Chapter 13 — A Very Bad Idea

~ TESS ~

I take in a deep breath when a figure appears at the end of the hall and stomps in my direction. I don’t look away, lifting my head and keeping my shoulders straight. I haven’t wandered into a wolf's den to be turned away. As a technician, I deal with my fair share of dickheads. Men always assume I’ll be naive or foolish, something I’m quick to nip in the bud. This asshole, even if he’s not entirely human, can’t bully me unless I let him.

"What the hell do you want?" he snaps, approaching fast. "I told you that we're not..." He stops halfway down the hall, nostrils flaring.

His dark hair is clipped short in the back and sides, the top a bit longer. His features are more arresting than I could have imagined, with full lips surrounded by a slight covering of shadow, a nose in perfect proportion to his face, and a squared jaw with a steady tic that makes him seem dangerous.

His brown eyes turn gold, the irises striking in the dark.

Trying to shake off his presence, I respond, "Lyra Vale sent for me. Where is she?"

That seems to reach him. He shakes his head and takes another step. From my vantage point, I can see his arms. The deep blue T-shirt doesn’t fully cover the intricate ink that covers his skin. The design contains what appears to be a wolf and a vulture within the layers.

"And you are?"

"Tess," I answer quickly, meeting his gaze.

"Tess what?" he urges, obviously wanting my last name, as he stops in front of me. This close, standing just inches away from him, I can sniff him. Like a touch of the woods, forest, and earth. Are werewolves supposed to smell this good?

Who cares? I'm not here to get warm and cozy with a man who shifts into a hound and tramps his leg at hedges to mark his territory. Get a grip! I scold myself.

"Simply Tess," I retort hotly, getting my hormones under control.

"What can I do for you, Simply Tess?" he asks, an amused smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. If he means to break the ice, he's fucked up big-time. He’s taunting me, and I hate being poked.

"As I said, I’ve come to pick up Lyra. She sent for me so where is she?" When he doesn’t react and just stands there watching me, I ask between gritted teeth, "Are you deaf or something? Do I need to start using sign language before you can understand me?"

"You definitely don’t need to do any of that 'cause I can hear you real good." He leans against the counter toward me, the muscles in his chest flexing with the motion. "As you can see, you made a trip for nothing because Lyra Vale isn’t here."

My nose flares in irritation. "Look here, Mister, I’m not in the mood for games." Relaxing my features, I smirk and move closer. "You don’t want me to call the police, do you? I’m sure they’d love to hear that a human woman entered your establishment and then just vanished. Who knows, you might even make the evening news."

Instead of taking my threat at face value, he grins and my insides wilt and burn white-hot. The air seems to crystallize, making it difficult to breathe. When I draw a deep breath, the essence in the air increases, swarming my mind, and making me sway on my feet.

"You wouldn’t do that," he rasps, still looking me in the eye. "Not to me."

The hell I wouldn’t.

"Oh yes, I would." I grind out the words, forcing my heightened libido aside, recollecting why I’ve come here. Lyra needs me. An extraordinarily good-looking man with a glorious body isn’t going to throw me off-guard. "I called them before coming here."

His irises flash, becoming gold. "You’re lying," he states with absolute confidence, watching me with eyes that see more than I want them to.

Anger replaces desire. True, I hadn’t called the police, but there’s no way he could know that.

"Are you willing to bet?"

He pauses as though trying to read me. Then his attention shifts to the door. I hear a car pull up to the parlor, and his golden eyes narrow. In a split second, the annoying man moves, standing in front of me one moment and beside me the next. The teasing glint in his gaze is gone, replaced with anger that sends my heart thundering in alarm.

"Son of a bitch." He reaches out, snags my arm, and tugs me around the counter. "I don’t have time for this shit."

"What do you think you're doing?" I try to yank away and wince when his grip increases, his fingers biting into my jacket. "Hey! Let go, asshole!"

If he hears me, he doesn’t listen, literally dragging me down the hallway. Terrified and unable to do anything else, I try to drop to the ground. To my shock, he seems to know what I’m going to do before I do it. He catches me, slipping his arms beneath my legs and back. I squirm as he carries me into a room and slams the door closed with the heel of his boot. He thrusts me into a tattoo chair, knocking the air from my lungs, and takes a step back. He looks intimidating, folding his massive arms over his chest.

"All right, Simply Tess. Listen up. I’m only going to say this once. Keep your sweet little ass parked in that chair until I get back. If you piss me off you won’t like what happens."

My heart skips a beat before it starts to race. "Are you threatening me?" A part of me hopes he’s threatening me, that he’s not all bluff.

What the hell?

"Nope, threats are a waste of time." He glances at the door, curses, and returns his attention to me. "Keep quiet. We’ll talk about Lyra after I take care of business."

With that, he spins on his heel to exit the room.

"Wait," I call out, wondering if he’ll ignore the request.

He takes a deep breath and glances over his shoulder. "Yes?"

"You didn’t tell me your name." I want to wince as soon as I say it, wishing I could take the words back.

Now you’ve gone and done it, dummy, I reprimand silently. It’s a silly, girly thing to say and I know it.

I should be asking about Lyra or scrambling out of the chair. Instead, I feel an odd tug in my chest, some part of me wanting to know at least something about the man standing across from me.

The amused grin on his face makes me tingly in all the wrong places. "I didn’t, did I?"

Even though I’m hoping for more, he leaves me guessing.

The door closes behind him with a soft snick. I gasp for air, realizing it’s difficult to breathe. This isn’t the woman I’ve trained myself to be. I’m supposed to be strong, unbreakable, and unwilling to bend to another’s will. But right now, the pride I take in my self-assurance is cracked, and it has left me shaken.

No one has ever affected me in this way, and the knowledge terrifies me. For the first time in my life, I find myself staring into space without anything to say.

It’s time to admit it to myself. Coming to Moonmark Ink had been a very, very bad idea.