Marks on My Skin (Love & Ink #1)

by J. A. Howell

  “Don’t be disrespectful ta Shayne then, ya jackarse. She’s a good friend. We used ta go ta school together.” Nolan smiled at me and ignored the grumbling from Grant. We hadn’t been best friends or anything, but unlike most my other peers, Nolan and his friends had always been nice to me when we were younger.

  “Been a little while since you got some ink.” I nodded at him, keeping my eyes on my work.

  “I’ll probably get something again soon. Maybe add a bit more ta my sleeve. Might bring the wife in too, after she has the baby. She’s been thinkin’ about getting one.”

  “Well, I’d be happy to make something for her.”

  Thirty minutes later, I’d finished the tattoo. I was just taping the dressing over it when my cellphone buzzed with a text message.

  :We started drinking already. Hurry up. I need reinforcements. Meet us at The Motorhead.:

  “Oh dear.”

  “What’s up?” Nolan looked over at me.

  “Liam. Him and his brother are drinking. I have no idea if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I’ve never met this brother.”

  “Hmmph. Two drunk Irishmen with a grudge? No, that’s never good.” Nolan shook his head and handed me cash. The other two stumbled out of the room behind us. “Ya want us ta walk ya ta yer car? Can’t be too careful.”

  “Yeah, I’d appreciate that, just let me turn off all the lights.”

  I made my nightly rounds, checked the lock on the front door, and followed them out back to the small lot where my midnight blue 87’ Thunderbird was parked.

  “Be safe, Shay shay.” Nolan laughed and gave me a hug.

  “You too. And remember what I said about that one.” I nodded toward Grant. Unfazed by my stern look, Nolan beamed at me. The drunk and freshly tattooed young Scot flashed me what might have been a flirtatious grin and swayed on his feet unsteadily.

  “Ye ken, love. If ye liked whit ye saw when ye were down there tattooing me, gimme a call—Feck! Stop hitting me ye big oaf!” He attempted to whirl on Nolan but instead stumbled into my car.

  Nolan wiped a hand over his face, trying to rid himself of the satisfied grin as Camden steadied the younger Scot.

  “Oh I’m sure it won’t be ya he comes swingin’ at when he wakes up tomorrow.” Nolan assured me.

  “Right. Take care. And tell Harley I said hi.” I smiled

  before getting into my car and heading for the bar.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Bait and Switch

  I took another drag from my cigarette and glanced around the pick-up area of the airport. I didn’t see Niall yet. I was relieved it was him picking me up and not Liam. Just the thought of seeing Liam made my stomach clench. I hadn’t talked to him in five years, all because I was an idjit. I took another drag then coughed as the cigarette burnt down to the filter and singed my fingers.

  “Feckin’ shite! Lil’ bastard.”

  “The feck are ya doin’ flailin’ about and talkin’ ta yerself?” Liam stood next to an older black Charger in the pick-up lane. I pulled my fingertips from my lips and wiped them on my shirt as my stomach did an uncomfortable flip. Feckin’ Niall. I should have known this was a set up.

  “I burnt myself.” I grunted, avoiding my older brother’s stone-cold gaze.

  He came around the back of the car but didn’t make a motion to offer me any sort of brotherly greeting. Instead he grabbed my suitcase and flung it into the open trunk.

  “I thought ya quit smokin’.” He glanced at me over the roof of the car. I got into the passenger side and pulled out another cigarette.

  “I did.”

  He laughed, watching me. “What’s wrong, Kendall got yer knickers in twist?”

  The cigarette broke in half in my fingers.

  “I don’t really want ta talk about her right now. Can we just go?”

  He let out a grunt but put the car in gear and drove toward the interstate. I hadn’t been to Midtown before, but both he and Niall seemed to like it. Maybe I would too. Not like I had anything waiting for me back home.

  “Ya know, ya can’t just show up here after castin’ me out like ya did and say ya don’t want ta talk about the very reason ya did it.” Liam said, his eyes staying on the road.

  “It’s just...could we talk about it after a couple drinks or something?”

  “Feck off, man. Yer lucky I came ta get ya. Now tell me why the feck ya just decided ta show up here out of the feckin’ blue.”

