Rule (Marked Men #1)(98)

Rowdy flipped me off but grinned in good humor. My friends loved Shaw, loved that she made me tone all my crazy down and became an easier guy to live with and be around. It was almost a year in and while I still wasn’t the easiest person in the world to get along with I was making real strides in at least being a more tolerable human being. “That could be the very best piece I’ve ever seen you do. Are you going to put it in your portfolio when it’s done?”

The piece was a very intricate, very colorful day of the dead inspired grim reaper. The face on the woman was beautiful and tragic and she held onto an exact replica of the heart I had initially drawn on Shaw’s palm all those months ago. Shaw had insisted on two things in the design, she wanted the sacred heart represented and she wanted it to resemble the grim reaper on my side. I never would have thought Shaw was going to get as interested in body modification as I was, but after only a month of us being an official couple she had asked me to draw her a bunch of tiny snowflakes in different colors of blue, gray and white. When I asked her why she said my eyes reminded her of winter and she wanted something to keep with her for always that reminded her of me so she now had a snow storm that started behind her left ear and trailed across the back of her neck to base of her right shoulder. It was one of my favorite places on her body to traced over with my tongue and loved not only that she got something that reminded her of me but that I was the one to put it on her. A couple of months after that she wanted me to draw her up a horseshoe with Remy’s name in it so she was also rocking a memorial tattoo for my brother that made me feel good every time I saw it on her inner arm when she hugged me or we held hands. The piece I was working on today was a hundred times bigger and more detailed that either of those, it made a statement and I had to admit I loved it, loved the design, loved that she trusted me enough to permanently alter her and loved that I was the one that was going to see it every day when she got into bed beside me.

I ran the paper towel I was using to wipe away excess ink and blood off of her over her hip and cleaned her up. I gave her a light tap on the ass and snapped off my gloves. “That’s up to Shaw. If she wants it in there I will, if not it’s cool.” I flexed my fingers as she swung her legs around the table so I could slime tattoo goo all over her and wrap her up so she didn’t ooze blood and ink all over the place until I could get her home. The hand that had her name inked across the knuckles folded up and brushed against her cheek as I snuck a kiss. As a professional tattoo artist I knew all the mojo and all the warnings about tattooing a significant’s name anywhere on your body but I didn’t care. I liked looking down and seeing her name there, liked when I held my hands next to each other our names were side by side forever on my skin. I had also had Nash ink a perfect little replica of Casper the Friendly Ghost behind my left ear so that I had something that reminded me of her in the same place she had something that reminded her of me. It was kind of cheesy but she thought it was sweet and the way she had showed her appreciation was enough to keep me smiling for days so who gave a f**k.

“It’s beautiful. Thanks love.”

“So are you.” I kissed her again as she hopped of the table carful to keep all the good stuff covered up as she went into the bathroom to get dressed. She trailed a finger across the bald side of my head where I had it shaved. The mohawk was back at alternating intervals and she hadn’t been lying, she never cared what my hair looked like and long she could get hands in it our around it she didn’t care what style it was or what color I picked for the month.

Rowdy shook his head and gave me a sour look. “You are one lucky bastard Archer.”

I laughed and started to clean my station up. “I know it.”

Things weren’t always perfect. We were still two very different people on two very different paths but we always managed to take time and work it out. The trial against Davenport had been hard because I hated watching her have to relive it all and there was just too much influence for him to get as harsh a sentence as he deserved but she stayed strong and even when her parents had encouraged her to just drop the charges and let Davenport’s dad deal with him she had pressed forwards and done the right thing and Gabe was getting punished just not as harshly as any of us would have liked. Her parents weren’t any kind of fan of our relationship but once it was clear that Shaw and I were a package deal or they weren’t welcome anywhere near her they had relented slightly. Personally I think it was guilt from the attack and their general shitty parenting that kept them paying her tuition and begrudgingly accepting me in her life but I didn’t care because I was there to protect her from them so whatever the reason as long as they behaved it was all good or at least good enough.

Things with my folks were better, not perfect but better. My mom and I had reached an understanding, we were never going to have the close relationship she shared with Remy but we at least could talk now and I had even gone along to a couple of her therapy appointments so I had a better understanding of how she was wired. Much to my surprise we were far more alike than I had ever imagined. Shaw and I made it a point to go back home every Sunday for brunch again but now I was an active participant and it was one of my favorite times of the week. Unfortunately Rome was the Archer brother being difficult now. He still refused to talk to mom and dad and he only thawed toward Shaw when I let it be known that if he didn’t I was going to beat his ass when he came home in a couple months. Things were rocky on that front, he felt lied to and betrayed but I had faith that if I could see the light than my brother who was already a way better man than I was would come around eventually.