Page 50 of Seared Fates

It’s like a slap across the face, and I angrily brush his hand off my leg. “So go do that, not like I’m fucking stopping you.”

Vidar’s hand hovers above me for a moment before he drops the appendage in his lap.

“Is that really what you want, Kai?” he asks, sounding tired.

I can’t speak as we drive through the early morning streets. My thoughts and feelings chaos, the small flame of hope dousedcompletely. I’m sad, disappointed, pissed off. But… Vidar is my friend, kinda. I wanted him in my life in any way that I could, and these are the consequences.

When we finally arrive atKing's Tattoo Studio, I park and cut off the engine. The silence is so loud it might as well be a third passenger taking up all the fucking space.

“There are so many things I want, Vidar,” I tell him slowly, staring down at my knuckles. “But I want you to be healthy more than anything.”

Neither of us gets out, speaks, or even breathes. Every instinct in me is screaming to stop him from being with someone else. But I already said I’d be getting a boyfriend, it might’ve been a joke, but what’s a bigger joke than my life?

After sitting in the cold car long enough for my fingers to go numb, I get out, slam the door harder than necessary, and head into work.

Vidar follows behind.

Chapter twenty

Kai

Iknew Vidar hanging around would be a serious test to this so-called friendship that we’ve got going on. However, I couldn’t have imagined it would be anything like this.

Vidar fucking hovers.

If there's so much as an inch of distance—and God, how badly I need that distance—he grabs my hips and crowds into my space, and since I’m a slut for him, I unconsciously lean against the ridges of his body. Leaving me near fucking breathless whenhe strokes my hips like the smug bastard has gotten exactly what he wants.

Well, what I want is for Vidar to bend me over the front desk. Or he could get on his knees by the kettle. I’m not fussy.

Instead of climbing Vidar, I shake awake the couple of brain cells I’ve got left rattling inside my skull, and untangle myself from his arms to keep me rooted to him.

‘Vidar likes women,’ I remind myself. ‘He’s even said he plans to go feed and fuck one. Like hell I’m embarrassing myself more than I already have for someone who doesn't want me.’

And I keep that thought on repeat as Vidar, conqueror he so loves telling me he is, slips an arm around my middle and presses our chests together, and every single ounce of my blood is lost to my prick. Leaving me woozy and having to suck in deep breaths of Vidar’s addicted scent.

“I’m your bodyguard right now, little prince,” he whispers into my ear, low and sharp and so fucking stubborn that I only manage to stop grinding against him by the skin of my teeth. “Lemme guard this body.”

It’s the last straw, and I rip myself out of his hold.

“Space!” I snap, then realise my hand is groping his chest and snatch it away like he’s an open flame. “Dickhead, give me some fucking space. Don’t you realise you’re driving me insane!”

Vidar, at the very least, looks guilty when his eyebrow twitches, fists clenching at his side. “I do realise this is insanity.”

“Then…space.”

He grumbles like I’ve taken away his favourite toy, and doesn’t stop until my client, Hazel, arrives.

“Is he your boyfriend?” Hazel asks while she sits in my chair. The buzzing of my needle loud as I run it across her pale skin.

I’m tempted to take extra long on her piece, it’s the only time Vidar’s kept his distance. But I wouldn’t do that to Hazel; she’ssat for over an hour now and not complained once, even though I notice she’s gripping the armrests.

“My fucking stalker, more like it,” I grumble, using the back of my hand to push up my glasses.

I dip my needle into the brown ink I mixed with a bit of white, then use an ink-stained tissue to clean away leftover colour on her thigh before pressing the needle to her skin. When I was first learning the art, I wanted to be gentle, but my tattoos were shit because of it. Yet you don’t want to go too deep either, or the tattoo will be blown out.

This skill took time and patience, a lot of fuck ups and a lot of learning how to fix fuck ups.

Or hide them, if I’m being honest.