Brawn and Brazen (KO Ink Book 3), page 2
“Petal? I thought your name was Stormy?” Fin asked. “I like Petal better. Welcome to the shop. Awesome to have you here. I really thought they were going to have to wait for someone to get certified, and with so many people coming in and asking about piercing, Michael was stressing out.”
The woman snorted and shook her head. Dammit, that shit was cute and sexy as much today as it had been last night. Grrr, someone needed to get with the program, she was so not staying. Michael needed to speak the fuck up. It was like my brothers had lost their fucking common sense, I mean, this was a no brainer, she didn’t belong in this place, she belonged, well, somewhere else.
“Come on, I haven’t gone by that name in years,” she said. Yeah, evidently not since she introduced herself as Stormy last night.
“Well, I, for one, think you should, it matches. Welcome to Slinging Ink,” Michael said and my mouth dropped open, were they fucking kidding themselves right now. I had to be dreaming, well, or having a nightmare, but still, she couldn’t work here, it would drive me insane. I took a deep breath, fuck, she smelled all womanly and shit. No, this was testosterone central, no women allowed!
I forced myself not to roll my eyes and look like a complete dick, but damn, were they really falling for this? Seriously? I stared at Fin now, because he was smiling, yes, he was fucking smiling at her. What the hell was that about? He had a damn woman, and I was pretty sure Brooklyn would be a little upset her man was making eyes at another woman. Hence, yet another reason a she couldn’t work here. Brooklyn and Zoey, yeah, they would hate her.
“Nope, you are Petal like your license.” Falon laughed and leaned closer to her. I was gonna punch my brother, no fucking shit. Our parents were fixing to be short one child. “Because all I can think of is peeling the petals to get to your stem.” At Falon’s words, a red haze covered my eyes and I stepped toward him. I knew I was being irrational about this woman but I was unable to stop myself. At some point I would regret the shit I said and did, just not now. Never and I mean never, had a woman had this type of effect on me. Just when I had moved enough to have Falon in reach, Fin threw his arm out hitting me in the chest, the move had the intended purpose, I stopped, and as I looked over at Fin, he winked and shook his head. What was that shit supposed to mean?
Petal snorted and laughed loudly. “Does that shit really work on the women?” She looked directly at me.
All my brothers laughed. What the hell were they thinking? I turned my glare toward them, they had to take the hint. But no, of course not a damn one of them felt my steely gaze. Movement out the window caught my eye and when I turned to look, I wanted to yell, hell yeah, and pump my fist in the air because support was ready to walk in the door. Someone had to bring reason to this insanity.
Reed and my father would definitely side with me. I couldn’t work around her all day long. Reed would totally agree. Even if she was fucking perfection standing there in her leather outfit that hugged her every curve, the hint of a tattoo peeking out from the top of her tank top, the butterfly to be exact, and the piercings on her brow, nose, and ears. What made it worse was the knowledge that they weren’t the only ones she had.
Reed and I had spent enough time together over the last few years and found that we had quite a few things in common. He was even helping me on my house and stuff, we had grown close since meeting. He was like one of my brothers, well, he was like one of my dream brothers, the ones who fucking had the same opinions as I did. These bastards had to have been adopted.
Chapter Two
Reed
I pulled up to the gym and looked at the building. For weeks Jet and I had been training to go undercover in the illegal fighting ring, and finally, fucking finally, after the ground work had been laid about Jet and I being the ones to beat, it was going to happen. It had sucked, both Jet and I beating the shit out of each other in a public place. However, that was what we had to do. Brant had helped us find some of the pricks who were a step up from the lowlifes on the street, and where they hung out to try to pick boys up.
We only had to do it once, but shit, both of us had realized afterward we needed some more hard core training. This shit was not for the faint of heart. If you trained professionally, on the street you could still seriously get your ass handed to you. It had to do with raw strength, not technique. The opponent didn’t give two shits if you were graceful, they would barrel right through you. I couldn’t wait to kick some ass of the people who were running this ring, the fuckers were preying on people who were desperate, they would fight for money just because their family needed food. Assholes.
