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Sometimes I wonder if I want the same for myself, someone to go home to. I quickly squash the thought, pushing it out of my head. I’m perfectly content with the way things are. Temporary pussy is all a man needs.
I pick up the tattoo gun, dip it in the black ink, and hover the needle over a section of Harvey’s ribcage, one of only a few places left untouched with ink.
“Ready?” I ask, knowing he’s about to endure a couple of hours of pain.
“There’s worse pain than a tattoo needle, brother.”
Two hours later, Harvey is cleaned up and ready to go when Dolly strolls into the shop with several shopping bags. She walks over and kisses Harvey.
“I would have been here sooner, but I got held up at this cute little store, Belladonna’s.” I pay attention the instant she says the name of Sukie’s store. “A couple of drunks strolled in and started giving that poor shop girl a hard time, and I wasn’t about to leave until I ran them off.”
Without saying a word, I’m out the fucking door. Moments later, I’m bursting through the front door of Belladonna’s. Sukie, Sage, and Juniper startle and turn to stare at me, wide-eyed.
“What happened?” My fists clenched tight at my sides.
Juniper points, and I follow her line of sight, looking out the storefront window. “Those assholes tried to give Sukie a hard time. They were run off by a biker’s old lady and gone before Sage and I knew it even happened.”
I look at Sukie. “You, okay?”
“Um… yes.”
“Stay put,” I growl. Then I walk back out of the store and cross the street to where the two assholes stand. I grab both of them, fisting their shirts and slamming them against the brick building behind them. “You motherfuckers step foot in that store across the street again; I’ll fuckin’ kill you.” I release them.
“Who the fuck do you think you are, motherfucker?” One of them spits and tries swinging at me. I sidestep his attempt, shove him back against the brick wall again, and bury my fist in his gut. He grunts, doubling over. His friend stands there, looking like he’s about to piss in his pants.
“Get the fuck out of here. I see you two near here again; you’ll be food for the maggots.” I wait for the bastards to walk away before heading back to Belladonna’s.
I stop short of going inside as I lock eyes with the woman haunting me day and night through the window. I stand there for a beat, my feet rooted in place like she has me under some witchy spell, before finally breaking the connection and walking away.What the fuck am I doing?
4
SUKIE
“A little birdy told me there was some intense eye connection between you and a broody biker you encountered a few days ago while shopping at Billy’s.”
My body tenses, and I look over my shoulder at Sage. She’s sitting on a stool behind the counter at Belladonna’s, watching me stock shelves with my newest stress-relief lavender body cream. Her dark hair is pulled up in a messy bun at the top of her head, a look only women like Sage can pull off and make look effortlessly glamorous. Swaddled against the front of her chest in a cozy wrap is her baby girl, Ashlyn.
Standing at my right, Juniper snorts. “Is that little birdy’s name Salem?”
Sage rolls her eyes. “How about you go back to sampling all of Sukie’s products, you mooch.”
“It’s not mooching when I have every intention of buying it,” Juniper retorts as she twists the cap of the body cream and brings the jar to her nose. “I’ll take two of these, two of the sugar scrub, and a few bottles of that orange shampoo I got last time. I sent some to my mom, and now she refuses to use anything else.”
I give Juniper a warm look. I will forever be grateful to her and Sage for supporting Belladonna’s. Because of them, I can keep the electricity on at home and food in the fridge during the slow months. Not only do they use my products personally, but they also use Belladonna’s products in their salon.
“Stop changing the subject,” Sage interjects. “I want to know the deal with Sukie and Harlem.”
“There is no deal with me and Harlem,” I insist.
“I don’t know,” Juniper sing-songs. “There’s for sure some tension there. Any time you two are within twenty feet of each other, we can all feel it.” Juniper lifts a brow.
“You guys are imagining things.”
“You’re in denial,” Sage counters. “You like Harlem, don’t you?”
My face heats under Sage’s and Juniper’s expectant gazes, making me feel like a teenager with a crush on a boy.
“Are you blushing?” Juniper teases with a giggle.
