When I parked in front of Forbidden Fangs, my palms were damp and my limbs charged with nervous energy. Everything was going to be fine.
As I opened the door, the scent of male shifter hit me like a punch to the gut. It was the same guy from before, the one who had been here with Kelly when I’d first arrived. The one who’d gotten me in trouble with his alpha, though to be fair, that was at least partly on me. I spotted the bastard straight away, sitting in one of the tattoo chairs with his shirt off. If I remembered correctly, his name was Joe—a boring name, and thinking so had nothing to do with the shot of hatred that surged up through my fists.
“Are you sure you meant to put that line there?” Joe asked.
“There’s a shortage of perfect breasts in the world,” Kelly said, quoting our favorite movie. “It would be a pity to damage yours.”
“You are so weird,” Joe said. “And not making me feel any better about that line.”
Kelly chuckled and kept at her work, neither of the happy pair paying me any mind. I could be a dick about it. I could go over there and make sure Joe understood that Kelly was my mate, and she was off-limits. But I wouldn’t.
I clenched my fists and took a seat by the big window. I tried not to stare at her or her long legs. I’d always loved the way she looked in a skirt, and this one was particularly short, or at least it seemed to be with the way it was riding up while she sat on her stool.
“Hey, Xavier,” Kelly said, without looking up.
Her voice was colder with me than it was with him. I hated it. Clearly we were picking up where we’d left off. Why didn’t she care if I stayed or went? Was she pushing me away because our relationship had gotten too real and she was afraid? Or did she truly not care?
“Hey,” I said back.
After she finished with Joe and we were alone, I’d tell her how I felt. And I’d accept whatever she said in return.
I leaned my head back and bumped a vase that was resting on the sill. It tipped and started to fall. Before it could crash and break, I whipped around in my seat and caught it. Something green and floppy slid halfway out of the top of the vase before I could right it. Were those...veins? Was that a—
Kelly practically leapt across the room. “Don’t touch that!”
The contents of the vase slid out a little farther. It was a very large, green and spiked dildo. It looked like some kind of alien wang. But it wasn’t the dick in the vase that bothered me. It was the glow of familiar magic that surrounded it—a banishing spell. I was only familiar with it because Clyde had come across one, once—something his ex-wife had tried to hit him with.
Kelly yanked the dildo from the vase and pulled it to her chest. “You can’t go digging in other people’s things. Private things.”
If I’d thought her tone was cold before, now it was fire. Her eyes were wide and cold, her stance guarded. And I had my answer.
I was hurt and pissed and ready to tell her that I loved her, while all the while she was planning on banishing me. Instead of telling her exactly what I thought about her behavior, I clenched my fists, shoved out of the chair, and I left with a whisper. “As you wish.”
12
KELLY
I finished Joe’s ink, then wiped his skin with a cleaning cloth. He was already healing—one of the perks of being a shifter.
“Are you doing okay?” Joe asked, putting on his shirt and pulling his long sleeves back down.
“I’ll be fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “You should probably go. We’ll settle up later.”
Joe gave me a frightened look. “Are you wanting to bite me?”
“I want to bite everything right now,” I said.
“I do owe you some blood,” he said.
I didn’t want his blood. Or I did, but my temper was so bad, I worried I’d take too much. I was certain there were limits to what even shifters could handle, and I didn’t want to find those limits today. “Just go, okay?”
He pulled on his jacket and gave me a sympathetic look. “Give me a call when you want the blood.”
Cold air washed into the parlor as he opened the door and left.
Alone again. I wondered where Xavier had gotten off to, but I told myself I didn’t care.
A soft mrowr brought my attention to my feet. His Lordship must have come into the shop when Joe opened the door. He stared up at me, his yellow eyes showing nothing but affection...adoration?
“What is wrong with you?” I asked, picking him up.
His purr reminded me of the rumble of a motorcycle, and he placed a paw on my shoulder like he was hugging me back.
This was not right. Displays of affection were beneath His Lordship’s station. He existed to be adored.
Feeling a little icked out by this suddenly affectionate version of His Lordship, I set him down on the floor. He proceeded to twine about my ankles, purring.
“Who are you, and what have you done with His Lordship?” I murmured.
My gaze landed on the vase on the window sill. I’d since moved the dildo back into its box and shoved it into one of the file cabinets. I shouldn’t have yelled at Xavier. But if the tip touched his head, he’d be a goner. Maybe I shouldn’t have even gotten the dildo to begin with. True, he shouldn’t be touching all of my things, and I didn’t know what would happen to him if he accidentally came into contact with the banishing dildo and I hadn’t had a chance to say the magic words. Would the spell fail? Or would something worse happen to him?
But I hadn’t wanted to hurt
