I grabbed my bag off the seat and leapt out to go to him. I forced a smile, despite my mood. He saw through it instantly.
“What’s wrong? Bad day at work?” He frowned and opened his arms for me to climb into. He was so much taller and larger than me. I hurried over and hugged him tightly, not saying anything.
It wasn’t like I could explain what had me in a funk to him. I wasn’t even entirely sure why Desi had bothered me so much.
I shook my head when I pulled away and reached for his hand. “Your friend is an asshole. Did you know that?” I gave him a smile.
He laughed. “Did I know that? That’s why I hired him! I needed to take you down a peg. You guys are a great fit for each other. He’s just as snarky as you.”
We went upstairs to my apartment. As soon as we stepped in, Arsenio went to the kitchen, looking for the bottle of whiskey he kept there. I tossed my work bag on the floor and pulled off my boots. Then went to my bedroom and quickly slipped into pajamas. Considering I had Arsenio here, and he never came here, I opted for something he liked. I slipped on a sky-blue lace nightie.
I took a deep breath as I admired myself in the mirror I had resting against my wall. My fingers went to the tattoo on my chest.
“The one in between your tits?”
I could hear Desi in my head as I felt for the scar I had covered. It was long and harsh looking. The tattoo made me forget what I had done. Or made it easier to accept.
Arsenio’s expensive shoes on my worn wooden floors caused me to turn. He grinned, holding two glasses. I scrunched up my nose.
“Don’t worry, it’s blood, not whiskey. I hate drinking alone.” He came into the room, and I thanked him as I took my dark drink. I didn’t really enjoy human food and drink.
“Well, I hope you can forgive Desi for whatever he said and have a better day tomorrow. I’ll talk to him when I see him.” Arsenio placed a tender kiss on my forehead, and we took a large drink together.
He glanced around my room, eyebrows raised. My mod-podge decor wasn’t exactly his style. If I looked closely, I could almost see an eye twitch.
While his home was pristine and decorated with expensive things, all white and gold, everything but my bed was secondhand. I didn’t have any particular color palette, but my room was painted a navy blue, and I had candles everywhere, with black sweeping curtains and bedding to match. But the decor wasn’t what bothered him every time he came. It was the mess. The clothes were in piles, the makeup scattered all over the bathroom, and a hundred half-finished projects all throughout my one-bedroom apartment.
“I see you started a new project. Is that clay?” He pointed toward the living room, in which I had a small pottery wheel on a table. I nodded.
“I’m making your birthday present this year,” I teased. He groaned. I laughed and pulled him toward the bed. “And because you adore me, you’re going to put it in a room where all of your friends can see it, admire it, and talk about it.” I laughed as he made an exaggerated sour face.
Carefully taking our glasses first, he set them down and removed his shoes. He glanced at me, and I saw the hunger in his eyes. I smiled, and he took that as permission to quickly unbuckle his belt. He folded his pants, unbuttoned his shirt, and slipped under the covers with me, pulling me into his thick arms.
“You know, people see you as some scary monster, but I think you’re more teddy than grizzly.”
“A bear?” He laughed. “Surely I’m not that hairy.” He patted his dark chest hair. I snuggled closer to him and ran my fingers through the black patch.
“Hmm, okay, maybe something else.” I lifted my head to look down at his right pectoral. I traced the tattoo covering the skin there. A tribal-style bat. It was beautiful, but the story behind it sent chills through me. “Are there animals that represent the seven sins?”
His mood darkened almost instantly. It always did when I talked about his membership in one of the most notorious vampire clans in the country. A band of nefarious Bloodborns. They called themselvesThe Seven Sins, and if you met one, you were as good as gone.
Except me.
“You know I don’t like talking about this,” he murmured. I frowned and returned back to my comfortable resting place against him.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin the mood. I just wish you’d share stuff with me sometimes.”
“You don’t need to get involved in anything regarding that.”
“Yeah, but can’t we just talk about you? I don’t need to know about the others.”
“No.” His voice was firm but gentle.
“I can’t ask questions?” I pouted. He had told me the truth about his origins almost a year into our relationship. While he didn’t kill me, he didn’t indulge me with more information either.
“You can. I won’t answer them.”
“Fine.” I scooted away, lifted his arm, and reached for my phone. I went to the internet app and started typing. “Okay, so there are, in fact, animals that represent all of you guys.”
