Page 128 of Brutal Reign
“Did you do this one?” Riv asks me.
Sometimes I forget how much catching up we still have to do. For the first fifteen years of our lives, we knew everything about one another, but a lot happened in that three-year gap when Seb and I iced her out. Those years we lost will always be my biggest regret. At least now that we’re bonded, I have a lifetime to make it up to her.
“Nah, that one’s a Cal Conway,” I answer, my eyes tracking the movement of her fingertips over Seb’s tattoo. The design itself is simple, though it still has some attributes of my dad’s signature style.
“I like it,” she muses as she traces the black lines. “It’s supposed to be waves, right? Like the ocean.”
I smile to myself as I lean in and press a kiss to her shoulder. “Or like a river,” I murmur against her skin.
The movement of her hand stills, her breath catching. Seb immediately rolls back over with grunt, lifting his head to cut me a glare.
“Whoops, was I not supposed to let that slip?” I drawl, smirking at him.
“You’re an asshole,” Seb chuckles, rolling his eyes as he curls up to sit. He grabs for the pillow he was just resting his head on, reaching over River’s body to whack me with it before glancing down to meet her doe-eyed stare. “He’s got one for you too, y’know,” he informs her, as if it’s something I was trying to hide.
She’s seen it many times, but I don’t think she’s ever made the connection.
River turns to look at me, her long lashes fluttering as she blinks her hazel eyes. “You do?”
I sit up, tossing Seb’s pillow back at his smirking face and lifting my arm to show her the minimalistic tattoo inked on my ribcage: pines with a sweeping line underscoring them.A river.
She reaches out, sparks simmering beneath her fingertips as she trails them over my ink. Her brow furrows in quiet contemplation as she pulls her hand back. “I want a tattoo,” she declares, her eyes bouncing up to mine hopefully.
My pulse kicks up a notch at the suggestion of inking her gorgeous olive skin. “The phoenix?” I ask, recalling our last conversation about tattoos up in the lounge. “I still think you should reconsider the placement, make it a hip and thigh piece…”
“No,” she interrupts, shaking her head as she looks between Seb and me. “Something else. Something forus.”
Before I allow myself to get too excited, I glance over at Seb to gauge his reaction. He was outspoken in his opposition the last time River asked for a tattoo, but now, he’s suspiciously quiet, his expression unreadable. “I’ll show you my sketchbook sometime and you can flip through for ideas,” I murmur,figuring that’ll buy time for us to discuss it later. If he still has reservations, I’m sure we can come to some sort of agreement.
The corner of Seb’s mouth ticks up. “Everything from your cubby is in that closet, if you wanna show her now,” he remarks, pointing across the room.
Guess he’s changed his mind.
The two of us engage in a silent conversation– me arching a brow to ask if he’s sure, him dipping his chin in a barely perceptible nod– then I swing my legs over the edge of the bed, pushing to my feet and crossing the room to the closet he indicated. I find my duffel resting on the shelf within, retrieving my sketchbook from inside and bringing it back over.
The moment I offer it up to River, she eagerly snatches the sketchbook from my grasp, giddy with excitement as she flips it open and starts poring through the pages.
“Wow, Ace, these are really good,” she breathes. “Like,reallygood.”
A surge of pride spears through me. I’ve never sought validation for my art; it’s always been just a personal catharsis. Still, her words of admiration mean the fucking world.
“Thanks,” I quietly reply as I drop down onto the edge of the bed, watching as she continues flipping the pages and drinking in my designs.
“I might have an idea,” Seb drawls, making eye contact with me. He beckons me with a flick of his head and I ease up off the bed again, circling around to his side and bending down to his level. He leans in and cups a hand around his mouth, whispering into my ear while River eyes us suspiciously.
“What’s going on?” she questions, eyes narrowing.
I smirk back at her as I rise to my full height. “When I got this inked on my neck, it was actually Seb’s suggestion,” I say, tapping a finger against the spade tattoo on my throat. “Something dedicated to our friendship, a spade for me, a clubfor him. I haven’t gotten around to doing his yet, but if you’re up for it, I could give you one, too.”
“A heart,” Seb cuts in, grinning at her.
River sinks her teeth into her lower lip, fighting a smile as she acts like she’s thinking over his suggestion. She’s able to fake it for all of two seconds before she breaks.
“Okay, you talked me into it,” she laughs, tossing my sketchbook aside and bouncing up onto her knees eagerly. “Can we do it right now?”
“Grab your kit,” Seb directs, whipping his head around to find that I’m already two steps ahead of him, halfway to the closet.
I may not wear my emotions on my sleeve like River, but I’m fucking ecstatic right now. I’ve been dying to ink that pristine skin of hers since she first suggested it.