Pulling her shirt higher in back, she showed him the faint marks that were still visible from the lashing she had received. Cole’s blood had healed her, but she would probably have faint scars for the rest of her life. The wounds had gone untreated for several days and had probably been infected at some point.
“This is one of the nicer things Stefan did to me. If he finds me, I don’t know that I’ll survive this time. The last time I escaped I wanted to die.”
Dylan went over to the cabinet on the wall and pulled out a small black mid-drift top. It would cover the important parts of her while giving him complete access to her arm and her lower back.
Handing it to her, he said, “Put this on. The bathroom’s down the hall.”
While Marin changed, Cassie handed Dylan her credit card. He shook his head and pushed her hand away.
“You don’t have to pay me. Cole has helped me through a lot over the years. This is the least I can do. Besides, she’ll be a walking billboard for my new studio,” Dylan said with a grin.
Cassie smiled in return. “I really don’t mind paying you.”
Behind them, the bell over the door jingled. Cassie turned in time to see Cole walking through the door or maybe stomping would be a better word. He had a rather dark look on his face.
“Where’s Marin?” he asked in a low voice.
“She’s in the back changing her shirt,” Cassie responded.
“Why did you bring her to a tattoo shop?” he all but growled.
“Because she asked. She’s worried that if Stefan comes back he’ll use her dragon tattoos as proof that she’s his ‘girlfriend’ and the cops will make her go back with him,” Cassie said.
Cole’s shoulders sagged. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
Dylan was looking at him oddly. “What’s with the sour look over her getting a tattoo anyway?”
“I was worried that she was going to do something drastic. She’s terrified that Stefan will come back for her and I didn’t want her to do anything she’d regret later,” Cole responded.
“She showed me her scars. She also asked if I could use black and silver wolves to cover up the dragons,” Dylan told him slyly. He wanted to see Cole’s expression when he realized his fiancé was going to put his wolf form on her body, permanently.
Cole looked stunned. “She did?”
Dylan grinned at him. “That woman is definitely in love with you.”
Before Cole could respond, Marin came back down the hall with the black top on. She was surprised to see Cole.
Cole walked over to her and pulled her into his arms for a hug. “You changed your hair,” he said, stating the obvious. For some reason, she had the ability to tie his tongue in knots and make him say stupid things.
Marin reached for the slightly shorter, lighter colored strands. “You don’t like it?”
“I think it looks wonderful,” he told her with a smile.
“Did they tell you why I’m here?” she asked.
“Something about black and silver wolves to cover your dragons.”
“You don’t mind?” she asked hesitantly.
“No, honey. I’m honored that you would want a wolf tattoo. I just wish that I had thought to cover your tattoos sooner,” Cole told her. “And I wish that you could wear more clothing,” he said, eyeing the top that barely covered her breasts. If he didn’t know better, he would think Dylan picked out a skimpy top on purpose. It wouldn’t be the first time his friend had tried to irritate him; especially where women were concerned.
Marin squeezed his hand and walked over to Dylan. “Where do you want me?”
Dylan motioned to a chair in the first cubicle. “Have a seat. Do you care if I embellish a little to both of them? Maybe do something small on your other arm?”
Cole leaned on the half wall. “Is that necessary?”
Dylan looked at his long-term friend. “You don’t think he’ll find it odd that she has tattoos in the exact same place as the woman he’s looking for?”
Cole nodded. “If it’s okay with Marin, I don’t care. She can have whatever she wants. Cost doesn’t matter.”
Dylan gave him a wry look, “Especially since I’m not charging her anything.”
“Since when do you do pro bono work?” Cole asked, his jealousy instantly spiking. It was bad enough that Dylan would be touching her, but paying for the work had made it more bearable, more like a business transaction.
“Since men shouldn’t treat women like shit and get away with it! Besides, she’ll be a good advertisement for future business,” he answered. He knew his friend was just jealous, but it still irritated him. Cole should know that he would never touch a woman that belonged to a friend of his. Okay, so he may have given him a hard time over the years, but surely Cole knew that had only been in jest.
