Page 44 of Anything To Be With You

"And why is that?"

Dani narrows her eyes. "I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you have a stick up your ass."

"I wasn’t always so tightly wound. I used to be fun."

"What changed?" she asks.

"Life knocked me down one too many times. But before that, I was a fun loving guy. Used to throw parties, go into work hungover the next day," I meet her eyes. "Got tattooed. I even had a nipple piercing at one point."

Her mouth drops before a grin crosses those beautiful lips. Lips I want to taste, to feel on my skin, to have wrapped around my—when the desire to touch her hits me again, I give my head a good shake. Now is not the time to think about that or lose control.

"Reeeeeally?" she draws out the word. "Let me see it."

I shake my head.

"I’ll show you mine if you show me yours. Tattoo that is. I don't have any body piercings."

"You have tattoos?"

Dani snorts. "Uh, yeah."

"I don’t think so."

"Plllllleeeeeaaaaassssseeee, Archer," Dani whines.

I grin to myself. "Seeing as how you asked so nicely."

"Yay!" Dani says sitting up and claps her hands.

I sit up and pull my shirt from my pants. I undo the buttons, slipping my arm out of the sleeve. Her fingers touch my skin, and an electric shock explodes through my body, and I become very aware of just how small this elevator is. How close Dani is sitting to me, the smell of her shampoo, and the way her fingers feel against my skin.

"This is gorgeous," she breathes.

Dani’s fingers trace the outline of the sun. A look of pure wonderment crosses her face.

"What does it mean?" her eyes move to mine.

"That’s a long story."

"We have time."

I suck in a deep breath, debating whether to tell her.

"C’mon Archer," she pleads, "just give me the foot notes."

I give in. I can’t say no to her. "The sun is for my mother, the moon for my father, and the blue jay for Gabe."

Her fingers move onto the moon. "Explain," Dani says and looks at me from beneath her lashes. "Please."

Something in my chest tightens. "My mother was warm and welcoming; my father is cold and distant and Gabe is a huge Jays fan."

Her fingers still on the blue jay. "That’s beautiful," Dani grins. "The first part anyways. Why would you get a tattoo of Gabe’s favourite baseball team?"

"Lost a bet." I tell her. Although, it wasn’t a bet I lost, I almost lost Gabe. Longest six months of my life. I practically lived at the hospital, I refused to leave until he woke up.

"You lost a bet?" she shakes her head. "That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, Lucas."

My heart stops at the sound of my name coming from her lips. Her fingers drift over my shoulder and across my chest, curling in my chest hair. A groan climbs up my throat and her eyes meet mine. Dani bites into that plump bottom lip, and I do everything in my power not to suck it into my mouth.

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