Page 77 of Done Waiting

His smile is so wide, eyes so soft, making him the most breathtaking man I’ve ever seen. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Maddie. Full of so much warmth and goodness.”

I laugh. “Usually. There is a dark side to me.” Winking at him, I climb onto his lap. “You don’t wanna see it.”

Tugging me so tight against him I lose my breath, he cocks an eyebrow. “Don’t I?’

Hours later, Jagger rolls over onto his stomach, his head turned toward mine, tired eyes watching me.

Everyone else fades away as those intense eyes of his draw me in, like a fly trapped in a spider’s web. He stares at me for a few beats before his hand reaches over, lightly stroking my cheek. “Mine,” he simply states.

My heart squeezes inside my chest. The look on his face is too intense, causing me to drop my gaze to his muscular body. Leaning up on my elbows, I lightly stroke my finger over his arm as he lays his head in them, feeling his intense gaze boring into mine.

But I can’t look at him right now. It’s too much.

As my gaze roves over his back, a giant tattoo that covers the majority of his skin draws my attention. Leaning over, I studythe giant red rose lies on a pile of embers, the outside petals covered in flames. My fingers reach out, lightly tracing over it. He gives a violent jerk, and I instantly yank my hand away as though I’ve been burned by the flames on his back.

His eyes are closed, his face scrunched up in pain.

“Jagger… Talk to me. Your tattoo… What does it mean?”

His eyes open, onyx orbs focusing on me.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I say, “I felt ridges and bumps… jagged scars… beneath the ink.”

His features tighten and harden, making me tense. Even though he looks formidable, his chiseled face is so damn handsome he takes my breath away.

Expelling a long sigh, he reaches his arm out, pulling me against him. Rolling on his side with a wince, he presses my body against his. “I’m sorry, baby girl. I… I-I’m just not… Used to talking about it. Everyone close to me already knows what it means, and I keep my shirt on around strangers.”

My eyes widened with surprise. “But… I mean, you were with other women, I’m sure. Just… Look at you.” I gesture at him, my cheeks burning. “You probably have women fawning all over you, just begging to have sex with you.”

“Hadwomen,” he emphasizes the past tense. “I’m not going to lie and say I haven’t been with other women. But it was meaningless.”

“You’ve never… Been in a relationship with anyone?”

He grins. “No.”

“You’ve never taken your shirt off around any other woman?”

He shakes his head, the smile dying from his face. “Rarely. I’d have brief one-night stands with the others. I didn’t want to deal with their bullshit questions. If they insisted I remove my shirt, I’d ensure it was dark. Kept my back away from them so they couldn’t see or touch it.”

“You took your shirt off for me.” My eyes are soft.

He nods. “Because you’re different.” Then he grins. “Just like I’m the first man who’s ever come inside you.”

I nod and say, “Yes. Only you.”

He pushes a lock of my hair behind my ear. “You were in a relationship… Withhim. Yet, he never came inside of you?”

I shake my head. “Since I have an IUD, I told him that he didn’t have to use a condom. But he was insistent. It didn’t bother me, although it made me wonder if he was unfaithful.” Swallowing hard, bile creeps up my throat.Yeah, he was cheating. Raping and murdering women.

“Look at me.”

My gaze lifts from the random invisible circles I’d been tracing on his chest with my finger.

“There’s only you for me.No oneelse.” Pressing a gentle kiss on my lips, he pulls back. “You’re not a bad judge of character, Maddie. Some people are good at fooling others for their own gain. That’s not a reflection on you, but them.”

Nodding, I give him a smile, though I’m not fully convinced yet.

But Jagger convinces me when he trusts me enough to tell me about his tattoo. “I’ll tell you how I got the scars on my back, and the significance of my tattoo. It’s not just to cover them...” He breathes out a harsh sigh, his face tight. “It’s so I don’t forget the worst day of my life. The day my innocence was stripped from me.”

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