Page 38 of The Vampire and the Tattooist (The Vampire and Series Book 4)
Hunter groaned as his alarm went off. It had been a late night, the party going on long into the night and it was the early hours when they left to go home and again Hunter had slept lightly in case Gavin needed him.
Like before, Gavin was lying practically on top of him, and Hunter’s arms were wrapped around him.
He managed to shut the alarm off before it woke Gavin up, his arms tightening around his vampire for a moment. He needed time with Gavin away from all the crazy, and he wondered if Gavin could take time away so they could have a weekend to themselves. He stopped that line of thinking. It wasn’t fair to pull him away from helping Gabriel with his issues. Plus, he had his workroom to fix up. Taking Gavin away for a weekend would have to wait.
He felt Gavin give a silent sigh as he woke up. Gavin smiled into his chest and kissed it.
“Morning, sweetheart.”
Gavin looked up and smiled at him before moving up so he could kiss Hunter. He pulled back and smiled at Hunter before mouthing morning back.
“Did you sleep well?” Hunter asked him.
Gavin nodded and moving around, he signed to Hunter.
“I’m glad you’ve only had good dreams. I was hoping you would. I don’t know about you, but I’m in desperate need of coffee.”
Gavin frowned before signing.
Hunter didn’t want to tell Gavin he’d slept lightly; instead, he smiled. “Some mornings are just desperate coffee mornings.”
Gavin frowned again and touched the corners of Hunter’s eyes.
“I look tired?”
Gavin nodded.
Hunter sighed and ran a hand down his face.
Gavin prodded him in the chest.
“Okay, I slept lightly. I wanted to be alert in case you had nightmares and needed me.”
Gavin started signing, but Hunter caught his hands and pulled Gavin back down.
“I love you, sweetheart. I don’t mind sleeping lightly in case you need me.”
Gavin shook his head but lifted his face and kissed Hunter.
It was nearly an hour later when Hunter and Gavin walked into the kitchen and got a round of ‘good mornings’.
Gavin smiled and looked around. Neither of his brothers were at the table, plus there were no witches, so chances were that Mathis had stayed with Gabriel, and Raz must still be with Thiago. Gavin leaned into Hunter”s side.
“I’m sure your brothers are fine, sweetheart,” Hunter said softly to him, picking up on Gavin’s mood.
Gavin nodded and picked up the coffee pot, pouring them both drinks as the food was passed around.
“Gavin, Olly is back today. He can help Ivan if you want to go and help Hunter sort his room out,” David said to him.
Gavin smiled and signed, “Thank you,” before looking at Hunter.
“Sweet you can do all the heavy lifting,” Hunter said with a laugh.
Gavin screwed his nose up at him.
“I’ll be there, as well,” Owen said.
It was then Hunter realised Taha was at the table, too. “Thanks, you two look happy.”
“Could be because we are,” Taha said. “I should thank you for meeting Gavin and having a killer witch after you.”
Hunter laughed, as did others round the table. “Well, I’m not sending a killer witch a thank you basket.”
“I’m still waiting for my thank you basket from Dave,” Seth said, looking pointedly at him.
“You want me to send you a thank you basket for kidnapping me?” Dave asked, trying not to laugh.
Jack looked at Seth. “You kidnapped him?” he asked in shock.
“Not really. I saved him,” Seth replied, grinning at him.
Dave wasn’t the only one who laughed at that.
“But the thank you basket is for me helping Dave meet David. And just think, everything that’s happened over the past few weeks is because I rescued you and brought you here.”
“Well, I guess I could get you something. I mean, we’ve made a lot of new friends over the past few weeks,” Dave replied.
“Thomaz, when do you pick up your puppy?” David asked the cook.
Thomaz smiled. “Today. I had a text from the breeder yesterday saying I could collect him today. I brought a lot of things for him yesterday. I just need to put them out. Dave, I was thinking of putting Diablo’s crate next to Bruno’s. Is that okay?”
Dave nodded. “Yep, then Diablo — great name by the way — can learn from Bruno.”
“Don’t you think it’s funny that the vampire who was scared of dogs is now getting one?” Cairo said laughing.
“Blame Bruno. He’s too lovely to be scared of,” Thomaz replied.
“Just remember for the first six months or so, they’re little land sharks,” Dave cautioned.
“Really?” Owen asked.
Dave nodded. “Oh yeah. With Bruno, I could time it to twenty minutes before he became a hellhound and needed a time-out. But they grow out of it. I’m sure all you’ll need to do is hiss at the puppy and he’ll be good.”
