Page 56 of The Woman

“Probably,” I answer. “But I’ll be holding you.”

“Okay,” she whispers in reply.

Drae comes back into the room, and after a short while, he gets started.

I would never have thought, even a few weeks ago, that I’d be in a position like this. Desperate to have a female tied to me. Had she not been a WOUN, I dare say I wouldn’t be in this position.

But here I am, holding Avery close, breathing her in while the buzz of the needle sounds throughout the small space. My dick begins to stir at the sight of the ink marking her skin.

She doesn’t flinch or squirm the entire time, though I’m certain she can feel me hard beneath her. And the same blank expression remains on her face as she stares straight ahead, though I think she’s studying the art that covers the wall.

Once her arms are finished and he has covered them with wrap, it’s my turn. He offers the numbing cream as I roll up my sleeves, but I tell him just to go ahead and do it.

While he gets started on mine, I scan over the finished product on Avery’s arms, quite pleased with how it turned out – a treble clef followed by the first several notes of the song I caught her playing before they look like they’re blowing away on a breeze. I will have the same thing on my forearms as well.

We are free to choose whatever we wish to be tattooed, but it must be the same image for both of us and in the same place. It’s the way we claim them as ours, permanently.

Finally, he finishes up, giving us a list of aftercare instructions as we step back into the room we first entered, and I make sure to leave him a healthy tip for rearranging his schedule to fit us in.

The rain is heavier when we walk out the door and I pull Avery to run to my car.

We stumble inside, drenched clothes and dripping hair, but I don’t pay any attention to that when her soft and lighthearted giggle reaches my ears. I’ve seen quite a few emotions on her face recently, but the genuine smile lighting up her face right now is my favorite by far.

Warmth fills my chest again, crowding out the air that once occupied the space and making it harder to breathe. She makes my heart feel odd . . . happy.

I’m staring at her, but she pays me no attention as she pulls at the bottom of her shirt and uses it to carefully dry off the plastic covering her arms. “These aren’t supposed to get wet.”

“The plastic covering protects it,” I force through a tight throat.

“Oh.”

Avery finally turns her attention to me, her violet eyes still lit up as if the rain has brought her to life, brought her joy. The longer she stares at me, though, taking in my serious expression, her face begins to lose the humor and turn more curious.

I didn’t mean to take away her smile. I want it back. But I’m not sure how to make that happen again.

“What?” she asks as a water droplet trickles down her cheek until it reaches her lip.

I don’t answer. Instead, I reach up and slide my fingers into her wet hair, gripping hard before bringing her mouth to mine.

My kiss is intense. I take her lips, my tongue delving in like I can’t get enough. There’s no leading into it or starting out softly. That’s not me; I’ve recently found out. I kiss her like a starving man. Like she’s replenishing the air in my lungs. Like it’s the first and the last kiss, all rolled into one. Like, I just can’t get enough.

Then, I pull back just as abruptly.

Her breaths are coming out fast, lips still parted and wet, eyes closed. I wait until her mind has caught up and her eyes open. With her hair still fisted in one hand, I bring my other up to run my thumb over her bottom lip.

“You’re staying in my bed tonight.”

Her eyes light with fire and lust, but it’s mixed with the familiar touch of defiance creeping in at being told what to do.

“And if I don’t want to?”

Even if the side of her mouth wasn’t slightly curved as if fighting a smile, I would know it was what she wanted.

I angle her head, bringing her mouth a little closer to mine so my lips lightly brush over hers. “You’d still be staying in my bed.”

Chapter 25

Avery

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