Ink & Dagger (Sins of Eden #1)

3. Chapter III

Chapter III

Emily

I stood in dumbstruck disbelief, staring out the window and attempted to dislodge thoughts of riding between his strong thighs, before turning toward the front desk.

I sighed as I crossed the room and noticed the blinking red light of the answering machine. Punching in my passcode, I swore under my breath and I braced my palms on the desk while listening to the voicemail, my fingers closing into tight balls as I squeezed my eyes shut.

Fuck my life.

My first client canceled on me. That was the state of most of my appointments since opening this shop. I hated stereotyping my clients, I didn’t know them, or their lives until they came into my shop and gave me their whole life story as I worked and provided additional therapy. It wasn’t fucking surprising in this case, though.

My first client this morning sounded like the type that would’ve had to hide his ink from mum and dad at their beach house on their bougie family holidays. Hell, he was probably dared by his buddies to come here in the first place, but I was happy to pop his ink cherry if that meant I could get an appointment to stick.

Changing gears, I quickly pulled out my cell and hit the speed dial on Charlie’s name as I made my way to the back of the studio.

“Hey, Witchy Bitch,” she said playfully, answering on the first ring. “Intuition or what? I was just about to call you. I wanted to check in and see if you had any time for me to come in and finish my tat soon.”

“As a matter of fact, my eight o’clock just canceled on me and I don’t have anyone else coming in until two. I know it’s short notice and it’ll take a minute for you to get here, but the slot is yours if you want it.”

I hoped she’d take it so I could talk to her about the dark Adonis in leather, but the forty-five minute drive from our hometown could be a bit of a bitch sometimes.

“Abso-fucking-lutely! Wait, do you mind if I bring Cerys with me? I don’t wanna leave her at the library all day and I don’t really wanna ask Grams to watch her,” she said.

Cerys was the adorable red fox Familiar that she’d bonded with when she was ten. I personally loved the mischievous little ball of chaos to death, but Ghost, my ball python, didn’t appreciate her playful shenanigans the way I did.

“Sure, sure. You know she’s always welcome. I’ll let Ghost know to stick to the back and I’ll just keep the door shut while you’re here. He’s been moody lately and I don’t want to piss him off more,” I told her.

“Got it. I’ll see you in a bit. Love ya, Witch.” Her keys jingled in the background just before the call ended.

Charlie was a walking canvas and was in my studio more than the few regulars that I had. Our visits gave us time to relax and catch up on the latest gossip from home, which wasn’t much since she kept herself too busy to stay up to date on the rumors, but left me longing for the days when it was the two of us against the world. It was still like that, I suppose, but being a town away made my heart hurt and I could tell that she was keeping things from me.

She was a Supe, like me. Birds of a feather and all that, but was a green Witch. Meanwhile, I couldn’t even keep a fucking cactus alive. She’d never admit it, but she was one of the most powerful Witches that I knew and could perform spells that most Witches only dreamed of conjuring.

She mostly lived and worked out of a library back home and was a member of the Dark Hearts , the coven that Grams had run for over one-hundred and twenty-two years. We didn’t know much about Charlie’s birth parents, except what we’d been told. Supposedly, her mother was a traveling nomad who’d gotten pregnant by a mortal. Agatha told the coven and us that Charlie’s mother died giving birth, so she raised her as her own. I didn’t believe it. Something about Grams’ story felt off, but however she came to be here, I was thankful to the Goddess for putting her in my life.

Like Charlie, it was expected of me to join the coven once I’d come into my powers, since my mother had been a founding member, but I was more of a loner and couldn’t get into the whole sister-hood vibe that they were trying to sell.

Not only that, but mom and Agatha hadn’t gotten along much before she died and something about Grams persistence to get me to join made me feel uneasy. I was powerful enough without a coven. I didn’t need rules and regulations based on a matriarchy to dictate what I could and couldn’t do with my magic.

With Charlie on the way, I could tell her about my morning and hopefully get some girl insight into my mysterious dilemma. Forgoing my promise to Daddy Raine, I scratched at my back and plopped down in front of my tablet to put the finishing touches on Charlie’s most recent tattoo.

All of her art was inspired by the books we loved to read, so today I’d be adding oleander and other foliage to accentuate her latest piece. I hadn’t had the chance to read the series it was inspired from yet, but she swore that the fictional men were yummy and the series was worth moving up on my poorly neglected Tbr list.

If I didn’t come back as a Spirit to haunt a library, so that I could finish all of the books on my ever growing list, then I’d have to fight my way through Hell’s gates to get back.

Standing from my chair, I twisted my long black hair up into a bun and slid my Stylus through to hold it in place. It was safer there anyway. With my luck, I’d leave it on my desk and like everything else, end up losing it beneath the chaotic mess of crystals, papers, and tarot cards.

With that finished, I grabbed my empty coffee cup and headed to the kitchen where Ghost was curled up like a cat, bathing in his little ray of sunshine in the basket attached to the windowsill.

“Hey there, you still giving me the silent treatment?” I asked as I stroked his scales and took a seat at the small wooden table beside the window.

He raised his head slightly and blinked an eye, but didn’t respond. “I just wanted to let you know that Charlie’s coming by with Cerys, so I’ll make sure to keep the door shut for you.”

Not that it would truly keep her out. If she really wanted to play with him, she’d just apparate in, no matter how many times he threatened to eat her.

“You smell like you’re in heat,” he hissed pompously, flicking his tongue out to taste the air.

I rolled my eyes. “Witches don’t go into heat, you cranky old bat. I smell perfectly fine,” I retorted, lifting my arm and giving myself a discrete sniff.

Along with the faint honeysuckle body wash that I loved, I could still smell the sweet smoke scent that clung to my shirt. My mind wandered and I shivered as I thought about the man from this morning.

“Hmph,” Ghost snorted, curling back up into a tight ball.

Alright then, I guess I was dismissed. Moody butt. Rising from my chair, I walked to the cabinet to grab myself a protein bar before heading back to the tattoo room where I could just hear the last notes of “W.I.T.C.H.,” playing softly through the speakers.

Restarting the song with a chuckle, I swayed my hips and sang badly off-tune while I waited for Charlie to arrive.