Page 20 of Her Dark Angel

“How long have you been standing there?” he asks, his eyes meeting mine.

“Long enough to hear the pretty blue-haired girl fucking destroy you with that line,” I answer once the laughter has died down and I can breathe again.

Jesus Christ, I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.

Iris laughs and wipes a paper towel over the black line she drew in Hudson’s skin. “What can I say? You’re just too easy, Hud.” Her legs are crossed under her and she’s in nothing but black lingerie. It wouldn’t surprise me if Hudson asked her to tattoo him wearing that because he’s into some weird stuff. Which seems to include being drilled with a needle by a woman wearing lingerie.

Hudson rolls his eyes dramatically and shifts on the couch. “Anyway, how did the meeting with the little blondie go?”

I shrug, remembering the little devil’s advice on not smoking and the fact that we have to announce our relationship to the world tomorrow at the music award show. It’s bad enough I have to go to those stupid shows as it is, so it’s going to be torture having to go with a blonde pocket rocket who is as stubborn as a goddamn rock.

But I don’t tell Hudson any of this.

“It was fine. The fake relationship officially starts tomorrow, so in the eyes of the public, I’ll be a taken man.”

That thought alone is foreign to me.

Hudson hisses as Iris draws another line over the scars on his forearm, courtesy of a few rough years after his parents got divorced when he was fourteen and his father left without telling him goodbye. It tore him into pieces.

I remember the nearly below freezing night he ran three blocks to my house, blood dripping down his arm, and his white T-shirt soaked through with splashes of crimson. His cries for help were blocked by the rough winds lashing at his tear-stained cheeks. He was content on letting himself bleed out in the bathroom after cutting into his skin with a kitchen knife, but once he saw all the blood, he had a change of heart. His mom was at work that night, so he chose to see me in the hopes I would help him. He was scared.

After that, I told him he couldn’t do it anymore because one day we were going to get out of the shithole town we lived in and make something of ourselves.

“I don’t know how you do it, man,” he says, biting his bottom lip. “How are you going to go six months without any pussy? I doubt Blondie is going to give you any.”

I plop down on the other side of the couch and roll my eyes. With the number of people coming in and out of my house, I had to make sure I bought the largest couch the store offered. Thankfully, I fit comfortably on here with Hudson lying down—all six feet of him.

“You don’t need to worry about me,” I tell him cryptically. Hudson doesn’t need to worry about my sex life and what I plan to do during the duration of the contract.

Truthfully, I haven’t given it much thought yet. I’m sure I’ll think of something that doesn’t fuck up the deal I made with the little devil. But I know I won’t be able to last long when I’m used to having someone in my bed every night.

“Well, if it’s your last night as a free man, you may as well go out with a bang.” He wiggles his brows suggestively at me. “I know just who to call.”

“You don’t need to?—”

But Hudson is already on the phone, his free hand holding the chunk of thick plastic against his ear, the person he called already on the line. Iris pays us no mind as she continues to tattoo over Hudson’s scars. From this angle, it looks like a detailed dagger that starts at his wrist and ends at the juncture of his elbow.

“That’s a neat design,” I tell her because it really is fucking sick, especially for a home job. “You’re surprisingly good at this.”

Her soft brown eyes meet mine and she smiles. “Thanks. If you ever want something just let me know.”

Hudson drops his phone onto his chest and meets my gaze. “Okay, you’re all set.”

I raise a brow at him. “What do you mean?”

“I have three women on their way right now to spend one mind-blowing night with Nash Beck before he is officially off the market for six months.”

My instinct is to tell him he’s insane and that I’m not interested, but how can I possibly deny spending the night with three women? The thought alone has my cock thickening and my heart racing with excitement. If I’m going to have to go cold turkey from sex for six months, then Hudson is right—I should go out with a bang.

“This is why you’re my best friend,” I say with a grin as I stand from the couch. I need a shower since I’m likely going to spend most of the night a sweaty mess. A happy sweaty mess.

Hudson grins as Iris continues to tattoo his skin. “You’re damn fucking right. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

7

KINSLEY

“Kinsley, wait!”