This whole thing stunk to high heaven. Since moving here, I learned the Bronx was not just a place; it was a way of life. The feeling of family and of pride ran through this borough, and I loved it, so did the rest of the people here. The assholes who were using this city as their playground were going to pay for it. The people of the Bronx were sick of their crimes being a cloud over their neighborhoods. It was going to end, and they were the ones who were going to stop it.
Fin and Tony had gotten the word late last night, a fight had been arranged for me by my made up manager, which would be played by Harm. Tony and Fin had played the online manager thing, they had released the staged fight in the bar as a challenge by me to Jet and anyone else who dared to think they could beat me. It had worked, and I was going to take this first shot at the illegal ring. We had originally hoped they would go for a fight between Jet and I, two fighters, trained by Fin, but they hadn’t taken the bait on that one, which we had been prepared if they hadn’t so it worked out either way.
My eyes swung to Slinging Ink. Before I went undercover, I was getting another tat. The fight wasn’t for a couple of weeks, or at least we thought it wouldn’t be for a few more weeks. Tony and Fin had created an online profile for Harm, it had taken a few tries before he had actually been selected to enter into some club where we believed the illegal ring chose their people from. Regardless, I needed to get my ass inside the tat parlor so I could schedule to get that done and then get to training. My days recently had either been at the gym or at Bry’s house.
I got out of my large SUV and Mr. O’Malley suddenly appeared at my side.
“Hey, Reed,” Mr. O’Malley said. “What ya doing here this early? I thought your training started later. Fin and Tony said I could watch, but I came early to chat with the boys. He said maybe I could give you a few pointers.”
I snorted and looked at the older man, I knew Fin was trying to get his father to help train them, the man was good, but when Fin retired, he did too. I loved the O’Malleys, they had adopted me when I made the move with Tony and his business. My family was fucked up with a capital ‘F’, and I didn’t talk to them. My father an alcoholic, and my mother a classic enabler. I was an only child, and since I didn’t know any of my extended family when I moved out at the age of eighteen to get the fuck away from my family, I hadn’t looked back. The only thing I was thankful for was that I had no resemblance whatsoever to my father. Where the man was short and had a beer gut, greasy black hair, and a huge alcoholic red nose. I was muscular, tall, and had short blond hair and my features were chiseled according to Mrs. O’Malley, who seemed to think I had Robert Redford’s blue eyes.
When I left home, I was an arrogant little shithead, I admit it. I quickly learned my arrogance wasn’t going to keep me fed. So, I finally pulled my head out of my ass and learned a trade. Security may seem like something you don’t need schooling for, but you would be wrong. The systems we used took training to install and monitor, as well as firearm instruction, self-defense training, and a little bit of psychology helped a whole lot. Especially if you were dealing with a stalker, which we had before. It really sucked when you realized how many fucked up people there were in the world, it tended to make you jaded. Thankfully, I met the O’Malleys.
I cleaned up my act, stopped being a total dick, and finally let people in. Trust me, it had been difficult. Especially when you were raised to always be on your guard. When Reilly O’Malley slapped me on the back, I knew it was because he felt like I was one of his kids. This family had boundless love to offer. At first, I had rejected it, but Olivia and Reilly had a way about them, it was like you met them once and were completely sucked into their family. Jet even compared it to a cult at first, of course it was all in good fun, because there was not one man who worked for Tony or Fin who couldn’t deny they had been welcomed into the family with open arms.
I had met Bry first, and we had become best friends immediately as the three businesses were getting set up. We just clicked, mostly because I think we saw the whole overbearing personality in each other. We liked what we liked, and that was the way it was. We had shared women, mostly because it was something we both liked. I had to admit, to find a group of men like we all were, who liked to share in relationships was strange and uncommon to most.
