Ink (The Skulls Book 17) Read online

  He wiped his hands on the cloth and stared right at her. Tabitha didn’t scare him. “She wasn’t going to find a guy at the clubhouse. Not one worth her time.”

  “You know who is worth her time?”

  Ink stayed silent.

  “Whatever game it is you’re playing, it’s not going to work,” Tabitha said.

  “Darcy will find the right guy when she’s ready.”

  “I know. We went out for coffee the other day, and a nice guy named Ward asked her out.” Tabitha looked down at her wrist. “I think they’ll be enjoying their lunch date right about now.”

  “Where?” Ink asked.

  “Where else would a hot date go down while Darcy is working? They’re having a picnic near the library. Now, for someone who doesn’t care, you don’t look impressed.” She folded her arms, looking a little too cocky for his liking.

  “I’m out of here,” Ink said.

  “Oh, Ink, Ward is certainly no member of the club.” Tabitha winked at him. “She’s perfectly safe.”

  Grabbing his keys, he took off out of the clubhouse without saying a word to anyone. Tabitha was turning into a meddling bitch, and he didn’t like that. It reminded him of Tate, and he knew she could be a problem. The ride to the library didn’t take him long. He parked his bike and rushed out behind a small toilet building only to stop. The library was near a large picnic field where a lot of couples had dates and ate lunch.

  He saw Darcy clearly.

  The guy she was with wasn’t someone he recognized. Whatever he’d said to Darcy had made her laugh though. Her head was thrown back, and she looked so incredibly happy. He stopped, watching her. She looked happy. She’d pinned her short locks up, and she wore a pair of jeans and a large shirt.

  This Ward was making her laugh, and giving her happiness, and it bothered him. He’d never been like this with anyone else, so seeing her like this, happy, it was hard for him to go and interrupt.

  You’re also jealous.

  He remembered how she’d try to make him laugh or talk to him. When she had a crush on him, she’d always tried to make him happy.

  This Ward, he didn’t know who the guy was, but he wasn’t going to let Darcy get hurt.

  He stepped around the building and walked with purpose toward them. Darcy saw him first, and the smile on her lips vanished. Now that hurt. He’d done nothing to hurt her in all the time he’d known her.

  “Ink,” she said.

  “Darcy, if I knew you needed to have lunch brought to you, I’d have dealt with it.” He was being a grade-A dick, but once he started, he couldn’t seem to stop.

  “Is this a friend of yours?” Ward the prick asked.

  “Yes. He’s friends with my mom and dad.”

  He clenched his teeth together, hating that she’d made that distinction between them. She’d never once referred to him as her parents’ friend.

  “Lunch is pretty much finished, and I think I should start heading back. It has been a pleasure, Darcy. We must do this again sometime.”

  “You have my number.”

  Now Ink wanted to destroy the bastard’s phone. Was he the only one that cared about her safety? Right now, it fucking felt like it, and it was pissing him off.

  The picnic table was wrapped up, and he reached for Darcy.

  “She’ll call you when she wants to see you again.”

  Ward didn’t take a hint and leaned in, kissing her cheek.

  Ink wanted to hurt that pretty face. To mark it up so the fucker knew never to touch her again.

  Finally, Ward left, and he and Darcy were alone.

  “What the hell?” Darcy asked. “What was that?”

  “What do you even know about that guy?”

  “How did you know I was even here on a date?” she asked. She stared at him and laughed. “Wow, Tabitha. She was the one who encouraged me to go on this date, and yet she’s telling you all about it.”

  “She should tell me, especially when you put your life in danger.”

  “Danger? There was no danger. I didn’t go back to his place, nor did I go somewhere in his car. I had a picnic lunch with him close to where I work, surrounded by people. I’m not stupid, Ink. I know what I’m doing!” She yelled at him.

  “You’re so determined to date. That guy could be a serial killer. You ever thought of that?”

