by L. L. Ash
There are some things, though not many, more important than bacon, and fucking Fae in her kitchen was one of them.
“Yeah, sure,” he nodded. “But that means you owe me one.”
I nodded, fully aware of the deal we passed around the shop.
“I’ll make time for you when you’re ready,” I told him, glancing at the picture again, excited to see what Fae said about it when she saw it.
Cambria grinned at it and she nodded in approval.
She probably knew what it meant.
“Let’s get going.” Freddie took the paper back to the desk where we kept all equipment to draw a template.
Fifteen minutes later the transfer was on my belly and I was humming inside along with the buzz of the tattoo gun, grinning like the fool in love that I was.
Chapter Thirteen
Roman
Fae didn’t know what to do with me all dressed up in a suit to meet her parents the next evening.
Plus, I’d had to give up the morning and afternoon with her to fit in a client I’d had an appointment with at the same time I was supposed to pick Fae up. So we hadn't seen each other in what seemed like forever.
“Holy cow, where’d my sexy bad boy go?” she asked, looking me up from head to toe slowly three times.
I loved the feeling of her eyes tearing through my clothes.
If I was lucky, I’d get to do that for reals after suffering through dinner with her folks, then I could show her my new tattoo.
The last two days without her had been simple torture. Not feeling her skin or seeing her face, smelling her sweet perfume in forty-eight hours was harder than I thought it could be.
She was already a piece of me, and I had a hard time keeping myself in check, not baring my soul or undying love to her every three seconds.
“Glad you approve.” I winked at her, pressing my hand through my hair, tamed with pomade and finger-combed back until I was channeling my inner David Beckham.
I didn’t dress up very often anymore, but I still remembered how to melt panties with the bad boy businessman look, even with my tattoos peeking through my sleeves and over my hands.
“You took out your earrings.” She lifted a hand, touching my bare earlobes.
“Trying to impress your parents.” I felt almost embarrassed. “Figured the earrings wouldn’t help.”
“You don’t have to change who you are, Roman.” She spoke so softly I could barely hear her. “Earrings don’t change whether you’re a good man or not, whether you’re successful or if you’re good for me. But I...It means a lot to me, that you’d do that for me. For us.”
“Of course.” I cupped her face between my hands. “In case you didn’t get the memo, I want this… I want us. You’re everything I want in a woman, and it’s not just because you’re sexy or you’re a wildcat in bed. You’re it for me.”
Her eyes widened in surprise, then her phone beeped, an alarm going off.
“Shit...” She fumbled with her phone until the alarm stopped.
“Let’s go,” I told her, pulling her behind me and down the stairs before I said something else stupid or sentimental.
She laughed, stopping me so she could lock her door, then she followed before looking around the lot.
“Where’s your bike?” she asked me, confused.
I pulled my keys from my pocket and beeped the unlock button of my new sexy beast of a vehicle.
It was environmentally responsible, too.
Fae jumped and turned to my Tesla Roadster, her eyes scoping the badass curves and narrowing on it, then moving that look to me.
“Since when do you drive a car?” she demanded.
“Since I got a girlfriend that has a penchant for dresses,” I answered back, feeling the words girlfriend down to my bones.
Her lips spread in the most beautiful smile.
God, the woman was achingly gorgeous, and her smile was literally what fueled me these days.
“I hope you didn’t spend too much on it.” She shook her head, probably exasperated at me.
Spend too much? Uh...I suppose she didn’t have to know I spent a cool half mil on the car. I’d bought it from a dude that waited two years for it. By the time he got it, he couldn’t afford it anymore and had to sell. Hence the reason the quarter million dollar car turned into almost half a million. Other sons of bitches with more money than God wanted the car too, and it was a bidding war for a good day and a half. I eventually won, exceeding all offers with my straight half mil.
Needless to say, it got here from LA two days ago and I’ve been getting acquainted with the beast ever since.
Ryan was jealous as fuck.
“Not too much,” I almost squeaked at the lie.
Good thing she didn’t know too much about cars, otherwise she’d probably be yelling at me for selling away my first unborn baby for it.
She didn’t know about the millions stacked away, and I was going to keep it that way for as long as I could. Or until our wedding day. If I could convince her to marry me, that is.
My throat swelled at the thought.
Wife…
Yeah, I wanted this woman as my wife, and I wasn’t even repentant for the thought.
I might not have known her that long, but over the weeks, spending every moment together that we could, I knew that this woman was the one I wanted.
I just had to convince her that I was the right one for her.
And evidently, I had to convince her parents, too.
Opening the door for her, she slid in and whistled before I closed it and went around to my side.
“What kind of car is this?” she asked as I started the engine, nothing but a whisper.
“An electric car.” I waggled my eyebrows at her and she laughed full out.
“You drive a motorcycle, and bought an electric car? I don’t understand you, Rome.”
“Hey, they’re clean vehicles. You should pat me on the back.”
Yeah, that’s not why a bought it. The fact that it went from zero to sixty in less than two seconds… that’s why.
