All Chapters of The Tattoo Artist: Chapter 11 - Chapter 13

Henry had already dressed neatly and sat by the bed, watching me.He held a cup of water in his hand, his gaze clear, all traces of his non-human features fully restrained.Only the way he looked at me betrayed what he was.“You’re awake?”He helped me sit up and fed me the water, his movements so practiced it felt as though he had rehearsed them countless times.I took a sip, and my throat finally felt less raw. My gaze drifted unconsciously to his collarbone.There was a new tattoo there.Red, still swollen from being freshly inked, but unmistakable.It was my name.The characters were rendered in the most ancient, wild cursive form of script, like an old, binding sigil.My fingers trembled as I touched it.“When did you… get this?”Henry caught my hand and rubbed it gently against his palm.“Last night, after you fell asleep.”“Did it hurt?”“It was better that it hurt.”His eyes darkened, and a satisfied smile curved his lips.“Pain makes it unforgettable. It rem

Henry looked at me, his dark, fathomless eyes reflecting me in my wedding dress.“I’m afraid this is a dream.”“If it is, I never want to wake up.”He lowered his head and pressed a reverent kiss to my ring finger. In that instant, a streak of black light seemed to flash across the chapel’s dome. Only I knew it was the manifestation of Henry’s excitement. His tail probably thrashed so violently beneath his trousers that it might have snapped.That night, Henry finally let go of all restraint. The room lay in shadow, and he pressed me against the floor-to-ceiling window, the lights of Riverton flickering like stars beyond the glass.“Claire…”“Yes?”“I want to get another tattoo.”“Where?”He gripped my hand and pressed it to his lower back, mirroring the spot that corresponded to mine. There, with each of his breaths, a faint outline of a feral totem emerged.“I want to tattoo your image. I want to carve you into my bones forever.”With a low roar, the familiar bla