  She gasped. “So you’re saying the only kind of guy I could possibly get is the kind that goes around killing people. There is nothing wrong with wanting to date. It’s a perfectly logical thing to want to do. I don’t want to be alone and miserable for the rest of my life.”

  “Guys are not just going to want to date, Darcy. They’re going to want a whole lot of others things.”

  “I know, and I want them too.”

  “You want sex.”

  “Yes!” She yelled, getting into his face. “I want to experience everything. Do you want me to spell it out for you, Ink? I want everything. I want sex. I want to be desired, needed, craved, loved. You name it, I want it all, and it has to start with dating. With finding a guy who is not afraid of the club or my family.” She shoved him hard. “Now leave me alone.”

  ****

  “You know, meddling is not a good thing,” Tate said, stepping into the mechanic shop.

  Tabitha held a spanner in her hands and turned to look at her older sister. They had different moms, but as far as she was concerned, they were true sisters. “I think meddling is good. If it achieves the same outcome.”

  “And you think getting between Ink and Darcy is a good thing?” Tate asked, arms folded.

  Tabitha sighed. “Are you going to give me the third degree here?”

  “No. I want to make sure you know what you’re doing.”

  “I know what I’m doing.”

  “You do?”

  “Darcy is in love with Ink, and if he gives it a shot, I think Ink has a thing for Darcy. Let’s face it, you don’t go rushing out for no reason.” Tabitha shoved some gum in her mouth. “Besides, Ward looked like a total asshole.”

  “He did?”

  “Yep. He thought a cheap-ass mocha latte was all it took to get a girl’s number.”

  “It did work,” Tate said.

  “No, it didn’t. I meddled a little. Darcy didn’t want to give him her number, but I made her concede because I knew this would happen. There’s no way Darcy would go somewhere private to have lunch with a stranger. This was perfect and planned.” Tabitha jumped up on the table, crossed her legs and smiled at her sister.

  “I think I’ve made a monster out of you,” Tate said.

  “And you look really impressed with that.”

  “I fear for your enemies, Tab. You keep up this attitude, and no one will ever take you on.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Darcy, come on, I know you’re in there. I saw you come home, remember,” Ink said.

  Darcy stood right by her door with Ink knocking on the wood. She had only just arrived home, and she’d put another homemade pasta bake into the oven. Angel had showed her how to get ahead on a Sunday so she could spend more time enjoying the week without having to constantly wonder what was for dinner.

  She didn’t want to open the door.

  She was still so incredibly mad at Ink. Not only had she admitted what she wanted to him, but there had been witnesses to her anger, and she was mortified. What if her parents found out?

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea you visiting me, Ink. The point of me being alone is to, you know, be alone.”

  “Don’t do this. I said some stupid things, and I want to talk to you. Not through a door and not for everyone to hear. Please, Darcy, let me apologize.”

  He sounded so genuine. She closed her eyes, resting her head against the door.

  Open it up for him.

  Don’t be a pain.

  Just … talk to him.

  Tucking her hair behind her ears, she opened the door, and there he stood. His hands rested either side of the doorframe, and
he looked so good, even with the sad look in his eyes.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s fine.”

  She left the door open, turning back into her place and taking a seat on the sofa. She crossed her legs and watched him as he closed the door and moved toward her.

  Even mad at him, she wanted him, and that’s what was making it hard to respond to Ward’s text. Tabitha helped to set the date up, but nothing else.

  “You’re mad?” he asked.

  “I’m not mad. I don’t know what I am to be honest. I’m just trying to figure everything out, you know. I’m not meaning to be a bitch or anything.” She blew out a breath.

  “Did you like this guy?” Ink asked.

  “I don’t know. He seemed like a nice guy, and that’s the kind of guy I should be going for. Ugh! This is so insane. I’m sorry.” She pressed her hands against her face, rubbing to try to clear the fog from her mind.

  This crush had to stop. She needed to move on with her life.

  “You’ll find someone,” he said.

  “Yeah, because a guy is totally out there.”

  “You’re a good person, Darcy. Any man would be lucky to have you.”

