Page 52 of Haven

I finished the tattoos at 10:30, plenty of time to make it back to meet Vesper. I hadn’t felt like I was being watched at the shop this time, and there weren't any more vague or creepy text messages, which had been a relief. The sooner we can get this fucker, the better. I’m ready to enjoy my life again.

When I walked into the gym, my knees almost gave out seeing Vesper doing a pull-up with her back to the door and no shirt on. Her back muscles were defined, and the tattoos I could see were breathtaking. I did her back, but goddamn did I forget how gorgeous they were on her. It was abstract art. Vesper wanted something different, so I laid out the ink on her spine and let it drip. It reminded me of Venom from SpiderMan, which technically worked with the Vipers.

Vesper peeked behind her with a smirk as she did one more pull-up before jumping down and turning towards me. My eyes went directly to her nipples. Jesus good goddamn. The spider web tattoos around her areolas were not my work, and I was envious of the lucky bastard who got to do them. “My eyes are up here, Rory.”

“Oh, I know, but I like those a little more right now.” She rolled her eyes as she pulled on her black tank top, ruining my show. “Tease.”

“Uh huh, now why don’t you stop talking and let’s get to sparring.”

I dodged a fist to the face, but Vesper got the upper hand and tripped me, sending me careening to the floor. I landed on my back with a hard thud. She lowered herself onto me, crushing my body with hers, her hands on either side of my head. Her choppy hair fell over her face as I watched her lips with interest. I shifted slightly enough to get my legs spread so she could get comfortable between them. This was going to bite me in the ass later, but in this moment I didn’t care.

Her fingers trailed up my neck where my love bites marred my skin, courtesy of Hades. They were still prominent, with hints of yellow from healing even two weeks later. Hades knew how to leave her mark. I saw something in Vesper’s eyes. Was she jealous? Why was that so damn hot? Everyone knew I wasn’t monogamous, but for some reason I had my heart set on women I couldn’t have, and now Hades. I wouldn’t call myself demisexual because I could sleep with people without that connection, but a relationship was something I only wanted with specific people.

She shifted her hips, her pelvic bone hitting mine, and I swore I saw stars. “Vesper,” I breathed. “Please.” Who was this woman, and why the fuck was she begging?

She pressed her lips together. “This is a bad idea.”

I moved my hips against her. “You started it. But who’s gonna tell? Besides, bad ideas make for better stories.” Vesper shifted her hand on my wrists, lowering her face to mine until our lips were millimeters away. “No one has to know.”

“Cinder would kill me.”

“Is Cinder here?” She looked up just to make sure my sister hadn’t magically sneaked in. “I’m a big girl, V. I can handle myself, and I know what I want.”

“Rory.” Her voice became more stern. I knew when I needed to stop. “If I kissed you, if I did anything with you, I wouldn’t be able to stop. Last time was a mistake.”

I lifted my head up, slightly brushing my lips teasingly across hers. “Who says I want you to stop?”

She stared at me, and for the smallest second, I thought she was going to cave, but she had more willpower than I had. She pulled back, running lithe fingers through her dark hair. If sin was reincarnated into someone, it would be Vesper because goddamn. I propped myself up on my elbows and watched her. She was fighting internally with herself. The difference between the two of us was that I didn’t care what Cinder said.

“You’ll crack eventually,” I teased, trying to hide the hurt in my voice. It was something I should be used to by now, yet it still stung every single time.

“I already am, mariposa.” And then like a demon in the night, she was gone.

I slammed myself against the mat, groaning. Fuck.

Forty-Two

Rory

Ihad a five o’clock appointment for a large back piece that I was hoping to finish the outline of tonight. My client booked six hours just in case, and said she’d take enough CBD gummies to pass out. It was a good distraction to keep me busy from my two non-relationship issues and the fact that I missed Hades.

As I got to my shop, there was a pretty, petite girl with bright red hair pulled into a high ponytail already waiting. When she reached out to me on Instagram, she’d said she didn’t have any tattoos. It made me wonder why she wanted such a big and intricate dragon design, but then she told me her story and how this tattoo would be a symbol of power and strength. The cherry blossoms were just an added flare, as pink and red were her favorite colors.

“Hey, Ariel?” I greeted as I unlocked my shop.

“That’s me,” she chimed. Something about her looked familiar, but I passed by a lot of people daily.

“You ready for these next six hours?”

“Yep,” she smiled, “I have my gummies and I am ready to party.”

I gave her pasties to cover her nipples and had her sit on my table while I put the finishing touches on the sketch. I had most of it done, just had to get the cherry blossoms right. “Okay, how do you feel about this?” I handed her my iPad with the final design.

She looked at it for a moment then back at me. “I love it. It looks perfect.”

“Lay down for me and I’ll get this stencil made.”

I left the room briefly to prepare it. It was a big piece and involved a lot of thermal transfer paper so I wanted to make sure it was perfect the first go-around. When I walked back into the studio, Ariel was on her stomach with her head facing the room I’d been in. She gave me a smile as I grabbed my table and pulled it closer. My voice got caught in my throat when I saw the marks on her back. It reminded me so much of my own.