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“I’m sorry, but she’s completely booked,” Rico insisted.
“Rico,” Luna said, rolling her eyes at him. Demon seemed a bit less amused by her boss. If she wasn’t careful, the two of them would get into a pissing match and that would really fuck up her life. The last thing she needed was one of her clients getting caught up between the two big guys.
“Give him my last appointment and I’ll stay to help you decorate. Demon can help. I’m betting that deep down—deep, deep down, he’s a natural decorator.”
“You’d lose that bet, honey,” Demon said, causing Rico to laugh.
“Well, it’s only fair that I keep my word to Rico,” she insisted. “If you’re sticking around to help us, I’ll be safe, and you’ll be able to keep your promise to my brother and keep an eye on me. How about it?” she asked.
Demon sighed and nodded, “Fine,” he agreed. “I’ll stick around to help, but I’m not decorating anything. I’ll just make sure that you’re safe, but you have to agree to go back to my place without having a fit.”
“Hey, I do not have fits,” she shouted. Both Rico and Demon chuckled, and she looked between the two of them. “I don’t have fits,” she repeated.
“If that’s what you need to tell yourself to get through the day,” Rico said. Luna wanted to protest, but she knew that doing so would just make her look like a giant brat, and Demon already thought that about her, she didn’t want to give him any more ammunition to use against her.
Demon
Demon hated getting tattoos. Sure, he had a ton of them, but he hated sitting still long enough to let the artist work. Plus, they usually hurt like a bitch not that he’d admit that to anyone.
He sat in the corner of the shop and watched Luna as she worked. For someone so young, she was certainly good at her job. She was finishing up with her last client who wanted a butterfly on her left shoulder. Luna had tried to talk her into something different, but the woman said she had her mind made up and there would be no changing it, so Luna gave her the butterfly.
He was hoping that she’d be too tired to follow through and give him a tattoo. He’d convince her to talk to him on the way back to his place because he just wanted to get her back there. Demon watched as her last client paid and left and Luna stood and stretched.
“You look tired,” he said, “I don’t mind just heading home. It’s been a long day for you. Plus, your eye isn’t looking so great.”
“Well, thanks for basically telling me that I look like shit, but I’m good to go. You want to talk, you let me tattoo you.”
“Fine,” he grumbled, “what are you thinking?” he asked.
“Maybe a witch, or ghost for Halloween,” she said. “I mean, it’s only another week until my favorite time of the year.”
“Um, no,” he said.
“Fine, what do you want then?” she asked.
“Well, I’ve been having work done on my sleeve. How about you fill in a few spots on my forearm? But no witches or ghosts. And no fucking pumpkins either.”
“How about a bat?” she asked, pointing to his arm. “Right here.”
“I think that would be cool,” he agreed. “It will go with the skull I have over here.” He turned his arm, showing her the skull he had underneath his forearm.
“Yeah, I can copy that style,” Luna promised. “Have a seat in my chair and I’ll do a rough drawing to make sure that we’re on the same page.” He sat down in her chair and watched as she drew his bat, her tongue poking out between her lips, and he wasn’t sure if he thought it was adorable or if he was completely turned on. When she finished, she proudly turned it around so that he could see her work.
“What do you think?” she asked. “I know that it’s kind of rough, but it gives you the general idea.”
He honestly didn’t think that it was rough at all. “I love it,” he said, tugging off his t-shirt. “Let’s get going so that you’ll talk to me about this mess you’re in.”
“I’m not in a mess—my brother is, and somehow, I’ve been dragged into it,” Luna insisted.
“Right, and I’m sorry that you’re caught up in all of it, but I promised your brother that I’d keep you safe. I can’t do that if you’re jumping out of my guest room window and running away,” he said. Luna nodded and started her tattoo gun. He almost felt as though he was holding his breath waiting for her to start his tattoo.
“You already have a ton of tats,” she said, “yet you seem nervous about getting a new one. Is it me?” she asked. “Are you worried about me giving you a tattoo?”
“Not at all,” he insisted, “the truth is, I’m a big chicken when it comes to getting tattoos. I’m like this with all of the tattoo artists who’ve worked on me. Don’t take it personally.”
“I’ll try not to,” she promised. “So, what do you want to talk about?” He could tell that she already could guess what he was about to say.
“You need to let me protect you and stop running away. I’m hoping that we can come up with some compromises.”
