Southern Shifters: Bearing the Ink (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Black & White Book 3) (6 page)

“You are on my skin.”

“I want it visible, so everyone can see.”

It was important to him, which made it important to her. “Okay,” she agreed. “Then I want it too.”

“Okay?” He appeared shocked and wrapped his hands around her waist, giving her a slight shake. “That’s it? Where’s your excitement?” Bex shook her head, confused.

“I don’t —”

“You’re getting a tattoo from one of the best traveling tattoo artists in the Southeast and all you can say is Okay?”

“Well, when you put it that way…” She smacked his lips with her own. “How could I not be excited? After all, my panties are wet.”

Chapter Six

Gus stroked the smooth skin of his lover’s thigh. Just an hour ago, an injured wolf had laid on this same massage table as Gus extracted a bullet from his leg. Now, Bex lay perfectly still as he applied ink to her body.

It was the wrong time to be giving her a tattoo. There was no telling what was going to happen in the next two to three hours, but he needed something to distract him from the impending danger. He needed something to distract him and it was either fuck her senseless or create art.

It’s why he made her ride his thigh. He smiled at the memory of her coming undone on his leg, both of them still clothed and standing in front of the window. He wasn’t big on sexual displays, but taunting whoever was watching, showing them there was no visible fear, and just her, just Bex… Gus knew how damn lucky he was to have her. He intended to keep her too.

He wiped at the outline of the paw print he’d transferred, bent over her leg, and touched needle to flesh. She gave a small flinch, but almost immediately quieted and Gus forced himself to concentrate. Soon, he found himself focused on the task at hand.

Shading the paws would be the most painful for her, but nothing like what he went through when the tattoos were done to his back and arm, and nothing like what he’d put on the skin of others.

But this was Bex. She wasn’t like any man or woman he’d ever come across. To the outside world, she may be nothing special, but to him, she was everything and he’d protect her with his life.

“Before meeting me and all my awesomeness, had you ever thought about getting a tattoo before?”

“No. It was definitely all about your awesomeness that I submitted and surrendered to it now.”

“That’s what I thought. It’s a gift.”

“That’s one way to put it.”

“All right, pretty girl. Remember who holds the needle.”

“As if I could forget.”

“Does it hurt?”

“It stings, but honestly, compared to shifting into a bear… This is minimal discomfort.”

“Yeah. The first few times I shifted, I threw up. I couldn’t help it.”

“You were so much younger. Were you alone when it happened?”

“No. Mom and Michael were there. I’d watched them do it. I knew what I was, so it wasn’t a surprise, but what my body went through was. A big one.”

“Why did it take so long for me?”

“I don’t know. There’s something about you, your DNA that’s different. The mix of two different strains and how your mother’s body processed what was happening to her. I’m not a scientist and I haven’t got a clue about how it works, but that’s the only explanation I can come up with. That there’s no one dominant strain determining paternity. But now that you have shifted, it wouldn’t surprise me if news of it gets out.”

“Why would anyone other than us care?”

“Because there are shifters all over the country. Bears, wolves, tigers, lions, foxes, horses. There are many different ones and they all have their own lineage, own stories about how they came to be shifters in the first place.”

“I had no idea.”

“I know. There’s a lot about your history beyond your mother that you don’t know, but you’ve learned a lot the last few months and you have a family now. A family who adores you and would die to keep you safe.”

“But it all started so violently. What he did to my mother…”

“She never loved you any less, though, Bex. You have to always remember that.”

“I know. I just wish I’d known more. I wish she hadn’t tried so hard to protect me. She didn’t realize it, but I saw the strain it put on her. I saw what it did to her, how people treated her and how that affected her. Like she was fragile, but that she was somehow at fault.”

“How do you feel about Beck still being alive?”

“Pissed. I’m so pissed that his father kept them apart like that. She’d have loved him. She wouldn’t have cared.”

“It had to be a shock for you to see him.”

“I’m not sure shock is the right word. It’s more than that.”

“If I’d known, I’d have gone with you instead of sending Michael.”

“Do you… Do you ever think about your real parents and what happened to them? I mean, with all of this going on, do you think maybe…?”

Gus was proud that his hand didn’t falter. He’d expected her to ask at some point about his parents and how they’d died, but he hadn’t been prepared for how it would feel, how it would make his chest ache. “Yes. They were shot.”

“I’m sorry,” Bex said softly. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

“Why not? What happened, happened. There’s no changing it. Learning what we have from Luke and you and now Beck, yes, my thoughts have wandered there. What if the Mayor or some of his men were the responsible parties?”

“Do you think you’ll ever know?”

“No. I don’t expect to know.”

“I’m glad you were found and taken in, that you grew up with a family.”

“It could’ve been worse,” he remarked softly. He wished he had more to offer Bex by way of explanation, or feelings on the subject, but truth was, it made his stomach roll and turn. If he thought too much about it, he’d be sick. That’s the way it always happened when he thought too much about his real parents and how they’d died, when he thought he could’ve been killed too. For those early years, he wished he had. He’d missed his mother so much. Meryl had done her best to show him as much love as she showed to her own children and eventually he learned to accept it and lean on it, but only so much. In the back of his mind was always the thought of what if? What if something happened to Meryl? What if something happened to all of them?

Gus shook his head and sat back. The outlining on each of the paw prints was done and he loved the effect on Bex’s skin. She was so light skinned that the dark lines contrasted beautifully. The paws would move with her, be a part of her as much the bear inside her would be. They were an outward representation of the animal within.

