KESTER.
Silence sat comfortably between us after we were served our meals. The food was nothing more than a prop. It was obvious none of us were hungry after all, for different reasons.
For me, I had no appetite-not for this. My hunger lay elsewhere, in the warm embrace of my obsession, the one who filled my every waking thought, the one who left no room for anyone or anything else.
I couldn’t wait to get this over with so I could return to the arms of my Kasmine. She had clouded my mind so much that I couldn’t think straight without her.
For Claire, it was different. She couldn’t meet my gaze for more than a second without her cheeks flushing, her throat working as she swallowed nothing but nerves. The way she fidgeted, tucking strands of hair behind her ear, running her fingers along the rim of her glass-pathetic.
Was this the part where I engaged her in little, meaningless conversations and let her tell me unimportant things about herself? Things I don’t give a fuck about?
The absurdity nearly made me laugh.
“So…” She cleared her throat, “How is Kasmine? Is she at home?”
Ah. An attempt at conversation.
I leaned back, my fingers tapping lazily against the table. “Would you rather she were here with us?”
She looked away with a small, nervous smile, “No. I just feel bad for not telling her you finally asked me on a date. She’s my best friend, you know?”
“Hm.” I hummed and nodded once. “She must never know until I am ready for you to tell her. This should be our little secret,” I reminded.
The blush on her face deepened, and I could almost hear the foolish hope fluttering in her chest.
She actually thought this was going to lead somewhere.
Pity.
“As you wish, Alpha,” she murmured, sipping her juice, trying to compose herself.
“So, tell me, Claire,” I leaned forward, “Apart from the things you’ve told me already about your friend, what other things are there that I don’t know about?”
I saw the look of disappointment in her eyes. That wasn’t what she had expected to hear.
For some time now, I had leveraged on Claire’s feelings for me to get to know my little sister better, and she had been so helpful. For example, Claire had told me that Kasmine liked shopping but lacked the liberty to do so, so I swung into action and took her shopping.
Even though I know that Claire hadn’t been totally open about Kasmine’s lifestyle and tiny secrets like where they had been the other day I couldn’t track Kasmine’s necklace, she was still useful either way.
“Why do you always ask these questions?” She asked curiously. If I were in her shoes, I’d ask too. “Why do you want to know so much about your own sister? It’s only a crush you ask such questions about,” she joked about the last part of her statement and laughed nervously.
I smirked. If only she knew that she was close to the truth, she wouldn’t have laughed and waved it off just like that.
“Let’s say I have a crush on my sister,” I shrugged, and she laughed even harder.
Why do people do that? Laugh off the truth when it’s staring them in the face?
The joke would be on them soon enough. Because I had no intention of hiding for much longer.
Kasmine was becoming the life I lived and the air I breathed. She was the only one keeping me sane in this insane world.
I needed to show her to the whole world.
“I found a book,” I said, taking a slow sip of my whisky, the burn licking down my throat. “Her bucket list. But she didn’t even let me read past the first two pages.”
She snickered, “Kasmine would never let you see that book. She’d rather chew gravel than let anyone see her bucket list.” she said, and my curiosity piqued.
Interesting.
“Tell me, Claire. What’s on her list?” my expression turned serious, and she narrowed her brows.
“But… Why are you so interested in that? It’s a secret for her, and if she wants it that way…” I cut her off before she could finish her sanctimonious little speech.
As usual, she was just about to be miss-goody-two-shoes, but I wasn’t interested in that.
“Let’s say she saw my own list, and now it’s payback. Just a little game, Claire,” I forced a smile.
Predictably, she blushed.
“Okay. But if she ever gets to know that I told you, I’d be dead.”
Perfect.
Now, speak, bitch.
***
The sound of needles pricking skin filled the room, the small machine buzzing with energy enough to match the energy I felt sitting on this plush chair.
I was never really into getting tattoos. Not because they were bad or anything, but because I never had the need to.
But now I did.
Kasmine.
She was becoming my drive in life, and I’d do anything just to make her happy, including getting a back and an arm full of tattoos.
My dinner date with Claire was productive. Although she kept asking me what I had been doing with all the information I’d been asking her about Kasmine, I didn’t give her a reasonable response. I didn’t owe her an explanation.
She was able to tell me everything on Kasmine’s bucket list, including having sex with a tattooed man. And I was willing to tick all the boxes on her list.
I’d fucking do that if it makes her happy.
It all made sense why she reacted the way she did the night she saw the one I had gotten around my cock. And I noticed her stealing glances at it whenever I was naked around her.
It was a good thing my quest for revenge the other night didn’t blow it all off because June would have seen it when she sucked my cock. But, dumb her, she hadn’t even explored my body.
She had kept her eyes on me, looking for a reaction she never got. Otherwise, she would have seen it that night as that was the first and the last time she ever saw me naked.
The tattoo gun whined one last time before falling silent, and for a moment, the only sound in the dimly lit parlor was my own steady breathing.
The scent of ink and disinfectant mixed with the faint traces of burning sage from the corner of the room, but I barely noticed. My gaze was locked on the mirror in front of me, on the masterpiece which now decorated my skin.
Black and grey ink twisted across my back and down my right arm, hinting at dominance, power, and raw masculinity.
A massive wolf head stretched across my shoulder blade, its fur shaded in deep strokes, giving it a lifelike texture. From its snarling mouth, dark smoke curled downward, merging with a coiling serpent wrapped around my bicep, giving the illusion that it could slither right off my arm.
But the best part? The details that were hidden within the art.
At first glance, it was just a tattoo. But if you looked closer-really looked-you’d find the subtle hints of her.
My Kasmine.
A single, almost hidden word was written in the tiniest letters along my ribs, right where her hands always rested each time I was close to her.
A word that she would surely recognize. “Mine.”
And right at the heart of the wolf was a picture of her.
She wouldn’t notice it at first. No one would. It was woven so masterfully into the design that it would take some level of concentration for her to see it. But when she did?
Oh, when she did, she’d know that I’d imprinted her deep into my soul forever.
It was an image of her, the one I had put in a frame and kept in my room for my eyes alone. The one where she was naked and totally beautiful.
That was the picture. And it filled me with so much satisfaction.
I traced a finger along the fresh ink, feeling the slight sting of the tender skin beneath.
“What do you think, Alpha?”
I turned my head slightly, meeting the artist’s eager gaze. The guy-Rico, if I remembered correctly-stood with his arms crossed, a satisfied smirk curving his lips. He was proud of his work, and fuck, he should be.
I smirked, nodding in approval. “You’re good. Real good.”
His chest puffed slightly. “I told you I’m the best in the city.” He tilted his head, his gaze flicking between me and my reflection. “That piece suits you. Power. Strength. A little mystery. And…” He gestured to the hidden details in the design. “Personal.”
I ran a hand over the ink again, relishing the sharp sting, the burn of something real marking me, even though I was already healing. The effect of the wolfsbane he had administered to the parts where the tattoos now sat was beginning to wear off.
This wasn’t just about ticking off a box on Kasmine’s bucket list.
This was for me, too.
I liked the permanence of it.
The everlasting proof of her presence in my life.
“Yeah,” I muttered, standing from the chair. My muscles flexed, the fresh tattoo stretching slightly. It looked fucking perfect on me.
She was going to love it.
She wouldn’t be able to resist touching it.