“Please stop thanking me.” Zelda sighed as she stood up. “Makes me all uncomfortable. Now let’s try to sit you up so I can check your wound.”
Surprised it was easier and less painful than she expected, Wicked sat on the edge of the bed getting her bearings.
“I know your story, Wicked.” Zelda broke the silence. “I just want you to know you’ve always got a friend here, with all of us. You belong here and... I want to be your maid of honor when you and Thorne tie the knot. But no pink or red bridesmaid dresses. Actually, I’ll help you pick out the dresses. I have amazing fashion sense.”
“What?” Wicked turned her head too fast, sending pain through her shoulder.
“What?” Zelda laughed. “That man has not left your side, except to make sure justice was served against the man who dared to harm you. He’s totally in love with you.”
Wicked remained silent, but her heart beat frantically in her chest. If only that were true. She had spoken the words to him, which embarrassed her a little bit, but she wouldn’t change it for anything. She truly didn’t think she was going to pull through and had needed him to know.
Zelda checked her bandage, walked her to the bathroom, used her magic to change her into another beautiful nightgown, then headed for the door. “You’re welcome here for as long as you need to stay.” Zelda stopped at the door, then looked over her shoulder at Wicked. “You’re with family now.”
As soon as the door closed, it was as if the dam broke. Tears of happiness, as well as confusion, fell from her eyes. Family? She didn’t even know what that meant, but she had craved exactly that. She turned and looked out the window into the clear blue sky. A few fluffy white clouds were passing by. How many times had she looked toward that same sky and wished for a family? More times than she could count.
Chapter 14
Wicked watched her customer Jason walk out the door after finishing his last session of the back piece. He had been very understanding about her accident and had waited until she’d healed completely. It had been almost a week since Porky had shot her. She tried not to think of it, but loud popping sounds sent her into a panic, yet that was getting better.
She saw Thorne every day, but he was distant, and that worried her. She gazed out the window as she sat at her counter. With the use of Zelda’s magic and her own, she had healed quickly. She still had a small scar that she wasn’t so sure she’d get rid of. It was a reminder of the night she told Thorne she loved him, and yet he had not said the words himself or even mentioned she had said them.
With a sigh, Wicked stood and started cleaning up. Jason had been her last appointment for the day. She stepped behind the counter and opened her little safe box. Sitting on the floor, she began counting. She didn’t have quite enough money for the rest of her rent, which had gone up about 8 percent. Good Goddess, but she was determined to pay Thorne every cent of what she owed.
Putting the money back, she turned, then leaned against the counter looking around. Bruce had been driving her nuts, following her every move, asking if she was okay a thousand times a day. She finally had to kick him out, so she was alone. She didn’t like the feeling. Staying at Zelda’s there was always someone around. The Shifters came and went. She had even become friends with a lot of them. She was actually a little sad when she’d left, even though she was welcomed back anytime she wanted to return.
Hearing the door open, she sat straight up and listened. Heavy footsteps came closer to the counter.
“Wicked?” Thorne hollered.
Picking herself up off the ground, she popped up. “Hey!”
“What are you doing down there?” He frowned, glancing over the counter to the floor.
“Ah, nothing,” she replied, trying not to drink in the sight of him like a starving woman. He had visited her every day but had never stayed the night. She had to stop herself many times from begging him to stay. She would not be that girl... no way. If he wanted to stay, he’d stay, and that was that. “What are you up to?”
“How’re you feeling?” He answered her question with a question.
“I’m fine.” She really wished people would stop asking her that. She was fine, well, except for her heart. That was stinging a little bit from his distance, but no way in hell would she ever tell him that. Her old fear of being rejected reared its ugly head, and she tried to push it away.
“Good.” He nodded, then looked around. “You have any more appointments today?”
“Nope. My back piece is finished, which he loved. It’s all I had on schedule unless I have a walk-in.” Wicked grabbed a few papers to keep herself busy so she didn’t throw herself over the counter and into his arms. “Why?”
“Because I need to get a tattoo,” Thorne replied, shocking the hell out of her. How many times had she wanted to give this man a tattoo? A lot... that’s how many. “You have time?”
“Sure!” she said a little too excitedly. “I mean, what do you want done?”
“A back piece,” he replied without hesitation.
“Really?” Wicked frowned, despite her bubbling excitement. “What of?”
Thorne’s eyes didn’t waver from hers. “I want your name across my back.”