  I took a slow drag and let it out through gritted teeth. “Fine. Ya were right. That’s why I’m here.”

  He let out an incredulous snort. “The feck does that mean? I was right? Right about what?”

  “Ya were right about her.”

  “That she was a stupid manipulative bitch? That she was just using ya? What?”

  “All of it. Feckin’ all of it.” I drew in a sharp breath.

  “Leave it ta ya, the feckin’ writer ta be all cryptic. Just tell me what the hell she did that has ya clear on the other side of the country from her.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to keep the anger from resurfacing. Liam gave me a sideways glance then rolled his eyes.

  “Just feckin’ say it.”

  “Five guys! FIVE FECKIN’ GUYS! That’s what she feckin’ did!”

  The car jerked to the side and Liam’s eyes went round before he returned the car to its current lane.

  “Ya mean...at the same time?”

  Another cigarette broke in half between my fingers before I could light it.

  “Jayhsus feckin’ Christ. Ya do need a drink.” He blinked, still stunned, and returned his attention to the road. I pulled another cigarette from my pack, lit it, and took a long drag.

  “I need a whole feckin’ bottle of whiskey is what I need.” I grumbled, staring at the passing scenery as smoke snaked past my lips, curling and twisting into the air.

  Liam turned onto an exit and ten minutes later we were parked outside of a bar called “The MotorHead.”

  “What the feck is this place?”

  “It’s more of a biker bar. My friend Shayne digs this place. Should be on the way ta meet us.” Liam strode toward the front, passing a long row of bikes parked out front. “They’ve got excellent wings as well.”

  He pulled the door open and sure enough several men hung around the bar in riding leathers with various patches sewn to the back of their vests. One with wind-burnt skin, a long grey braid, and a Harley bandana on his head looked toward me and let out a grunt, sizing me up.

  “They better at least have something decent ta drink.” I grumbled, sliding into a booth across from Liam.

  “Hey, the feck kind of guy ya think I am?”

  “Well, obviously we’ve established I’m a bad judge of character.”

  “Right.” His lips pulled into a frown, no doubt recalling the last time I’d seen him and horribly misjudged the situation between him and Kendall.

  “Listen, I’m really—”

  “It’s fine.” He waved me off and nodded to a waitress. “A couple whiskeys?”

  She came back a few minutes later with tumblers of whiskey and I grabbed mine up, taking a gulp. “Christ, slow down, arsehole.”

  “Sorry.” I slammed the glass down and squeezed it in my fist. “Feck! Feckin’ bitch!”

  A smirk pulled at Liam’s lips, but Niall was right. He wasn’t the type to gloat when he was right about something. “So, ya goin’ ta tell me what the hell happened?”

  I took another gulp, letting the heat of the liquid work down through my chest, mentally replaying the events from two months ago.

  “I’d been out, looking fer a job ta supplement my royalties and trying ta finish my current project. Anyway, I told her I wouldn’t be back until six, but then I decided ta surprise her at lunch time.”

  I took another sip of whiskey and closed my eyes for a moment.

  “So, I got home and the front door was unlocked. I thought it odd, but pushed the door open and immediately heard
Kendall crying out upstairs. Thinking the worst, I ran up ta our bedroom.”

  “Oh jayhsus..right in yer bedroom?” Liam cringed and took a sip himself.

  “Yeah. They were on her, all at the same time. One in every…” I drained my glass, unable to finish my sentence. “Not realizing what was really goin’ down, I ran in swingin’ and knocked one of them out with a lamp before it dawned on me what was really goin’ on. One of the bloody arseholes had even been in the kitchen makin’ himself a damn sandwich and just sauntered in completely naked. Still not sure how I missed him when I first got home.”

  “Holy feckin’ hell.” Liam motioned the waitress to bring us more whiskey. “I’m sorry, Kier. That’s fecked up. So ya kicked her arse out, I’m assumin’?”

  I glowered, embarrassment coloring my cheeks. “No, she feckin’ left me. Told me she didn’t love me anymore. I’m not sure she ever did.”

  “I’m sorry ya had ta realize it that way.” Liam sighed and leaned back against the seat.

  “Look. I should have talked ta ya sooner after it all happened. Ta tell ya what an idjit I am fer listenin’ ta her. I’m feckin’ sorry.” I took another drink. Anger tried to boil up again, but my senses were dulled from the liquor.

