He assessed me with a stillness that made my pulse race. The silence stretched between us too long to be polite. My skin prickled under his attention, awareness humming through me.
I wondered what was hidden beneath the long sleeves and leather. How many tattoos did he have that I couldn’t see? What stories lived there, inked into his tanned skin?
Ink cleared his throat beside me, breaking the moment. I sucked in a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. There was no explanation I could think of for the regret I felt when I toremy gaze away from the man. My fingers itched to sketch the hard lines of his face, and I was grateful my memory was good enough to let me do it later. Alone.
The man finally spoke. “Onyx.”
I nodded, my pulse still racing. “Elena.”
Before I could gather myself enough to say anything else, he shifted his weight and glanced toward Ink. “The new apprentice?”
Ink nodded. “Yeah, the one we talked about last week.”
Onyx turned toward me again, a gleam in his dark eyes that I didn’t understand. “I’ll take her.”
Ink’s brows lifted a fraction, and his mouth twitched like he was holding back a smile. He studied Onyx for a beat longer than necessary, something unspoken passing between them. Then he drawled, “Yeah, that makes sense.”
“I—sorry?” My gaze darted back and forth between them. This wasn’t what we’d discussed. “I thought I was supposed to be working under you, Ink.”
“You will,” Ink replied, waving off my concern. “Just not exclusively. Onyx handles blackwork and structure-heavy designs. It’ll be good for your foundation as we teach you new techniques. And he manages the place, so you’ll have better access to anything you need, with the bonus of learning the business side in case you ever find yourself looking to open your own studio.”
It sounded reasonable. Logical, even. Except that Onyx’s dark gaze was unreadable, and Ink watched my reaction with open curiosity. The corner of his mouth was still tipped up, as though he knew something I didn’t. They seemed to be having an entirely different conversation, one that didn’t include me or require words.
“Okay,” I finally agreed.
My stomach fluttered when I agreed, and I couldn’t explain it. Only that some part of me was already leaning toward Onyx in a way I’d never experienced before.
I told myself it made sense. Onyx was an expert, and Ink trusted him. Apprenticing with the manager would give me deeper access to how Hellbound Studio really worked.
Onyx simply shifted closer, and his gaze caught mine again. The moment stretched, heavy with something unnamed.
Ink broke the silence, turning away. “I’ll let you two get acquainted.”
2
ONYX
Ididn’t look back at Ink as I pivoted and began walking toward my section of the studio. But I could feel the asshole’s amusement poking at me. Ink wasn’t stupid. I knew he’d seen the shift in me the second my eyes landed on Elena. He recognized obsession when it sparked. The two of us had witnessed it happen to our brothers, not to mention Ink had been there himself, which was why he’d made the call without me even having to say the real reason out loud.
Thank fuck I’d come out of my office when I heard Ink in the hallway. It had only taken one look at Elena for my body to come roaring to life with a ferocity I’d never experienced before.
I reacted before I even saw her face because she’d been taking in everything around her. She didn’t look overwhelmed, which told me she either had nerves made of steel or she knew how to keep them hidden.
Then she turned slightly as Ink spoke, and I saw her face in full.
The heat hit low and hard. An immediate pull that made my spine go tight and my lungs forget their job for half a second. It wasn’t subtle or gradual. The attraction slammed into me withno warning, leaving me standing there as if I had just been claimed by something I didn’t understand.
She was young—nineteen or twenty, if I remembered right. Her hair was dark brown and thick, pulled back with a few strands loose near her face like she’d shoved it into place without caring if it looked perfect.
She was slim, but not fragile. Soft in the right places, making my hands itch to stroke her curves. Her mouth was full, the lower lip slightly parted, as if she were about to speak and had forgotten how. I caught myself staring at it, imagining what it would look like bruised pink from my teeth, envisioning the sound she’d make if I kissed her hard enough to steal her breath.
Her eyes were gray-blue, cool and clear, and the second they flicked up and landed on me, I felt the impact all the way down to my groin.
She froze for the smallest beat, like she’d felt it too.
Good.
She wasn’t gawking at the ink or the cut. She looked at me like her body had made a decision her mind hadn’t signed off on yet. Her breath caught slightly, and her shoulders stiffened as though she was trying to force herself back into control. But her gaze dropped anyway, sliding over my chest and my arms like she couldn’t stop it.