I backed out slowly, the huge-ass screen between our seats showing me the rear view through its camera.
Getting to the street, I opened up with no fucking noise at all expect the sound of the road beneath my tires, getting to the speed limit in a second.
“Holy hell!” she shrieked, grasping onto my arm and the door, looking like she was going to piss her pants.
Er, dress.
I laughed at the nails digging into my skin through my suit coat, as we approached the freeway entrance.
“Which way, babe?” I asked her and she pointed north.
I merged onto the freeway and got up to speed, trying to be a good driver so she could relax.
“Yeah, this was an expensive car,” she gasped in some air. “Had to be.”
I laughed again but refrained from answering.
Luckily, she didn’t ask about it again.
She directed me to her parents’ house, tucked away on fucking Mercer Island, where all the rich pricks liked to congregate.
Pulling into a house in Mercer Heights, I looked at the modern structure, figuring that her dad had designed the bit of art.
It was beautiful, I had to admit. Floor to ceiling windows all around, overlooking the water that was a hop, skip and a jump behind the structure.
We walked up to the front door and Fae held my hand tight as she knocked.
On her own parents’ door, she knocked.
Minutes later a middle-aged woman who looked like she’d lost a fight or ten with a Botox needle opened the door.
Even her plastic-frozen face managed to frown the moment her eyes alighted on me.
“Fae,” she said slowly, as if she was meeting her daughter for the first time.
“Hi Mom.” Fae went in for a hug, that she halfheartedly received as her mom stared at me with displeasure.
“Come in. Dinner will be ready soon.”
Without an in
troduction, we followed her into the house where we met her dad in one of their living rooms.
A man with salty brown hair looked up from reading a printed paper, old school, as he looked up at Fae with a frown.
The fuck? Did these people ever smile at their only child?
Again, Fae initiated a hug with her parent, telling her father she was happy to see him.
He didn’t even pretend to be interested in what she was saying. Instead his eyes washed over me from head to toe, and suddenly I was facing my own father after I’d told him I wanted to be a tattooist instead of running his empire.
“And who is this?” he asked in a deep voice.
Rough and disapproving. Exactly what I’d been expecting.
I pocketed my tattooed hands, feeling a strange sense of shame wash over me as he judged me without knowing who the fuck I was.
“Daddy, this is Roman Smith.” She turned to me with a strained smile and said, “My dad, Greg, and my mom, Genevieve.”
I outstretched one of my hands, tearing it out of my pocket to shake the hand of the man who couldn’t even stand to greet his daughter’s boyfriend.
He looked down at it and sneered.
“I thought he was a successful businessman?” he said to Fae, ignoring my hand and my presence equally.
Fuck, it chafed.
“He is.” She nodded eagerly. “He owns a tattoo parlor in Seattle. He’s very successful there. A sought-after artist.”
Her dad rolled his eyes just as Genevieve came into the room and announced dinner.
Fae pulled my hand and led me toward the table.
I extracted my hand and put it around her waist instead, whispering into her ear to calm her.
“You look beautiful,” I told her quietly as we made it to one side of the table where two plate were set empty and waiting.
“Thank you.” She smiled up at me, her first genuine smile since we’d arrived.
Greg sat at the table, slapping his crystal tumbler on the wooden table and scowling at me from his place.
“Roman, is it?” Genevieve asked as she sat like a wisp on the other end of the table, across from her husband.
“Yes Ma’am.” I nodded, hoping my charm could earn me at least a couple points.
Normally I’d be happy to show people like this the little yellow birdie etched onto my middle finger, but they were important to Fae, so I was adamant to try my fucking hardest to get them to like me. After all, they liked Justin, so their expectations couldn’t be too high, right?
I pulled out every manner my nanny had taught me as a kid, hoping it would be enough.
“That’s an...unusual name.” she nodded slowly.
“Not as unusual as Fae.” I smiled charmingly. “You really nailed it with her name, I have to say.”
Her mom blushed, eyes shining in a dim glaze that suggested either alcohol or maybe some kind of drug like Xanax.
Greg cleared his throat as a cute, older lady entered the room, carrying trays and bowls of food.
She looked at me out of the side of her eye, smiling and winking before heading back to the kitchen.
“That’s Ella.” Fae grinned, nudging me with her shoulder.
Ah, the infamous Ella. The one who taught Fae everything.
I wanted to kiss the woman in thanks.
Or maybe I’d just kiss Fae.
Yeah, I’d do that as soon as I was alone with her again.
“What does your father do?” Greg asked as he served himself from the nearest bowl, plopping food down angrily.
“My dad is in real estate,” I said slowly.
“Real estate?” He sneered again, plopping something else onto his plate. “And a fucking artist.”
Strained silence reigned as we served dinner, but I couldn’t touch mine with the anxiety rolling through me.
I had no idea what to say to get the man to like me. Not without revealing who I was, and I wasn’t about to win this man over by waving around my family legacy.
Minutes passed without a word, and I noticed Fae pushing her food around as she grabbed my hand under the table. Hard.
