Inked

by Jenika Snow

  Evernight Publishing

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2014 Jenika Snow

  ISBN: 978-1-77130-828-1

  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

  Editor: Karyn White

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  Thanks for always being there, even when you're not.

  INKED

  Jenika Snow

  Copyright © 2014

  Chapter One

  Ipseity: selfhood; individual identity, individuality.

  That one word meant all of that, but it was also the name of the tattoo shop owned by Cadeon Morris in the small town of Reckless, Colorado. He might have just moved here three years ago, but he already had a reputation; especially for being the artist the local biker gang went to for any and all ink. And because he catered to The Vicious Bastards MC, and answered to the President of the biker gang, Vincent “Scars” Lore, Stella saw Cadeon quite a bit. Being the daughter of an MC President meant Stella saw a lot of shit, but was also watched and guarded by the biggest and meanest biker bastards around. And she loved those leather wearing, joint smoking, and grease smelling men that were just as much her family as her father was.

  The sound of a needle pressed into skin made a low buzzing noise that filled the air. Stella sat in the leather couch, which was butter soft due to it being old and worn, and watched as Cadeon added some ink to one of the members named Little. The other members were over by the bar, their voices loud and boisterous, but all Stella could hear was Cadeon working that needle over Little’s thickly muscled chest. She turned her attention from the fully nude pinup girl that was being inked on the biker and stared at Cadeon’s profile. At forty, he was nearly as old as her father, but he didn’t look his age. With muscles clearly defined under his dark t-shirt, and his thighs as hard and big as tree trunks; Cadeon was a six-foot-five beast built like a tank. He looked good in The Vicious Bastards clubhouse and although his black hair was cut short he had that hard edge to him, and that day old stubble that covered his cheeks showed he fit right in.

  “Girl, you either lookin’ at Little pretty fucking hard, or you want the tattoo boy.”

  Stella glanced over at Ranger, one of the original Vicious Bastards, and older than her grandpa. To him everyone was a “boy”. “I’m not looking at anyone. I’m not watching Cadeon work.” She rubbed her suddenly pasty hands on her jeans and averted her eyes. Ranger was older and sometimes acted senile, but she knew he was sharper than the majority of the guys in the club.

  He sat down beside her, and the scent of old cigar smoke and the aged leather of his cut filtered up her nose. “I was thinking of having the kid give me a new tat.”

  Stella leaned back on the couch and pulled her legs up and under her butt. Ranger already had both arms covered in ink, as did the majority of the club, but she didn’t think he had gotten any new ones in quite a while. “Yeah, I was thinking of getting one, too.”

  Ranger looked over at her and lifted one bushy white eyebrow. His white beard was slightly yellow and touched his chest, but under all the wrinkles and ink she saw a man that was still filled with so much life. She looked at Ranger much like she did her own father for guidance and affection. This club was her family, and these men were the guys she loved more than anything else. Of course she could do without some of the things that went along with being associated with a biker’s life. Stella looked over Ranger’s shoulder and stared at the club whores rubbing themselves all over the members. That was one of the disadvantages of hanging at the club: all the willing women that threw themselves at the guys in hopes of becoming their old lady. They tried too hard to be noticed, to be loved by men that didn’t want anything more than an hour or two of their time. But then again they had chosen the life of a pussy that got passed around. Just thinking about all of that had a sour taste settling in Stella’s stomach. She didn’t want to put any more thought on what any of them did together.

  “So you actually thinking about getting some ink?” Ranger asked and leaned in to nudge her shoulder with his own.

  Stella looked over at Cadeon and Little again, and saw they were finishing up. “I was thinking about it, have been for a while now.”

  “Your dad know about this?”

  She shook her head, and then knitted her brows and glanced sideways at him. “What difference does it make if he knows about it or not? It’s not like I need his permission. I’m twenty-three years old for God’s sake.”

  Ranger held his hands up and started chuckling. “Calm down, girl. I’m just saying your dad likes to know what’s going on with the club, and you’re part of that.” Ranger still wore a grin, and his teeth, yellow from years of smoking, flashed through his thick beard. “Besides, this is your first, right?”

  She nodded and rubbed her hands on her thighs again. She was nervous, but not because of getting a tattoo. What she was nervous about was being in Cadeon’s tattoo chair with his huge body over hers as he ran that needle over her flesh. She had wanted him since she first saw him in town, and dammit if three years wasn’t a long time to pine after a guy that hardly even looked her way. Stella was just used to guys staying away. Big ass biker guys that growled more than they spoke tended to make her dating schedule pretty open. But she couldn’t fault them for looking after her. Hell, she had known all of them since she had barely started to walk.

  “So, you gonna talk to your old man?” Ranger was grinning again, and it was hard not to smile as well.

  “You know I am, but you also know he isn’t going to say no. I mean every guy in here is covered with them.”

  “True, but you’re his little girl.” Ranger put his arm around her and pulled her in close to him. The scent of cigarettes intensified, but she didn’t care.

