He couldn’t begin to imagine how Julian was feeling. “How are you holding up?”

Julian took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I hate hospitals.” The weary desolation in his voice told Bunny more than anything else the other man could have said.

He nodded and left it at that. They exited the hospital together and headed for the parking lot. “I’ll tell Tabby to call you. She’ll want to know you’re all right.”

Julian held out his hand. Bunny took it. “Take care of her. She needs you more than she realizes.”

“Thanks.” He paused. “What do you know about Gary?”

Julian’s shoulders tensed. “Has that little bastard been bothering her again?”

“He called Tabby’s cell this morning and asked me if she was cheating on him.

Tried to pass himself off as her boyfriend.”

Julian’s lips twitched. “What did you do?”

“After I broke her phone? Listened to what Tabby had to tell me.”

Julian laughed. “That’s what she meant when she asked us to tell you that you owe her a new one. She loved that phone.”

“I’ll buy her one with a different number.” One Gary wouldn’t have. He’d get one that was unlisted.

“Say hi to the girls for me.” Julian climbed into his truck, moving like he’d been beaten.

“Are you all right?” Tabby would kill him if he let anything happen to her friend.

“Nothing a little sleep won’t cure.” Julian shut his car door and waved goodbye before pulling out of the parking lot.

“Right. Sleep.” Bunny shook his head and climbed onto his bike. “And you have a lovely bridge to sell me, right?” Julian needed to stay away from hospitals. They made him look like the walking dead.

Bunny took off into the night, eager to be with his mate. Rain was coming soon, the damp scent heavy in the air. He breathed it in and smiled. He loved the way the air smelled in the fall just before it rained.

He pulled into the lot behind Living Art and parked next to Tabby’s Jeep. He covered the Harley with the tarp he kept in his saddlebags. No way was he letting his baby get soaked. He headed for the front of the store, smiling at the sight of all the flash in the windows. He’d have to see about getting that tattoo done before too much longer. The thought of wearing Tabby’s ink on his body had him drooling.

He grinned, remembering Tabby’s shower comments on drooling—and the lovemaking they’d indulged in afterwards—and pulled open the door. The bell over the door jingled. It had been a long day, both in the hospital and out. He waved hello to Glory, who was helping some little blonde pick a navel ring. The urge to just take hold of his mate, breathe in her scent, was overpowering. Bunny stared around the shop, a tattoo gun the only thing he heard. He frowned up at the sign over the curtained-off area of the store. De Nile had been drawn in flowing script and tacked up crookedly. “Tabby?”

The sound of the gun stopped. “At my station, sugar.”

Just the sound of her voice was enough to soothe him. They were going to have a nice, long talk about Gary tonight, after he fed her and fucked her senseless. She wouldn’t be able to hold anything back from him by the time he was done with her.

He went into the back of the shop and found his woman. She was finishing up a tattoo of an elaborate cross on a woman old enough to be his grandmother. “Hey, baby.”

Tabby grinned up at him. “Hey, Alex.”

Cyn popped her head into the cubicle. “Hi, Bunny.”

The woman in the chair looked him up and down and snorted. “Bunny?”

Tabby shook her head. “Long story, Mrs. H.”

“You a biker?”

“Yeah, but not in a gang. The nickname’s from my last name.” He held out his hand to the woman. “Alexander Bunsun.”

The woman shook his hand. “Evelyn Hagen. Nice ta meet’cha, Bunny.”

“You almost done, Tabby?” Cyn crossed her arms over her chest

“Yup. Just have to finish up the last initial.” She started the gun back up, waiting for her client to settle back down. “Here we go.”

He watched her draw the long line of an H in the center of the cross. It looked like a tribute tattoo, the initials MH inked in the center of the cross. “All right, done.”

She took the needles off the gun and disposed of them in the hazardous waste bin under the counter. “You know the drill. Don’t get it wet, use the creams we give you, yadda, yadda, blah, blah.”

Mrs. H watched as Tabby carefully slathered something over the tattoo and taped it up. “Good job.” She grinned over at Cyn. “This one’s a keeper.”

“I think so, even if she is a smart-ass.” Cyn stuck her tongue out at Tabby. “As soon as I find the ladder, that sign’s coming down.”

Mrs. H. cackled. “You’re going to have to explain that one to me.” As Cyn blushed, the cackle turned into a full-belly laugh. “Oh, with that look on your face you’re really gonna have to tell me.”

Tabby snapped off the rubber gloves and disposed of them. “Are you done with me for the night, your majesty?”

Cyn waved her away. “Get out of here, you pain in the ass.”

Tabby laughed and got out.

Bunny followed her to the front of the store. Behind him, he heard Mrs. H. begin to grill Cyn, but found himself too distracted to listen. Tabby was wearing another pair of those painted-on jeans and a black lacy top that exposed an inch of creamy skin just above the waistband of her pants. It had sleeves halfway down her arms ending in more black lace, and gleaming buttons he wanted to bite off.

Oh yeah, and those fucking boots. She looked like a kick-ass heroine out of one of his favorite comic books.

If he didn’t get her out of here, he was going to get arrested for indecent exposure.

He wanted to rip the lace off her body, strip those jeans up and fuck her up against the wall while she wore nothing but those boots, her nipple ring and a smile. Bunny’s cock twitched at the thought. If he could just hold on until he got her back to the hotel room, he’d see to it his fantasy came true.

Glory was trying to hide her smile behind her hand. “Hey, Bunny.”

“Hi, Glory.” He wondered what the half guilty, half amused look on her face was all about. “Hey, what happened here today? Julian told me he and Ryan were here this morning and for some reason when Ryan came back he smacked me.”

Tabby choked.

Glory’s face took on an innocent expression that didn’t fool him for a moment. “I have no idea. We were talking about the ocean and boats when he showed up.

Does he get seasick?”

Tabby snickered.

Okay, something’s going on here. Ryan had practically bitten his head off more than once today. “Please tell me you didn’t do something that’s going to make my cousin try to kick my ass.”

Glory shrugged. “I have no idea what has him upset. Did you say something to him, Tabby?”

Tabby shook her finger at Glory. “Keep me out of this, your pixieness.”

He growled down at Glory, careful to keep the sound human. “What happened? If I’m going to die, I deserve to know why.”

“Glory decided to, um… And Ryan walked in while she was…heh.” Was Tabby blushing? “You know what? You’re better off not knowing.”

Now he was intrigued. “Glory?”

She sighed. “Fine.” She tossed her head back. “Oh, Bunny,” she moaned. Tabby leapt toward the counter, but Glory evaded her easily. “Bunny, Bunny,” she chanted, each one becoming more breathless, until “Bunny! ”

Now it was Bunny’s turn to blush. “Yeah, that will do it.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to figure out how to explain to the little pixie that moaning another man’s name was a surefire way to get her mate to lose his damn mind.

“Do yourself a favor and don’t do that again, okay? Not unless you want to find out exactly what Ryan’s capable of where you’re concerned.” Knowing his cousin, Glory would find herself marked and claimed before she could blink. “You ready to go, baby?”