"I'll be quick," he told me, moving my arm slightly so he could access the area he wanted, right below my left breast, where he stroked his thumb across my skin and made me shiver. The buzz of his tattoo gun started a moment later, and I forced myself to stay dead still.
He was done in just a couple of minutes, looking a bit fucking smug as he wiped the excess ink away and applied a swipe of ointment to the lines. Then he placed a feather light kiss against the side of my breast, right above my new ink, and I almost died. At the very least, I drenched my panties. Fucking hell, Cass was going to kill me with those tender moments.
Wordless, he handed me a little mirror out of his kit and let me inspect the finished design. When I saw what it was, I couldn't wipe the smile away.
"Is it okay?" he muttered after a minute, and my gaze jerked up to his.
I blinked a couple of times, then sat up and looped my arms around his neck. My lips met his, and I kissed him with all the overwhelming emotion he was causing inside me. The tattoo was small and simple, but it was perfect: a little skull with cat ears and a scowl. He'd given me a dead grumpy cat.
"I fucking love it," I told him, my arms still locked around his neck and my breasts smooshed into his shirt.
He kissed me again, quickly, then pulled away. "Good," he murmured. "So you don't forget me while I'm gone."
I snorted a laugh, taking my shirt from Lucas as he offered it to me, and tugged it back over my head without my bra. "Like that could ever happen."
Cass shot me a heated look, then swatted my ass as I climbed off the table. "It's late. Get your fine ass to bed, or you'll be a fucking grouch tomorrow."
I scowled at him but couldn't really deny that fact. "Fair point," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.
"Zeddy Bear," Cass rumbled. "Help me pack up."
Zed scoffed. "Screw you, Grumpy Cat."
"Don't be like that," Lucas teased. "Cass is injured. Help him out. I'll take care of Hayden."
Seeing a dick-measuring competition coming, I threw my hands up and exited the room. They could sort their own shit out, and really, I wasn't interested in being forced to pick favorites at this time of night.
Lucas hurried to catch up with me, but as we started up the stairs, I could have sworn I heard the tattoo gun start up again. Or maybe that was just exhaustion and liquor buzzing in my brain.
11
I woke up in the best possible way, with Cass's face buried between my legs. The fog of sleep held me firm as I stirred, my legs tightening under his grip and my fingers tangling in his hair while he tongue fucked me into the sweetest of orgasms. Then, while I lay there all boneless and gasping for breath, he kissed his way up my body and found my lips.
"I've got to go," he rumbled in a low whisper. "My ride is here."
The last residue of sleep faded in an instant as I wrapped my body around him and clung on tight. "I changed my mind," I whispered back. "Don't go."
Cass just gave a low laugh, knowing as well as I did that wasn't really an option. Not when we'd gone to such lengths to turn him into a ghost.
"I'll check in when I land. Stay safe, Angel." He kissed me again, and then he was gone.
I lay there for a long time staring up at the ceiling in the darkness and feeling like a piece of my soul had just walked away. But then the slight burn of my new tattoo reminded me that Cass was only gone physically. And for a damn good reason.
With a groan, I hauled my ass out of bed and checked the time on my phone. Four o'clock. Worst fucking time to be awake. Ruffling my hand through my hair, I stood up and stretched, then hunted out some exercise clothes. If I couldn't sleep, I might as well get a workout in. There was so much to be said for working out my feelings on a punching bag.
I didn't make it that far, though. On way down the hall, I paused outside Zed's room, where the door was partly open and the flickering of his TV lit up the darkness. Thinking he was awake, I pushed his door open further and stepped inside.
But even though the TV on his wall still played reruns of Supernatural with the volume turned way down low, Zed was fast asleep. I should have backed out quietly, but I’ve never claimed to be perfect. How boring the world would be if we always did what we should do.
Zed didn't flinch as I tiptoed closer, seeking out the TV remote to turn his screen off. When I’d plunged the room into darkness, I crossed around to the other side of the bed and, as carefully as possible, slid under the covers. I knew he rarely slept all that heavily, so it was unsurprising when he stirred and rolled toward me. His eyes cracked a millimeter open, and he exhaled as though in relief.
"Cass gone?" he asked in a sleep-thick mumble. I gave a small nod, and Zed just reached out to pull me into his embrace. I cuddled into his warmth, drawing comfort from his familiar touch, and my heart ached when he kissed my hair.
"He'll be fine," Zed whispered, reassuring my unspoken fears for Cass's safety. "Still got eight lives left, remember?"
I smiled and laid a soft kiss on his shoulder where I'd snuggled my face. Maybe I could get back to sleep after all.
When I next opened my eyes, the sun was well up in the sky and I was all alone in Zed's bed. The blankets were all tangled up around my legs and my sports bra, which I'd put on for my workout that never happened, was digging uncomfortably into my ribs just below my new tattoo. Damn it.
Scrubbing my hand over my face, I crawled out and headed for the shower. Even if Chase wasn't being a mega-creep and clearly planning something, I still had an empire to run, and I couldn't keep leaning on Zed to do the heavy lifting while I stayed home and rode Lucas like my own personal pony.
I took my time getting ready, making sure my hair was blow-dried and curled perfectly and my make-up precise. My outfit was all business, with a tight, black velvet pencil skirt and a slate-gray silk blouse. I carried my shoes and gun downstairs in my hands, though, because those felt like a bit much to be wearing indoors.
Lucas was already at the dining table eating his breakfast with his laptop open in front of his plate and a stack of textbooks beside him.
"Good morning, babe," he greeted me with a smile. He was shirtless, in just a pair of sweatpants, and his new tattoo looked even better in the light of day—red and sore, of course, but the artistry was incredible. "How'd you sleep?"
I wrinkled my nose. "Um, good. Sort of. Working on assignments?"
He nodded back with a grimace. "Sure am. This is probably my whole day. Unless you need me for something else?"
Shaking my head, I bit back my desire to look more into his father's history. That was research I could get done without him, anyway. It was much more important for him to catch up on schoolwork.
"Nope, you're all good. I have to head into work, though." I hesitated, not wanting to make him feel like a child by asking if he was okay to stay home alone but... also not wanting to leave him vulnerable.
Lucas read my mind, though. "I'll be fine on my own, Hayden. I don't know if you noticed, but Zed's house is legitimately Fort Knox." He shot me a sly smile. "Besides, he already gave me a whole fucking big brother lecture about not opening the door to anyone and showed me where all the guns are stashed around the house."