Page 69 of Midnight Ink

Something warms inside me with the look in his eyes. “I love you, Madd.” He always says it like that. With a soft sigh. Like he’s helpless to do anything but love me.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you?” His brows scrunch. “For what?”

“Where to start,” I laugh. “Supporting my crazy dreams. Doing this with me. Trusting that I can do this. That I will do this. Not giving up on me. Humoring me through all of it.”

Ian flicks his eyes in a roll. “I’m not humoring anything. If there’s anyone who will do this, it’s you.” He smiles. “You turn can’t into will. Nothing stops you.”

My fingers run along his jaw. “No matter what, I’m with you.” I swallow. “You and me, this is for-life shit. You’re mine, do you hear me? And I will never ever let you fail. I will never leave you alone. I will always be here with you.”

“God you’re annoying.” But I watch him blink the sheen away from his eyes. I smile wider with every minute he needs to take to compose himself. “You’re everything to me. Which must mean I’m as insane as you are.”

I lean in, kissing him slowly. I feel him open to me and can’t believe I’m so close to my dream, and I get to do it all with my man and my best friend at my side. Jamie’s not into tattooing, but if he was, I’d get his ass here too. I’ve tried to talk him into moving up this way anyway, but I don’t think he’d leave Luci behind at home. You only fail if you quit, though, and I’m not a quitter. “You want to see?”

Ian nods, pulling out of my arms, and I grab another mirror then let him stand in front of the full-length one. I hold it up and watch his eyes widen. “Holy fuck, Madd.”

The devil-angel’s wings spread the length of his shoulders. The whole thing looks like it was drawn with ink pen. I love the way this style looks. It’s dark and scary. There’s also something sad in it. “A devil?”

“Or an angel.” I smile. “Depending on what you see first.” Of course he saw a devil. Ian always sees the worst, which is why he needs me to pull him back from his dark thoughts, but I also need him to ground my brain in reality.

“It’s beautiful. Holy shit.” He laughs a little. “This is insane, baby.”

“I want to get a picture and send it to Jamie.”

“We can meet up with him if you want.” I know it’s the adrenaline. No matter how good he feels now, I know Ian’s going to crash soon. I did a lot today to finish this, and once this buzz wears off, he’s going to be sleepy.

“I think he’s with Ali right now.” In fact, I know he is, and I want no part in them together. She’s always getting mad about, well, everything. She doesn’t even try to hide how much she can’t stand us. I get it. I’m a lot, but still. Why can’t we all just hang out?

I’ve tried to talk to Jamie about her, but I also don’t want to stop my friend from living his life. Even if he is making mistakes. I’ve known her family all my life. Her mom and dad live in the same trailer park Anna and I do. I can’t fucking stand her. She’s always had this air of being better than everyone because of the sports she’s involved in. Girl, we are all from the same place, please calm down.

Her sister isn’t bad, though. Kind of quiet. Kind to me when I go to their cafe. They’re twins but couldn’t be more different personality wise. “I’ll text him tomorrow. For now, you want to watch a movie?”

“Okay, but first . ,. .” Ian’s lips grow into a small grin then his arms wrap around my waist, pushing me back onto the bed. “First I have to tip my artist.”

FIFTEEN

JULIAN

Orgasms with your best friend are really fucking fun.

I feel him before I open my eyes, his weight and warmth pressed against me. All we did last night was join Alexander and Xia for dinner, then we came up here to watch some movies.

Well, we were more focused on each other than the movies.

Last night felt like Ian was reclaiming all the lost time we’ve had over the years of our friendship. While it all felt fucking good, like really good, I couldn’t help the ugly little voice in the back of my head telling me this isn’t real. That Ian’s just scratching an itch, and I’m here, more than willing.

I don’t want him to break my heart.

I’m tangled up with him now, and his breathing is steady. His head rests on my chest while my hand smooths along his spine. Rain thunders against the house again. It started late last night and hasn’t let up much.

He wakes slowly, blinking up at me with a soft grin. “Morning,” he murmurs. I expect him to roll away, but he tucks himself more against me. Then I feel his tattooed hands tracing the ink on my chest, unhurried and familiar yet new and exhilarating. He looks as happy as I feel right now.

I press a kiss into his hair. “How are you feeling?”

He doesn’t make a move to let me go. Instead, his fingers idly trace my skin and he grins a bit when he skims over my nipple. I half expect him to take it into his mouth, but unfortunately his lips don’t press to my skin. “I feel really good.”

“Me too.”