Page 104 of The Devil’s Feather

Rafael twisted to look at me with a rueful grin on his battered face. “I do not have a repeat performance in me today.”

1 “Rain” by Sleep Token

29

THE MARK OF A GOOD MAN

“Ihave a surprise⁠1 for you. Wear shorts or a skirt,” Rafael had said, dragging me out of bed. He’d rushed me through a shower and breakfast, and bustled me into the car.

It was too damn early for his driving. I was still drained from the day before, and holy shit was my cooch mad at me. Thankfully, it was in a bruised and sore kind of way; not in an aggressive UTI kind of way, but still.

We pulled up in front of a tattoo studio called Cygnus. Scattered gold constellations glittered across the black façade.

He reached over and stroked my face. “I want to mark you as mine. Nothing over-the-top or overly visible. Will you allow it?”

“Yes, oh my god, yes!” Giddy, I almost slipped climbing out of the Escalade.

Rafael wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me inside. A beautifully full-figured, rockabilly-styled woman greeted us inside the black and gold studio. Roses crawled up her throat to frame a cherubic brown face and expertly winged eyeliner. The red kerchief holding back her blue-black hair perfectly matched her lipstick.

“This is Elaine?” She immediately approached to shake my hand. “I’m Lana Lopez, so nice to finally meet you.”

Finally? I cast a glance back at my suspiciously quiet…lover? He’d called me his girlfriend.

Frowning, Lana peered up at Rafael. “Not to be all in your business, but what happened to your face?”

“A disagreement.” Rafael gestured for me to follow Lana inside.

She whistled and sat me at her station. “Better if I don’t know, then. Ok so your man paid for a session, but he wasn’t sure how much you’d want to do or where, so this is all freestyle, baby!”

Lana’s easygoing demeanor put me at ease. She left us to talk.

Rafael cupped my cheek. “Remember when you asked if I would write out the Dragonsoul theme for you? I have an idea. You do not have to agree to anything, and you do not have to do it today. Lana gets paid either way.”

Excitement bubbled up. He’d been planning this.

Rafael ran a hand up my leg just above the middle of my thigh, and I shivered. “I will draw the music on you like a garter, wrapping all the way around your leg, and line the staff up with the scars.”

Big, stupid tears filled my eyes. He drew back in concern.

I threw my arms around him. “No, I’m happy! This is such a sweet, romantic gesture. I love it so much! I love you so much. Yes, please draw whatever you want so I can keep you with me forever.”

When we called Lana back in, she had the brilliant idea to have it start and end in the middle of the back of my thigh like a Cuban stocking, since it wasn’t a repeating pattern. She paused cleaning my skin at the fingerprint bruises and gave me a concerned brow raise of sisterhood. I flushed and gave her a shit-eating grin. Lana snickered under her breath with immediate understanding.

Once we had the staff situated to my liking, Rafael drew in the notes. The flick of the pen on my thigh tickled horribly, but I managed not to flinch and mess up his work. Lana showed me the back with a mirror. He’d drawn the treble and bass clefs with elegant flourishes.

“Yes, I love it!” I tugged Rafael closer to me. “But first, I have an idea. You wanted to tattoo over my scars. Can I do the same for you?”

His brows raised. “Go on.”

I took the pen from him. “Can I draw it on you? I won’t be offended if you don’t like it, and this is just a rough idea. I’m sure Lana can make it pretty if you approve. Do you mind if she sees your arm?”

Lana laughed and waved a dismissive hand. “Oh girl, I been there.”

I almost dropped the pen and stared at Rafael.

He shrugged. “You wanted to know if there were other exes I got along with. Lana and I can tolerate each other in small doses.”

“Yeah, until that chingada temper of yours shows up. No, thank you. He’s all yours, babe. First time he got all scary, I walked out and never looked back. I’ve got all the boyfriend I need now. Girlfriend too.” Lana pushed my arm. “You’re a hottie and you guys look so happy together. Actually, I’ve never seen him smile so much in public. He’s never asked me to tattoo him or anyone either, so you really must be special.”