Page 11 of Marked By The Filthy-Mouthed Grizzly
“That’s your sister?” I ask, motioning with my head.
He nods.
Thank god. I didn’t want to have to fight her over this man. She looks like she’s tough as balls.
“It’s really cool,” I say as I look around the room.
I loved the outside ofHeat & Inkall tucked away in the Montana mountains, but the inside is even cooler than the outside. It’s cozy but edgy, like a cross between a mountain cabin and a trendy tattoo shop. The scent of ink, disinfectant, and pinewood lingers in the air, mixing with the crisp mountain air wafting in through the open windows.
The walls are covered in framed tattoo art of all different styles and shapes. Gritty grizzly bears mid-roar, delicate florals that look real enough to sniff, old-school daggers, and snakes that make me weirdly nervous and impressed at the same time. These people are crazy talented. How can so much artistic talent be concentrated in one family?
Four black leather tattoo chairs are spaced out around the shop, each with their own station around them. They’re each worn and cracked in their own unique way like they’ve seen some serious shit.
Every corner has something interesting to look at—bottles of ink arranged like a rainbow on open shelving, stacks of sketchpads, even a vintage jukebox in the corner quietlyhumming tunes. Right now,Lightning Crashesby Live is playing quietly in the background.
I like it here. It feels like the kind of place you could hang out all day in. The kind of place that knows how to keep secrets.
When the drawing is just perfect, Magnus transfers the sketch onto a stencil and puts black latex gloves on.
“You sure?” he asks as he sits on his stool in front of me. “Once it’s on, it doesn’t come off.”
I look at the beautiful sketch that signifies so much and the handsome man who drew it. “I’m sure,” he says.
“Alright, turn around and take off your hoodie.”
I slide my hoodie off and he lets out a low grumble that sounds like a growl. I catch him glancing at my breasts moving in my tank top and now it’s his turn to blush. I don’t really mind though. I kind of like that he’s looking.
He places the stencil on my skin and even though he’s wearing gloves, my body still erupts in tingles under his touch.
He gets to work, rubbing liquid on the stencil to transfer it onto my skin as my mind races. That growl… It sounded so… familiar.
When I was forced to visit my brothers, I’d often hear them making similar noises. Growls, roars, rumbles. It was their wolves…
“I’m going to start now,” he says, peeling the stencil off. The tattoo machine hums to life. I’m glad the tattoo is on my back shoulder and I don’t have to see it being done. I’m not terrified of needles, but they do make me a bit nervous. This is my first tattoo and it’s not exactly a tiny one, so I’m freaking out a little.
“I really don’t want to hurt you, Erica,” he says softly. “That’s the last thing I want.”
“It’s okay,” I say, holding my breath. “I’ll be fine.”
It stings, but it’s not too bad. I hold my breath for a while, but that only works for so long. I need some distraction as the pain wears on. I need this man’s sexy voice to distract me.
“Can I ask you something personal?” I ask as he works.
“You can ask me anything, Erica,” he says in that deep, alluring voice. “Don’t be shy.”
My cheeks start blushing, I don’t know why.
“Are you a shifter?”
The tattoo machine stops for a moment, but then starts back up.
“Why do you ask?”
“I’ve been around shifters before,” I say. “That growl kind of reminded me of the noises they used to make.”
He doesn’t say anything. He just keeps working.
“You don’t have to answer,” I say, feeling awkward and bad that I even brought something so personal up.
