Page 38 of Breaking the Alpha (Serpent’s Tongue Ink #2)

R iver slid the fine piercing needle through his client’s skin in a single fluid motion and the jewelry slipped in seamlessly. “Almost done,” he reassured the pale teen, who looked far less confident than he had when he’d walked into the shop twenty minutes ago.

The boy’s mom sat beside her son, her gaze locked on the ceiling. “Is the worst over?”

“It’s completely over.” He snapped his gloves off and handed the kid a mirror. “Looks good.”

The mom leaned in to examine the new eyebrow jewelry and sighed. “I know it’s what you want, but it isn’t easy seeing my baby’s beautiful face getting punctured.”

Color returned to the boy’s face in a flash and he rolled his eyes. “Mom.”

“What? It’s true.” She gestured over at River. “He doesn’t have any holes in him and he’s as cute as it gets.”

“MOM!”

Deciding this was a discussion he didn’t need to be present for, River exchanged a grin with Birch, tossed the used supplies in the trash, walked over to the desk where Grey was lounging back reading a thick novel.

“You good to ring them through? I have a quick video conference with Jodie in fifteen and I’d rather do it at home than here. ”

“Go ahead, pretty boy,” his brother said without taking his eyes off the page. “See you in an hour for those touchups.”

He did a quick perusal of the parking lot when he stepped outside, a habit he refused to drop despite knowing the Feds were keeping a decent surveillance of their own going.

Once he was behind the wheel of his SUV, he looped down the back alley, his eyes narrowing at the back door of Serpent’s Tongue where he knew the weekly shipment would arrive in a few nights.

The arrangement was far from ideal, but as long as they played nice with both sides, neither the Feds nor the dealers gave Birch any trouble outside of the usual disgust he and Birch felt every time they accepted or unloaded the unmarked boxes.

He shook the annoyance off and made it through the front door with a solid two minutes to spare, Angelina’s note on the fridge reminding him to pick up coffee beans putting a stupid lovestruck smile on his face as Jodie’s call rang in.

“River,” his agent greeted him. “How’s bumpkin life treating you?”

“Aside from the straw caught in my molars, not bad,” he replied as he propped his phone up on the counter so he could make himself lunch while they talked business. “What’s the good word?”

The last five weeks had been, without a doubt, the best five weeks of his life.

Officially living with Angelina made him the happiest and most relaxed he’d ever been, and there wasn’t a day that went by when he didn’t thank his lucky stars that she was his.

He woke up every morning with her curled up beside him, fell asleep every night with her snuggled into his arms.

What the hell more could he ask for?

While Jodie droned on about his upcoming campaigns, he wolfed down a BLT and pocketed Angelina’s note, nodding at the appropriate times until she stopped talking completely.

“What?” he mumbled, his mouth full.

“I said, show me the new art.”

Shaking his head, he swallowed. “I’ll upload it on all the sites after touchups today.”

Her lips pursed. “So help me, River, there better not be any curse words. You know I can’t spin those into your contracts.”

Thinking about the piece, he smirked. “Promise. Can I go?”

“Fine. I’ll pick you up from the airport Sunday. And I’ll be watching for that photo.”

With her warning in his ears, he disconnected the call, snatched up his keys, and set a reminder on his phone to swing by the grocery store on his way home.

*

Angelina arched her head back and smiled at River when he came home, her fingers tangled in the thin leather strips of a new bracelet.

“Hey, honey,” she greeted him, closing her eyes as he leaned over the arm of the sofa to kiss her.

“How did work go today? Did you manage to talk to Jodie and get your schedule for next week sorted?”

He continued into the kitchen and she pretended not to see the bouquet of flowers he was doing his damnedest to keep from her line of sight.

“Work was good. I even had time to get the touchups done.” There was a clinking of glass and the running of water.

“I’ll be in LA Sunday through Thursday, doing a shoot in Denver Friday, one in DC Saturday, and home Sunday.

” Reappearing in the living room, he set down a vase overflowing with a beautiful bouquet of succulents, eucalyptus, and peonies.

“These are I’m Going To Miss You flowers. ”

Laughing at the small tag he’d used to label them, she leaned in to study the pretty collection. “They’re incredible. Thank you.”

Since his official move into their home, River had been spoiling her with flowers, his excuses for each bouquet written in his slanted scrawl on notes tucked in amongst the greenery.

She kept each one, the tags carefully placed in a small wicker box and the flowers hung to dry in the laundry room.

“They’re as gorgeous as the We Bought Our First Pillowcases flowers,” she said, settling against his knees as he sat on the sofa behind her. “Maybe even prettier than the Do That Thing With Your Tongue Again ones.”

While she looped and tied the new bracelet into shape, they talked about their days, River’s hands combing through her hair until she finished and held it out to him to examine.

“It’s a little tight,” he warned, easing it on and frowning when it got hung up on his thumb.

“Because it’s for Jodie, not you.” Getting up on her feet, she turned, straddled him, and plucked the bracelet from his hand. “She texted me after your meeting this afternoon. She also mentioned you might accidentally on purpose forget to upload a picture of that new ink.”

He lolled his head back and groaned and she took the opportunity to kiss his throat, smiling against his skin when his body reacted instantly. “I don’t like the two of you talking. Plotting. Scheming.”

“Just take off your pants so I can take the damn photo.” She hopped off of him and slipped the bracelet over her own wrist so she wouldn’t lose it. “Besides, I want to see how it turned out.”

With an exaggerated huff of inconvenience, he stood and undid his jeans, then shoved them down and kicked them away. Tugging at the medical tape holding the gauze to his leg, he showed off the final touches to the ink disguising the nasty scar on his thigh. “Birch is a fucking god.”

“Is he ever,” she breathed, kneeling down to see the subtle shading Birch had added to make the final product pop. “Anyone who can make that giraffe look regal is a magician.”

It was an incredible piece, covering most of River’s thigh and winding down to his calf.

She’d been with him when he and Birch had brainstormed ideas to disguise the new scars.

The guys took it in stride and she’d done her best not to cry while they’d planned out how they could once again hide River’s flaws.

But seeing it now, the myriad of ideas combined into an interwoven array of flowers, mathematical equations, angel wings, and that damn purple giraffe, she could truly appreciate it.

The scar was too fresh to be covered so Birch had worked with it, making it an integral part of the arc the tattoo took down River’s leg without masking it.

“Jodie wants obliques, so shirt up a bit,” she commanded, stepping back with his phone and narrowing her eyes. “Do the sexy scratch. She likes the sexy scratch.”

Muttering under his breath about where Jodie could shove her scratch, he complied and she snapped a few pictures, taking a moment to admire her gorgeous boyfriend before pronouncing the job complete.

“Are we done here?” he asked, uploading one of the photos to his accounts. “I have plans.”

Taking his phone from his hand, she set it on the coffee table and smoothed her fingers along his abs. “Am I included in those plans?”

“Thanks to that purple dress, you are those plans.” He pulled her in for a searing kiss. “We have four days before I fly out for a week, three rooms left to christen, two new positions I want to try, and you still owe me one stickman drawing.”

The End