Eventually Greg slammed his fork down on the table with a growl.
“You honestly think that this boy is a better prospect than Justin?” He aimed a scowl at Fae. “Some no-name artist, from a no-name family. Real estate? How is that a respectable family, Fae? You could have the Vons, Fae. The Vons!”
I felt more than heard Fae gasp at her father’s tone and the loud smack of flatware against the poor table.
“Dad!” she whispered. “How dare you?”
“How dare I?” he roared. “How dare you! How dare you try to throw away your future for some punk! Look at him! Tattoos? Really? Only uneducated ruffians have tattoos!”
My simmering rage burst into a full blaze as I gripped my fork so hard my knuckles turned white.
Don’t say anything, Rome. Don’t fucking say anything.
Fae was crying now, and all I wanted to do was shove my fucking fork into her father’s eye.
“Daddy, we’re good for each other. I…”
“No, you’re not. This is over. NOW. I forbid you from seeing this boy again. I can’t believe how far you’ve sunk since you stopped being with Justin. Evidently you need him to make even the simplest good decisions in your life.”
Greg stood and jabbed his finger toward Fae.
“Your time is up. You get back together with Justin before the end of the day tomorrow and get scheduled to take the bar exam or I’m fucking done with you. I’m done with your immature games.”
With that, Greg turned to me and jabbed that finger in my direction.
“Get out of my house now. I better not ever see your fucking face again. And if I find out you’ve tried talking to Fae again I will end you.”
If I wasn’t in so much fucking shock, I’d have laughed at his ridiculous threat.
This five-ten man with a beer belly and thinning hair was threatening to end me.
But Fae wasn’t laughing.
Fae was full-on sobbing now.
She stood up and ran, and I followed right after her.
I pulled her into my arms at the door, holding her tight as I whispered anything comforting I could think of, but really, I knew she just needed to go home.
Getting her into the side seat of my stupid-expensive car, I slowly drove us back into Seattle and to her condo.
We sat there in the parking lot for a few minutes as she wiped her eyes, gaining her composure back.
“You ok?” I asked like an idiot, taking one of her hands in mine.
She shook her head vehemently.
“No. I’m not fucking ok,” she breathed.
Cussing Fae...that was kind of scary. She never said fuck outside the bedroom. That was just proof of how messed up she was after her dad’s outburst.
“Fae...” I started but she took her hand back and opened her door, crawling out of the seat with surprising speed.
I followed as fast as I could, catching her by the stairs.
“Fae! Pix, listen to me...”
“I need time, Roman. Give me some time, ok?”
Cupping her cheeks in my hands, I forced her to look at me with her tearstained eyes, lashes webbed with moisture and running mascara.
But still so beautiful.
“I’m sorry your dad acted like an asshole tonight,” I told her, but her eyes dropped to staring at my chest instead of looking back at me.
Didn’t matter. I had to fucking suck it up and be a man, because Fae couldn’t go another day without knowing how I felt, no matter how incredibly, mind numbingly scary it was.
“Fae,” I breathed and her eyes flicked back to me at my tone.
Gulping, I unclenched my jaw and let the words I’ve been thinking for a week spill past my lips.
I just fucking prayed she didn’t slash open my heart the moment I gave it to her.
“You need to know,” I told her, wiping a tear off her cheek, spreadin
g the black mix of makeup and salt over her skin. “I love you,” I choked on the words, then and tried again, stronger the second time. “I love you, Fae.”
Her mouth popped open in an adorable ‘o’ of surprise as she searched my eyes for sincerity.
She could search all she wanted. She wouldn’t find anything other than truth in my eyes.
Her hand came up and covered her mouth as her face melted into another sob, dirty tears streaking past her lips as she turned and fled up the stairs, away from me and my declaration.
Pressing my hand over my heart, I felt a tangible emptiness with each step she took away from me, and when the door three stories up slammed, it jolted me.
I told her I loved her.
And she ran.
With an ache beginning to bloom in my chest, I got into my car and drove away.
Fae
“Cam...I need you,” I called Cambria the moment I closed the door, leaving Roman and his heart in the parking lot.
Why? Why did he have to say that?
I looked into his eyes to see what was there the moment he said he loved me.
Was he using those words to manipulate me like everyone else in my life?
The hope brimming in his deep blue eyes held no malice, no manipulation. Only pure love.
Something died in my chest at that moment, because I knew that I could not have everything that I wanted.
I had to choose between my parents and the guaranteed future they provided for me, or the unreliable, untamable future Roman and his love offered.
“What’s going on, Fae?” Cambria sounded panicked.
“Please,” I sobbed before collapsing onto the hardwood in my entry, feeling like something inside me was dying.
She found me that way, instantly falling to her knees next to me and pulling me into her arms. Holding me in her lap, she waited until I could speak again before demanding answers.
“He...he said he loves me...” I sniffled into my wrist, smearing snot and black tears over my skin.
“Who did? Roman?” she asked surprised.
