Page 11 of Lore
“Me either,” I admit, tucking my dark hair back behind my ear.
His eyes drop to my forearm and all the beautiful ocean-themed tattoos there. “Beautiful ink. Did you design them?”
I nod.
Art has always been my thing. I would always be drawing or painting, and I went to college to become an art teacher. What Hunter doesn’t know is that after I had Rider, I searched for a more flexible job and ended up becoming a tattoo artist. I used to do designs for people, including Hunter. My eyes drop to the tattoo on his arm, the honey-brown eyes I look at in the mirror every day, framed in thick, dark lashes. You can almost see into my soul looking at them. I wonder how much he hated having my permanent stamp all over his body, my artistic vision on his skin. It’s a personal thing, and I’m surprised he didn’t cover it up.
“So talented,” he murmurs, then clears his throat and turns to leave, shutting the door behind him.
He said he was going to talk to his prez, and I’m just hoping that we are allowed to stay here until I can make a plan. I’m going to need some fake IDs because otherwise, Trent will be able to find us and track us down.
Facing the kids, I plaster a smile on my face. Whatever I have to deal with, I don’t want it to touch them.
I created this storm, but I’ll make sure the rain doesn’t touch them.
“Come on, Dove. Let’s have a nap.”
LORE
Seven Years Ago
I’ve just gotten out of the shower when I hear a knock at the door. Throwing on some sweatpants, I’m still drying my hair when I open it. Gina, Atiana’s older cousin, is standing there. She doesn’t bother to hide the fact that she’s checking me out.
“She’s still at work,” I say in greeting.
“I know.” She smirks, pushing past me to step inside. She heads to the kitchen, making herself at home, grabs some juice from the refrigerator, and leans back against the counter. Her eyes linger on my abs, and then lower. “Such a shame, you know?”
“What?”
“That you’re stupid.” She smirks, putting the glass down and walking over to me. She trails a pink fingernail down my chest. “You look like that, and you’ve only slept with one woman. Do you know how fucking good sex can be? And how many different types of fucking there are? You’ll never get to experience that by locking down the first woman you fuck.”
“That woman is your cousin,” I grit out between clenched teeth.
“Yeah, and I love her. But come on, Hunter. Who settles down with only one notch on their belt? How do you truly know she’s what you want when you haven’t tried anything else? Are you really going to marry your high school sweetheart? Those relationships never work out. You outgrow each other, and you don’t have anything else to compare it to. How do you even know she’s the one?”
I hate Gina, but I hate it even more that she’s voicing thoughts I’ve secretly been having. These are meant to be my best years, the wildest years of my life, but Atiana and I have only been with each other, playing house.
Am I making a mistake by settling down so young?
I love Atiana, I know that, but down the line, I might regret not being with other women.
Perhaps we should grow individually before we come back together to get married and commit to each other for life. The thought of her being with anyone else makes me want to kill someone, but knowing her, she wouldn’t anyway.
She’s a good girl.
The girl you marry.
The girl you meet when you’re thirty and ready to settle down.
The forever girl.
What she’s not is the dirty, wild, threesome girl.
My head is messed up, and it’s not fair to my butterfly.
Maybe it’s time I set her free until I figure out what I want.
Lost in my thoughts, I ignore Gina, turning on the television and sitting on the couch. I’ve told Atiana that her cousin is a snake, but to her, family is family.