  Liam waved off my apology, probably assuming I’d suffered enough for my mistake. His phone buzzed and he pulled it out, messaging someone. “Shayne should be here shortly.”

  I nodded, not really in the mood to hang out with some other tattooed dude that was a fan of biker bars, but Liam was right about the drinks. They at least had decent whiskey. I finished off my second glass and Liam had the waitress bring around a couple pints. I brought the dark lager to my lips as the front door of the bar swung open. A gorgeous woman with straight black hair and bangs walked in wearing a red mini skirt molded to her curvy figure, a leather jacket, and black Doc Marten’s. Her eyes searched the bar and a moment later she smiled in my direction. I gasped, accidentally sucking in foam and coughing on it.

  “The feck’s wrong with ya?” My brother shook his head at me and I wiped the dribbled beer from my chin. He stood and I realized then that the girl hadn’t been smiling at me. She’d been smiling at Liam. I cringed, realizing I’d just ogled my brother’s girlfriend. She hugged him around the middle and he put a large arm around her shoulder as they both turned to me.

  “Kieran, this is Shayne, my friend and co-owner of The Knotted Needle. Shayne, this is Kieran, my arsehole little brother.”

  I ignored his little brother comment and blinked up at her warm, caramel-colored eyes.

  “This is Shayne?”

  “Yeah, why?” Liam tilted his head and sank back down onto the other side of the booth.

  “I just...” I looked over her a bit too leisurely. “I was expectin’ a big tatted up guy. Not ya.”

  She grinned at me. “Yeah, I get that a lot. Um, you have some beer on your chin.” I scooted over, wiping at my face again and she settled down next to me. “How much have you two had? I’ve got some catching up to do, don’t I?”

  Liam laughed and waved the waitress over again and she placed two glasses of whiskey in front of Shayne. She flashed me a conspiratorial grin and picked one up, downing it. I sat there gawking at her in amazement. No wonder she and Liam were friends. She could probably drink him under the table.

  “Yow!” She squealed and slammed the glass back down on the table. “So, what are we celebrating? Big family reunion?”

  Liam’s gaze shifted to me and I shrugged, taking a long draw from my beer.

  “My wife threw a gangbang and forgot ta invite me.”

  Shayne’s eyes widened and she sputtered, spraying droplets of whiskey in Liam’s face. He shot me a dirty look and grabbed a napkin, wiping off his face.

  “Wow.” Shayne wiped at her chin and sipped the remainder of her whiskey. “So what’s your lovely wife’s name?”

  “Kendall.”

  Shayne beamed at me. “Mmm, I see. Well she sounds like a very inconsiderate bitch. The least she could have done was invite you.”

  Liam made a strangled noise between a snort and a choke on the other side of the table and my eyes darted to him.

  “What? That was little funny.” He admitted.

  “Sorry,” Shayne blushed and dipped her head down so her thick bangs fell in her eyes. I wanted to be upset, but her eyes held a mischievous gleam that I couldn’t help but smile at.

  “It’s fine.” I said and put a hand on my knee, rubbing it in agitation at the thought of Kendall. No. I wasn’t going to think about her right now. Shayne watched me with curiosity and her eyebrow ticked up. My thigh tensed under my hand and I realized then that it wasn’t my thigh. I was sitting there absentmindedly rubbing Shayne’s. My hand froze but she flashed me a sly grin then turned her attention back to Liam as if I hadn’t just been feeling her up like a drunken idjit. A small tingle of arousal ran through me. Whether from the effects of whiskey, or Shayne’s raw attractiveness, I kept my hand there. I would have felt bad that she wasn’t my wife, but with everything considered, I didn’t really care. She was nothing like Kendall, and I found that overwhelmingly attractive.

  “So, how long are you staying?” Shayne asked, pulling my attention back to the conversation.

  “I’m not sure yet. I didn’t really make much of a plan.”

  I finished my pint and the waitress came by with another. I drank it, feeling sufficiently numbed. My finger’s traced the hem of her skirt and she spread her legs so her thigh was pressing against mine. My face flushed and I took another drink, trying to hide it. Did she have any idea what she was doing?

