He scowled. “I am a warrior. I’m not a chicken,” he growled.
“Mhmm. Sure.” I tried to walk away until he grabbed my wrist and turned me to throw me over his shoulder.
I screamed excitedly and gripped the back of his shirt as he carried me to the dance floor.
The surrounding people pounded the table with their fists. The guys cheered and yelled obscenities at Grim, saying to take me to the back and fuck me thoroughly. My cheeks reddened, but my laughter couldn’t be contained.
He unceremoniously dropped me to the floor, his hands staying around my waist. “Now teach me,” he demanded.
We took it slow, because hell, I didn’t know how to do it either. Taking a quick look at my surroundings, we mimicked the couple next to us. My arms went around his neck and his hands wrapped around my waist. Grim became comfortable too quickly and pulled me against him so tightly, I could feel his cock on my stomach.
I laid my head on his chest, watching the people go by as he gently rocked me while we danced. Everyone was here, everyone was going to be happy, just like Grim and I were.
My arms tightened around him as my heart felt so full it almost burst.
I’d grown up with a family who didn’t love me. I had no friends to chase away my nightmares, because I was deemed too different.
They were correct in a way. I was different because I was destined for bigger and better things. And all it took was a gravelly voice that told me to “come out” from under the bed and straight into his arms.
Epilogue
Grim
IpulledJourneyoutof bed early this morning. Her reluctance was palpable when she groaned in protest. She had become accustomed to my work schedule in the tattoo shop, and now her biological clock was arguing with her.
The shop didn’t open until noon. Those who wanted to get tattoos preferred not to get stuck so early in the morning. Which suited Sizzle and me just fine because we weren’t morning people either. Just meant we were always in for a later night.
Journey was our official front desk receptionist. It was her idea to work the desk, but a selfish part of me wanted to keep her up in our den so no one would see her. She was my secret treasure I didn’t want to share.
I didn’t like the idea of males around her, near her, breathing the same precious air as her.
Of course, she argued she could go work at the bar or with the females that started a cleaning service. She didn’t want to sit around our den and lay about. She wanted to work.
Nope.
Working away from me wasn’t happening. She needed to be in my sight always.
Sizzle was apprehensive about having a female around, but this was Journey, and he thought her priestess calling was a good omen. He still didn’t take female clients, not that we had many anyway on this side of town, but at least his willingness to have Journey take over and organize our mess of appointments was helpful.
And she truly was helpful. Sizzle and I both had more time to attend to clients. The chairs were constantly full, and she took over the social media for advertising our little shop. We’d talked about expanding so we could add two more chairs to the shop. We had exploded overnight because of her.
I peeled back the sheets. Journey’s bare back was a perfect porcelain, her dark hair covering her latest ink.
I smiled, looking at the two wolves—one red, one black—that were in the shape of a yin-yang. As much as I protested against marring her skin and causing her pain, she wanted the upper back tattoo so much I couldn’t deny her.
Because I would give her everything.
When asked I her who she wanted as an artist, she looked at me with a flabbergasted face; it made me throw my head back in a laugh. I wouldn’t let anyone touch her, anyway. If she wanted some ink, it would be me. No one else could come near her.
Now she carried not just her wolf, but mine as well. It brought me such happiness to see both of our wolves surrounding each other.
I kissed the now healed art. It was a brand that humans would see in the summertime when she wore more appropriate attire for the weather.
“Come on, mate. We need to go.” I kissed her nape, and she delightfully moaned.
Her ass pushed into my cock, but I needed to restrain myself. It wasn’t the time to take her again like I had three hours before, it was time to bring her wolf to the surface again.
I could feel her restlessness.
