Cynful
Page 4
Cyn didn’t back down. Her heart might be racing, her palms damp, but Alex would sooner bite off his paw than hurt her, if only because it would hurt Tabby. “I am.”
He blinked, his eyes bleeding back out to hazel. “You aren’t afraid of anything, are you?”
“Only one thing.”
One of his brows rose, questioning her.
“Losing who I am.” And she was terrified the extremely sexy Julian could make her do just that.
Julian pulled his car into LA’s parking lot and hopped out. He hoped Cyn was ready to go. He was starving. An emergency at the doc’s office had kept him from his lunch, and his stomach was growling louder than Ryan had.
Julian took a deep breath and stretched, pulling his arms taut over his head. The scent of strange shifters, mostly Wolf, drifted through his senses. It wasn’t uncommon for him to catch the occasional whiff of other shifters. Halle housed a university on its outskirts, and the students would often come to town, especially this part of town. It was a little bit rougher than the pretty downtown area where Becky and Emma ran Wallflowers. There was Living Art Tattoos, a really great Chinese restaurant, a small bookstore that specialized in pagan books and artwork that Cyn said the students adored, and a few clothing shops that seemed to carry the type of clothes Cyn and the girls wore. He loved coming to this part of town. It was vibrant and fun and suited his mate to a T.
He walked up to the glass front door of LA Tattoos and peeked in, totally unsurprised by what he saw.
Chaos. The place was chock full of it, as usual, only this time the chaos was the fun kind. Julian smiled as he watched Cyn chase Tabby around with a rolled up set of papers. Whatever the Wolf had done, Cyn was ready to bat her nose over it. Glory was holding her stomach and laughing as Tabby skidded in her heels and went down.
Julian was through the door so fast the bell barely had time to jingle before he was kneeling at Tabby’s side. “You okay?”
“Ow.” She rubbed her hip and grimaced. “Just a bruise to my pride.”
Julian brushed his finger over the area, grinning at her sigh of relief. “What can I say? I’m better than Bengay.”
That sent Glory into another round of musical giggles.
Cyn swatted Tabby on the head with the papers. “I am not tattooing you until after the baby is born. Get over it!”
Tabby stuck her tongue out at Cyn. “Please. The needles are changed every customer, we pour the ink into those tiny little cups and toss what we don’t use. It’s perfectly safe.”
“No, it’s not.” Cyn tapped her foot. “Unless a doctor can tell me you won’t go into shock and lose the baby, I won’t tattoo you until after your flabby ass gives birth.”
Tabby squeaked and sat up. “It is not flabby!”
Cyn cocked her hip and smirked at her apprentice. “Honey, I’ve seen you naked.”
“Ooh!” Tabby jumped to her feet and grabbed the papers from Cyn’s hand. “I’ll show you flabby!” She started chasing Cyn around the tattoo parlor, waving the paper and giving a rebel yell that hurt Julian’s ears. Glory collapsed into one of the chairs by the window, seriously out of breath from laughing. Tears streamed down her face.
Julian just shook his head. He leaned back on his elbows and crossed his ankles, careful to hold still when the ladies hopped over his legs. “Welcome to the jungle.”
Julian blinked as the image of a girly bedroom superimposed itself over the tattoo parlor. He tried to clench his left hand, sighing when it wouldn’t close all the way. Damn it, Chloe was looking through his eyes again.
The spiritual connection he’d established with the Fox when he’d saved her life was much stronger than he’d first thought it would be, and this was the result. Ryan’s little sister had nearly died when she was attacked and left for dead in the middle of the road.
They still hadn’t caught the ones who’d hurt her.
“Chloe?”
“Hmm? Oh! Shit. I’m sorry, Julian. Am I doing it again? I thought I was gleaming.”
Julian ground his teeth together. “Dreaming, sweetie. And no, you’re not. Could you pull back? Remind me when I visit tomorrow, we need to work on your control some more.”
The problems with her hand and taking over his sight were the least of his concerns. Chloe kept confusing words, often with hysterical—or disastrous—results. The other day she’d told her physical therapist not to let the floor blob hit him in the ass on the way out. It had taken them five minutes to figure out she’d meant doorknob.
For someone who’d worked damn hard to earn a degree in veterinary medicine, the fact that she couldn’t keep her words straight or use her left hand properly meant her career was dead before it even started. Not one of the doctors knew if the damage was permanent.
Julian did, and the knowledge hurt both of them, because, due to their bond, Chloe knew too.
“Julian!”
He snapped his attention back to Cyn, his double vision fading as Chloe left him. He grinned weakly up at his mate. “Hey.”
She was tapping her foot. Not a good sign. “Are you ready to go?”
He got to his feet and wiped his pants off in quick, jerky movements. Please, let Chloe keep her thoughts to herself while I drive. “Whenever you are.”
She held up her purse as if that said it all.
Julian, not being an idiot, held open the door for his future mate and prayed his dinner for two didn’t get crashed by a needy, unhappy Fox.
Cyn studied Julian out of the corner of her eye as he maneuvered the quiet, dark streets of Halle. Something about the way he’d zoned out in her shop had her worried. It was like he wasn’t there anymore; his dark brown eyes had taken on that gray-speckled look; his hair had grown a thin, white strip near his face. He was using his freaky-ass powers, but doing what she had no clue.
They pulled up outside Frank’s Diner and Cyn grinned. “Oh God. How did you guess I’d kill for a burger tonight?”
Julian’s stomach grumbled loud enough to startle a laugh out of her. “I could eat a cow or two myself.” He grinned sheepishly and got out of the car.
Not waiting for him to open her door she hopped out too, smirking when he rolled his eyes. “You hungry?”
