I touch Vandal’s hand on my shoulder and he gives me a gentle squeeze.

“So how did you two meet?” Ivy inquires, smiling at us.

I open my mouth to answer but Vandal beats me to it. “We bumped into each other at the cafe and she spilled coffee on me. I thought she was cute so I asked her to go for a ride on the bike, and I brought her here.” I stiffen under his touch.

“And you never left?” Lukas questions me.

I squirm in my seat. “Um … no. I kinda needed a vacation and he asked me if I wanted to stay here with him, so I did.”

Ivy gapes at us. “Wow! I think that’s great. Sometimes we just know.”

“Van, I have to say I’ve never seen you look so un-miserable. You actually seem happy. It’s about time.”

“Tabi’s just what I needed, I guess.” He squeezes my shoulders again and goes back to the grill to check on the food, but Lukas’s eyes stay on me for a few moments, and I get the feeling he’s trying to piece our story together and figure us out.

“Tabi, go get some plates, please?” Vandal says. “The food is ready.”

“I’ll help.” Ivy jumps up and follows me into the house. “Can I see the cat?” she asks once inside. “ I’m a cat-lover myself.”

“Sure, let’s go find him. He’s probably asleep on the bed. It’s his favorite place.”

I head down the hall and she follows me into the bedroom and sure enough, Sterling is sprawled out at the foot of the comforter. I gently pick him up, kiss his forehead and he purrs instantly. I’ve never met a cat that just loves to be held so much.

“Here … he likes to be cuddled.” I hand him to her and she holds him like a baby, and he just flops in her arms, purring.

The smile on her face warms my heart. “My God … he is so cute. I could just eat him up. The poor little baby, how could someone hurt him?” She snuggles him against her.

“I know; it’s terrible. But he’s got a great life now. We spoil him rotten.”

She smiles at the cat and then turns to me, lowering her voice. “Vandal seems to really like you. It’s nice to see him smile.”

“He’s kinda closed about his feelings sometimes, but I’m pretty head over heels for him.”

“He’s been through so much … Give him time. I know he can be difficult, but I really don’t think he would let you stay here if he weren’t serious. Vandal doesn’t do relationships, from what I’ve heard, so he must really be interested.”

I take a deep breath. “I’ve been through a lot, too … My husband passed away recently.”

She touches my arm. “Oh Tabitha, I am so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay, really. I’m doing much better. Vandal has helped me so much. I’m just taking it one day at a time.”

“Trust me, I know the feeling. I’ve had my share of shit lately too. My life is pretty much upside-down.” She lays Sterling gently on the bed. “Let’s go get those plates before the guys think we ran away.”

When Ivy and I join the guys outside again, Vandal eyes me like a hawk and lifts his chin up at me, which I take as a gesture for me to go to him.

“Did you get lost?” he asks. His eyes are dark and his Dom tone is in full force.

I hand him a plate. “No. Ivy wanted to see Sterling.”

“What did you tell her?” he asks softly, so his brother and Ivy can’t hear.

“About what?”

“Us.”

“Nothing. She said we look happy and they’re happy for us.”

“I don’t want them to know about the D/s.”

My heart skips. “I wouldn’t tell them about that. Do you really think I would talk about that casually to people I just met?”

“No. I’m just making sure, because it’s very private.”

“Agreed. Now stop it. You’re surrounded by people that care about you. No one is out to get you or pry into your life.”

He leans down and whispers in my ear, “I’m going to fuck you so hard later.” He kisses my cheek and I grab two plates piled with food and bring them over to the table.

“I’m starving,” Lukas says.

“You are always hungry. You’re worse than my kids.” Ivy replies.

Vandal brings the rest of the food over and takes his seat next to me, then pulls my plate closer to his.

“You’ll love this teriyaki chicken,” he says to me, cutting it up into small pieces for me, as he does every night when we have dinner. I honestly don’t know why he does it and I feel as if it’s one of those things that I just shouldn’t question. We ignore Ivy and Lukas’s odd sideways glances at us.

“So, Van, I had to fire Dana,” Lukas says between bites of steak.

“Who the hell is Dana?” Vandal slides my plate back over to me, my food cut into tiny pieces and arranged neatly around the plate.