Reilly O’Malley, Bry’s father, had demanded that I come to family dinner the first time he’d met me. Since that day, I had attended almost every family dinner held at the O’Malley’s house. It had grown so much with every person they invited, between the Roarks, the O’Malleys, and now the Macaroys, the place was full and tables both in the kitchen and the dining room were always jammed pack, but it was the closest thing to family I had.
“Just getting a tat and then I will be training,” I said, and we walked together to the front of Slinging Ink, talking about the training when I looked through the window and saw her. Holy shit, I felt my cock practically stand at attention, the cute little biker seemed to be pissed as well if I went by her body language. I wondered what she was doing in Slinging Ink, maybe getting a tat, and that thought almost had me groaning out loud. The thought of the tats on that gorgeous body made me want to drool.
“Oh really? What kind of tattoo are you getting?” he asked and I grinned.
“A tribal.”
He frowned and then paused in the middle of the street. “Tribal? You are not from a tribe; how can you get that? I mean, it is your choice and all, but when all is said and done, the tribes tattoo you put on your body may be a little offended.”
I laughed, “No, not a tribe’s tattoo, it is called a tribal tat.”
“I don’t get it,” he said, shaking his head.
Well shit, how the hell did you describe a tribal tattoo, it was hard, especially because it wasn’t really a picture of anything. “Uh, it is a design, I guess, all in black, sometimes on the arm, but I think I am getting it on my lower stomach.”
“Really? How interesting. Maybe I should look at one of those, you know, the guys want to make sure we are all safe and tatted with their ink. I just haven’t figured out what to get. Like I told my kids, tattoos are for life, you need to make sure it is something you can live with. Olivia wants to get some bracelet on her ankle, with flowers, and the kids names. I love my kids, but I do not want their names on my body, it would be a little creepy, don’t you think? I mean, unless I somehow forget their name or something, then it would be a reminder who they were. I guess I could understand that if I had dementia or something. But I guess that wouldn’t work either, because if I had dementia, I still wouldn’t know what the names meant. But hey, maybe I should get their name on my body, that way if I ever wander off, they would know where to take me. Like our address tatted on my arm.”
Oh my God, what the hell was I supposed to say to that. I swear, I loved these people. But I wasn’t sure if I should actually say anything. “Uh, well, I suppose…”
“Hey,” Mr. O’Malley said with a smile. “I wonder who that is?”
“Not sure,” I muttered, adjusted the crotch of my pants, and followed the older man through the door of the shop.
I could only stare at the small female who like a dwarf next to me, but hell, who cared. Her hair was glossy, and her profile showed a pert little nose, and perfect lips. Damn, and that leather she was wearing, I wanted to peel that shit off. She didn’t have that on last night instead she had been wearing jeans and one of those tops that hung off the shoulders.
“We need cock rings, and nipple rings first, I feel like they will be the best sellers. Earrings are simple to order, but I already have a stock of them, which I mailed here before I left as well. Should be here tomorrow, the latest the day after,” the woman said and Reilly O’Malley snorted loudly. Without a thought I raised my hand and Bry frowned at me when I noticed him. He jerked his head toward Stormy, and then continued to frown and stare at me. Fuck, did he think I was just going to blurt shit out about how we spent our evening?
“Wow, now that was a statement to enter a room on,” Mr. O’Malley said.
The woman turned quickly and then opened and closed her mouth, her face turning a cute shade of red. Then she panicked, I could see it, hell, you would have to be blind not to see it. She turned and muttered something and eased her way to the side, allowing both of us to enter into the store.
“Sorry,” she said, then Reilly spoke and pulled me back to my surroundings instead of thinking about the woman who’d rocked mine and Bry’s world.
“Honey, it is fine. You didn’t shock me, I am a parent to these boys and over the years, dinner with them has been entertaining and enlightening when it comes to their shop. This is so interesting though, I am sure this one could top the others.”
She turned redder and shrugged. Falon laughed and pointed to her. “Dad, this is Petal…”
“Stormy,” the woman argued. I grinned, and looked at the fierce look on her face, cute.
