“No,” he replied with a shake of his head.“It’s just that this reminds me a lot of a tattoo I did on a friend—a tattoo I’m quite proud of.So being able to recreate something similar now is rather surprising.”
“Isn’t it common to do the same tattoo on different people?”She thought about the panthers she’d seen on him and his friends in the pizzeria.
“Um, I’ve done similar ones,” he said.“But not identical.”Then he nodded toward the pad.“What do you think?”
He held out the paper to her, and Lola’s hands trembled slightly when she took it.It was a lion, a beautiful, majestic beast, alert with piercing eyes that seemed to stare right at her.His mane was large and looked as if the wind was blowing through it.He stood proudly, his strong muscular body outlined perfectly with the lines from Kian’s pencil.“He looks like he could just walk right off the page.”She breathed.“How can you draw like this?”
She looked up at him.He simply gave a dismissive head tilt.“Been able to do it for as long as I’ve been able to hold a pencil.”
Lola looked back at the drawing, and her heart beat faster.Something about the image called to her.The correlation to her name?No, that’s stupid.Shedismissed the idea.But there was something about the lion that made her want to keep it.She didn’t want someone else to have this beast on their skin.He was hers.She didn’t like the idea that Kian had drawn something even similar for a friend.Her fingers ran along the page, over the form, brushing it as if she could feel his fur.She swore she could practically feel the strands against her flesh.“I’ve lost my damn mind,” she whispered softly.
“Why do you say that?”Kian sounded genuinely interested.
Lola let out a sarcastic laugh.“Hmm, no.I’m not about to get into the giant bag of crazy I’m lugging around.But a lion?”She looked at him with a raised brow.“Why would you think I wanted a lion?”
He reached for the pad.“I can draw something—”
“No.”Lola pulled the pad closer, pressing it to her chest.There was no way she was giving it back.
He narrowed his eyes at her.“So youdowant it?”
Did she want it?Lola pulled the pad down and looked at it again.It sort of reminded her of one of the shifters on the new TV show she and her mom had started watching.It also reminded her of a character from her most recent paranormal books.Though she’d known in the back of her mind she’d either be getting some sort of animal tattoo because of her love of shifter books, or a literary tattoo, or both, she couldn’t have imagined a lion would have been at the top of that list.But now, she couldn’t fathom putting anything else on her skin.
Finally, she nodded.“Yeah.”She smiled, gaining confidence that this wasexactlythe tattoo she was supposed to get.“Yeah, I do.”
Kian’s eyes lit up.“Cool.”He motioned to her body.“Where do you want it?”
Lola considered the lion and imagined where she could have it.The first thing that came to mind was over her heart.Like a sentry standing guard to the most sacred part of her that she could ever trust someone with.Her lion would protect her heart.Her lips turned up in a small smile.It was time to embrace the crazy.Why the hell not?“Over my heart,” she told him and pointed to the place just above her left breast.
The snarl was back, but this time, it sounded like a feral beast.The door shuddered as something hit it, causing Lola to jump.
“Jaxine.”Kian jumped to his feet.“I’ve got hers drawn up.You’ll have to take over while I deal with the Prince.”
“You have a psycho, feral cat and you named him Prince?”Lola’s eyes bounced between him and the still shuddering door.
Kian smirked.“Yeah, because he’s a royal pain in the ass.”With that, he jogged to the door and kicked it open, hard.Lola wondered if he was hoping the door would hit the feline and knock his feral ass out.
Jaxine walked around her.“What are we working with here?”She pulled a curtain that separated the station from the rest of the room.“I heard you tell Kian where you wanted it.”
Lola nodded and then pulled up her shirt.She was glad Kian’s cat had thrown a fit.She’d never had her shirt off in front of a guy, and she wasn’t keen on undressing in front of him.Lola hadn’t considered the embarrassing process of actually getting the tattoo when she’d chosen her location.
“Ready?”Jaxine asked.
Lola swallowed and nodded.
“You chose the king of beasts,” the old woman said as she prepped Lola’s skin.“I wonder if that makes you a queen?”
Chapter 7
What The Heck Is A Body Positivity Coach?
“I’ve always hungered to destroy my enemies.But lately, killing my comrades is beginning to sound like a good idea as well.”~Callon
“Aroyal pain in the ass?”Callon hissed at Kian as he stepped further into the back room ofWild Ink.
“If the crown fits?”the panther shifter said with a toothy grin.“You usuallyarea pain in the ass, but that’s just because you're moody as hell.This,” he motioned to the room around them, which was destroyed.“This is something else entirely.”
Callon ran a hand through his wild hair and felt rippling beneath his skin.