Lukas glares at his brother with slight annoyance. “The receptionist at the tat parlor? The girl that makes all the appointments and makes people pay us?”

“Oh. Why did you fire her?”

“She was sleeping with the customers.”

“So?”

“Vandal,” Ivy says. “You guys have one of the best reputations in the state for having not only two of the most talented artists, but also being the cleanest and most professional parlor. You can’t have some slut at the forefront.”

Vandal raises a suspicious eye at Lukas. “Did you bang her?”

Lukas slams his fork down. “Fuck no.”

“Neither did I. Hire someone else then, who’s not going to blow our clients.”

“Great plan,” Ivy says, and we smile across the table at each other. I don’t think either one of us wants a slutty girl working where our men are all day.

***

After dinner, Lukas goes out to his car to get his violin and Vandal grabs his acoustic bass and we sit out back with tiki torches lit. It is hard not to swoon at the sight of these two brothers sitting side by side, the torches casting a warm glow over their muscled, tattooed arms, with their silky black hair falling over their eyes. Lukas raises the bow and slowly glides it down the strings, his eyes closed as a haunting sound floats from his violin. I hold my breath listening to him, completely captivated, the way he sways slowly as he plays, so fluid in his motion, as if he is one with the beautiful wooden instrument. He pauses for a moment and Vandal strums his bass, the deep sound resonating straight through me, his hands moving up and down the strings seductively, occasionally tapping the side of the wood. I watch his hands, the way they move so confidently, slow then fast, much like they touch and play my body. Lukas comes in again and they play together in perfect unison, a dark duet that is half metal and half classical. Ivy and I are both entranced, watching them play, the raw sensuality and talent of these men sucking us both in like a vacuum. I’m sure Ivy is under the same trance with Lukas as I am with Vandal, powerless to fight it. I cross my legs as the familiar tingling manifests between my thighs while I watch the man I’m in love with, his head slightly bent towards the guitar, long hair hanging down his chest, fingers stepping up and down the strings. Everything about him pulls me and makes me want him more and more, like an undeniable magnet.

I cannot imagine the insane effect these guys must have on the female fans. The girls must be literally drooling over them, ovaries exploding with a mere sideways glance from either brother. Vandal never talks about the band or his future plans so I am left to wonder if we stay in a relationship, how much of his life is dedicated to the band and the tattoo parlor, and how that will affect us? I’m not quite sure how I’ll feel knowing that hordes of women will be gawking at him, and getting wet over him, offering themselves to him, wanting nothing in return except to be able to say they hooked up with him. Will he resist them and remain committed to me? Or will he eventually end up cheating and want to be free to have a variety of women? I could never share him or accept him being with another woman.

Night comes, and I catch Vandal glancing at me with that lustful gaze he gets when he wants me. I’m sure I must have the same look in my own eyes after watching him play because I feel incredibly turned on and woozy, almost drunk from the music mixed with the sexiness the brothers ooze.

Lukas puts his violin down. “We should get going,” he says. “It’s getting late.”

“You guys can crash here if you want,” Vandal suggests, surprising me. “You could stay in the guest room.”

Lukas closes up his violin case. “I wish we could, but we can’t, man. Ivy has a sitter at the house with Tommy.”

“Ah. Got ya.”

Ivy helps me clean up the table, and the guys extinguish the torches and grab their instruments, then we all go inside to say goodbye. I’m glad the guys had a good day together and I hope this is the start of them building a bond.

“I’m just gonna use the restroom,” Ivy says.

“Sure. It’s down the hall to the right,” I tell her, not sure if she has ever been here before. Vandal disappears down the hall to put his guitar away and Lukas turns to me in the living room and grabs my hand, turning my wrist over. I have slight red marks on my wrists from the ribbons that Vandal ties me with, which fade but come back again since he ties my wrists several nights per week.

“Is he tying you?” he asks, his voice lowered.

I pull my hand away. “That’s none of your business.”

He shakes his head. “Yeah, you’re right. But you seem like a sweet girl. Just be careful what you’re getting into. I don’t want to see either of you get hurt. If he’s got you living here, doing this with you, he’s not going to just let you go.”

“I don’t want to go.”

He stares at me and then tilts his head slowly, his brow furrowing. “What’s your last name?” he asks.