Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 49530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
“Oh, yeah, we do that, if necessary,” Talon acknowledged.
“Hmm,” Elizabeth commented.
Janine hissed, “What has gotten into you? I’m sorry, Elizabeth isn’t a judgmental soul. Her divorce has twisted her into a negative mindset. It’s easy to do. I’m in the process as well.”
Talon proposed a toast, raising his beer bottle to clink against Ink’s. “To the assholes who didn’t realize how lucky they were.”
Janine immediately raised the last of her Bahama Mama to join them. Elizabeth sat quietly, subdued for the first time that evening. She hated to admit that her soon-to-be ex’s accusations of how she had forced him to have an affair with someone else had wormed their way into her brain. Maybe it was her fault.
Talon’s warm hand covered hers and she looked up in surprise. “Stop thinking so hard. No man is worth that.”
“Sorry.”
“No sorries. Eat, Buttercup. You’re hungry, and I plan to dance your shoes off.”
Nodding, she loaded another chip with all the good stuff and popped it into her mouth. As she bit down, her eyes watered. A hidden jalapeno had disguised itself under a dollop of sour cream. Trying to be brave, she chewed, feeling the fire building with each chomp.
“Spit it out,” Talon commanded and placed a few napkins at her mouth. He nodded when she looked at him to double-check. “Get rid of it. It’s going to get hotter.”
For self-preservation, she followed his instruction and pushed the bite out of her mouth. Talon wrapped it up without a grimace or reaction and handed Elizabeth her frozen drink. Grateful, she took a large gulp and then another.
As she extinguished the fire in her mouth, Talon carefully picked through the stack of nachos in front of her to pull out a dozen honker jalapeno slices. He set them in front of him and loaded another bite with all the goodies and no peppers.
“Try this one,” he said, lifting it to her lips.
Automatically, she opened her mouth and let him feed her. The cool sour cream helped soothe her still burning tongue and Elizabeth smiled at him. Raising one hand, she covered her mouth and thanked him.
“No talking with your mouth full, Buttercup,” he admonished before starting a new line of conversation with Janine and Ink.
“Do you both work together, Janine?”
“We do. Not in the same department, but our roles overlap from time to time,” the other woman answered. “We’ve gone out a few times. Well, I’ve forced Elizabeth to come out with me.”
“Good. I’m glad.” Talon smiled his approval.
Feeling slightly jealous, Elizabeth was amazed when she found herself scooting closer to Talon as if staking her claim. She started to move back over, but Talon wrapped a hand around her thigh and squeezed to hold her in place. The server brought their new drinks over and Elizabeth noticed that Janine had switched to a soft drink. She took another drink of her frozen concoction and knew she should do that, too. Elizabeth didn’t want to lose her common sense around Talon. She could handle this one though. It was so good.
“What do you do, Ink?” Janine asked.
“I’m a surgeon,” he joked. “No, I’m a tattoo artist. That’s how I connected with the Shadowridge Guardians. I’ve done some work on several members.”
“I’ve been thinking about getting a rose on my ankle,” Janine said, holding a foot out under the table to show the spot she was considering for the artwork.
“When you’re ready, come talk to me. There are some things I always recommend people think about before putting something into their bodies,” Ink said.
Elizabeth smiled to herself. It seemed like Ink was a stand-up guy. She was glad Janine had met someone nice.
“Recovered?” Talon asked.
She shook her head ruefully. “Almost. That was awful. Sorry to be a wimp.”
“You haven’t seen me on sushi night,” Talon said with a laugh.
“Wasabi?”
“I’m not eating raw fish for anyone. They tricked me into it once. That will be the last time,” Talon vowed.
Ink, overhearing, tried to control his belly-deep laughter. Talon pointed at him and warned, “Don’t forget what happened to Gabriel. There’s no telling what pay back I might devise for you.”
“I don’t think anyone is going to ever get that out of their memory,” Ink said, dissolving into guffaws that made everyone, including Talon, laugh.
“What did you do?” Elizabeth asked, wide-eyed.
“Talon painted his bedroom black. It looked great until Gabriel went to sleep. Then, all these rainbow-colored fluorescent specks showed up. Gabriel thought it felt like he was in a freaking underwater aquarium,” Ink shared. “His… His girlfriend loved it.”
Why did it sound like he covered up something else he started to say?
Pushing that thought out of her mind, Elizabeth imagined sparkling walls that made the night less scary. “That sounds amazing. I would have loved to see that.”
“I don’t think he got a lot of sleep until he repainted it,” Talon confessed. “It took six coats of paint to extinguish the glow.”