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“Okay,” I sigh. “I’m worried about the three of you working on me. I don’t want it to be obvious that it’s been done by different artists, and…” I falter.
“And…?” he prompts.
“I don’t want any signatures.”
“What do you mean?” He frowns and leans away from me, so he can look me in the eyes, even though I want to hide. Some artists get offended…
“Well, like Johnny does,” I supply, hoping I don't upset him, but he still looks blankly at me. He pauses for only a moment, though.
“Kelly! Mica! Get your asses in here NOW!” he suddenly hollers, making me jump. I pull the covers even further up around me, conscious that I’m not wearing a lot. Given that I thought the apartment was empty, I’m more than shocked when they pop their heads round the door, grin widely at me, and join us in bed. Like right in, they stay at the foot of the bed, but get comfy under the covers. That’s when I notice that they’re all in their PJs. Of sorts. Their bare chests are very distracting.
“Erm, this is awkward. I don’t usually have three guys in my bed less than twenty-four hours after meeting them,” I say with a strained laugh, trying to break up some of the tension Linc is radiating.
“How long does it normally take?” Mica asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
“Forty-eight, give or take, if I’m having all three at once.” I shrug good-naturedly. “Why are you all still home? Where’s Johnny?”
“He didn’t come home last night,” Mica informs me. “He’ll have gone straight to the shop to open up, and he gave us the morning off each day when we agreed to work late with you, so we get to sleep in. So thank you.” He gives me his infectious smile and I can’t help but return it. Mica is sexy, but he’s cute as hell too and definitely the friendliest and most flirtatious of the three.
“Why did you call us in here? Where’s the fire?” Kelly asks Linc. “Oh, no, wait. Does she hate all of your designs?”
“No! No, I love them!” I race to reassure them both.
“Belle is worried about us tattooing her, and she has something to share with us about Johnny.” They all turn to me expectantly and I falter.
“Erm, so I was worried that it would look obvious that three different people had done my tattoo—” Kelly interrupts before I can continue.
“That won’t be an issue,” he says with a reassuring nod, so I go on.
“And I’m scared that you’ll each deviate from the design to add your own style or signature, like Johnny does.” I nibble my lip and wait for their reactions.
“What does Johnny do?”
“Well, he always makes a deliberate mistake on his designs. Like, when he’s doing text, he always overextends one of the letters, or lines in a design. It’s small and subtle, but he never fails to do it. How do you guys not know this?” I ask, puzzled. “Don’t you all have ink done by him?”
I guess they didn’t know. I watch in amazement as all three of them race to check their ink — obviously the designs that Johnny did — before they start swearing and shouting all at once.
“What the fuck?”
“I’ll kill him!”
“I’m done with this, fuckwit.”
“You know,” Linc turns to me, “I couldn’t figure out why you wouldn’t just get your tattoo done with Johnny. I guess now I know.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry, I know he’s your friend—”
“Business partner,” Linc interrupts.
“Fuck yeah, we’re not friends,” Mica adds.
“Well, I know he’s your business partner, but I wouldn’t let him touch me with a ten-foot, barge pole, let alone a needle and ink.”
“But he’s your brother,” Kelly points out, a slight frown in his brow as he studies me closely.
“Half brother. But yeah, exactly. Who better than me to know all the stupid, fucked-up, shit he’s done? I love him, but honestly, I’m surprised the shop hasn’t been sued by now.”
That last sentence sends them spinning. The guys all scramble out of my bed and room, talking heatedly as they go, without a backwards glance or a goodbye from any of them.
