Page 69 of Cavaliere

“No.”

Delaney’s mouth opens and closes before she loses it, “But that’s crazy! You hate him.”

“Matteo told me that hate is an imitation of love the other day.” He’s right. Those two feelings ride the same rollercoaster of emotions. Both feelings are full of positive and negative emotions, and I’m choosing to ride the high instead of the low. Is there a high chance of this biting me in my ass and leaving my heart broken beyond repair? Absolutely.

“And that just sealed the deal on ‘Hey, let’s go get bruises he left on my body during sex permanently tattooed?’” Delaney is back to looking at me like I’m crazy. “All because he told you some weird line?”

“It wasn’t some weird line, bitch. I’ve been feeling stuck for a while now. Matteo crashing into my life has made me feel alive. More alive than I’ve felt in a long time. And maybe this high will crash and burn, but I’m not about to sit back and let it pass by without me grabbing on.”

“I get that, but… why can’t we start with like a vacation or something? You’re just going balls to the wall Mafia wife.” Delaney tries to reason with me.

I shake my head. “I’ve never been an idle bitch. It’s balls to the wall or nothing at all with me.”

“So we’re doing this.”

“We’re doing this,” I confirm.

“Alright, bitch. Don’t move. I need to make sure I capture this masterpiece perfectly,” Delaney says as she goes in.

The Sharpie feels cool on my skin as she drags it across. Every little line she traces feels like Matteo’s hands are on me all over again. All that’s missing is his firm grip, but the pain is there. It’s a dull ache that I never want to go away.

“Okay, turn.” Delaney spins me slightly so she can do my other hip. “I just need to know one thing.”

“What?” I ask. You never know what’s going to come out of her mouth.

“Is his John Thomas as big as his hands look?”

I stay silent as my lips turn up in a smirk before I laugh. “What the fuck? Who calls it a John Thomas? I swear I can’t with you.” But to not answer her question, yeah, he’s pretty fucking big and thick. So, so thick.

“I’m going to take your silence as a yes. Which is totally unfair, by the way. I don’t know if you’re forgetting who I am to you, but part of being best friends means we get each get descriptive details of what the other is fucking. This might be grounds for a demotion.”

“And who would replace me? You have no other friends.”

“That’s not true! I have Evan,” Delaney exclaims. “That’s more than you have.”

“I just don’t like people.” I frown, hating that she’s right. In theory, I would love to be a people person, have a big group of friends, and always have some event to go to or a vacation to go on. But once I actually hang out in a group, it’s a big fat no for me. Not having to deal with the cattiness, jealousy, and backstabbing will always outweigh my need for a friend group.

Delaney snorts. “That’s the understatement of the year. Alright, I’m done. Where are we getting these done?”

“Black Raven Ink,” I answer as I check out her work in the mirror. The bruises from Matteo’s fingerprints and hand are even more defined now that they’re outlined in black Sharpie. “You know Ink would lose his shit and never talk to us again if he found out we went somewhere else.”

Black Raven Ink is the tattoo shop in Ravenna Heights. It’s owned by Ink, a member of the Dirty Devils MC. He’s won multiple awards and is constantly raved about. I also kind of think he’ll be the only one who won’t bat an eye about what I want tattooed. If anyone would get it, it’s him.

“Now, normally, I’d agree with you, but do you think Matteo will be okay with another man tattooing you? He seems a little… territorial.”

Oh, he one hundred percent is, but… “I think it’s a good way to keep the relationship spicy.”

Delaney busts out laughing, “I’m so glad I made a crazy bitch my best friend. It keeps things entertaining.”

Chapter

Forty-Two

WREN

Delaney didn’t hang around long after we were done because she had a shift at DD’s later. I walked her to the door, but as soon as she was through, I slammed it shut and high-tailed it back upstairs. I could feel Rob watching me the whole way up, making an uneasy feeling settle in the pit of my stomach.

I’ve never wanted to be that girl.