Chapter 63

Ailee


“ Is there a problem?” Tank asks. I open my mouth but the girl beats me to it. She turns and smiles at Tank. “ No, Tank. This lady seems to think she has an appointment. When I told her she was wrong she pulled a gun. I’m just going to call the cops to have her removed. Nothing I can’t handle.” she says in a voice so sweet it reminds me of syrup. I hear the door chime just as Tank steps forward. He looks at the girl “ She does have an appointment. I blocked out time for a V. I. P. client. That’s here.” Tank says pointing at me. It is my turn to smirk.

Tank turns to me “ Little sis can you put your toys away. We don’t need the queen right now.” I can’t help but smile at him. “ If you want to keep your job and your life you better check that attitude. Ailee here will not hesitate to shoot. And neither will her guard.” Tanks says pointing at Finn. “Trust me I have seen it. You should have called me if there was a discrepancy in what the client and schedule say.” Tank told the girl who now looked embarrassed instead of thinking she was making Tank happy. “ Looks like I missed all the fun.” a voice I know well says. I can’t help but smile. What can I say? He makes me smile. A lot. The girl looks over my shoulder and beams at Lug. “ Hi,Lug.” she says as she bats her eyes at him.

Really lady. “ Do you flirt with all taken men or just the ones wearing patches?” I asked. The girl snaps her head back like I just slapped her. I wish I had. Lug just laughs as he wraps his arms around my waist and places his chin on my shoulder. “ Easy my queen. As much as it turns me on to see you fiery, we have more important matters to deal with.” he growls in my ear. He is right. I am here for a purpose and it isn’t to put rude people in their place.

“ Lug, take Ailee back to my chair. I’ll be there in a minute.” Tank told him. Lug walks me back while Finn stays out front. We walk past three cubicles where Tank’s other artists work before we get to Tank’s. Lug tells me to sit in the chair. Tank already has his paints set up and his gun out and ready to go. Lug leans over the chair, his hands on the arm rests. I look up at him and before I can ask what he is doing he slams his lips on mine. My arms move around his neck automatically as I slip my tongue between his lips. He nips at my lips before he pulls back leaving me breathless. “ My fiery queen. I needed that.” he groans like he is in pain.

“ You ready to do this or do you need a few more minutes?” Tank asks, laughing. As much as I want to kiss Lug some more I want to get this tattoo. I’ll play with Lug later. Lug stands up and looks at Tank. “ Let’s do this brother. I want my mark on her for the world to see.” Tanks laughs as he takes a seat in his rolling stool. “ I remember that feeling brother. There are few better feelings than seeing your mark on your woman.” Tanks says with a proud smile. He takes a paper off the counter and shows it to me.

It is the design Merigold came up with. It looks good on paper. I can’t wait to see it on me. “ I can tell by that smile that this is what you want. Now all you have to do is show me where you want it.” Tank said. I lift up and remove my jacket and place it behind me before sitting back. I hold out my left arm to Tank. “ I want you to start at my wrist and work your way up. The way Merigold designed it is going to wrap around my wrist like a gauntlet.” Tank places the paper on my arm and wraps it around. He moves my arm back, forth and up to look at it from all sides.

When he is done he leans back and says “ I like it. Let me get my things ready and we will get started.” Tank says. He sets all his ink out that he needs and gets his gun ready. He wipes down my arm, grabs his gun, dips it in the black ink then hovers over my arm. I nod for him to get started. I watched him as he moved the gun in precise movements. He didn’t need to trace it like I have seen some artists. He was doing it all free hand. It was impressive to watch.

“ Thanks for doing this Tank. I know you are a busy man.” I said. Tanks never looks up from what he is doing except to look at the picture. “ No need to thank me. I consider it an honor to help my brothers mark their ol’e ladies. I won’t let anyone else do it.” he says. That takes me by surprise. “ You have done all the marks? Including Lilly’s?” I asked. I’m glad I’m looking at him when I asked about Lilly or I would have missed his reaction. He smiles and turns red. “ Yes, I have done them all. I wasn’t going to let anyone else touch my girl or see her with her shirt off. That was a fun one to do.” he says. I get not wanting someone to see Lilly topless. My gut is telling me there is more to this story than that. And by the look on his face I don’t need the details to know it was more than a tattoo.

The song changed and I couldn’t stop myself from giggling. “ I like the music Tank.” I laughed. It was Lug singing. Tank lifts the gun and laughs “ What can I say. I like the band. I think the female lead is hot as fuck. I’m a big fan of her work.” “ I get it. I have a thing for the country singer.” I said. I lean forward like I’m going to whisper “ I might have a cd or two of theirs.” Lug leans in and says to me “ Play your cards right and we can get that autographed for you.” Tank and I laugh.

Another artist comes over and says “ Hey Lug. I’m ready for you.” I look over and notice the cubicle wall has been moved a bit so I can see to the other side. I look at Lug and ask “ Ready?” Lug gives me his trademark smirk and motions to the artist. “ Yea, honey. I’m getting my mark today. You didn’t think I would let you do this alone did you?” After a quick kiss Lug goes over and sits in the other chair. I stare at him as he rolls up his sleeve exposing his rippling bicep. He points to the blank spot and says “ Put my girl right here.”

The artist looks and nods “ You're the boss.” He grabs a piece of paper and places it on Lug’s arm after wiping it down. Where did he get that? Lug didn’t even tell him what he wanted. The artist looks over his shoulder and winks. I have to grab the chair to stop myself from getting up and punching him. “ While Tank gets to work on the girls the rest of us get the guys. Merigold dropped the design off earlier.” he said. I just nod and watch as he works.

I leave him to his work and watch Tank. It is an hour before the design really comes to life. Tank has done all the outline work and is moving on to the color. It is really beautiful to see. Tank said he feels honored to work on the ol’e ladies. I’m the one who feels honored this time. To have an incredible work of art on me. The combination of Merigold’s and Tank’s talent is remarkable. And it makes me feel closer to this family.