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She began trailing her fingers along my chest and over my heart. “I don’t think I’ll ever tire of hearing you say that. I still feel like this is a dream. I’ll love you and treasure your love forever.”
I put my forehead to hers, pressing her hand harder against my heart. “I thought I had lost you. I’ll never make that mistake again.” I needed to ask her something that had been on my mind for the last couple of days. “Ainsley, do you want to get married someday?’
She pulled back, and I held her to me, not letting much room come between us even though she tried.
“Adam, I…Adam…” She stopped and took a breath. “I’m never going to push you for something you don’t want. Having you is enough. We don’t need to rush this.”
I pressed for an answer. “But if it was your choice, is it something you would want eventually?”
Her blues eyes were watching me. “If it was my choice, yes, it’s something I want down the road…when we’re ready…after I’m done with school. I’m really not one who needs a title to know I’m yours.”
Her words made me want to put a ring on her for the ultimate claim. My lips came down to chastely kiss her. I liked the thought of her becoming Ainsley Ryker.
I could feel her thumb playing with her ring against my chest. “What are you thinking about, baby?”
“Adam, I don’t want you to change yourself for me. I fell in love with who you are, not with what you think I want. I’m not leaving you.”
I waited for her to look at me. She always did if the silence lasted a little long.
“Ainsley, this is what I want. We’ll know when it’s right for us, but I want a life with you and whatever that entails. I want it.”
My fingers resumed their path of trailing up and down her back as we both lapsed into a comfortable silence.
“Adam?”
“Yeah, baby?”
She propped herself up on one elbow. She was probably trying to get a better view of my reaction. “Would it be possible to meet your parents ahead of their surprise anniversary party? With everything else going on with Jake, I’d like them to meet me when tensions aren’t so high.”
“I think that’s a good idea. They’re going to love you.”
She lay back down and cuddled into me. I could feel her smile on my skin. We lay there for a while, wrapped in each other’s arms. The lack of sleep was starting to catch up to both of us as I felt the heat of Ainsley’s body against me.
She yawned. “I have something I want to do tomorrow. I don’t have to go to class. I’m ahead on my work, but I’ll need to go the next day, and I have therapy with my mom, too.”
I rubbed my hand down her back as she nuzzled into me.
“What do you want to do tomorrow? Name it, and we’ll do it.”
“I want to get a tattoo.”
“Do you know what you want?” Imagining ink on her perfect body turned me on.
“Uh-huh. But it’s a surprise.”
Her hand drifted down to my dick, and it began to stiffen.
“I’m about to make love to you again, Ainsley.”
Rolling her beneath me, I slipped in and spent the rest of the night claiming her and loving her until exhaustion overtook us.
I sat in the parlor of the tattoo shop I’d used as Ainsley was getting her ink in the back. She had asked that I stay up in the front while she was tattooed. Moon, my tattoo guy, knew me well, and he’d had Chastity do the work on Ainsley. I was understanding, but another man looking at Ainsley was a no-fucking-go zone.
Moon was working on a huge job and doing a life-sized human skeleton on someone. They were working on the back rib cage this evening. I loved the sound of the hum from the gun. It was addictive to feel that sting hitting skin to create a piece of art. I looked at the clock, and Ainsley had been back there for about thirty minutes.
My phone rang. It was my mom. I had called her this morning and left a voice mail while Ainsley had been changing.
“Hey, Mom.”
I heard a door closing on the other side. “Hey there. Sorry it took me a while to call you back. It’s been crazy, and I heard you found out about the baby.”
Here goes nothing. “Yeah, Jessica and Selena stopped by to tell me what is going on. You know how I feel about that, Mom. I don’t want to get involved. It’s their life.”
“Oh, I know. I wish they hadn’t tried to make it your problem. Jessica tries to solve it all. We’ve been talking to Jake while Selena has been staying with us.”
Selena’s parents lived in California and rarely came to see her. In a way, it was sad that she didn’t have family like I had to lean on. I still hated that my parents were so involved. They were getting older and this seemed like a lot of unnecessary stress for them always having to help clean up Jake’s messes.
“That’s nice of you guys. Hope it works out for them.”
“You sound different, Adam. Whenever Selena or Jake has been brought up, you’ve always changed the subject immediately, and became short.”
This was something I loved about my mom. She never pushed. She only supported her family.
Here goes nothing. “I am different. I’ve met a girl. We’ve been dating for a while. I’d like for you guys to meet her.”
My parents didn’t know about their surprise party, so hopefully, they would be able to meet before the weekend. “Well, Jake is coming over here to talk to Selena. Your dad and I are going to step out for lunch. Do you guys have plans?”
“No, we don’t. Ainsley is getting a tattoo right now. Do you want to meet at our usual deli?”
The door opened, and I could hear my father’s muffled voice on the other end, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying.
My mother responded, “We’re going to meet Adam and his girlfriend for lunch while Jake comes over. Go get your shoes and change your shirt. We need to make a good impression, Tom.”
My dad mumbled something, and it made me chuckle. He probably had on one of his worn Falcons T-shirts.
“Ainsley should be done in a few minutes. We can be there in about thirty.”
“We’ll see you there. We can’t wait to meet her. She must be special to you.”
&nb
sp; It was time to put it all out there and to stop being a fucking pussy. “I love her, Mom. She’s the one, but we aren’t rushing into anything. She still needs to finish college.”
My mom sounded choked up as she responded, “I can’t wait to meet her. I know she’s going to be perfect. She already is if she has won your heart. I’m going to go freshen up. We’ll be there, and please tell her not to be nervous.”
“Sounds good, Mom. See ya in a few.”
“Bye, Adam.”
Ainsley emerged from the back with a huge smile on her face as her eyes found mine.
I stood, matching her expression. “Did you go through with it?”
“I did.” She walked up to the heavily pierced receptionist with purple hair. “What do I owe?”
Smacking her gum, the girl behind the desk responded, “Nothing. Moon said it was on the house for you taming the untamable.”
I wanted to punch the shit out of Moon for saying that. People needed to have tact. I went to speak when Ainsley laughed.
“Tell Moon thanks,” she said.
“Sure thing, doll.” The receptionist went back to looking at her magazine.
The bell to the door chimed as we walked out of the shop and to the car.
“So, do I get to see what you got?” I asked.
“Eventually.”
“When?” I wanted to see what she had chosen.
She was smirking. “When we’re in a place where it’s okay for me to pull my pants down a bit.”
I cranked my car. “Hell, I’m glad Chastity did it. I’d have to beat the shit out of Moon if he had seen any part below your waist.”
She cocked her head to the side. “He’s a professional. I’m sure he’s seen a lot more than that.”
“Maybe so, but he won’t be seeing you…ever.” The thought of anyone seeing something that was meant for my eyes only had my mouth tasting metal as my anger simmered.
She was smiling from ear to ear as I reversed out of the parking spot.
“Where are we going?”
I slowed down as we were nearing the edge of the parking lot, and then I turned down the alley. I wanted to see her tattoo, and I also needed to see her reaction when I asked about meeting my parents on such short notice. If she wasn’t ready for it, I would postpone the lunch date, no questions asked.