  She nibbled her lip, trying not to look at him.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  She tilted her head, looking at him. “I think I’m being delusional.”

  “Why?”

  “Look at me. I can’t have kids. The chances of me being able to conceive are incredibly low. There’s still a chance I could end up back in the hospital. I can’t do that to anyone. I don’t want to do that.” She shook her head, not wanting to bring up too much for fear of hurting Ink. “I think it’s best to be alone.”

  “You’ll never be alone,” Ink said. “You’ll always have me.”

  She forced a smile to her lips. “Thank you.” She leaned her head back against the sofa.

  “Also, the right guy will come your way, Darcy. You just got to believe it.” He took hold of her hand, and her heart raced as he pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I know there is a person in this world for everyone.”

  She smiled and quickly withdrew her hand. “I better check on dinner. Do you want to stay for dinner?”

  “I’d love to.”

  When she got to her feet, her cell phone buzzed in her back pocket, and she pulled it out to see another invitation from Ward. The guy didn’t know when to stop.

  She should be feeling flattered he wanted anything to do with her, but in all honesty, she was exhausted.

  Dating sounded great, but the truth was, she just wanted the time to live her life. To go to parties, and one day get blind drunk so her father had to carry her home. Hang out with friends that were older than she was, rather than younger.

  Deleting Ward’s number, she smiled. She could do this without finding a guy. Grabbing the food out of the oven, she saw it was cooked, and served both her and Ink up a plate. She took out two beers, which her dad had dropped by, and made her way back into the sitting room. She didn’t imagine her father expected her to give the beers to Ink.

  “Here you go,” she said.

  “You bought beer.”

  “My dad bought beer. How about that?” She winked at him. “Beer and food. To new beginnings and leaving the past behind.” She held out her bottle, and Ink clicked his bottle with hers.

  “To finding our soulmates.”

  ****

  One year later

  “You really need to cover your eyes,” Ink said, his hands poised over Darcy’s face.

  “You know this is kidnapping, right? You took me from the library, dragged me to the middle of nowhere, and now you take away my ability to see. This is so not fair.”

  “Life isn’t fair, sweetheart,” he said. “I told you not to be worried or afraid. This is your birthday present.”

  “Oh, yay, my birthday present, what fun. Please, can we stop this now? My birthday was a couple of months ago, and if my memory serves me right, you were the only one not to give me a present.”

  “I forgot.”

  “Exactly, so can we please go? I don’t need presents,” she said.

  Ink wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He’d planned this for the past week. Darcy never got to go camping, and as a result it was something that was always promised to her, but she never got a chance to do. Blaine and Emily weren’t keen on the idea of going camping, and none of the other Skull kids wanted to go, so he decided to go ahead and give her this experience.

  “Why do I feel like I’m in the woods?” she asked.

  “Because you are in the woods.”

  “Are you going to kill me?”

  “If I was going to kill you, I would have done it already.”

  “Ugh, this is so not how I imagined spending my Friday night.”

  “Did you have a hot date?” he asked. It had been a long time since Darcy went on any date, and he knew because he’d kept an eye on her.

  Seeing her with that guy at the picnic nearly a year ago, he’d not wanted to deal with his feelings of her being with anyone else. He’d never been a possessive kind of guy, so this was all new to him.

  “Hot date? Please, this is me. I don’t believe in hot dates. Just disappointments.”

  All of Darcy’s dates had been with him. They’d attended parties together, gone to the fair, and they’d even gone to the movies together. Darcy was a cool person to hang out with, and he loved her company.

  Once he saw the camp up ahead, he heard her sniff the air.

  “Are you going to set me on fire? I’m not a witch.”

  “Come on, stop being an ass,” he said. He walked her up to the campsite, and when he was sure everything was fine, he lowered his hands. “Surprise.” He stepped to one side so he could watch her reaction.

  She looked shocked. “Camping.”

  “Yes. You mentioned how you’d never done it.”

