I held up a mirror so she could see the design. “What do you think?”
“I love it. When can I come in for more color?”
I studied her skin. Shifters healed incredibly fast. I was stunned the first time I watched skin knitting together on a Rhett’s finger after a paper cut.
Even so, I wanted to make sure the parts I couldn’t see were healed too.
I cleaned and covered her tattoo. “Let’s give it four days.”
Bev stood, pulling a hot pink tank top over her head. The half-sleeve I started for her was on full display, and I smiled with pride.
“See you next week!” She tucked her purse to her side, blowing a kiss to me on her way out.
Rhett sauntered past her, eyebrows at his hairline. “Should I be jealous?”
“Maybe. She’s very fond of me.”
He waited while I removed my gloves and sanitized my space, leaning against the wall with a paper bag in his hand. I finished quickly, feeling a growing sense of urgency the longer he stood across the room.
Finally, it was done, and I flung myself into his arms, kissing him like we’d been apart for weeks instead of hours. Tingles erupted where his hand cupped the back of my neck, and a feeling like static electricity zipped across my lips.
“Hi,” I whispered.
“Hi,” he said back. “How was your day?”
“Perfect. How was yours?”
“Uneventful.”
I pointed at the bag in his hands. “What’s this?”
“A little birdy told me that today is our six-month anniversary. I didn’t realize anniversaries were celebrated in six month intervals, but I got you a gift just in case.” He handed me the bag.
I peered inside, giggling when I saw a box of hot cocoa mix and two cups of instant noodles. He was so disappointed that night when we finished sealing our bond—about ten times—and that was all he had to feed me.
Now, it had become one of my favorite memories, and I couldn’t wait to relive it.
Affection poured down the bond from him as he watched my face light up. I didn’t know whether I would ever get used to that.
“You ready to head out?”
“Actually, I have an anniversary surprise for you too. Do you trust me?”
“Of course.”
“Take off your shirt and get in the chair.”
Rhett frowned, but he did as I asked. My hands shook a little as I cleaned the skin at the base of his neck.
“It took a while to get this right. I bit a lot of weird stuff before I found a way to take a good imprint.” I lined up the stencil and pressed it to his skin.
His head snapped up, the wolf shining gold in his eyes.
I stroked his chest. “Calm down, big guy, we haven’t even gotten to the good part yet.”
I could feel tension and excitement pouring off the wolf as I lifted the tattoo machine up. “I’m ready,” he growled.
It took me less than an hour to finish. When I was done, I held up the mirror to show him the brand new tattoo of a mate mark on his neck.