The charger was tucked a little further in, so I plugged it in while I got undressed and hopped into the shower, pulling the door closed.
Steam fogged the glass as the water hit my shoulders, hot enough to sting. I braced my hands against the tile and bowed my head, letting it run down my spine as I inspected my skin.
I hadn’t really looked at my tattoos in years.
The mirror opposite the shower was already clearing in streaks where condensation slid away, and when I straightened, Ravaric stared back at me from my own reflection, the god vast and coiled across my back, dark and furious.
The demon god’s horns arced over my shoulders, their tips just visible from the front if I turned the wrong way. His eyes burned citrine beneath the water, his mouth pulled into a cruel curve, fangs bared as if mid-laugh. Smoke and flame twisted around him in deliberate, practiced lines, work that had taken hours upon hours of pain to earn.
But he was unfinished.
The background dissolved into bare skin just above my hips, the lower flames never filled in, the patterns and runes meant to anchor the piece to my legs still only outlined in fading gray. My sleeves told the same story, of dense work over my shoulders and upper arms, fire tapering into nothing halfway down my biceps, where the artist had stopped and I’d never gone back.
Ravaric’s eyes met mine through the steam, staring at me like he’d always known I’d come home.
I dragged a hand down my face, exhaling slowly, and I wondered briefly if Sage would like my tattoos as much as she liked my beard.
Because from now on, every breath I took was for her. Every step would be to close the distance between us. Every mark on my skin was one less that would be made on hers.
I finished getting ready, heading downstairs and into the kitchen, where a few of my dad’s grunts lingered, drinking our coffee and going into sordid detail about the previous night.
“Beta chicks are always so desperate, man,” one guy started, pulling their attention. “You gotta find the ones who are out with their omega friends. Buy them a drink, act like you didn’t even notice the omega next to them, and they’ll be choking on your cock in minutes, I swear to Ravaric.”
The guys were all laughing, which unfortunately encouraged the asshole to continue.
“And then…” he paused for dramatic effect. “You can go back and bang the omega.”
Laughter erupted again, and he held out his hands to quiet them down. “Trust me! They’ll be feeling super insecure that you chose the beta over them, and will be eating out of the palm your hand.” He took a smug sip of his coffee. “Works every time.”
I rolled my eyes in disgust and took my old mug from deep in the cabinet, blowing off the dust as I searched for the tea bags next.
“You got something to say?”
I found the box of my favorite brand of green tea, unopened. It looked like it had been purchased recently. There was no way my dad would have ever noticed what I liked to drink, which meant this was either Maia or the housekeeper’s doing. Zilla’d always had a soft spot for me, especially after my mom died.
I opened up a tea bag and put it in the mug, looking for the hot water dispenser.
“Hey!”
“Hm?” I turned around to see the asshole cracking his knuckles and rolling out his shoulders, his track jacket open to reveal the tank top underneath, tattoos peeking up around the neckline.
“I’m talking to you, walking in like you think you own the place. Or do your ears not work or something?”
“Oh, they work just fine,” I replied, my voice calm and even. “I’m just wondering why some pissant grunt who needs to rely on tricking women to get laid thinks he can speak to me.”
I stepped up and grabbed his shirt, pulling him up on his tiptoes as smoke curled out of my nostrils and I grinned. “Because I actually do own the place, dumbass.”
Recognition finally flashed in his eyes and he began to shake. “R-r-ronan, sir. I mean, Mr. Oniguro… I’m sorry, I—”
Lowering my mouth to his ear, I whispered, “Now get the fuck outta my sight.”
I released him and he fell backwards, the other grunts who had been laughing seconds ago backing away and letting him land hard on his ass. He scrambled before finally getting to his feet and dashing out of the front door.
Ah, I loved it when the trash took itself out.
With a bow, one of the guys took my mug, filling it for me with hot water before handing it back with two hands, averting his gaze. “Welcome back, Mr. Oniguro.”
I rolled my eyes. I’d need to do a lot more cleaning house before I brought Sage back here, because there was no way I’d force her to listen to this kind of shit in her own home.