  Stella looked back at Cadeon and felt her heart start to race as she watched him do such mundane things. But it was those little things, ones like him putting his equipment away, which caused the muscles of his biceps to flex and bunch under the thin material. Or when he bent over and his loose and worn jeans molded over his ass. Stella was never an “ass woman”, but good lord, did Cadeon have a nice one.

  “Girl, I’m not even looking at you and I know you’re checking out that boy.” Ranger chuckled deeply and tightened his arm around her shoulder. “You know your dad isn’t all about you dating older guys, and certainly not one that has a reputation like Cadeon does.”

  “Look, he is nearly as old as my dad and therefore not a boy—”

  Ranger looked down at her, and by the expression on his face she knew pointing out Cadeon was nearly the same age as her father probably wasn’t helping her.

  “And I’m not sure what you all heard, and don’t know if I even want to know, but he isn’t nearly as bad as you guys.” She was teasing, but there was a look in his eyes, one that her father normally gave her when he was being serious about something.

  “Listen, I used to bounce you on my knee when you didn’t even reach it standing up.” He ruffled her hair and grinned until the corner of his eyes crinkled. “But you be careful. I may be old, but I can tell when you are giving googly eyes at some boy.”

  Now it was her turn to lift a brow. “Googly eyes?” She started laughing. Leave it to a biker that cursed in church to use words like “googly eyes” to get his point across.

  Ranger stood and
headed back toward the bar with the other members and the club whores. She watched for a second and saw Butters—a veteran female that had been spreading herself for the club for longer than Stella could even remember—make her way over to Ranger and grind herself all over him. Stella’s dad had made sure to keep her out of this atmosphere when she was growing up, but even at fifteen years old when she was learning how to do the books of the motorcycle parts store the club owned, she had heard enough rumors to last a lifetime. Then after high school she experienced her first full on MC party inadvertently. Ever since then she was thick in the club, and didn’t hide from even the grisly aspects of this life.

  The sound of heavy footsteps coming closer had her coming out of her thoughts and looking up to watch Cadeon approach. His focus was on his cell, but she knew if she wanted this done she had to do it now.

  “Hey.”

  He stopped and glanced her way. “Hey, Stella.” He grinned, and God, was it one of those panty dropping grins that made girls wet instantly. And yeah, she was one of those girls right now. “What’s up?” He shoved his phone in the back of his jeans and adjusted the bag with his tattooing equipment in his hand.

  Stella looked over at the bar again, saw her dad eyeing her curiously, and she quickly looked back at Cadeon. “I was wondering if you’d have time to give me a tattoo, my first one actually.”

  He cocked a dark eyebrow, and his grin grew. “A virgin huh?”

  Stella felt her cheeks heat. The first thing she had thought about was something totally different. She shook her head, and then her face heated even further. “Uh, no, I mean, yeah.”

  His grin widened, and right then she wanted the ground to open her up and swallow her whole.

  She stood and smoothed her suddenly sweaty hands over the back of her jeans. “But yeah, I was actually thinking of getting one. I mean look at the guys I am surrounded by. They are all covered in tattoos, yet I don’t even have one.” Now she was stuttering out her words and felt like some kind of fifteen year old girl talking to the first guy she ever crushed on. Three years of knowing him, and having very small and “safe” conversations with him, clearly did not make this any easier. But honestly all she could think about was having him so close, having his hands on her, and knowing she was going to be a nervous wreck when he finally pressed that needle down on her skin for the first time.

  He ran a hand over the back of his head, and she was riveted at the way his bicep tensed and flexed from the movement. “Yeah, I can give you some ink. Just tell me the time and place and I’ll work my schedule around it.”

  Her heart started to work double-time, and she smiled. “What about this weekend?” In her peripheral vision, she saw her dad walk toward her. She turned and looked up at her dad, saw the nasty scar that started right below his left eye and moved all the way down to where his jugular was. He had gotten that a couple of years after she was born and it was how he had gotten the nickname “Scars”. She might have been young, but he had told her how he had gotten the scar, and how her mother had died. Stella hated that story, hated thinking that a rival MC had come seeking retribution and her mother had been in at the wrong place at the very wrong time. It had cost her her life, and nearly killed her dad. This life was ugly and violent, but it was all she knew, and all her father and the men in this club knew.

  “Hey, baby girl.” Her dad wrapped his big arm around her and pulled her in close to the side of his body. Stella wasn’t a “small” girl by any means, and even considered herself on the thicker side. But standing next to any of the guys within the club had her feeling like she was petite. “What are you guys grinning about over here?” her father asked, but his focus was on Cadeon. He may have been the exclusive ink man for The Vicious Bastards, but her father was very protective of her and usually jumped to conclusions before getting all the facts.

  “I was actually talking to Cadeon about getting my first tattoo.”

  Her dad looked at her, and she saw the flash of surprise on his face. “Yeah? Uh.” He rubbed his hand up and down her arm. “I was wondering when you’d finally get one. Where you thinking about getting it?” He turned and looked at Cadeon again.

