Page 25 of Hidden Ink

“It’s a deal.” He kissed her softly then turned her around so she sat in his lap. She could feel his erection under her, but neither of them said anything about it. Not yet.

“So you already did some sketches?” she asked. She didn’t reach out and trace the leather-bound book in front of her, but she wanted to. This was his, so she would restrain herself.

He fisted his hand in her hair and she melted on his lap. When he pushed her hair to the side and kissed behind her ear, she melted more, causing both of them to moan.

“Hails, baby, don’t squirm or I’m going to fuck you right here and we’re never going to get your ink done.”

“You’re the one fisting my hair and kissing my neck.”

He pulled on her hair, and she moaned.

She didn’t move, but she did bite into her lip. “So.” She cleared her throat. “Sketches.”

He let her hair down and kissed her temple. “I didn’t know what you wanted since we hadn’t gotten that far. I don’t know if you want flowers or symbols or anything. But I was up late and had an idea. You don’t have to use this. In fact, I suggest you don’t. And though I know your body quite well now that my hands and mouth have been on every inch of you, I don’t know it to the detail I’d need for a tattoo. So things would have to change anyway depending on angles and shit. But, if you like it as a base, then sure. I just couldn’t get it out of my head. You know?”

“I know.” She leaned into him. The fact that he’d thought of something for her, as if he couldn’t stop from sketching it, brought a warmth to her chest she didn’t want to think about just then. “Show me.”

Sloane reached around her and opened the book, his hands steady, but she could feel the tension in his body. This was important to him. Not just the ink he would eventually place on her skin, but what he was going to show her. It was important to her, as well.

She sucked in a breath at the first drawing. “Sloane.”

He didn’t say anything, but she let her shaky hand reach out and trace the edge of the paper. “How…how did you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s…it’s almost exactly what I had in my head. How…how did you know?”

He swallowed hard; she could feel it. “I guess I know you better than I thought I did.”

She let the tears fall then and studied the drawing. She loved this man, loved everything about him. He knew her. She may not know everything about him yet, but she’d find out.

She had to.

Her hand shook once more as she put her finger on the edge of the paper and pressed her lips together. He’d captured almost exactly what she wanted, at least most of it, without even having to ask. Long branches reached out from her right side and across her chest. The trunk of the leafless tree would go down her side, with the roots wrapping around her hips. The bark wouldn’t be brown, but a mix of Gaelic symbols in dark black with shadows in between. She might ask him to add splashes of reds and pink in the white parts if it would look good. She wasn’t sure. As for the branches, they would tangle together over her breasts with a single hot pink ribbon wrapping itself around them, the edge dangling off the end of a branch. Cherry blossom petals fell down from the tree and added a splash of color to the imagery. At the base of the tree, a rose bush lay with vivid red roses wrapping up her belly and over her scar.

“It’s…”

“Your strength and beauty in one. If you don’t like the ribbon, we can take it away. Or we can put an octopus or a cake or something on your side.”

She snorted. “Really? An octopus? A cake?”

“You’re a baker. And people like putting octopuses on their bodies these days. No idea why. Probably because of all the legs.”

She wiggled so she sat sideways on his lap. “It’s…perfect. I mean, we could add things to it or something, but it’s what I wanted. I wanted a tree, I wanted symbols, I wanted pink and red. You got me, Sloane. You get me.”

He tugged her close and kissed her jaw. “I like to think I get you, Hails. I’ll have to sketch your body to make sure I can do this, but you have just the right curves that it won’t look like a hunk of bark on your side, you know?”

She grinned. “I trust you, Sloane.”

He met her gaze, and something passed over his eyes she couldn’t read. “You honor me, Hailey. Fucking honor me.”

“I don’t think I’d be able to trust anyone else to do this.” She hadn’t meant to say that, though she’d stated something similar in the past. She felt so raw right now, so open. She trusted him with her ink, but for some reason, she was scared to trust him fully with her heart.

But it was far too late for that fear.

She’d already given it to him.

She had to pray he wouldn’t break it.