“Diablo will be the perfect puppy,” Thomaz said, full of confidence.
Dave wasn’t the only one who laughed at that.
* * *
“Well, this isn’t too bad,”Hunter said, looking at the charred remains of his sink and side.
The sink was completely destroyed, as was the worktop, and the wall had smoke damage. The air still held the scent of fire and smoke, so Hunter walked over to the windows and opened them, hoping that would help the smell leave quickly. Mind you, the whole place smelt of smoke and fire.
“How are we going to explain the smell of smoke and burning?” Taha asked him.
“It’s probably easier to say it was an electrical fault,” Hunter replied.
“That would work,” Taha said. “Let me go and grab some gloves for everyone and we can get started on cleaning up and taking measurements. Owen, can you pop out the back door and pull the black wheelie bin in? It should be empty as the dustman came yesterday.”
Owen nodded. “I can do that,” he said, walking out of the room with Taha.
Hunter looked at Gavin, who was frowning, and walked over to him, pulling Gavin into his arms. “It’s not that bad, sweetheart. This can all be fixed.”
Gavin pulled back and signed.
“Was that, ‘But you were injured?’” Hunter asked.
Gavin nodded.
“Only for a few hours, but my arm is all better now, I promise. Plus, that killer witch is no longer after me, so something like this shouldn’t happen again, and I’d rather have to reorder stock and redo this room than be killed.”
Gavin gave a silent sigh, stood on tiptoes, and kissed Hunter.
“Break it up, you two. We have work to do,” Taha said with a laugh, walking back in with Owen, who was dragging the bin behind him.
“Ta, you have clients today,” Hunter pointed out.
Taha shook his head. “Nope, I had Luke and Shell rearrange my appointments. There is no way I wouldn’t help you sort this mess out.”
“And Gavin and I are the muscles needed,” Owen added.
“Then let”s get started,” Hunter said. They heard the front bell ding. “That should be Luke or Shell.”
“Hunter,” a man shouted out, sounding annoyed.
Before Hunter could move or reply, Matt rushed in.
Gavin moved to his side, but Matt was focused on Hunter.
“What the hell, Hunt? Someone tries to kill you and I have to hear about it from Luke and Shelby?” he demanded, sounding hurt.
“Sorry, Matt. I was going to tell you, I promise,” Hunter said, walking to him and pulling him into a bro hug.
Matt hugged him back and thumped his back before pulling away. He looked to the side and smiled at Gavin. “You must be Gavin.”
“Matt, meet my Gavin. Gavin, this is Matt. We’ve known each other since we were three.”
Gavin smiled and signed.
“It’s nice to meet you, as well,” Matt replied.
Gavin looked surprised.
“When Hunter told me all about you and told me he was learning sign language, I got him to send me the links so I could learn. Be patient with me as I’ve only just started learning.”
Gavin smiled and signed, “Thank you.”
Matt then looked at Owen. “You must be Owen. The boys told me all about you, as well.”
“All?” Taha queried.
“About how you pounced on each other as soon as your eyes met and then how you knocked out the deranged killer. Thank you for saving our Hunter.”
Owen smiled and nodded. “All in a day’s work.”
Matt looked around at the destroyed area. “Do you need a hand fixing this up?”
Hunter shook his head. “No, we have this covered, but thanks for the offer.”
Matt nodded. “You have my number. Call me if you need me or call your dad.”
“Will do. Thanks, Matt,” Hunter replied.
“See you soon.” And with a final wave to everyone, Matt left.
They heard the front doorbell chime and Matt speaking with someone before walking out.
“Hey, hunnies. Miss us?” Luke called out.
“Not even a little,” Taha replied as Luke and Shelby walked in, standing just inside of the room.
“Charming,” Shelby said, turning to look at Gavin. “I’m glad you’re here. Want to come and see my room and what I do?”
Gavin smiled and nodded, so Shelby walked over to him, linked his arm with Gavin’s, and drew him out of the room, chatting away like they were old friends.
“You guys good here?” Luke asked. “I’ve got a client in a bit.”
“Yep, we’ve got this covered,” Hunter told him.
“Okay, see you all later,” Luke said, walking out.
“And then there were three,” Taha said, shaking his head. He handed out gloves to Hunter and Owen, put a spare pair on the stool, and put some on.
“Let’s do this,” Hunter said.