Page 69 of Lore
“Atiana,” I say, shaking her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. It will be nice to have another woman around here.” She beams, turning her eyes to Blade. She gives him a slow once-over. He’s wearing his glasses, a white T-shirt with his cut, and some light denim jeans with biker boots. Hottie, she mouths.
I hide my grin.
“Curse is with a client right now, but let me show you around,” Rune says, taking my wrist and pulling me into the back. He opens a door that leads to an empty room. “This would be your space. You can do whatever you want with it. My chair is over there,” he points down the hall. “Curse and I share that space. It’s huge, and we put up a divider if the client wants privacy. Normally, they’re happy to sit in the main room and talk shit, though. Destiny does admin and piercings. You can work your own hours. We’re flexible, especially since you have the two kids.”
“It sounds amazing,” I reply, smiling to myself. “When can I start?”
“We’re ready whenever you are. We are fully booked out most days. Another artist here would be amazing. Sometimes we have to close the shop when club business comes up.”
Curse sticks his head in the room and winks at me. He has the same dark olive skin, dark eyes, and hair as his brother, but his is cut short. His nose ring and tattoos scream bad boy. Both of them are so tall that I have to look up and up. “You on board?”
“Hell yes, I am.”
He tilts his head to the side, studying me. “You might want to wait a week or so to start. The timing will be better for you.”
“Okay. Yeah, that works.”
He smiles, flashing straight white teeth, and disappears.
Rune watches him leave. “Sometimes what he says doesn’t make sense, but listen to it anyway.”
Okaaay then.
We head back to the clubhouse, where Lore is teaching Rider how to do a proper push-up with Dove sitting on his back. She’s holding onto his long hair and laughing, her head thrown back in pure joy.
Rider is trying to copy his dad, but his body is still mostly staying flat on the grass with his little hands moving up and down. I pull out my phone and take a video, capturing the moment.
When they see me, three pairs of eyes light up.
And that’s when I know that I’ve won in life.
The party at the clubhouse tonight is crazy. Everyone is here. There’s music playing. Haze just finished his set, and now everyone is on the dance floor having a great time. The kids stayed for the start of the night, while it remained family-friendly at least, before going up to bed. Ora is watching over them with Zade. I told her I’m happy to call it a night and go to bed with them myself, but she said I should stay tonight and have some kid-free time with Lore.
So here I am, at the bar in my favorite pair of high-waisted jeans, drinking a spicy margarita with Xanthe and Lu.
“What happened the other night with that guy?” Lu asks Xanthe, taking a sip from her drink.
“The one who sent me the tequila shot?” Xanthe asks, lip twitching. “I sent it back. I’m not twenty anymore. If they want to send me something, they should send me an entrée, not a shot.”
Suddenly, a closed fist comes down on the bar next to us. Ghost. He obviously heard Xanthe’s last comment. He turns around and disappears into the crowd.
“When are you going to put that man out of his misery?” I ask her, and she sighs, looking down into her drink.
“It’s complicated.”
“It always is,” I reply, turning to the stage when I see Prez up there with War. The music volume turns down.
“Serpents, we have you all here tonight for a good-fucking-reason. Lore, get your ass up here.”
My eyes widen as Lore stalks up onto the stage with his usual swagger, his smile even wider than usual. He looks like a sexy lumberjack with his red flannel underneath his cut, his hair tied up in his usual bun, and his dark beard perfectly framing his face.
His piercing violet eyes land on me. “Butterfly, get up here!”
Oh boy.
I have no fucking idea what is going on right now.
