The Storm

The Storm Cleo White Copyright © 2023 Cleo White All rights reservedThe characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.ISBN-13: 9781234567890ISBN-10: 1477123456 Contents Title Page Copyright Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Epilogue About The Author Books By This Author Chapter One Cassian “I don’t think we’re going to have a busy day and this storm is looking like it’s going to be intense. Should we send everyone home?” I turn, staring out at the snow coming down on the street outside the shop, forcing away even our most intrepid clients. I don’t blame them. Behind me, my business partner Jace rattles around in his desk which is crammed next to mine in the tiny back office, oblivious to my preoccupation. We should send everyone home. It’s the responsible thing to do, let everyone get home before the roads get too bad and a weather warning goes into effect, save ourselves the overhead of half a dozen bored tattoo artists with access to unlimited ink and needles. Pretty soon, somebody is going to suggest tattooing somebody else, someone will break out a bottle of whisky, and the day will go downhill from there. No, we’re better off cutting our losses and closing up for the day. But that would mean I won’t get to see her. It’s a fucked-up obsession, even I know that. I’ve been in Luna’s life, well, always. Jace was my best friend growing up, I was around for all the shit he got into, including getting his high school girlfriend pregnant. I was there when Luna was born, when she went to kindergarten, when she graduated High School. I was the one who convinced Jace to let her take a year off to go traveling before starting college. She went everywhere, sending me pictures of the incredible places she found and all the amazing people she met from every corner of the world. One year turned to two, then three. She worked along the way, taking a few months off at a time to wait tables in Amsterdam or clean hotel rooms in Paris. A romantic, bohemian existence, and no less than I would expect of my free-spirited pseudo-niece. I was fucking proud of her. Then, about six months ago, she called Jace to tell him she’d decided it was time to come home, start college and get back to the “real world”. Finally. Overjoyed, he’d booked her a plane ticket and not even two days later, I was standing with Jace, his wife Natalie, and their youngest daughter Sunny at luggage claim at JFK, waiting for Luna to arrive. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to what was going on around me, too distracted by who was coming down the escalators ahead of us. I was never the type to chase younger women. At nearly thirty-seven, I valued experience and confidence in my sexual partners and appreciated that most women my own age didn’t ask for more than I had to give. This woman though. God damn. She couldn’t have been older than her early twenties but one look at her made me want to throw out every single rule I had. My cock had become uncomfortably hard in my jeans, pressing viciously against my fly as my eyes roamed hungrily over golden tan legs in cutoff shorts and a tiny waist, begging for me put my hands on it. It wasn’t until Sunny squealed and ran forward that I realized, a moment too late, the stunning creature on the escalators was Luna. I barely recognized her. Three years abroad had effectively shed her of the last traces of childhood. Her face had slimmed, her belly had flattened, she’d changed her hair and pierced her nose. Suddenly, I was struggling to breathe, trying frantically to get myself under control as Luna greeted her family. Then she’d turned her gaze to me, smiled, and the whole world shifted beneath my feet. Call it love at second-first sight, obsession or what-the-fuck-ever, I’d walked into that airport a free man and walked out owned completely by a woman I’d never have. It’s enough to fuck up anyone’s head and make them do irrational things. Like keep their entire staff at work in a snowstorm just so they won’t have to spend the next two days without their drug of choice. I pinch the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on as Jace continues to rattle around behind me, looking for God knows what. “Hey guys.” My eyes snap open as my head turns automatically toward the door of the office, so quickly I twinge a muscle in my neck. Cursing, I rub it, gazing blearily at the angel leaning against the doorframe in black leggings and a plain t-shirt. Luna’s eyes widen in alarm. “Are you alright, Cass?” I wave her off, backing away to the farthest point in the office from the door and sinking own on the radiator. “Just strained a muscle. I’m fine.” “I could rub it if you-“ “Nope.” I drop my hand from my neck, even though it’s still throbbing. “Already fine.” “What’s up, Luna-Tuna?” Asks Jace, smiling obligingly at his daughter. She’d been looking for a job when our receptionist decided to follow her boyfriend to Nevada and Jace was thrilled to give her the job. He hadn’t even told me, assuming I wouldn’t care, so I’d just walked in one day and there she was. Now my torment isn’t reserved for family dinners and the occasional party. No, now I burn every fucking day. Luna tilts her toward the side of the shop where