  “Oh,” she said. “This is the big surprise?”

  “Yes.”

  There was a pause. “Great. Who is joining us?”

  “Erm, no one. No one else wanted to join, so it’s just me and you. I got us some marshmallows and a hot dog.”

  “We’re camping in the middle of the woods alone.”

  “Yep, that about sums it up.”

  “Right,” she said. “And you think this is a pretty good birthday present? Sorry, sorry, late birthday present.”

  “I think it’s pretty special, yeah.”

  “Oh,” she said. “Such fun.” She pressed her lips together.

  “I’m sensing a theme here.”

  “Ink, I hate to break it to you, but there’s a pretty good reason I’ve never gone camping,” she said.

  “You don’t like it? You loved sitting in trees.”

  “Yeah, because I could climb down and use a normal bathroom. I’m not spending days at a time in the middle of nowhere. I hate it,” she said. “It’s the outdoors, and it’s cold and miserable, and wet. What about coyotes? What about wolves? Ugh, we’re going to die. I have just stepped into my own horror movie, and we’re all going to die.”

  Ink pulled her into his arms. “You’re not going to die. I’m sorry. I thought you’d really enjoy this. It’s me and you, a fire, food. It could be fun.”

  In the past year he’d earned his cut back with his work with The Skulls, not that he had needed to. The Skulls knew why he’d left, and the patch was still his to take when he wanted it. For Ink, he felt like he had to earn it back. The best part of the past year was spending as much time as he could with Darcy. She was an incredible woman. Her passion, her fire, it was amazing to witness, and when she entered a room, he was drawn to her. She was in his thoughts constantly. He had also come clean to the club about his sister. The club knew he’d walked away because of Darcy’s interest in him. He was no longer keeping his sister a secret from the club, and had come clean. He hadn’t told Darcy the truth in person yet, but he wanted to when th
e moment was right. At first it was to make it up to her for leaving, but then that had all changed. He loved her company and enjoyed watching her as she flourished away from her parents. She loved her job and her apartment, which hadn’t taken her long to make it her own. “Will you at least give it a chance?”

  “Sure.” She snuggled into her coat. “Show me everything.”

  He held her hand and took her to their camping tent. There were two beds in there, and he’d only gotten them one tent big enough for the two of them.

  “Oh, wow,” she said. “Why are we sharing?”

  “I figured it would be safer. You know, in case of wolves or coyotes and stuff.”

  “You’ve got what it takes to take on those kinds of dangerous animals?” she asked.

  “I can protect you, Darcy. Make no mistake about that.” He moved back toward the small fire and dropped down a cushion. “Take a seat.”

  “I’m seeing a certain excitement here. You love doing this, don’t you? Camping.”

  “I don’t mind getting back to nature. There are a lot of other things that people can do, but this is all about nature. Come on, sit.”

  She lowered herself down onto the cushion, and he grabbed himself one, sitting with her. Next, he sorted them both out some hot dogs from his little bag of tricks.

  “Did Angel go shopping for all of this?” she asked.

  “Yep, and she prepared us a thermos of her finest cocoa, but I also brought something to help keep the cold away.” He held up a bottle of really good scotch, and she laughed.

  “You know I don’t drink.”

  “I know, which is why the cocoa is there.”

  “One sip shouldn’t hurt.”

  He winked at her. “That, miss, you are right about. No harm ever came from just one sip.”

  They roasted the hot dogs, and Ink did his best to toast the buns. He’d also brought some condiments for the hot dogs, and he held them open while Darcy made up their food.

  As he took a large bite, ketchup and mustard squirted out of the side of his, hitting him in the corner of the mouth.

  He didn’t mind as Darcy kept on giggling. It was a good sound for her, one he loved hearing.

  They ate another hot dog each and moved on to the marshmallows. He asked her about work, and as usual, she began to tell him all the latest gossip within the town. Most of it he didn’t care for, and some of it was just plain out soap opera material. For him, he got to hear Darcy talk, and that was the whole point of it.