Page 16 of Crown Jewels
“What do you think this is, a first date?” He snarled.
That was clearly not the right thing to say. He went from slightly annoyed to pissed off.
“It was just a question.” I rolled my eyes at the crease in his brow, and went back to my horrible drawing.
Awkward silence didn’t even begin to explain the feeling in the room. I could feel Vahn staring at me while I tried to focus on my pencil strokes. That was not an easy task when one was being inspected by Vahn Kessler.
I found myself doing anxious things, like shifting in my chair, and tapping my pencil on my notebook. And at one point when my eyes rolled up for a second, I could’ve sworn I saw him smirking.
My reaction was stupid. I spent three days a week exposing myself to various men online, yet this made me skittish? It wasn’t like Vahn was a stranger, I’d known him for years. And this was my home.
It wasn’t big and fancy, but it was warm and mine. I should be comfortable here. For Christ sake, I’m the one that found that couch he was sitting on. I had to talk them into bringing it home. But Vahn had a knack for making me feel like this. I should be used to it by now.
“Do you want to see it?”
His deep voice vibrated through the tension building around me, making me want to jump from my chair.
Thankfully I managed to keep my composure despite the thumping in my chest, and calmly said, “See what?”
I would die before letting him know how he could affect me with one look.
“My tattoo.”
Oh. “I saw it.” Or did he forget about barging in on me?
“No, you saw my dick.”
That was an image I’d never get out of my brain. “You’re such an asshole.”
“You’re the one that asked about my tattoo.”
Before I could rebuff or say anything, Vahn stood up, reached over his shoulder, and tore his shirt over his head, baring his chest.
As he twisted his torso, I realized the black lines didn’t just climb his side, they were on his back as well. From this angle I could see the whole thing. It wasn’t just some tribal art, when they were viewed all together they made a bird.
Most of the head and body were on the back, with the wings going over his side and up his shoulder. It was an intricate design that was absolutely breathtaking when seen in full.
I stopped myself from reaching out to trace the edge of a feather. “Is that a raven?”
“Yeah.” Vahn breathed while I continued my inspection.
“Why a raven?” The only thing I could equate to that was Edgar Allen Poe, and as far as I knew, Vahn wasn’t a fan. “Does it mean something.”
“Not anything you would understand.”
I could’ve sworn he shuddered when he said that.
I lifted my eyes up to his. “I might understand.”
And what was more, for some reason I wanted to. There had always been something in Vahn’s eyes that called to me. A loneliness or longing that he hid behind a cocky smirk. Most of the time he was being an ass, so I didn’t notice it. But at times like this, when no one else was around, I could see it staring back at me.
“No you wouldn’t.” He glared down at me. “And if I told you, you’d hate me more than you already do.”
“I don’t hate you Vahn.”
“You should.”
“Why?”
