Page 53 of The Vampire and the Tattooist (The Vampire and Series Book 4)

Gavin gave a sigh of relief when he saw his brothers were both unhurt and rushed over to them.

“You’re both all right,” Hunter said, looking them over.

Mathis nodded. “We are. Did we hear an explosion earlier?”

“Yeah, one of the witches tried to blow Kayden up. They missed and blew up a wall instead. Dad’s going to fix it,” Hunter replied.

“Handy having a builder in the family,” Raz said, grinning at Hunter.

“It is. Do you know if Owen was injured?”

Mathis snorted. “If he is, it’s not serious. Looks like Taha is checking his mouth out to make sure,” he pointed to the side where indeed Taha and Owen were kissing.

“I still say humans are weird,” Raz said.

“You could be right, but then vampires are weird,” Hunter countered.

Gavin spun around and poked Hunter in the side.

Hunter grabbed his hand, laughing before kissing it. “Is every day this adventurous?”

“It has been lately,” Gabe said, joining them and looking exhausted.

Mathis pulled Gabe into his arms.

Gavin signed to him. “You look tired.”

“I’m exhausted, to be honest,” Gabe admitted, leaning into Mathis.

“Let’s go upstairs and you can rest, little witch,” Mathis said to him.

“Are you sure? There are probably things I can still do.”

“Gabe, go rest. Mathis, go with him,” Dave ordered, having heard him.

“Okay, call me if you need me.” And after a round of hugs, Mathis took Gabe off to their room.

“Is there anything you need us to do?” Taha asked, walking over with Owen.

Dave shook his head. “Nope, not for the moment. The guards are getting rid of the bodies, and Olly and Ivan are back in the computer room. David and I need to talk to AJ about additional building work we want done. You can all go off and do whatever, but Owen, keep your phone on just in case.” He looked around and shook his head. “The garden’s a mess.”

“Royston’s due back any day now. The garden is his pride and joy,” Raz said.

“It can be fixed,” Taha said.

“It can. Until then, David can break the news to him,” Dave said grinning.

“And on that happy note, Gavin and I are off to his room. If you need us, just yell,” Hunter said.

Gavin nodded and hugged everyone, and taking Hunter”s hand, they walked back into the house.

Hunter saw his dad standing in the hallway with Spencer and Jack.

AJ saw them and broke off talking. “We’re off in a little bit, but I’ll be back tomorrow to sort your room out and then here to sort the wall. David has offered us a room to stay in, so we don’t need to keep travelling back and forth.”

Hunter grins. “Yes, because ten miles is so far to travel.”

“Oh, hush,” AJ said, pulling first him and then Gavin into hugs. “I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

Gavin smiled and signed.

“It was lovely meeting you, as well, Gavin. Welcome to the family.”

* * *

Gavin sighedas his bedroom door closed. His family was safe for the moment and that was all that mattered.

He turned and looked at Hunter and walked willingly into his arms.

Hunter dipped his head and kissed Gavin, pulling back slightly saying, “Jump up, sweetheart.”

Gavin did, wrapped his legs around Hunter”s waist, and leant in for another kiss.

While they kissed, Hunter stumbled to the sofa and sat down, Gavin sitting on his lap. Hunter rested his hands on Gavin’s hips.

Gavin pulled back and looked at Hunter, concern showing in his eyes.

“I’m fine sweetheart. Yes, it was scary having to hide, but I knew we would be safe because you, Stefan, and Louise were there. But truthfully, I just focused on you. You kept me calm.”

Gavin smiled at him and mouthed, “I love you.”

“And I, you. Now, I have a few ideas for your tattoo. Do you want to see them?”

Gavin nodded enthusiastically.

Luckily next to Hunter was his sketch pad. He picked it up and opened the pad to the right page. “Here, I did a couple for you. If you don’t like them, I can design something else,” Hunter said nervously. He internally shook his head. He was never nervous about showing his designs, but he had never done a bespoke design for a lover before.

Gavin was stunned. He had seen some of Hunter”s designs before but seeing the designs Hunter had created just for him was incredible.

