“It’s atattoo shop!” I toss my hands in the air and stomp back and forth. “I got a freaking tattoo!”
“Listen, I’m your friend, and I have no issue with working on your ink, even if I’ve had a thing for you for two years and the most I could get out of you was a quick fuck in the employee lounge.”
My jaw drops, Bobby swears under his breath, and Archie keeps talking.
“But I’m going to ask you not to call me again. I prefer to be alive, Violet.”
I stare at him, blinking, and then turn to the other guys, and they are also staring at me like I’m the one who did something wrong.
“We didn’t do anything wrong,” I say slowly.
“He touched you,” Bobby says. “That’s all it took.”
I glance at Lucky, who just stares back at me, and feel the blood leave my face.
Archie has done all my ink since I moved to Vegas. I’m not interested in anything else from him. But why didn’t it fucking occur to me that I should have mentioned to Mateo that my tattoo artist is aman?
Why can’t I keep from fucking everything up?
“What do I owe you?”
“It’s on the house.” Archie sighs. “Good luck with that guy. Be careful.”
I grab my bag and march out to the SUV, where Bobby opens the door for me and I slide in just as my phone pings with a text.
From Mateo.
Mateo: Rapture. One hour. Black dress, no panties.
I stare at the message and feel both a little excited and pissed off. He’s not speaking to me, but he can order me to go to Rapture without any underwear on?
A bitchy part of me wants to ignore him. To check into a hotel somewhere and stay there for a few days, but I’m not that kind of girl.
I don’t really care if Mateo’s mad at meif I deserve it.
But I don’t think I deserve the coldness from him. I was wrong, and I’m happy to apologize for what I’m sure he sees as being blindsided, but he could have just talked to me.
I don’t like the way this feels. It makes my stomach clench and my heart hurt. So, I’ll go to the club and have a conversation with my man.
“Take me to the penthouse,” I tell Bobby. “And then we’ll be going to Rapture.”
I’m in the dress with my freshly inked back on display but still covered by the dermal bandage, sparkly boots, hair up in a high ponytail, and as instructed, no panties.
My attitude is still firmly in place too. I plan to give Mateo a piece of my mind.
I don’t recognize the girl at the reception desk when I walk into the lobby, but she smiles at me and gestures for me to go right in.
“Hello, Miss Walker. Enjoy your evening.”
Rather than ask her how she knows my name, I walk down the long dark hallway to the elevator and check out my reflection in the mirrored wall once I’ve stepped inside.
I look . . . pissed.
Maybe a little worried.
Okay, I’m a lot worried.
If I get in there and I find out that Mateo has arranged for me to watch him have sex with some slut in that playroom, I’ll rip that Prince Albert out of his glorious cock.Is that what he’s going to do?
