Page 34 of Hidden Echoes

I allow myself a small smile. "Did you understand what I said?"

"Yes. You said you needed to touch me." She waves a hand, impatient. "So what?"

I hold her gaze.

"So, you have to give me permission first."

This silence is different. Heavier.

Mia’s lips part slightly, like she’s about to laugh. But she doesn’t.

She just stares at me. Waiting. Expecting me to say something else—maybe explain the joke.

"Permission?" she echoes.

I nod. "If you don’t want me to, I won’t. It’s that simple."

Her expression doesn’t shift right away. But something shifts inside her. I see it in the way her shoulders tighten, in the way her breath hitches.

Mia exhales a small, almost disbelieving laugh.

"That’s weird."

"Why?"

She bites her lip. "Because… no one ever asked."

My jaw clenches.

Anger surges through me, but I shove it down. Now isn’t the time.

Mia lifts her gaze again, studying me like I’m some kind of rare, foreign creature.

I lean in slightly, my fingers hovering over her leg but not touching.

"Mia." My voice drops, low and steady. "Can I touch you?"

Her expression shifts.

For a moment, she looks lost—not like she doesn’t know the answer, but like she doesn’t know what sheshouldfeel.

Then, slowly, she nods.

"You can."

My fingers brush her skin, light, barely there. Just enough to press the stencil into place.

I see the way she reacts.

It’s not fear.

Not discomfort.

It’s something else. Something she doesn’t even have a name for.

The tattoo machine whirs to life. I focus on the lines, on the smooth strokes of ink bringing Medusa to life.

The silence stretches between us, comfortable.

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