After their first meeting at the library, Hunter and Gavin had sent a lot of messages back and forth, learning likes and dislikes. Gavin had revealed that he loved pretty much anything and gave Hunter free rein to design anything he wanted.

Gavin’s eyes kept looking at one of them, he gently stroked over it. It was stunning. It looked like a shield which would cover his shoulder and part way down his front and back. The shield was made up of different geometric designs and was gorgeous.

“You like that one, sweetheart?” Hunter asked softly.

Gavin nodded and put the pad down signed. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. As soon as my room is back up and running, shall we do it?”

Gavin nodded and with a laugh, signed again. “Please, I can’t wait. Plus, don’t forget our matching tattoos.”

Hunter grinned. “Yes, we can get matching tattoos, as well.”

Gavin signed again. “You really want to marry me?”

“Yes, I really want to marry you, and we’ll be married as soon as all this craziness has been sorted out. I need to look at putting my house on the market and moving fully in here with you.”

Hunter didn’t think Gavin’s smile could have gotten wider, but it did, and he leant in and kissed Hunter, putting all his love and happiness into the kiss.

Gavin couldn’t believe that Hunter was happy to move in here with him. He secretly hoped he would, but Hunter did have his own house. But then so had Dave, and he had moved in. Realising he was rambling inside his own head, Gavin pushed all thought away and continued to kiss Hunter.

Finally, they drew back. “You can help me move, you having super strength and all.”

Gavin nodded and signed, “I can get my brothers to help. They’re strong and wouldn’t mind.”

“Nice, offering your brothers up, as well. In that case, I should be moved in quickly. Would you mind if I brought my favourite chair in here?” Hunter asked.

Gavin signed, “You can move in anything you want to, and if needed, we can change this room around.”

“So I think that was I can move anything I want to in here, and if needed, we can change the room around so it feels like both of ours.”

Gavin nodded.

“I like the room like this, but yeah, I’ll add some of my touches to it. I like this outfit, the way these jeans hug you in all the right places, and this colour top makes your already amazing eyes sparkle brightly.”

Gavin blushed and signed, while laughing. “Shelby made me buy them. He said you would jump my bones as soon as you saw me in them.”

Hunter laughed. “If I understood you correctly, Shell said seeing you in these clothes would make me want to make love to you.”

Gavin silently laughed and signed again. “Close. Jump my bones.”

Hunter looked confused. “Would make me want to jump... something,”

Gavin signed again. “Bones.”

Hunter grinned. “Jump your bones?”

Gavin nodded.

“Well, now that you mention it, that sounds like the best idea.”

Hunter was lying in bed,Gavin wrapped around him. After making love to Gavin on the sofa, in the shower, and finally in bed, Gavin had fallen asleep. As tired as Hunter was, he wanted to be awake in case Gavin needed him. He pulled Gavin tighter against his chest and dropped a kiss on his head.

Gavin gave a silent sigh and moved around, sleepily opening his eyes and looking at Hunter with a frown.

“Sleep, sweetheart,” Hunter said softly. “I’ve got you.”

Gavin pulled back and sat up, still frowning at Hunter. Leaning close so Hunter could see, Gavin signed to him. “You need sleep. You keep the bad dreams away, so you can rest.”

Hunter looked at him. “I keep the bad dreams away, so I can sleep, as well?”

Gavin nodded, leant forward, and kissed Hunter. “Love you,” he mouthed.

Hunter kissed him back. “I love you, and all right, sweetheart, we’ll both sleep. But wake me if you need me. Promise me?” Hunter said, pulling Gavin down and wrapping his arms back around him.

Gavin nodded and kissed his chest. He wasn’t worried. Both he and Hunter could sleep well tonight. Gavin knew he wasn’t over what he did, but so much had happened since then that he could now focus on other things, specifically being in Hunter’s arms.

Hunter dropped another kiss onto Gavin’s head, and taking Gavin at his word, he fell asleep thinking of the happy life he and Gavin would have.