Dylan stopped talking and got everything set up. Typically he would draw something out; let the customer look it over for a day or two; scan it into the computer to print out a template; then he would stick the template on the customer and get to work. It was very rare for someone to completely trust him with their artwork and not need a template. He looked at Marin’s back as if it were a canvas. Everything else was blocked out.
After getting the image burned into his brain, Dylan got to work. In black, he outlined a large wolf, curled up with its nose hidden in a large bushy tail. As he filled in the color, he left some sections blank to be filled in with a light gray. The wolf’s eyes were open and watching, as if daring you to mess with his woman. Once the black shading was done, he filled in the blank areas with a light gray. Finally, the wolf’s eyes were a dark slate gray like Cole’s.
Dylan added a tribal half moon with some tribal stars scattered above the wolf. Knowing that Marin was used to color, he outlined the moon and stars in black but filled in the areas with a pale yellow. It wasn’t the purple, blue or green she was accustomed to, but it was better than plain black. He wiped the design with a paper towel. Using a clean cloth, he gently cleansed the area with warm water and covered the fresh design with A&D ointment. The design had taken him over an hour. It was getting close to lunch so he knew she had to be starving.
“Hey Cole, why don’t you order some pizzas? It’s going to take at least another hour and a half, maybe two hours to finish up. I bet Marin is starving by now,” Dylan said to him.
Cole pushed away from the wall and pulled out his phone. Being a bachelor, he had Papa John’s and Pizza Hut both on speed dial. He knew that Pizza Hut was just two blocks away so he called them. Knowing that Dylan liked supreme, like him, and Cassie preferred pepperoni, he ordered two of each. He figured Marin would like at least one of those, if not both.
Dylan had already started on the cover-up for Marin’s right arm. He started with a black tribal band, which covered most of the dragon. He overlaid wolves into the design. This time he left them solid black. He didn’t think Cole would mind. Adding the same tribal stars, but much smaller ones, he finished off the design. The whole thing had taken about forty-five minutes and the pizza had arrived.
“Okay, Marin. Why don’t we take a break and eat some lunch,” Dylan asked.
Marin smiled at him. “That sounds wonderful.”
Dylan wiped off the armband with warm water and covered it with the ointment before letting her up. He wanted to make sure it didn’t get infected. People didn’t realize how critical it was to keep a fresh tattoo clean and moisturized.
Dylan and Cole pulled a folding table out from the backroom and pulled over some of the folding chairs from the waiting area. Cassie flipped the shop sign to ‘closed” and joined them. Marin filled her plate with both kinds of pizza and quickly finished off two slices. She was starting on her third when Cassie was finishing her first piece.
“I feel like a pig,” Marin said to no one in particular.
“You’re far from a pig. Eat as much as you want,” Cole told her.
Marin smiled and continued to eat. She had finished off four slices by the
time she was full. Dylan had eaten almost twice that much and was already back in his seat waiting for her. Wiping her mouth and her hands, she headed back into his work area.
Wanting to keep with the wolf theme without having to actually use a wolf, he created a tribal moon, sun and stars design that wrapped part way around her upper left arm. This design was much easier since he wasn’t trying to cover anything so it only took him half an hour. When he was finished, Marin was sporting three new tattoos… all of them Dylan originals. Once the final one was cleaned and had ointment on it, Dylan helped Marin up from the stool.
“You’re all done. Some of the best work I’ve ever done I do believe,” he smiled at her.
Cole looked at the three new designs. Dylan had outdone himself this time. The wolf on her back was especially great. It looked just like his wolf form… even down to the eyes. It was incredible.
Dylan saw his friend admiring his work. “Don’t suppose I can convince you to get anything done, can I?”
“I’ll come back later. Can’t have my fiancé tattooed and have virgin skin myself,” Cole responded.
