Page 196 of Obsession

I touched his chest with my fingertips, his skin still hot to the touch as, luckily for me, he had kept his T-shirt. My touch traveled over the hawk’s perfectly drawn wings, then I moved lower, where the two wolf pups I knew nothing about rested.

“What is the meaning of this?” I asked, touching my fingertip to the paw of the one on the right.

Harris lowered his eyes to me and noticed what I was concentrating on. He had both hands on the steering wheel while one arm rested on my lap and the other cradled my back.

“It’s… difficult to explain,” he said with a small frown and looked straight ahead again.

I looked at him confused, because so far he had no problem telling me what his tattoos meant.

“Does each tattoo have a specific meaning to you?” I bit my lip and tried not to push him.

It was clear that he didn’t want to talk about it, and I knew better than anyone how unpleasant it was to explain things that you didn’t like remembering. And that was exactly what I saw on Harris face when I had opened the subject of that particular tattoo.

“Almost,” he replied dryly, frowning as his eyes remained fixed on the road.

I bit my lip, then pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. I wasn’t going to stress him out about it, even if he had been open about his tattoos up until now. I knew that those wolf pups, who seemed to be suffering and trying to reach each other, had an important meaning to Harris.

He wore a necklace that I’d seen every time he wasn’t wearing a T-shirt, but when he was fully clothed, he kept it under.

Reluctantly, I took it between my fingers. It was some kind of old silver coin pendant hanging from a thin black leather strap. The edges of the coin consisted of a snake biting its tail,with impressive detail. On one side was the letter H, which did not appear to be part of the design but scratched in with a sharp object and I assumed it was Harris’ initial, while the other side read‘Everything had a beginning and an end’ in small lettering.

I thought about it for a few moments, then realized that was the meaning of the snake biting its own tail.

Ouroboros.

The cycle of life.

The beginning and the end.

I bit my lip and became more and more confused. I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but even though Harris allowed me to study him, he didn’t seem eager to explain anything to me. I was sure this had an important meaning to him too, or maybe it was just a simple necklace, but simple things didn’t seem to be part of Harris’ life.

When I sensed him growing agitated, I released the pendant from my grip and rested my head on his shoulder.

A few minutes later, he parked in front of the garage. I couldn’t go home without my shoes and in only my bra. After everything I’d done, I had to at least have the decency to enter my house dressed. As I moved to sit back in my seat, Harris took my chin between his fingers.

“I promise I’ll tell you one day, but I can’t right now. There’s far too long a story behind it.”

His mind had stayed on what had happened earlier, on the tattoo and the pendant.

I smiled and kissed him, because a promise like that was just as important as the story itself. After a tender kiss, he helped me sit back down in my seat – the one my butt hadn’t touched all night.

Damp jeans felt awful. Goosebumps covered my skin, and I rubbed my arms a little before opening the door and getting out of the car.

The cold, wet sidewalk felt extraordinary against my cold bare feet. I immediately started to shiver. The rain had stopped, but the cold was still very much present. The light outside was barely visible, and it should have been stronger because the sun was rising, but the thick clouds that still crowded the sky kept the sun hidden.

Harris appeared beside me, and I expected him to hold my hand, but he picked me up “bridal style.”

“What are you doing?” I flinched in surprise.

“I am carrying you in,” he replied smiling slightly and hugged me closer to his chest as he felt my body tremble.

He didn’t put me down until we reached his room.

His simple, spontaneous gestures were the most surprising and amazing.

Fifteen minutes later, Harris parked in front of my house.

My father’s car was parked in the alley.

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