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Chapter Nineteen
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Aslan
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(Heart in Italian: Cuore)
“OH MY GOD!” NERI MOANED INDECENTLY AS she slipped a spoonful of lamington cheesecake into her mouth.
The sounds she made.
The way her lips wrapped around the spoon.
The way she licked those lips with a glistening wet tongue.
Fuck.
Me.
I was grateful the fancy restaurant had long white tablecloths because there was no way I’d be able to hide my erection otherwise. It threatened to pop out the top of my jeans, pinching painfully as it wedged behind my belt, desperate to thrust back inside her.
My need for her wasn’t helped by the lion now scribed on her arm. Every time she took a drink or raised her fork to her mouth she flashed me with evidence of just how much she loved me.
She loved me enough to hit her father over the head with a lamp to defend me.
She loved me enough to share what Ethan had done so the police didn’t arrest me.
And now...now she’d permanently inked herself with a design I’d tweaked and sketched. A design that glowed on my own arm.
My eyes dropped to the perfect black lines. Josephine had done an impeccable job. We’d been late leaving as the piece had taken longer than they thought, but beneath the Saniderm see-through bandage, it was worth every penny to share the identical mark as Neri.
It couldn’t come off like a wedding ring.
It couldn’t be erased like words on a page.
It bound us for life, and my heart had tripled in size, fluttering and kicking, reminding me of all the times it’d tortured me when Neri was younger. All the moments when it’d strayed over the line, falling in love with her when I couldn’t have her.
It hadn’t cared about appropriate ages or timelines.
It’d known Neri was made for me and was impatient to claim her.
I sighed as a punching epiphany struck me around the head.
I’d been born to know this girl.
To find this girl.
To love this girl.
There was no other explanation for how we’d found each other.
It was fate.
“You have got to try this.” Neri licked her lips again, making me groan. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted. I really didn’t think cheesecake and lamingtons would go together but wow.”
“Pretty sure you’re the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” I murmured as she reached across the table and fed me a spoonful of dessert.
The sugary feast made my mouth water, but it still didn’t compare to my wife. “Good.” I nodded. “But I still prefer you.”
Her cheeks turned a delightful pink. “And you call me insatiable.”
“Good job we’re equally matched in the desperation department.”
“Or you just groomed me to match your sex drive.” She winked.
“I know you’re trying to get a rise out of me, but it won’t work. Not now. Not ever. You’re wearing my tattoo, my ring, and I’ve claimed every inch of you. You’re mine, Neri. Every fucking piece.”
“Don’t forget about my sea lion necklace.” She smiled and ran her finger along the silver chain and charm. “My fifteenth birthday present that I’ve never taken off.”
Memories of the beach, the rainforest, and the absolute pain of wanting her clouded my vision.
“I gave you that, and you gave me a kiss.” I pinched the bridge of my nose before sighing hard. “I was so close to snapping that night.”
“I wish you had,” she murmured. “I had fantasies of you taking my virginity in our tent.”
My chest panged.
If I had been her first that night, would our paths have been easier? She wouldn’t have dated Joel. She wouldn’t have been at Zara’s that night trying to make amends. I’d thought I was being respectful by not touching her when she was so young, but if I had...perhaps I could’ve prevented everything that’d happened, all because I’d said no.
“Aslan...” Her hand landed on mine on the table. “Don’t. I know where your mind has gone, and there’s no point in playing with ‘what ifs’.”
“You’re right.” I twisted my hand until our fingers entwined. “If I’d given in that night, you probably would’ve given nineteen-year-old me a heart attack, and I wouldn’t be here with you right now.”
“What?” She wrinkled her adorable nose. “How would I have given you a heart attack?”
I squeezed her hand. “If I’d known how good you felt back then, askim, I don’t think I would’ve had the self-control to stop. You think we’re insatiable now? Imagine what we would’ve been like if we’d given in to the burn between us when we were both so young.”
“We would’ve set fire to that stupid tent.”
I chuckled. “We would’ve put your books to shame.”
Our eyes locked.
The empty restaurant with its chandeliers and fancy linen wasn’t exactly the right place to seduce each other. We couldn’t hide in a crowd of diners because we’d been one of the last couples seated, thanks to our tattoos running overtime, and now we were the last to leave. The night was no longer young and was, unfortunately, almost over.