Dylan smiled at him. Looking at Marin, he shook her hand. “It was a pleasure to meet you Marin. I’ve been trying to talk this guy into a tattoo for years. When he’s ready, you make sure he comes by here.”
Marin smiled in return. “I will. You do wonderful work. I really love all three pieces.”
Marin went into the back to change back into her long sleeve black shirt. She put the borrowed shirt in the hamper and headed back to the waiting area. Her skin burned a little where the three new tattoos were, but it was well worth it.
Everyone said their goodbyes and Cassie, Cole and Marin left the shop. Once they were outside, Cassie hugged them both and headed back to her car. She had to go and pick up the kids and figure out dinner before Matt got home. Cole walked Marin to his truck.
Helping her up into the truck, he placed a kiss on her lips before closing the door. He walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in. Starting the truck, he backed out of the parking space and headed back to the Victorian. The drive was quiet, but he noticed Marin grimacing every now and then.
“Honey, are you okay,” he asked her.
“I’m fine. The tattoos just burn a little is all. It usually goes away in a day or two,” she said. She hadn’t missed the fact that he had been calling her honey and sweetheart a lot since that morning, and she loved every minute of it.
Cole didn’t want her to be in pain any longer than she had to. “Do you want a little of my blood to heal the tattoos faster?”
Marin looked at him. “You would do that for something so small?”
“I don’t like to see you hurting. Besides, won’t it look odd if Stefan comes back and your tattoos are fresh?” Cole asked.
“True. I hadn’t thought of that.”
When they got back to the Victorian, Cole helped Marin out of the truck. They walked up to the door hand in hand. Opening the door, he sat his sack of door and window locks on the entry floor. The house was quiet so he figured his brothers were both still out.
“You know, you never did make it to the fabric store. I guess the bed will have to be without a canopy for the time being,” Cole told her.
Changing the topic she asked, “When do you have to go back to work?”
“Monday. That still leaves us two days together though,” Cole responded.
Marin sighed. She wasn’t sure what she would do all alone in the house. It had been nice having one or all three brothers around the past few days. Even though Gabriel and Michael would just be across the street at the garage, it was going to be lonely in the house by herself.
“I won’t know what to do with myself on Monday. All three of you will be at work and I’ll be here by myself,” Marin said.
Cole hadn’t thought of that. “Actually, you mentioned that you wanted to have some cash of your own. I was going to talk to Gabriel and Michael about letting you do some filing and light office work for them. It could just be part time if you wanted to spend some time with Cassie during the week.”
“That could be fun. I wish you could work from home once or twice a week. I’m going to miss you while you’re at work,” Marin said.
Cole grinned and pulled her into his arms. “I’m going to miss you, too. Since my brothers probably won’t be home for at least two or three more hours, want to go upstairs with me?”
Marin giggled. Giggled! She hadn’t giggled in almost five years! Who knew she still had it in her? Being around Cole was definitely good for her. She almost felt normal again. Jumping up, she wrapped her legs around his waist. His hands automatically grabbed her to keep her from falling.
He walked up the stairs with her. He playfully threw her on his bed and kissed her. “Do you want me to heal your tattoos first?”
Marin nodded. If she took his blood now, then by dinner she would probably be healed. It was a miracle how his blood could heal her. Cole left the room to get a clean syringe. When he came back, he withdrew a small amount of blood from his arm and injected it into Marin’s. She winced when he stuck the needle in her, but it was over with quickly. He disposed of the syringe and needle.
“All done,” he said to Marin.
She smiled at him and held her arms out. “Come here.”
He gladly climbed onto the bed with her. Lying back, he pulled her down on top of him. She was so beautiful! Marin kissed him tentatively at first and then more passionately. Cole wrapped one arm around her waist and grabbed a handful of her hair with the other.
