The Tattoo Artist (La Petite Mort #1)

55. Chapter 55

fifty-five

Alexander

I was finishing the last touches on the cabin before I started chopping up some wood for the fire. Quinn hasn't attempted to contact me, but I was certain she knew I was here and that I'd been watching her.

Stalking her just like I did three years ago.

Two Weeks Before Our Date

I watched her.

I watched her observe the artwork, how she enjoyed certain pieces more than others, and how she pulled out her sketchbook and began to draw.

Bloody hell, I watched her at work. The way she pushed the trolley through the aisles. The way she wore high-waisted long skirts.How they covered her body from head to toe, but underneath all that fabric, she was pure sin. But I enjoyed watching her draw from her bedroom window the most. I examined every inch of her body. My eyes roamed her body from head to toe.

She enjoyed drawing in her cotton bra and painting in just her underwear. I watched, making sure no one saw what I saw. I stood across the street, my body leaning against the lamppost.

Her eyes locked with mine.

Bloody Hell!

She fucking caught me staring at her like some creeper. Like some fucking stalker.

A few seconds later, I watched her disappear, only for her to open her balcony doors and signal me to come towards her.

And I followed her orders like a damn puppy. Climbing the side wall and jumping over the balcony rail, I stood in front of her. She was no longer in her bra and panties.

"You have my permission," she whispered. The breeze carried her scent, and like a fucker I inhaled her sweet cranberry smell.

"Permission?" I was confused.

She laughed.

"To watch me.."

"To stalk me."

"To follow me around."

Motherfucker! Did she want me to stalk her? But before I could even deny it or do anything else, she giggled before giving me a sinister smirk.

"Don't worry, I've watched you too. I've been to your fights, and I've passed by your tattoo shop," she confessed.

"You sound like a stalker," I said, and she chuckled.

"Maybe I am." I was too stunned by her response to process what came next.

"So, Alexander Hades, are you too much of a wimp to ask me out on a date?" She bit her lips, looking so fucking innocent but so damn naughty all at once. And just like that, I knew she had some darkness inside her, and I was about to discover how much darkness there was.

I shook my head, clearing my daze and getting back to slamming the ax down against the wood. I was cutting through about twenty logs when suddenly I heard my name.

"Alex," Quinn yelled. I turned around, and our gaze connected briefly before she ran towards me.

She nodded for me to continue. "We had been dating for a while when you came to one of my fights. You had been crying. When I asked you what happened, you told me you overheard your parents talking about the horrible things that they did to your sister. You had overheard a conversation where they talked about a baby. You wanted revenge for what they did to her. You were devastated that your parents—"

"Not my parents," she interrupted.

"You knew I killed people in the ring, but you heard the dark rumors about the Hades family. Nothing has ever been proven. I never talked about what I did for my family," I paused, taking out an article about the murder of the doctor and handing it to Quinn. "A few days later, you called me frantic because you had blood all over you, and you needed help," I admitted.

Her eyes widened.

Fuck, she remembered.