“I’ve got two words for you. Star. Ving.” He managed to open the diner’s front door before she could get to it.
He blinked, his eyes bleeding back out to hazel. “You aren’t afraid of anything, are you?”
“Only one thing.”
One of his brows rose, questioning her.
“Losing who I am.” And she was terrified the extremely sexy Julian could make her do just that.
Julian pulled his car into LA’s parking lot and hopped out. He hoped Cyn was ready to go. He was starving. An emergency at the doc’s office had kept him from his lunch, and his stomach was growling louder than Ryan had.
Julian took a deep breath and stretched, pulling his arms taut over his head. The scent of strange shifters, mostly Wolf, drifted through his senses. It wasn’t uncommon for him to catch the occasional whiff of other shifters. Halle housed a university on its outskirts, and the students would often come to town, especially this part of town. It was a little bit rougher than the pretty downtown area where Becky and Emma ran Wallflowers. There was Living Art Tattoos, a really great Chinese restaurant, a small bookstore that specialized in pagan books and artwork that Cyn said the students adored, and a few clothing shops that seemed to carry the type of clothes Cyn and the girls wore. He loved coming to this part of town. It was vibrant and fun and suited his mate to a T.
He walked up to the glass front door of LA Tattoos and peeked in, totally unsurprised by what he saw.
Chaos. The place was chock full of it, as usual, only this time the chaos was the fun kind. Julian smiled as he watched Cyn chase Tabby around with a rolled up set of papers. Whatever the Wolf had done, Cyn was ready to bat her nose over it. Glory was holding her stomach and laughing as Tabby skidded in her heels and went down.
Julian was through the door so fast the bell barely had time to jingle before he was kneeling at Tabby’s side. “You okay?”
“Ow.” She rubbed her hip and grimaced. “Just a bruise to my pride.”
Julian brushed his finger over the area, grinning at her sigh of relief. “What can I say? I’m better than Bengay.”
That sent Glory into another round of musical giggles.
Cyn swatted Tabby on the head with the papers. “I am not tattooing you until after the baby is born. Get over it!”
Tabby stuck her tongue out at Cyn. “Please. The needles are changed every customer, we pour the ink into those tiny little cups and toss what we don’t use. It’s perfectly safe.”
“No, it’s not.” Cyn tapped her foot. “Unless a doctor can tell me you won’t go into shock and lose the baby, I won’t tattoo you until after your flabby ass gives birth.”
Tabby squeaked and sat up. “It is not flabby!”
Cyn cocked her hip and smirked at her apprentice. “Honey, I’ve seen you naked.”
“Ooh!” Tabby jumped to her feet and grabbed the papers from Cyn’s hand. “I’ll show you flabby!” She started chasing Cyn around the tattoo parlor, waving the paper and giving a rebel yell that hurt Julian’s ears. Glory collapsed into one of the chairs by the window, seriously out of breath from laughing. Tears streamed down her face.
Julian just shook his head. He leaned back on his elbows and crossed his ankles, careful to hold still when the ladies hopped over his legs. “Welcome to the jungle.”
Julian blinked as the image of a girly bedroom superimposed itself over the tattoo parlor. He tried to clench his left hand, sighing when it wouldn’t close all the way. Damn it, Chloe was looking through his eyes again.
The spiritual connection he’d established with the Fox when he’d saved her life was much stronger than he’d first thought it would be, and this was the result. Ryan’s little sister had nearly died when she was attacked and left for dead in the middle of the road.
They still hadn’t caught the ones who’d hurt her.
“Chloe?”
“Hmm? Oh! Shit. I’m sorry, Julian. Am I doing it again? I thought I was gleaming.”
Julian ground his teeth together. “Dreaming, sweetie. And no, you’re not. Could you pull back? Remind me when I visit tomorrow, we need to work on your control some more.”
The problems with her hand and taking over his sight were the least of his concerns. Chloe kept confusing words, often with hysterical—or disastrous—results. The other day she’d told her physical therapist not to let the floor blob hit him in the ass on the way out. It had taken them five minutes to figure out she’d meant doorknob.
For someone who’d worked damn hard to earn a degree in veterinary medicine, the fact that she couldn’t keep her words straight or use her left hand properly meant her career was dead before it even started. Not one of the doctors knew if the damage was permanent.
Julian did, and the knowledge hurt both of them, because, due to their bond, Chloe knew too.
“Julian!”
He snapped his attention back to Cyn, his double vision fading as Chloe left him. He grinned weakly up at his mate. “Hey.”
She was tapping her foot. Not a good sign. “Are you ready to go?”
He got to his feet and wiped his pants off in quick, jerky movements. Please, let Chloe keep her thoughts to herself while I drive. “Whenever you are.”
She held up her purse as if that said it all.
Julian, not being an idiot, held open the door for his future mate and prayed his dinner for two didn’t get crashed by a needy, unhappy Fox.
Cyn studied Julian out of the corner of her eye as he maneuvered the quiet, dark streets of Halle. Something about the way he’d zoned out in her shop had her worried. It was like he wasn’t there anymore; his dark brown eyes had taken on that gray-speckled look; his hair had grown a thin, white strip near his face. He was using his freaky-ass powers, but doing what she had no clue.
They pulled up outside Frank’s Diner and Cyn grinned. “Oh God. How did you guess I’d kill for a burger tonight?”
Julian’s stomach grumbled loud enough to startle a laugh out of her. “I could eat a cow or two myself.” He grinned sheepishly and got out of the car.
Not waiting for him to open her door she hopped out too, smirking when he rolled his eyes. “You hungry?”
“I’ve got two words for you. Star. Ving.” He managed to open the diner’s front door before she could get to it.
