Path To Resolution (Fighter's Den, #5)

Chapter 6 - Lenny

As soon as the door closes behind him, he turns back to me and his features instantly melt. Those harsh lines disappear and one corner of his mouth quirks up about a millimeter invitingly. I grin right back. There you are, big guy.

"Come on." I pat the recliner. "Let's get started."

As he walks over to me, he grabs the collar of his shirt and pulls it off his neck to dispose it on one of the chairs. I shift in my seat and look away quickly. You'd think I'd be used to seeing him shirtless by now and get over it but my attraction to him is only intensifying. These appointments are seriously fucking torture. I'm just grateful the piece is on his back so I don't have to look him in the eye when I ink him. That kind of intimacy would only land in me trouble and I know I wouldn't be able to control myself.

He lies down on his stomach while I shuffle through my phone and pick a song. I've been getting him hooked on all my music and it's seriously doing a number on my ego. Between that and the fact that he'll have my work inked on him for life, I feel almost...possessive? No, that's too strong a word. Protective? Fuck, I don't know.

I play Killing Me Slowly by Bad Wolves and the beat immediately brings the room to life. I set my phone down, head bopping, and grab my tattoo gun to get started. The grim reaper stares back at me in all its dark glory but right now, it's completely two dimensional. Shading will bring it to life and small details like the pleating in his cloak and sharpness of his sword will make it even more badass.

I start off by adding shading to the reaper's cloak using my 9 round needle. I need to give the cloak dimension so I'm looking for thick lines to make the pleats stand out as well as light shading to make the cloak look transparent. The reapers arms are stretched out beside him so the cloak starts on Wolfe's shoulders and expands to the back of his biceps. I have to be extra careful with this part so this piece doesn't intertwine with his sleeves.

As I starts adding large pleats to the cloak, Wolfe frowns at my phone then looks over his shoulder.

"What?" I ask, stopping the gun.

His brows tip up slightly as the lyrics blast around us, going even higher at some of the lines. The song is about keeping people at arms length and realizing it too late once they're gone.

I snort when I realize what he's saying. "Yeah, this one is a bit emotional but I think you're forgetting I have a heart too."

His expression shifts to concern and I realize he took the comment seriously. He tries sitting up until I set a hand on his back, holding him place. "Hey, I was just teasing. What's the point of having demons if you can't joke about them?"

He doesn't seem convinced so I start up the tattoo gun before he overthinks my statement to death. That and I don't want to start a touchy-feely conversation because I'm not good at those. I always come across as some damsel in distress when I reveal my past and I hate that. I don't want Wolfe to think of me as weak and helpless. I don't know when it happened but his opinion is one I actually give a fuck about now.

Reluctantly, he faces the other way and lets me work on him. He's still tense though and I'm torn between feeling annoyed that he won't drop it and feeling kind of warm that he...I don't know...cares.

Wanting to distract him, I figure this is a good time to bring up what I've been wanting to talk about.

"So, I wanted to ask you something." I start and he does that cute head tilt thing when he's letting me know he's paying attention. Oh, fuck me. Now I think he's cute? I clear my throat and go on. "I was wondering...do you know sign language?"

He shakes his head like I knew he would. I'm kind of surprised that he never learned and I also wonder why that's the case.

"Alright, well I was thinking that maybe knowing a bit of the basics could make it easier for you to communicate with others. It's completely your choice and I know you don't have any issues going about things the way you do now but it was just a thought."