Free Ink (The Haven Series) by Torrie McLean Page A

Protected and respected.
    “Hey, Lori – last chance, baby!”
    Turning at the call, she painted a smile on her face for the notoriously flirtatious sergeant grinning at her. Sam was slapping her man on the back as he herded him towards the inner sanctum where all official club business was conducted. She could see the barely concealed excitement written all over Paulie’s boyish face, though he was doing his best to stay cool in front of his brothers.
    “Remember, once the kid gets you inked, the prison clause is your only escape ...” the tall blond warned, with a wink. As Paulie’s sponsor, he’d been taking his duties very seriously – showing him the ropes and, more importantly, leading by example when it came to taking the piss out of his young charge. Convincing him he was only three moves from losing his girl to his mentor at any given time.
    Lorena didn’t think he was serious, that he would really go after a brother’s girl in earnest – even if she didn’t have the luxury of old lady status yet. She may have known very little about actual club business, but she knew Sam wasn’t so highly ranked for nothing.
    And she’d have been lying if she said she didn’t enjoy the little glimmers of attention from the charismatic biker, knowing that the many women who flocked round the Fallen would give their left arm for a piece of him and consider it fair trade.
    But that was only human, enjoying the flattery. She loved Paulie, had done ever since their school days. They were the quintessential childhood sweethearts, with every intention of growing old together.
    Why else would someone with a phobia of needles even consider a tattoo, if not for love?
    Smiling despite her nerves as Paulie cupped her face in his hands, Lorena kissed him back softly - ignoring the whistles and cheers of those around them and letting him pull her closer.
    “All right, kiddies – save it for later,” Sam laughed, hauling Paulie away and propelling him away again. “Patches, ink, pussy. That order, dude. Got it?”
    “Got it,” his young charge grinned, looking back over his shoulder at his girlfriend. “Later, baby.”
    ***
    Wrapped in a huge fluffy towel, Callie shot a look at the clock on her nightstand and groaned, reaching for her ringing cell phone and trying to keep the impatience out of her voice when she answered it.
    “Hey, honey,” she breezed, tucking the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she tried to put the finishing touches to her make-up. “What’s up?”
    “Hey, you – thought I might pick my girl up, take her for a few Friday night drinks ... What d’ya think?”
    “Ohhh, Michael, that sounds great,” she sighed, thinking on her feet. “But can we take a rain check? I ... I kinda already have plans tonight and I can’t get out of them.”
    “Sure,” he said, but she could hear the disappointment and bit her lip guiltily. “Callie? Everything is okay, right? I just haven’t seen you in a few days and ...”
    “Everything’s fine,” Callie insisted, really not wanting to get into it with him. It was bad enough having Sketch constantly on her case with a stream of never-ending questions. “Look, tomorrow – how about you pick me up tomorrow and we go for dinner somewhere nice? And then maybe we can ... make up for lost time?”
    “Okay. Okay, yeah,” he said, though he sounded more resigned than appeased. “Tomorrow then. And Callie?”
    The loaded pause rang alarm bells in her mind, the words on the tip of his tongue already seeming to hang heavy in the air. And if she let him say them ... “I gotta go,” she jumped in quickly. Too quick, she cringed. “Running late. Sorry, I really gotta ... Bye.”
    Hanging up, she threw the phone on the bed beside her and went back to getting ready. But the gray eyes staring back at her in the mirror of her dresser seemed full of accusations and she dropped her gaze to her lap, wondering just what she’d managed to get herself