I’d never let myself give enough thought to my future for permanence to be part of it. Maybe it was time for that to change . . . but that meant the threat that kept me moving every few years would have to be removed from the equation. I had no idea if they were still looking for me, but I knew better than to settle.

“I’m sure he doesn’t have any intentions of that sort, Mr. Flowers.”

Mr. Flowers studied us both. “I think you’ll be surprised by what he intends, young lady. Thank you for the donuts, and keep the change.”

He lifted the box and shuffled out of the shop, but not before pausing beside me to say, “I might be old, but I still know how to get rid of a body. You treat Miss Eden right.”

I nodded, holding back the smile his words produced. “Understood, sir.”

The door chimed as he stepped outside, and I turned back to Eden. Her cheeks were still stained pink as I stepped up to the counter.

“He just threatened to kill me if I treated you badly,” I told her, wondering if those cheeks would get darker. They did, all the way to a bright red.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Dead serious.”

She shook her head. “He came in an hour ago and just wanted to chat. It took us forty-five minutes to finally get around to picking out his donuts.”

“Guess that’s your special magic then. Making people want to spend more time around you.”

This time her eyes widened comically. “Yeah . . . I’m sure that’s it. Just look at you. You want to spend as much time around me as you would around someone with the plague.”

Her statement threw me. “You think I don’t want to be around you?”

“Every time I see you, you’re gone so fast, it’s like you can’t wait to get away from me.”

“Maybe I don’t think you’ll be able to handle what I’d want if I stayed.”

The red continued to color her cheekbones, but Eden straightened her shoulders and stood taller. “Maybe that’s exactly what I want.”

I stepped forward and pressed both hands to the purple laminate counter. “You sure about that, cupcake? Because I’m not exactly sweet and easy.”

“I gathered that from the girls waiting in the room at the hotel.”

A shaft of regret that she saw them stabbed through me. “Two-on-one isn’t my thing, so don’t worry about that.”

No, if I got tangled up in Eden, had her in my bed the way I wanted her, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to let her go. But given my newfound possibilities of permanence . . . maybe I could keep her.

“Well, I’m definitely not into two-on-one, so that wouldn’t even be in the realm of possibilities.”

The fact that I was standing in Your Favorite Hole talking to Eden about how neither of us wanted a threesome struck me as surreal. I had to dial it back before we got way ahead of ourselves.

“What time do you get off work?” When her eyes popped open wide again, I smiled. “To hang out. Get some food. See what happens.”

“I’m here until midnight, and then I have to shower and change so I don’t smell like donuts.”

“You can shower at my place. I’ll find you something to wear.”

“I don’t think—”

“I don’t think you’re walking home from work by yourself, and I’ll be working until at least twelve thirty on this portrait. Come over when you’re done, and you can let yourself upstairs.”

The indecision warring inside her played out on her features, but I knew I’d won when she replied. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll even make you a late dinner.”

“You cook?” Her tone was pure surprise.

“I got a few tricks up my sleeve, cupcake. Guess you’ll find out what they are tonight. Now, how about a large black coffee and a bag of donut holes so I can push through and finish the rest of this tat?”

I COULDN’T BELIEVE I WAS going to spend tonight with Bishop. Well, not spend the night, but it was way past evening, so I wasn’t sure what else to call it. I locked up the shop, still marveling that Fabienne had given me a key on my first day, and readjusted my bag over my shoulder.

Bishop had a valid point. I hadn’t thought about how I’d be getting home after work on the nights I worked the late shift. As I knew all too well, me walking through the French Quarter by myself wasn’t always the smartest move. But as I walked into the front door of Voodoo, and both Bishop and his client looked at me, I wondered if this was an even dumber move.

As Bishop already knew, my experience level wasn’t exactly advanced, and I had no idea what he expected tonight.

“Hi.” My voice wavered only marginally as I called the greeting. “Do you want me to just—”

My words were cut off as the door chimed behind me and clicking heels hit the floor.

“Hey, baby. You got time for me tonight? I want ink and cock, but I’d take just cock if you ain’t got time for the other.”

I spun around at the slurred, smoky voice to find a girl with bright red hair and almost no clothes on. Her body was ridiculous.

Is she a stripper? From the minuscule ripped tank and tiny little hot shorts to the towering six-inch clear stilettos, I didn’t feel my mental question was unfair.

Bishop’s tone was no-nonsense when he responded. “Out of luck on all counts, Star. Head on home.”

Her rough laugh followed. “You know you’re interested. Like you got better plans for later?”

Bishop’s face stayed expressionless. “You might want to get a cup of coffee on your way home too.”

The expression on her face morphed from smug and happy to harsh and downright ugly in a flash, and her attention turned to me.

“What? With this girl? Queen prim and proper? She do that schoolgirl-uniform shit and act like a naughty little slut for you? I know you like that kind of thing.”

The muscle in Bishop’s jaw ticked, but nothing else gave away what he was thinking. “The next time you need ink, you’re gonna have to find someone else because this shop no longer exists for you anymore.”

“You never did know a good thing when you had it. Fuck off, Bishop.” She turned on her giant heel and clipped her way out, slamming into my shoulder and pausing. “Slut, you won’t be able to keep him. No one can.”