Smiling, I pulled back, a chuckle escaping, and I looked over, finally acknowledging the others in the room. “Who’s next?”
“I think I’m reconsidering,” Wells jibed. “Do you give that treatment to all of your clients?”
“Nah, you have nothing to worry about, Crash. I only do it for the really pretty ones. Now, Monroe,” I winked, “he could be a candidate.” I’d decided to give Wells a reminder I wasn’t some young chap, but deadly when I needed to be by using his fighting name, asserting my dominance, but then I saw Loren tense a little, and I knew I needed to break the ice between all of us. I could be that for her. Thankfully, my comment had the other two men pausing before bursting into laughter, Loren’s giggle joining in.
“Ha, looks like you have competition, Wells. Better get in line,” Monroe teased back, and I found myself liking these two.
They seemed like the opposites of me at first glance. And despite Crash being someone in my world and a prime candidate to join Sax and Atticus in their resting asshole face competition, he didn’t have the dark vibe that hung around us in the underground. I’d gotten to know him over the past few months with training, and I’d guess we were friends. He was rough around the edges, but I’d found he had a squishy center, the dogs being the clearest sign of this. He’d definitely brightened as well over the past few weeks with Loren back in his life, and I wondered who he’d be the more he shed his damaged, bad boy layer, that I was beginning to accept was a cover-up.
Monroe seemed squeaky clean, but every now and then, I’d catch a hint of something and knew he wasn’t one to discount. His devotion to his son and commitment to being a good dad told me wonders about him. He seemed like someone I wanted in my corner at the end of the day, and I found myself excited to make a friend outside of all the dark, scary world the mafia tended to be.
“You know, Beautiful, you seemed to have collected a rather interesting bunch of men. I’d dare say even a few bad boys.”
“Nah, you all might look like the bad guy, but you all have good hearts. I know. It’s my superpower.”
Laughing, I shook my head as I finished cleaning up and preparing for the next one.
“Oh, does that mean you’ve finally quit denying your attraction toward me, Kitten?”
“Pfft, never. I’m just nice to you, for Fort’s sake.”
“Lies, Kitten. I’ll get you to cave.”
Their dynamics were fun, and I’d dare say, a little hot. I never thought I’d be into sharing, but here I was, finding myself aroused by her flirting with another guy.
“Hop to it, Crash. I’m looking forward to this.” I patted the chair Loren had climbed out of, and he sauntered over, his ‘I hate the world’ attitude on display. “So, what are you doing?”
Over the next few hours, I worked on Wells and Monroe, giving them tattoos. We’d eaten the donuts, listened to music, and were talking about ordering lunch since it was past noon. As they discussed options, I focused on the “always” tattoo Monroe had wanted, the ‘A’ being the deathly hallows. It was a cool tattoo, and when he told me the reason behind it, I liked the idea even more. It was a perfect way for him to celebrate getting custody of his son by using the word they said to one another.
“Done. What do you think?”
“It’s awesome, thanks, man.” I cleaned it one last time and then wrapped it, going over the instructions with him for cleaning. When I was finished, I cleaned up the entire room, sanitizing everything, the motions a habit at this point. When I finished, I hoped they’d decided on some food because I was starving.
“Any food decisions?” I asked, turning, wiping my hands with the paper towels.
“Yeah, we were thinking—“
“Hello,” Wells answered on his phone, holding up a finger to wait a second. “Really? Oh, that’s good news. Thank you so much, Tom. I’ll look for it in my inbox here in a minute.” I looked at them as Wells talked, not understanding. Loren and Monroe looked as lost as me, so when he chuckled, I looked back to him, picking up the tail end of his conversation.
“Oh, he’s still as ornery as ever, but I’ve found a secret weapon. The one you helped, actually. Fort’s taking a liking to her, so it’s going a little better, but I do mean only a little. Ha, okay, man. Tell Jannie I said hi. Talk to you later.”
He hung up and looked at Loren, a massive smile on his face. “What do you say we grab lunch on our way to claim your dog, Kitten?”
“Barkley?” Loren gasped, tears already in her eyes.
“Tom got the papers for me. She’s officially registered with the American Kennel Club now, and along with her vet records showing you were the one who took her and listed you as the owner, you can legally claim Barkley. All Brian has is a receipt showing he purchased her. Get this though, Tom found from the seller that it was listed as ‘a gift for my wife, Loren.’ Barkley is yours, Kitten, and there’s nothing he can say or do anymore. I promise.”
Loren leapt up, wrapping her arms around him in gratitude. A small jolt of jealousy surged, but it went away when I saw how happy she was, confirming I could do this. I could be with Loren. Now, I just had to find a way to keep her safe. I wouldn’t lose Loren, even if I had to darken my soul in the process.