  “Well we’ll have to show you some of the local points of interest then.” She cast me a sideways glance and licked whiskey off her lips. Yeah, she knew what she was doing. My cock stiffened and I drained my pint, now pleasantly drunk and quite aroused.

  “I’d like that.” My voice came out a little hoarse. Before I could stop myself, I gave her thigh a suggestive squeeze. Shayne grinned, and Liam frowned at us both.

  “Ya ready ta head back ta my place? I’m sure yer tired from yer flight.” He said.

  “Yea, sure. Let me take a piss first—oh sorry, Shayne. Um…I’ve got ta use the restroom.”

  She slid out of the booth, giving me a nice view of her rear as she did. I climbed out, casually brushing against it. Well, if my wife could get all the cock she wanted, what was stopping me from admiring Shayne’s perfectly round arse?

  Shayne bit her lip, gave me a knowing look, and nodded toward the hallway. “Bathroom’s that way.”

  “Thanks.” I winked and strode toward the bathroom. After some difficulty given my aroused state, I managed to drain my bladder. I’d drank more than I thought and I swayed a little as I zipped myself back up. After washing my hands I came back out and ran right into Shayne leaned against the wall.

  “Oh, sorry! Nearly knocked ya down.”

  Shayne dragged her teeth over her bottom lip and stepped closer to me. “So do you always go around groping random women at bars?”

  “What? No! That was an accident!”

  Leave it to me to misread signals. Shayne giggled and put a hand on my chest.

  “Relax, I’m just fucking with you.”

  “Oh…Jahysus, ya nearly gave me a heart attack.” I let out a nervous laugh and leaned back against the wall, the minor spike in adrenaline leaving me lightheaded and only emphasizing my drunkeness.

  “Had too much to drink?” She touched my cheek and I sucked in a deep breath.

  “Feck. I think I have.”

  Her grin widened and she took my hand, pulling me toward a small alcove that held a ledge and a pay phone.

  “What is it? Ya need change?” I started to search my pockets, but she tugged my wrists, pulling me flush against her. Our lips connected and a low groan escaped my throat. Warmth surged through me, no longer from the whiskey. Maybe it was wrong, kissing a woman I barely knew, but I didn’t care anymore. I didn’t care about Kendall, and I didn�
��t care about my marriage after what she’d done. Right now, all I cared about was tangling my fingers into Shayne’s hair, tasting her full lips, and letting her feel exactly what she was doing to me.

  “You okay?” She asked, pulling back from me. Her honey brown eyes studied mine, want and concern twisting together. I grabbed her waist, backed her against the opposite wall, and crushed my body against hers.

  “More than okay.” I grinned, flicking my tongue across her bottom lip. Her eyes widened in surprise, but still held a lustful haze. I kissed her hard, exploring her lips, her mouth, her tongue. Shayne wrapped one leg around my hip and my crotch was flush against the thin fabric of her knickers. I growled, thrusting against her, nipping at her neck. My cock pulsed and I groaned against her lips. Christ, her body felt so nice pressed against me. I palmed her breasts, perfect handfuls, and her nipples hardened under my touch. I squeezed her lovely round arse and was rewarded with a trembling whimper.

  “Kieran...” Shayne whispered.

  “Mmm, yeah?” I ground my hips against hers and my lips found their way to her collarbone.

  “Kieran!”

  No, not Shayne. She untangled herself from me and I glared at Liam standing on the opposite end of the small hallway.

  “What?” I panted, staring back at him, more than a little frustrated. He had the shittiest timing in the feckin’ world.

  “We should get goin’.”

  I started to object but Shayne nodded for me to go with him. “I’ll see you later,” she winked. I adjusted myself and grinned at her then turned to my scowling brother. He looked like he’d swallowed a glass of piss.

  “Fine, let’s be goin’ then. Nice ta meet ya, Shayne.”

  “Likewise.” She grinned.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Ribbed For Her Pleasure

  “Shayne, we need ta talk about last night.”

  I grimaced at the sound of Liam’s voice and glanced over my shoulder at him.

  “What about last night?”

  He frowned at me and leaned back against the doorframe. “Ya know damn well what. My little brother.”

  I tried to hide the smirk that crossed my lips at the mention of Kieran.