“Girlfriend, we are beyond that. You know we can’t call you that, your name is Petal on your license so therefore we call you Petal.” Falon grinned and she and I stood up straight, no way was he gonna man-whore this situation. I glanced at Bry who had a very weird look on his face. He looked pissed and in pain at the same time. He finally looked at me and his eyes widened. Huh? What the hell did that mean? Did the man not think I could keep my mouth shut. I turned to listen to the conversation as Falon introduced us. I wanted to see what she would do.
“Okay, back to it. Petal, this is Reilly O’Malley our dad. And Reed Hodge, our friend and he is employed by Tony as one of their operators. This here, guys, is Petal Denold, our new piercer.”
WHAT THE FUCK? My eyes flew to Bry who was already opening his mouth to argue with Falon, holy shit. Well there went the I-thought-we-just-lucked-out-and-she-came-in-by-accident-and-we-were-getting-a-second-chance meeting. Not the we-fucked-a-friend’s-sister-and-didn’t-know-it-because-we-didn’t-ask-damn-questions.
“Nice to meet you,” I finally said, turning back to the woman and trying to smile friendly like. Yeah, I probably looked like Bry had a few second ago. What the hell, the woman packed one hell of a punch. I looked at the other men who seemed to be perfectly fine, something was going on here and I didn’t think I liked it. It was like I couldn’t even form a sentence, that was so not me, I was smooth, charming, so was Bry, well, when he tried really hard not to be an asshole. He looked totally out of sorts, this wasn’t cool, at all. Totally not okay, I widened my eyes and motioned slightly to the woman and Bry rolled his eyes at me and shook his head.
“Maxi’s sister?” Reilly said and Falon laughed. I had the strangest urge to punch him in the face, asshole. Then again it really wasn’t that strange, I usually had that thought when it came to Falon. It was something I think a few of us had in common.
“Damn, Dad, good memory, took us a minute to recognize the name,” Falon said and I gritted my teeth.
Reilly turned and winked at me. “Guess I don’t need those names tatted yet, huh?” I shook my head, leave it to the old man to pull out the charming persona. “Welcome to the family, so you are a piercer? Now, tell me what does that entail? You know my wife has always wondered about this, especially when she saw Falon’s tongue ring. Do you think you could talk to her?” Reilly said and Bry interrupted before things could get completely out of hand.
“Fuck! Dad, we haven’t…” he started and I was ready to nod but then Fin and Michael both butted in.
“She is piercing, um, well,” Michael started and Fin laughed.
“Dad, what he means is she is piercing everything you can think of: ears, lips, nose, breasts, and well, you know,” Fin said and looked down at the front of his pants. I inwardly groaned and ran my hand over my head to rest on my neck and rubbed. Could nothing when dealing with the O’Malleys go smoothly.
I watched Petal’s lips twitch before she spoke, “Please, dorks. Sir, I specialize in genital piercings, which you can imagine can be very painful and sometime difficult to do. I apprenticed under a piercer for a couple years, I’m more than qualified. I got my cert, and the rest is history. However, I am more than qualified to pierce anything on the body. And I can also ink.”
Reilly smiled and nodded. “Oh my, well, I think that is interesting. So you pierce tally whackers? You know, I think Rees…”
“TMI, Dad!” Michael laughed and shook his head.
Petal turned and grinned at Michael and then shrugged. “No reason to be embarrassed, I have these on my face, my belly button is pierced, and I myself have…” I was going to crack my teeth from biting down so hard to keep from groaning. Bry and I knew exactly what she had pierced.
“Way too fucking much info,” Fin snapped quickly and I felt my cock get hard. I almost rose my hand again, volunteering to check those piercings out once more, you know, ‘cause I felt like a ten-year-old, just waiting for the hot teacher to call on me.
Bry looked ready to explode, and then I looked back where his eyes were directed at Falon who was grinning and looking at her chest. Little bastard was about ready to get his ass kicked right here.
“Hey,” Petal said. “I just got into town last night and stopped by here to let you know I arrived, and I need—”
