Free Damaged and the Knight by Bijou Hunter Page A

her completely. I had been so certain I would find the same joy with Judd, but nearly two weeks had passed and he hadn’t found a single lame excuse to see me. I really was out of his life and he’d moved on as if we’d never met.
    Excitement over Farah’s engagement mixed with a growing sadness over how I was simply mooching off her life. Besides cleaning the house and taking care of the dogs, I had no purpose. Soon, I’d have to step away from Farah and build a life of my own.

Chapter Nine
    For my upcoming birthday, Cooper agreed to pay for me to get a tattoo, but only if I went to Aaron. Considering the angel tattoo on Cooper was my inspiration and Aaron was the artist who inked it, I wasn’t planning to go to anyone else.
    The tattoo shop was between a sub sandwich place and a pawn shop in a rather new shopping center. Bailey opened the door then glared at a girl walking by on the sidewalk.
    Noticing my confusion, she shrugged. “The bitch knows what she did.”
    Nodding, we walked into the waiting area where the walls were covered with designs.
    “So do you want a flash tattoo?” Bailey asked.
    “What’s that?”
    “A standard type tattoo like on the wall. A heart or eagle head. Aaron can churn those out in a few hours.”
    I looked at the walls with the flash designs. “I want a fallen angel.”
    “Sounds complicated. Good thing Aaron is good because I wouldn’t trust just anyone to ink you.”
    Likely hearing his name, Aaron appeared from the back of the shop. Having met him in passing, I found Cooper’s childhood friend to be a curious mix between gentle poet and scary biker. On one hand, he had a shaved head, a cobra tattoo up his neck, and tended to ride his Harley so fast through town that he was forever getting ticketed. On the other hand, he dressed rather preppy and was considered an amazing artist.
    “Sorry,” Aaron said. “The girl who worked out front quit and I’m here alone.”
    “She wants a really cool tat. Don’t fuck it up,” Bailey nearly yelled. Frowning, I shook my head at Bailey who sighed. “Please, don’t fuck it up.”
    Aaron just grinned. “I heard you were training Bailey, so this should be fun. Do you know what kind of tattoo you’re interested in?”
    “A fallen angel on my back, around the right shoulder. I like how sad the angel looks on Cooper’s tattoo, but I don’t know what else it should be like.”
    Aaron gestured for me to come back into his work space. We talked over a few ideas. Fortunately, Aaron was more creative than me.
    “I have a high tolerance for pain,” I said while he worked on the design.
    “But you’ve never had a tattoo before.”
    “No, but I can take a punch. Does it hurt more than that?” I said, touching the snake tattoo up his neck.
    “A punch might hurt more, but it’s one hit then it gets numb. With a tattoo, the pain isn’t as bad, but it lasts longer.”
    “I really want the tattoo.”
    “If it’s too painful, we’ll break the tat into parts. That way, you can get what you want, but the pain won’t be overbearing.”
    Nodding, I sat quietly while Aaron sketched. Finally, my curiosity got the best of me. “Did you do Judd’s tattoos?”
    “A few of them. The pirate ship and cross. His mom’s name and the eagle on his chest he got back in Memphis.”
    “I really love those tattoos you did. Will mine have that dark shaded look?”
    “Black and gray style is what you want. I might use a little color if it’s okay, so where Heaven opens up, it’ll be a bit brighter.”
    Aaron turned his sketch pad around and showed me what he worked up. For a second, I couldn’t breathe.
    It’s so beautiful,” I finally said, taking the sketch pad. “You can tattoo that on me?”
    “If you want me to change anything, let me know.”
    Smiling, I studied the drawing of an angel falling from Heaven. Heartbreakingly beautiful, it was more amazing than I could have ever dreamed.
    “I love it exactly the way it is.”
    Aaron