24. Skye
SKYE
N ikola wasn’t at the club and wasn’t expected for another few hours, so Marietta and I decided to kill time strolling through the French Quarter, sipping cocktails, and eventually stopping at the tattoo parlor.
Marietta got a tiny tramp stamp that only someone she was intimate with would see.
Likewise, I decided to get a tattoo on my ass: a bite mark in the shape of teeth.
In honor of our first time.
Was it dumb? Maybe. But to my cocktail-hazed brain and empty stomach, it was the best decision I’d ever made.
When we stepped back outside, the sun was bright and we were in no way fit to drive. With that in mind, we visited every antique shop, bakery, and bar on Bourbon Street after proclaiming ourselves the experts at tasting Sazerac, rating them for the owners.
Sometimes they appreciated it, other times they didn’t. But we were mostly grateful no one carded us.
The outside temperatures were comfortable and warm, but we were sweating like it was the dead of summer.
“Someone should really turn down the heat,” Marietta yelled at nobody in particular. “Chanel does not absorb sweat well.”
Our drunken selves snickered, and Marietta tripped over a nonexistent bump in the road. Luckily I caught her, only to stumble forward, sending us both to our knees.
“Oh, fuck. I hit my funny bone.” We shared a glance and burst into a fit of giggles when a dark shadow blocked the sunlight. Our heads shifted upward to find the man we’d been looking for.
“Heeeey,” Marietta greeted him with a drunken smile.
I waved, or attempted to, while gawking at the most handsome boy I’d ever met.
He took Marietta’s elbow and helped her up while I admired Nikola’s strong form. He was dressed in jeans that hung low on his hips and a white T-shirt. Every time he moved, his shirt revealed a hint of his V lines.
With Marietta now on somewhat solid ground, he hooked his arm around my waist and helped me up. His scent wrapped around me like a gauzy cloud and I forced my gaze on his face.
“ Hey ,” I signed, my movements sloppy and disoriented. “ Where are you ?”
Nikola rolled his eyes. “Right fucking here, zayka .”
I smiled drunkenly, patting his cheek affectionately. “ You’re so beautiful. ”
Nikola had the wild kind of beauty that called to me. Sharp jawline, lips that promised many sinful things. High cheekbones. Blond hair that was always cut too short, but not short enough not to be able to rake my fingers through it.
I always thought Nikola didn’t want me, but ever since Halloween, I knew he had to feel this attraction between us. It ran deep. It was real . I inched closer, reaching up to gently press the crease between his brows.
He grabbed my hand, but he didn’t stop me from brushing my fingers along his brow. Instead, he just controlled the movements while our gazes clashed. Pale blue with dark, deep blue.
Marietta started jumping excitedly, drawing Nikola’s and my attention before she announced, “If you guys wanna get busy right here in the street, I’ll record it. Then her parents won’t be able to marry her off.”
An idea flickered in my head, but my brain was too hazy to latch on to it.
“Take my sister home,” Nikola barked, his eyes locking on a man who looked vaguely familiar. “Not a scratch on her or I swear to God, Adrik, you’re a dead man.”
Fuck, of course. His cousin Adrik; I recognized him now.
Marietta rolled her eyes and huffed. “Men are so hypocritical. Show him your tattoo, Skye.”
Nikola looked between us with a dark expression. “What tattoo? What’s she talking about, Skye?”
“ I tattooed something on my ass, ” I signed, not willing to admit that it was his bite mark, even in my drunken state. I added, “ She got a tramp stamp. ”
“Take her home before I strangle her,” Nikola hissed.