AllFreeNovel
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“Nope. I’m terrified of needles.”
“Isn’t your dad a doctor?”
“He is, but that doesn’t mean I have an infatuation with needles. Do you have a tattoo?” Her eyes bounce to my arms. “I haven’t seen any, and I’ve been around you when you’re shirtless a dozen times.”
“Revolting, right?”
“The fucking worst.”
“You haven’t been around me when I’m pantsless, though,” I say with a grin. “It’s hidden.”
“You have a pair of lips tattooed on your ass, don’t you?”
“That sounds like something Maverick would do, not me.”
“Okay, so not an ass tattoo.” Her gaze moves to my legs. “Your thigh?”
“Mhm. It’s a collection of random shit that’s important to me.”
“Oh.” Maven sits up, and her feet drop to the floor. “I’m probably not allowed to see it, am I?”
“Probably not.” I take a deep breath, because what I’m about to do is dumb. The stupidest fucking thing on the planet, and I say it quickly so I don’t lose my courage. “But I’ll show you.”
“You will? I promise I won’t touch you. I’ll act horrified. Disgusted, even.”
“That’s what every guy wants to hear before they drop their pants,” I joke, and she rolls her eyes.
“Your rules, not mine, buddy.”
“Fair. No laughing, though.”
I stand from the couch and hook my thumb in the waistband of my sweatpants. I shimmy them down my hips and let the cotton fall to my feet.
“I don’t see anything,” Maven whispers.
“I’m not there yet.” I pull up the left side of my briefs and expose my thigh. “Tada.”
She scoots across the cushions to get a better look, and I didn’t realize how intimate this would be. She’s on her knees so she can study the ink on my skin, and her nose is almost pressed into my leg.
I can smell her shampoo—flowers, I think, with the hint of vanilla. I can make out the darker blonde strands in her hair; auburn, almost, and much richer than the light yellow on the top of her head. I can see her long fan of eyelashes slowly blinking as she tilts her head to the side.
“What are they?” she asks. “There are so many things.”
I tap the numbers on top. “June’s birthday in Roman numerals.” My finger moves to the pink and yellow bouquet that covers the lines of my quad muscles. “Lilies, because they represent new beginnings, and, well, finding out you have a daughter after she’s been born is a big fucking new beginning.” I touch the small collection of random doodles around the flowers. “An old record, for June Bug. A peach, for my homestate. A taco—that one was a drunken mistake thanks to Maverick and Reid, and I’m never listening to them again.”
“What about this one?” She drags her thumb over my skin, and I let out a shaky breath. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to?—”
“It’s okay. You can.”
Her nails trace the storm cloud with a rainbow peeking out from behind it, and I have to stare at the ceiling instead of focusing on the way the tips of her fingers are soft and delicate.
Maybe it’s because I haven’t been touched like this in fucking yearsand I’ve been starved for this kind of attention and care.
Maybe it’s because it’s her.
Maybe it’s a combination of both, because I think I’d like her to touch me forever.
“It’s beautiful,” she says.
