Heroine

Ch 41 - Yours

My fingers ran over the smooth skin on Adam's back. The pitch-black ink made a beautiful broadsword tattooed straight down his spine. The hilt was made of black feathers, spread wide with a laurel wreath wrapped around the handle.

"We had used our bodies to cover her from getting bit by the pixies on our second day here," Adam said. He sat in front of me on his couch and told me the story about how he and his brothers got their tattoos. "We had chunks of meat missing from us and we were dripping in blood, but no pain compared to when these things were burned into us like brands."

His tattoo was huge. "That must have been awful."

"Kelly obviously had it the worst," he laughed humorlessly. "You know he has one on his scalp under his hair and on his thighs, too. He's fucking covered in them. I wouldn't be surprised if he had his appendix tattooed with a scalpel."

"Good thing you don't have an appendix, then," I joked.

"Yeah," he chuckled lightly. "We found out about everything that day. About Shady Cove and about why we were here. Before that moment... we had no idea."

I guess we weren't talking about it even in the privacy of his bedroom. The tattoo made me part of some club I didn't even know existed. Fear swept through me that I was going to fuck it up and Kelly was going to regret making me a mute.

The less I knew the better.

I resolved to not think about her— to not ask questions about her. Adam was right that I could normalize anything— and I was going to normalize the shit out of this.

He pointed to the tattoo kit on his coffee table. "If anyone asks, you tell them that we have a tattoo gun and that you got it here. Don't lie. The fae are always listening and some of them can sense lies."

"I guess they won't ask me why I chose to get a rose." I rolled my eyes. "I look like a narcissist getting my own name tattooed on me."

Adam turned around and sat up on the couch. He stroked his finger along the back of my neck.

"Rose," he said under his breath. "I fucking love your name. Rose." He said my name like he was tasting it. His hands moved behind my knees, turning me toward him and pulling me onto his lap in one smooth motion. "Suits you perfectly." His hands wandered around my waist and back. "So strong and resilient. Soft and beautiful. Sharp and unyielding." He ran his nose along my neck making me sigh in pleasure. "Plus you smell fucking phenomenal."

His mouth moved to mine and the world disappeared. My fingers splayed on his face as we kissed. Our breathing synchronized along with every other part of us. He and I were like two perfect halves. Meant to be together. I could feel it in my bones.

"You know your door is wide open, right?" Kelly's voice called from behind us.

I rolled my eyes and reluctantly moved off of Adam's lap. He moved my legs so they were lying across his.

"What's up?" Adam asked irritably.

"Pete came by." Kelly held up a weathered leather sack. He dropped it on the table with a thud making the sounds of shifting sand. "He's in."

"Holy shit!" Adam laughed and grabbed the sack. "That's enough fairy dust to last us a lifetime. Rosie, my girl. You must have ripped him a new one."

I smiled at him. "Does fairy dust make you fly?"

"Yes, but even better it removes concealment spells," Adam rubbed his jaw. "This is nice. Did he say who he's bringing on the team?"

"William," Kelly said.

"Perfect," Adam nodded, scheming. "I like Will. He likes those vanilla scones we have at the shop."