Page 2 of The Vampire and the Tattooist (The Vampire and Series Book 4)

Hunter was sat in the studio’s kitchen, drawing in his sketchbook. He had a few minutes to kill before his next appointment arrived and was thinking up designs for Gavin. He sighed. Gavin was the most perfect man he’d ever met. Okay, so their first meeting wasn’t the best.

Hunter had found some art books to read at the local library and, like always, had sat on the floor by the stacks to read them. Gavin, also looking at the art books, hadn’t seen his legs and tripped over them, falling to the floor. Hunter had been mortified, helped Gavin sit up, and then spoke to him. Gavin had signed his reply, but not understanding sign language, they’d chatted with Gavin writing messages on his phone.

They laughed and talked and looked at art books. The only slight blip was when he thought Gavin had a boyfriend, but it turned out the man looking for Gavin was his brother.

After he got home that evening, he’d jumped online and looked for sign language courses. He joined one, and every spare moment he had, he learned to sign. It wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be. It was remembering to do the facial expressions, as well, that sometimes stumped him. Luckily, Gavin wasn’t deaf, but Hunter still needed to learn them, as Gavin might still use them. It would also be beneficial to know sign language as it would help when he had deaf or mute clients.

But for now, he needed to start getting ready for his next client. This was just a consultation. He was talking to a young woman who lost her breasts due to cancer. She wanted a large tattoo over her chest and was coming in today to discuss ideas, designs, and placements.

He grabbed his work sketch pad and walked back to his room. He picked up his photo album and pencils and made sure everything was ready, then went out to the reception area to await her arrival.

“All ready?” Taha, his business partner and best friend, asked while smiling at him.

“Yep. How’s your day looking?”

“Busy. I’m glad we opened this place.”

“Me, too,” Hunter replied.

He’d met Taha at college, and they’d bonded over their love of art and tattoos. It only made sense that once they finished college, they went travelling to hone their skills and then came back and opened their tattoo shop, calling it Area 51, as they were also both Syfy nerds. They’d been open for a good few years now and were just getting busier and busier.

“Shell is also slammed today. He”s already with his first client,” Taha told him. “Luke’s out getting cakes.”

Hunter frowned. “It’s not his birthday today, is it?”

Taha laughed. “Nope, he declared today cake day.”

“Nothing wrong with that. I hope he brings back something nice.”

Taha looked shocked for a moment. “Dude, it’s cake.”

“It is, but no carrot cake or beetroot cake. Vegetables don’t belong in a cake.”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll give you that one.”

Just then, the door opened and the bell above it jingled, and a young man and woman walked in, the woman looking nervous. That gave them a hint of who she might be.

“Danni Sargent?” Hunter asked.

She gave a nervous smile. “Yes.”

“Welcome to Area 51. I’m Hunter. Are you ready to come through, or do you need a minute?”

“No, I’m ready now. I don’t know why I’m this nervous. I know we”re just talking today.”

“It’s understandable to be nervous. Shall we go through, and we can talk?” Hunter asked.

Danni nodded. “Yes, please. Can my husband come with me?”

“He can,” Hunter said, noting the relieved look on both their faces. He led them into his private room, closing the door behind them.

The room was nice and big. There was a table and chairs off to one side, a leather couch along one wall, and a side with a sink. In the middle of the room was his tattoo chair and station with his tattoo gun. There were no colours out as they weren’t needed. He led them to the table, and they sat down. “Can I get either of you a drink?”

Danni shook her head. “Not for me, thanks.”

“I’m good, thanks,” her husband said.

“I’m Hunter Marsden,” he says while holding his hand out.

“Mark Sargent,” the husband said, shaking it.

Hunter pulls his sketchbook closer. “Shall we start?”

Danni nodded and took a breath. “As I told you on the phone, I’ve had both my breasts removed due to cancer three years ago.”

“How are you doing now?” Hunter asked her gently.

Danni smiled. “I’m in remission, thank goodness. No more chemotherapy,” she said, grabbing Mark’s hand. “As you can imagine, it was a horrible time, but fingers crossed, that’s over now.” The smile fell from her face. “But now I’m left with a bare chest covered in scars. Which is actually depressing.”

“Not to me. It’s a sign that you survived,” her husband said, looking at her. “But I can see how unhappy you are, which is why we’re here.”

“Do you know what you want done?” Hunter asked.

Danni shook her head. “No, I was hoping you could help with that.”

