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Chapter Forty-One
Jackson
The surreal sensation of finally holding Lena in my arms this way, being this close, made my heart pound. This was her first time with me, a time she would remember forever, I hoped. I wanted to make it that special. I wanted to take away her bruises, not the ones on her skin that were already gone, but the ones inside. The ones she still occasionally had nightmares about. I wanted her to fall for me the way I was falling for her. My God, I didn’t think I could have fallen any harder.
When I pressed into her completely, and the movement intensified, her face flushed with heat. My body heat rose throughout my entire being, and I thought I would go crazy with desire. The more I fell, the more I wanted.
* * *
I awoketo the sun glaring in through the window. I’d forgotten to close the blinds last night in all my excitement, and I turned away from the glare to find Lena’s beautiful face an inch from mine. I smiled. I couldn’t help it. I reached out to hold her, and she snuggled into my arms.
“Mmmm …” She opened her eyes and smiled, even scooted closer against me.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Ready for your tattoo?”
“I think so. Though I haven’t decided on what yet.”
“That’s always a plus before going to the tattoo artist.”
“Yeah.” She grinned and traced her finger over the fawn on my chest. Then she bit her bottom lip and snuggled into me. “I think I just thought of the perfect tattoo.”
* * *
We atea quick breakfast of toast with peanut butter and coffee and headed downtown to my favorite tattoo parlor run by our drummer, Kipper. Lena was surprised to see him but seemed pleased when she realized he would be the one to etch her very first tat. She described what she wanted, and he said that would be a piece of cake.
After the tattoo session, it was only a short walk to the car, but we needed to go through town to get to it since it was Saturday and parking on the street was difficult to find, particularly in this part of town.
I held Lena’s hand as we walked by the flower shop, and I tugged her to a stop. “Wait.”
I pulled her inside with me and picked up a dozen red roses. Women loved flowers, and I wanted to let Lena know how happy she’d made me. By the look on her face, I must have succeeded. I vowed right then that if she ever agreed to live her life with me, I’d buy her flowers once a week so that I could see the smile they caused.
We decided to walk around the town for a while to pass the time and enjoy each other’s company. I loved holding her hand while we walked. We stopped in the café on the corner for some lunch, and she begged me to help her take the bandage off. Kipper said it should stay on for one to three hours, and it had been an hour and a half, so I removed it. The tattoo was gorgeous. Kipper did a great job. A little later, we walked into the bar. Lena wanted to show off her new tattoo. She’d worn the perfect top that exposed her left shoulder yet still had long sleeves to keep her warm. It was still early spring, and the temperature fluctuated throughout the day, cooling down to forty degrees some nights. Lena walked up to the bar, turned her back toward Brodie and Derrick, and let her coat drape down her arm, revealing her bared shoulder and the new four-inch tattoo of the winged guitar.
* * *
Even though thesun was still shining, you could never tell inside the bar since we kept the blinds pulled. Most people who hung out in the bar during the day liked it that way. It made them think it was okay to drink their day away. We didn’t have many daytime patrons, but a couple of regulars frequented daily.
“Well, will you look at that?” Derrick said as he leaned over the bar to get a closer look.
Lena grinned and turned back around. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s awesome,” Derrick said.
Brodie walked up beside her. “Nice! Is that significant of something? Other than the guitar. I mean, the wings?”
She turned back around to face everyone. “Yeah. Um … I’m single now, which means I’m free, and I can play the guitar whenever I damn well please.” She’d beamed when she said that last part. I knew how much it meant to her to feel secure enough to say it too.
Brodie looked at me, nodded slowly. “Congratulations,” he said softly, directed toward me.
“Lena?” The male voice coming from across the bar shocked me since no one in this town knew Lena’s real name except for Brodie and me.
Lena turned around. “Oh my God!” she gasped and wrapped her arms around the guy’s slim torso as he hugged her back. I wanted to know who the heck he was and why he had Lena in a tight bear hug.
“Woman, it is good to see your bright face again, finally. What a fucking relief. I’ve been so worried.”