Marin pushed up Cole’s shirt, running her hands over his chest. His body was so incredible. She wanted to run her hands over every inch of him. Sitting up, she drew her shirt over her head. She knew she was still too skinny, but Cole didn’t seem to mind. He traced the edge of her bra running his finger lightly over her breast. Being a DD had its benefits. Cole seemed to be especially appreciative of them.
Marin scooted down his legs until she was standing at the foot of the bed. She removed her boots and socks and slipped out of her jeans. Standing before him in nothing but her bra and panties, she felt exposed. No one had seen her like this except Stefan and his friends. No one had ever seen her like this voluntarily. As far as she was concerned, Cole was her first. He was the first man she had chosen to be with.
Cole stripped out of his clothes except for his boxer briefs. Marin climbed back onto the bed and lay down next to him. He gently ran his hand down her side to her hip. Pushing her onto her back, he leaned over her and claimed her lips in a searing kiss. Marin moaned into his mouth and wrapped her arms around him.
Cole pulled back and looked into her eyes. “You’re so beautiful.”
Marin smiled shyly and pulled him back down for another kiss. While they kissed, Cole’s hand drifted up her abdomen and softly cupped her breast. Marin arched into him wanting more. She had never felt so alive in her life. Cole pressed his erection against her. On instinct, Marin raised her hips to meet his. It was almost Cole’s undoing.
Lifting his head to look down at her, he asked, “Are you sure about this?”
“More sure than I’ve ever been of anything,” Marin responded softly.
Cole smiled down at her. She was one incredible woman. It amazed him that she had chosen to be with him. He lowered his head and trailed kisses across her chin, down her throat and across each breast. His hands on her stomach were feather soft as they skimmed down to her waist.
Cole took his time kissing and caressing her. He wanted to learn every inch of her body, wanted to memorize ever curve. He slid further down her body and pressed gentle kisses against her stomach. His fingers caressed the edge of her panties, teasing not only her but him as well.
Downstairs a door slammed. Cole groaned, lifting his head he looked toward his bedroom door. Footsteps on the stairs told him that either Michael or Gabriel had called it a day already. He sighed and looked up at Marin.
“I think we’re going to have t
o wait until tonight, honey. Sounds like one of my brothers are already home.”
Marin sighed. She reached down and ran her fingers across his jaw. What was it going to take to get his brothers out of the house? She finally found a man she wanted to be with and they couldn’t seem to get very far.
“I’ll put my clothes back on,” she said in resignation.
Cole kissed her before she got up. “I’m sorry sweetheart. I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to for us to be alone in a house with two other men in residence.”
Marin looked at him from under her eyelashes as she slipped her jeans on. “You haven’t ever had a woman up here before?”
Cole grinned at her. “Nope. You’re the first.”
“But you’ve…” Marin let the sentence trail off, too embarrassed to finish it.
“Yes, I’ve been with women before. I actually had a steady girlfriend for about a year. That’s been a long time ago though. I’ve had a few casual relationships since then, but no one really caught my interest,” Cole told her. He didn’t want to tell her that he had been interested in Cassie before she had married Matt. He was worried it might ruin the friendship the two women seemed to be forming.
Marin looked at the floor. “You know, when I declared myself as your mate, I never thought about how it would change your life. For all I know, you didn’t want a mate.”
Cole came off the bed quick as lightning and stood in front of her. Pulling her into his arms, he lifted her head with his hand. “Honey, I may not have been actively looking for a mate, but the second I saw you I wanted you in my life. Never doubt for a moment that I’m happy you chose to be with me.”
A single tear slid down Marin’s face. She reached up and cupped his face with her hand. Standing on her tiptoes, she pulled his head down for a kiss. She knew that it was way too early for confessions, but she knew without a doubt that she loved him. It just wasn’t the right time to tell him yet. It was crazy for her to be so certain she loved him when it had only been a few days, but she knew they were meant to be together and it had nothing to do with Gabriel’s ability to sense she was part of their pack.
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