“Excuse me?” Wicked sucked in her breath, but when he cocked his eyebrow, she knew she had heard him correctly. “No.” She shook her head.
“I’m a paying customer.” Thorne leaned toward her. “And that’s what I want. If you don’t do it, then I’ll find someone else who will.”
Okay, that pissed her off instantly. She would put a hex on anyone who got near him with a tattoo gun. “No, you will not!”
“Then draw me up something... Wicked.” He grinned, seeming happy with the play on her name.
“Thorne, don’t do this.” Wicked sighed. As much as she wanted to tattoo him, her name wasn’t right. “What if something happens and well, I mean, are we even together? You haven’t even spent the night here. You’ve been so distant and I just—”
Thorne was around the counter in a flash. He reached out, grasping her arms carefully as he stared down at her. “It’s killed me to stay away from you, but until you’re fully healed, I don’t trust myself. I’m not the gentlest of lovers when it comes to you.”
“That’s why you haven’t spent the night?” Wicked frowned, her heart hammering in her chest.
“I’ve spent the night, but just not inside,” Thorne replied, then chuckled at her confusion. “I’ve shifted and stayed outside your house, but that will change tonight.”
“Oh” was all Wicked could think to say as her secret place zinged with pleasure. “But still, my name? That’s a big deal, Thorne. What if you find out I’m not the one for you? I don’t think another woman would appreciate my name on your back.” Even the thought of another woman touching him had her magic jumping, threatening to explode out of her.
“There’s not and never will be another woman for me, Wicked.” Thorne’s voice was stern and low. “Never!”
He let her go, reaching into his pocket. Wicked watched him closely and gasped when a small box appeared in his hand.
“I wanted to do this over a nice dinner, but knowing you, this is the place that it needs to be done.” He knelt at her feet. “I love you, Wicked, like I have never loved another. I want you for my mate, my wife, and my life. Will you have me as well as my last name?”
Wicked’s hands slammed over her face as she nodded. Tears flowed freely. He stood and was pulling her hands away. She looked up at him, not even glancing at the ring. “Yes, I will tat you.”
His chuckle filled the room and her heart as he slipped the beautiful ring on her finger. It was a single diamond that fit her perfectly.
“Will you tattoo me naked?” He grinned as he kissed her hard.
“I would be honored to tattoo you if you were naked,” she teased between kisses.
“No, you naked.” His tongue slipped into her mouth, taking all she could give. He finally pulled away. “It’s been a fantasy of mine
since I first saw you.”
Wicked quickly swirled her finger, and she was instantly standing before him naked. She used her magic to lock the doors. “It would be my pleasure.”
It was a while before the tattooing actually began, but once it did, she fulfilled Thorne’s fantasy and tattooed him naked, with the exception of the happy smile she wore the whole time.
“You really are wicked, aren’t you?” Thorne’s voice filled with desire as his eyes roamed her body. She sat on her stool with her tattoo machine, Lenny, in her hand.
She gave him a slow wink. “Just wait,” she teased, then chuckled at his moan.
******
Bruce paced outside Wicked’s tattoo shop, stopping every so often to pound on the door with his fuzzy paws. “Open up!” he yelled, then hissed when no one answered. “I know you’re in there, Wicked.”
“Hey, Bruce.” Sally, another familiar, walked past.
“Hey,” Bruce said before pounding on the door again. He stopped and looked over his shoulder to see Sally glancing at him with sly looks and twitching her nice furry butt. “Oh, hey.”
She giggled as she turned the corner. Bruce licked his paws, smoothed his furry hair, then gave the door another glare. “I’ll be back, bitches! ’Cause I know you’re in there.”
Bruce lifted his paw to the door, giving them a cat flip off, and then headed quickly to where Sally disappeared. “Hey, Sally.” He caught up to her. “So how you doin’?”
To check out all the side splitting books in the Magic and Mayhem Universe, go to https://magicandmayhemuniverse.com/
More About The Author
Teresa Gabelman is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the 'Protectors Series', Lee County Wolves Series and Stone’s Wolf Sanctuary. When not writing about alpha vampires, sexy shifters, and the women who drive them crazy she can be found on a lake with a fishing pole/Kindle spending a fun evening with family.
Being a full-time writer has allowed Teresa to connect more with readers which is what she loves most about writing. If you find the time she would love to hear from you!
Website: www.teresagabelman.com
Email: [email protected]
Wicked *itch: Magic and Mayhem Universe Page 8
