Page 60 of The Devil and His Ghost

“I’ve decided to make an exception,” he explained with a sigh and a self-important look at the ceiling. “I know, I know. My generosity knows no bounds.” Dropping the teasing expression, he smiled seriously at me. “So?”

I had always wanted more tattoos, and the idea of adding to the art on my body now made my heart race. I nodded.

He snapped his fingers, and the air behind me shifted. I turned and found the equipment I recognized from my previous tattoos now taking up space near the line of windows in the living room. A long bed stretched in the moonlight with a stool nearby and a table with all the items he’d need to ink me.

“What do you want and where?” Xander asked. He crossed the room and took the rolling seat by the bed. He looked over his manifested supplies while reaching behind himself to turn on the standing lamp in the corner.

Pulling myself out of my stupor, I grabbed my phone to search for an image. I didn’t even need to think about what design I wanted next. I’d fantasized about the previously impossible tattoos hundreds of times.

“This,” I answered, handing him the phone.

He studied the moth design like he was memorizing each and every detail. I didn’t doubt that was exactly what he was doing, and while I’d never trust someone to simply memorize and replicate a permanent design on my skin, this was Xander, the exception to all of my rules.

“Got it,” he announced with a nod. Setting the phone aside, he met my eyes. “Where do you want it?”

The question made my heart rate pick up. I also didn’t need to think about that answer, having planned out each design in my head. There was only a split second where I hesitated.

Do you trust me? His earlier question reverberated in my head with my equally loud internal response. More than anything.

I’d been afraid before—of my past, of my wants, of allowing him in any more than I already had. But tonight, I didn’t want to be afraid. I didn’t want to let my demons ruin what could be with my monster.

Wordlessly, I closed the lingering distance between where I stood and his stool. I grabbed my sweatshirt and slowly pulled it off. I was naked under it, so the minute I dropped the top to the ground, Xander’s dark human eyes landed on my bare breasts. His jaw clenched, and gold flashed amid his onyx eyes, nearly overtaking the blackness.

“I want it here,” I answered, touching the center of my chest before tracing my fingers over the tops of my breasts and between them. “I want it to fill this space.”

I’d never chosen to be naked like this in front of anyone. I didn’t even like being naked when alone with myself. I almost regretted the decision to expose my bare chest to Xander, but before the alarm could rise up, his own appreciation for what he saw barreled into me. His eyes went hazy, and his lips parted ever so slightly. I could’ve sworn his breath even quickened as he drank me in like a dying man meeting their god.

He finally licked his lips and bobbed his head slowly. “Okay. I can do that.” His eyes met mine. “Lay down and put your head here for me.”

I positioned myself the way he’d asked, flat on my back with my head toward him. His face hovered above mine, holding my gaze with rapt attention as he readied his tools. He placed his hand near my breasts, right above my racing heart, and got to work. I barely felt the needles as he gave life to the image I wanted, too lost in the feel of his firm fingers on my skin, his strong neck stretched out above my face, his spicy and woodsy scent filling my airway.

A warmth still new to me, one born of flaming longing, rippled through my body. It started where the buzzing tool decorated the space between my two bare breasts before sliding through my limbs to land where my thighs pressed together.

I swallowed hard and closed my eyes behind my glasses.

“Are you okay?” he asked roughly.

I opened my eyes and found him looking down at my face. The fire that coursed through my bloodstream simmered equally strong in those black eyes. It was suddenly so hard to breathe.

“No,” I answered shakily. My gaze dropped to his lips, hovering so close to mine. “No, I am not.”

“I’m only halfway done,” he revealed. His attention trailed down my body, devouring the sight of my heaving chest and my trembling thighs. “Think you can wait another hour and a half?”

I inhaled sharply. “Wait for what?”

“You know damn well what,” he answered low and firm.

He knew what I wanted. He knew how wound up I was. And he wanted to give me release from that tight binding within my own skin.

Licking my lips, I whispered, “No. I can’t wait.”

He smirked, the expression full of sin and delight. “Guess it’s a good thing I’m a demon who can multitask. Though, you’ll be doing most of the work.”

He continued drawing on my chest with the tattoo machine while his other hand moved from its place on my chest to hover near my face. The brown paper bag from our shopping trip today appeared in his hand. I swallowed hard as the bag disappeared from my field of vision and the sound of him rummaging through it followed. When his hand appeared next, it was above my face and holding the small purple vibrator out toward me.

“Do it,” he hissed with a groan.

“The tattoo,” I protested weakly.