“I can,” Hunter said, pulling the photo album closer. He opens the album and turned it towards the Sargent’s. “These are pictures of some of the tattoos I’ve done on other women.” Hunter pointed to the first one. “This lady wanted me to tattoo a full breast on her with the 3D effect, so it looked like a real breast. This one, however,” he said while pointing to another, “is a leaf design imitating the breast, and this one is completely different.” It was a large butterfly design spanning the whole of the chest.

Danni was looking at the picture Hunter pointed out.

“There are more on the next page if you want to see them.”

Danni shook her head. “I don’t need to see anymore. I like this one.” She pointed to the leaf design and then looked at Mark. “What do you think? You’re the one who will be looking at them.”

Mark smiled. “I love that design. If that’s the kind you want, go for it.”

Danni nodded. “Hunter, I would like something like this, but with different leaves. Is that possible?”

“It is,” Hunter said, grabbing his pad and opening it on a fresh page. He sketched for a few minutes and then turned it to show them.

“Oh,” Danni said on a long breath. “Hunter, that’s perfect.”

“Okay, let me just transfer this onto some tracing paper and then I’ll get you to take your top off and lie on the couch so I can check the placement and the size, and I can get it drawn up properly.”

As Hunter transferred the design, Danni walked to the couch, took her top off, and laid down, with Mark standing beside her.

When he was ready, Hunter came over. “Right, let’s check the sizing. Mark, do you want to grab the mirror off the side and hold it in front of Danni so she can see what the design looks like.”

As Mark got the mirror, Hunter laid the design on Danni’s chest, so it covered her scar and created an amazing curve.

“What do you think?” Hunter asked.

“It looks good. Mark?”

“It looks perfect.”

“If I flip it over,” Hunter said, turning the drawing and placing it on the other side, “this is what this side will look like.”

“Doubly perfect,” Danni said.

“Agreed.”

“Good. What about the size? Do I need to make it bigger or smaller?”

“No, it’s perfect just as it is,” Danni told him. “That size covers the surgery scars.”

Looking, Hunter saw some smaller burn scars from her treatment. “Do you want me to draw some leaves to cover up the burn scars?”

“Maybe something like fallen leaves,” Danni suggested.

“I’ll draw some designs and show them to you when we start the main tattoo,” Hunter told her. “Because of the scarring, some of the lines won’t be perfect, but we can fix all that with shading.”

Danni nodded. “I understand.”

“You can put your top back on. While you’re doing that, we can discuss colours. Do you want it to be coloured or monochrome?”

Danni looked at Mark. “You decide,” he told his wife.

“Monochrome please.”

“No problem. We can go and book your sessions in and get started. It’s going to take a couple of sessions to do the tattoos. The outline itself will take roughly three to four hours. How are you with pain?”

“Not too bad, but I’m not sure how I’ll cope for four hours.”

“We can go as slow as you need and stop whenever you need breaks. Plus, I’ll need to stop from time to time, as well,” Hunter told her.

“Thanks,” Danni said, standing up now fully dressed.

“How much will the tattoo cost?” Mark asked Hunter.

“Nothing.”

Danni’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

“Your tattoo is free,” Hunter told them.

“I don’t understand.”

“I don’t charge for tattoos to cover up cancer scars,” Hunter told them with a smile.

“Can I hug you, then?” Danni asked, her eyes welling up.

Hunter laughed. “You can.” He opened his arms and Danni walked into them.

“Thank you so much, Hunter.”

“You’re welcome. Now let’s go and book in your sessions, shall we?”

Hunter smiled as he watched the Sargent’s leave. They still couldn’t believe Hunter wasn’t charging them. But as Hunter said, he never charged cancer sufferers. In his opinion, they’d been through enough and deserved a break. If he could bring just one bit of joy back to their lives, and make them feel just a little better, then that was all the payment he needed.

He grabbed his phone, frowning when he didn’t see a message from Gavin. True, the man could get lost in his work, but he still managed to text Hunter at least a couple of times a day. He shot a message off to him.

Hey Gav. Hope you’re having a good day. I feel like Italian tonight, want to come?

It had taken him a while to coax Gavin out. Gavin readily admitted that he was pretty much a hermit, so Hunter was making it his mission to take him out. He thought once or twice that he caught someone following Gavin, but he couldn’t be sure. I mean, why would someone be following him?

Looking at the reception desk, Hunter saw the box of cakes. Opening it, he smiled when he saw a lemon muffin. He snagged it before anyone else could and walked off to the kitchen to make himself a drink and hope that Gavin messaged him back.