  “I don’t know. I was hoping Cadeon could help me on placement.” There was a silent moment among the three of them, even though the sound of deep laughter and filthy words came from right beside them.

  Her dad looked over at her again. “Well, let me know what you decide.” Scars slapped Cadeon on the back, and turned toward her and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. He headed back to the other members by the bar.

  “Come on, I’m heading out to my car anyway. I’ll walk you out.” She tilted her head toward the front door, but before she could leave a few of the guys had to stop what they were doing and say bye, too. She had never been embarrassed by the affection the guys gave her, and really wasn’t right now either; but she felt Cadeon watching everything, and couldn’t help but feel her face heat at all the attention she was getting.

  A lot of people in their small town hated The Vicious Bastards MC. She was known as the “biker bitch princess” and although she shouldn’t take offense at names like that, she did take offense to people disrespecting her family.

  Reckless, Colorado would have been ideal as more of a retirement community than being the home of a bunch of outlaw bikers, but this had been their home before all the “old folk” started making roots here. People talked in a small town, as they usually did, and whenever a Vicious Bastard walked down the street people tended to stay away. Yeah, they were big, mean, usually dirty from fixing their bikes, and were the most dangerous men Stella had ever met, but if they were treated right then they treated others like gold.

  The picturesque mountain town was perfect for the MC though, and not just because it was out in the middle of nowhere. The club had pipelines set up with adjoining cities in and around Colorado, and they all had to come through Reckless to get their shit to their final destination.

  Stella stepped through the clubhouse front doors first, and although she didn’t turn around to know Cadeon was right behind her, she could feel his very presence. The sun was starting to set, and prospects and members were wrapping things up for the evening.

  “So, about that tattoo.” Cadeon stepped in front and looked down at her. He grabbed his sunglasses that he had placed in the collar of his shirt and slipped them over his eyes. God, that man had no idea the effect he had on women, or maybe he did, and that had been what Ranger meant about his reputation. Just because she had known him for the last three years didn’t mean she knew his business. Cadeon did a pretty good job of keeping to himself, but if someone lived in Reckless then The Vicious Bastards knew everything about them.

  “Your dad is kind of worried about you,” Cadeon said.

  His words had Stella lifting both of her eyebrows in surprise. “You got that from that tiny interaction back there?” She pointed behind her at the clubhouse even though it was a stupid move. Of course he would know what she was talking about.

  The corner of Cadeon’s mouth kicked up.” Your dad didn’t need to tell me to watch my step for me to know that was what he meant.” Before she could respond he was talking again. “Don’t let the tattoos and Harley fool you. I am a pretty harmless guy.” Now she didn’t know if she believed all that.

  Stella smiled and glanced down at her feet. “Well, he can be pretty badass without saying much.” She looked up at him again. “But if I’m going to get my very first tattoo I’d like you to be the one to give it to me. I trust you.” Her pulse was pounding so hard and fast that she could hear it in her ears. But Cadeon was like stone in front of her and didn’t move or respond, which had the effect of making her feel like a fool. “I mean, if you want to be my first.” Oh God. Just shoot me now.

  He grinned this time, flashing his straight white teeth and making all of her erogenous zones jump up and down in feminine excitement. “You know what design you want?”

  She nodded, but before
she could tell him he was speaking again.

  “How about you come by the shop tomorrow evening? My last client is at six, so any time after that.”

  “Okay, thanks.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but he smiled even wider, and turned and headed toward his Harley. Yeah, the man could wear a pair of jeans like no one’s business.

  Stella stayed right where she was and watched as he put his bag into one of the saddle compartments on the side of his bike, straddled the Harley, and put his skullcap on. Then he started the engine, she swore she could feel the vibrations from where she stood, and they traveled right through her body. He looked her way, or maybe it was just wishful thinking on her part, because honestly she couldn’t quite tell because of his sunglasses.

  She didn’t know how long she stood there even after he had rode off but she knew that come tomorrow she was going to have one hell of a time keeping her hormones in check. With Cadeon so close to her, him touching her in an intimate way, and even though it might not be that way for him … yeah, she was wet right now just from the thought.

  Stella was in for one hell of a tattoo session if she couldn’t get herself under control.

  Chapter Two

  Cadeon was having a really fucking hard time getting his dick to go down, and since he was on his Harley that was one uncomfortable fucking ride. He had been thinking about Stella all damn day, going over the things he felt for her, and that said things were not good at all. What he wanted to do to her since the moment he saw her three years before were filthy, hardcore, and would get his ass kicked ten times over by each and every Vicious Bastard. It was just a tattoo after all, but then again it wasn’t. He would be up close and personal with Stella, and that was dangerous, seeing as he wanted her like he had never wanted another woman before. He had done a good job of keeping his dick in his pants where Stella was concerned, and pretty much keeping his distance. It was better that way, safer, too. The last thing he wanted to do was piss off the President of The Vicious Bastards because he had fucked his little girl. That, right there, was ground for him to go missing … like the six feet under kind of missing.