Heart of Ice

Epilogue

Song: Hold My Hand- Lady Gaga

Three months later...

"Are we there yet?"

"Almost. Probably about ten more minutes." I sit in the passenger's seat, unable to contain my excitement as I squirm in my seat and scan each building we pass. I wring my hands and peer at Hunter, who's in the driver seat, looking calm and collected with how he's leaning back in the seat, sunglasses perched on top of his head with one loose strand of his wavy hair slipping out of the rest pushed back. As one of his hands rests on the top of the steering wheel, the other reaches over to grab my hand. "Relax, would you? Are you actually nervous about this?"

"Nervous?" I scoff. "I've never looked forward to something so much in my life!"

I peek at Hunter again to find a gorgeous smile gracing his lips. It's only been a few months since we defeated Bloodbound and officially started dating, but man, his smile and everything about him still knocks me off my feet as if it were for the first time. I'm practically oogling him every day. Seeing him looking so hot with the way he's driving does nothing to stop my gaze of amazement at how I managed to score him, even if everyone swears I had his heart since day one. Hunter glances over at me and grips my hand. "Man, when you say things like that, it makes me love you more."

"Well, I just love a man who keeps his promises," I lean over to press a kiss on his cheek. "I've been waiting for this day since you said you would take me."

"To be fair, you haven't stopped reminding me about it."

"Well, it wasn't like it was exactly easy to schedule a tattoo appointment while your worst enemy is out to kill you."

Hunter chuckles. "Good point. I didn't really make it any easier by keeping you at arm's length, though."

"Hunter, stop worrying about that. It was really the best thing you could've done for both of us then," I scold, smacking his shoulder playfully before opening his hand and kissing the inside of his palm. I rest his open hand against my cheek and close my eyes. "It doesn't matter now either. This is all I've ever wanted, and I'm just happy we made it here."

"Me too," he says. After a few more minutes, we finally pull into the parking lot of Tattoo Haven, the only one Hunter swears by. All of his tattoos, I learned, were created and tattooed by Ginny, the artist who owns the place. As Hunter turns off the ignition, I jump out of the car and stare up at the business sign in awe. He walks around to my side of the car and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me into his side. "Ready?"

I smile. "So ready."

We walk into the tattoo shop. When we pass through the doors, the sound of buzzing needles and heavy metal music flows through the air. It makes me even more excited. Behind the front desk, I see two other artists, one who is tattooing a man's arm, and the other drawing on their iPad. As soon as we walk in, the man sitting at the front counter, who I assume is Ginny, perks up when he catches sight of Hunter. "Holy shit, man! It's been way too long," He walks around the counter and bro hugs Hunter. When they pull away, Ginny smiles. "This next piece you're getting is so badass. I've been dying to show you the sketch all week."

"I'm ready. It's been too long since my last piece," At this, Hunter glances over at me and winks before pulling me into his side again. "Ginny, this is my girlfriend Alaska. She's getting her first tattoo today."

Ginny looks at me, his grin growing. "Damn, the inspiration behind those killer angel wings. She's a beauty just like you described," He holds out his hand to me, and I smile as I shake his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Alaska. This guy's a lucky son of a bitch."