He slipped his phone from his pocket and snapped a picture. “Here.” He handed the device over and smiled when she gasped. She liked it. He knew that sound. Every satisfied client let go that same breathy sound. Of course, with Bex it was different. He knew every sound she made, whether in pain or pleasure, happy or sad.

He asked anyway. “What do you think?”

“I love it.”

“Surprised?”

“A little. I didn’t know I would. I mean… It’s stark and striking. Is it done?”

“No. I have shading to do on the paws and a few other details to add. It’ll be beautiful when I’m finished.”

“It’s already beautiful.”

“It’s also addictive. You’ll want more.”

“Is that why you have so many?”

“Part of the reason, yes.”

“And the other part?”

“Self expression. Documentation, maybe. Places I’ve been. Things I love. Things that make me who I am.”

“I love them. When we were out at the pond today, I wondered if the skin beneath your fur carried your tattoos.”

“I honestly don’t know. I wouldn’t be surprised though. It’s not something I’ve ever tried to find out.”

“When you move as a bear, your fur changes shades. You’re beautiful and terrifying.”

“Terrifying? Oh, pretty girl…”

“I’m not scared of you, but if I didn’t know anything about you and happened upon you as a bear… Yes, terrifying.”

“You’ll want to take something tonight for aches. Your muscles have been through a lot today and you’re going to wake up terribly sore.”

“What about the ink?”

“I’ll take care of it for you.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re going to be the envy of every person you meet who has tattoos.”

“Why?”

“Because you live with me. You have your very own tattoo artist in residence.”

“You really are cocky.” Bex muttered, then shifted on the table and swung her legs over the side. Gus rolled his stool between her thighs and wrapped his arms around her hips. His head rested against her chest and her hands cradled his neck. She was the calm in the midst of turmoil. “We’re going to be all right, aren’t we?”

“Better than.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because I saw how fearless you were around two injured wolves. You saw grown men, their own pack mates back away from holding them down. You were there in an instant. You have compassion, Bex, and in the end, that compassion will help save us.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s not the violence that gets things done. It’s the tender understanding that does.”

“Doesn’t seem that way.”

“I know.”

“Y’all are cute and I hate to break up the lovefest, but Gus you need to come downstairs.”

Gus sat up immediately. “What’s going on?”

“We have company.”

“Who?” He headed for the window and saw nothing more than had been there before.

“Not out there. Out back. And you might want to hurry. Michael isn’t going to be able to keep himself in check too much longer.”

Gus’s gaze clashed with Bex and he helped her from the massage table, then hurriedly followed Luke down the steps to the first floor. It was eerily silent and alarm skated up and down his spine. “Why don’t you check on the wolves,” he said to Bex.

“Why don’t I go with you?” she asked, linking her fingers with his, resolve in her eyes. She wasn’t leaving his side.

“She needs to see this too.”

Outside in the backyard, seated on the swing Bex had occupied hours before, was…

“Beck,” Bex whispered. He was surrounded by Luke’s pack mates and Michael, who looked ready to pounce. None of them had shifted and Gus figured they should be grateful for small favors.

Bex let go of Gus’s hand and he watched her walk toward the deformed man. “She looks like him,” Gus uttered between barely moving lips.

“How is it possible? She’s a shifter. Y’all have said she looks like the bear. And she said she looks like her mother. How can she look like a third person?”

“I don’t fucking know, but look at them. Look at the parts of his face that aren’t messed up and tell me you don’t see Bex.”

“This is damn nuts.”

Luke was right. It was nuts. There was no logical explanation for how Bex could look like three different, distinct people, one of whom was part animal. And what the hell was the man doing there?

A Town Car was parked sideways in the driveway, blocking the bikes in. “How did you get here?” Gus asked, joining Bex beside the swing.

“I drove.”

“You drove?”

“I don’t have a license and it was slow and not a little excruciating, but I drove myself here.”

“How did you find me?”

“I overheard Maxine’s call.”

“Son of a bitch,” Michael growled. “I knew she couldn’t be trusted.”

“She didn’t know. The truth is, I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he said to Bex. “She was the love of my life, your mother. I needed to see you again. To see her again, even if it’s only through you.”

“It’s not safe for you here, Beck.”

“It’s not safe for you, either. Not for any of you.”

“We should move this party inside.”

Gus glanced at Luke. “For once, you’re the voice of reason.”

“First time for everything, I guess.”

Bex helped Beck up from the swing and walked with him toward the house. “How long until your father knows you’re gone?”

Gus heard the question and was curious about the answer, as well. He knew things would come to a head sooner or later. He was hoping maybe they would have a day or two before it did. He had a feeling that wasn’t going to be the case and Beck’s response confirmed it.

“He likely already knows.”

“Will he know where you are?”

“Not without Maxine’s help. He’ll confront her.”

“You left her there to be interrogated by your monster of a father? You selfish asshole.” Michael’s temper was notorious through the mountains outside Gatlinburg where Gus’s family called home. It would be a shock to the wolves around them if it were completely unleashed.

Gus grabbed his brother’s arm. “Go.”

“Gus…”

“Go. I’ve got this. Just don’t do anything stupid.” Gus let go and Michael raced for his bike. Luke stood at the kitchen door.

“Do you want one of mine to go with him?”

“No. He can handle it.”

“Too late. Derrick is on his way.”

“Fuck, Blackwood. We don’t know what the hell is waiting out in the woods.”

“We don’t know what isn’t, either. Your brother could be walking into a trap. This whole thing feels like one big goddamn setup.”

“No choice but to face it now,” Gus said, stepping up into the house, toward the voice of the woman he loved and an uncertainty that left his gut feeling hollow.