“No, the spinal column will be the worst part,” Shadow said. “Because of the bones and nerves in there. But we can stop at any time, like I told you before.” He seemed to lean in closer and said in a low voice, hovering just over my skin, “And Gunnerwasbeing a puss.”
“I heard that!”
A giggle burst out of me, and I tried not to let my shoulders shake too much. Shadow made a throaty sound that could have been a chuckle. I smiled behind my hand, feeling like we just shared a private joke.
“Okay,” he said, the pressure of his hand moving away from my skin. “The sketch is done. Take a look in the mirror.”
I stood from the chair and walked to the hallway mirror, turning around to look over my shoulder.
“Wow!”
My jaw dropped. Sketched in rough purple lines, the Steel Demons skull grinned at me from between my shoulder blades. Its horns swept up along the back of my shoulders toward the base of my neck. The wordsSteel Demonsflowed in an elegant banner just beneath the skull. He made it look more feminine somehow, fitting the contours of my body while still representing the club where I had found my home.
“Oh my god, Shadow.” I kept turning and twisting in the mirror to see it from different angles. All the fear melted away at the sight of it, and now I couldn’t wait to make this symbol a permanent part of me.
“Do you like it?” He sounded apprehensive.
“Iloveit!” I shot a face-splitting grin at his shocked expression as I returned to my seat, propping my arms up on the back of the chair. “Can’t wait to get started now.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Shadow mumbled from behind me. I heard him rip a plastic package open, which I assumed to be the needle.
“Aww, look at you.” Gunner scooted forward, his grin matching mine as he rested his fingertips on my knees that were splayed out on either side of the chair. “Baby girl’s all excited about her first ink now. What do you need me for?”
“Don’t go.” I clasped one of his hands on my leg. “I’m excited now, but I’ll probably start chickening out halfway through.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” His breath fanned over my face, gorgeous blue eyes falling to my lips as his forehead barely brushed mine. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
A buzzing sound from behind me startled me out of the moment. Holy shit, this was really about to happen. I was tying myself to this club forever.
“Are you ready, Mariposa?” Shadow asked.
I sucked in a deep breath, my vision consumed with Gunner’s face. His eyes lit up as he gave a comforting squeeze to my hand, and brushed a soft kiss along my forehead.
“Yes, I’m ready.”
“Here we go. Tell me to stop any time you need it.”
The buzzing filled my ears again and my heart felt ready to jump out of my chest. The warmth of Shadow’s hand returned to my back, followed by a sharp, scratching sensation on my left shoulder blade.
“Oh.” I released a breath. “That’s not bad at all.”
“You won’t feel much of anything in a few minutes,” Gunner assured me. “The adrenaline takes over and you’ll be numbed to most of it.”
He was right. Once I got over the initial shock, it felt like little more than scratching or even tickling in some areas. I rested my cheek on my hands, gazing at Gunner while Shadow worked.
“Tell me about you,” I murmured to the beautiful man in front of me. “It feels like I know so little about you.”
He huffed out a dark laugh through a lopsided smile. “There’s not much to know, baby girl. I try to separate myself from my past as much as I can.”
“Why?”
“Because my family’s a bunch of rich assholes.” He hesitated, rolling his lower lip between his teeth. “Except for my grandparents, who raised me. I mean, they were rich too, but not as asshole-ish as all the others.”
“What happened to your parents?”
“Nothing. They were just too busy being rich assholes to take care of their kid.” His tone made it clear he didn’t want to talk about it, so I stopped with that line of questioning and tried another.
“How did you get to be so good with weapons?”
