Page 24 of Painless
“You like it?”
“It looks amazing on you.” I stroked a hand down the side of her cheek. “After that’s done, you should get my name right here.” I dragged a finger just underneath her collarbone.
“You get my name first,” she shot back, laughing.
“You joke, but I just might,” I warned her. Name tattoos weren’t really my thing, but I could get a butterfly as a symbol of her. Shadow could make it look badass and not girly.
“So, it wasn’t too bad, sugar?” Reaper leaned in and dropped a kiss to the nape of her neck.
“No.” She turned to kiss him over her shoulder, but slid her legs over mine to remain solidly in my lap. “Some spots were more intense than others, but it was fine. I was good to keep going, but Shadow said we were at a good stopping point.”
“How washe?”
I had to admit that part of my reluctance to leave was due to what happened the first time they were alone together. They ended up having sex because he mistakenly believed I sent her over for that reason. He knew better now, plus he’d seen her in her office since then. Mari was sympathetic to his trauma and his many issues with socializing, which was sweet. But a small part of me was still uneasy about them together in close proximity. I just wasn’t sure what made me more nervous—his potential to misunderstand something and cause her harm, or her pushing too hard in trying to help, and triggering something dangerous in him.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, Shadow wouldn’t hurt a fly. But that one percent usually meant no survivors. The man lived at two polar opposites and knew nothing of the spectrum in between.
“He was…really good.” She sounded surprised herself. “I think he even cracked a joke with me.”
I stared at her. “Really?”
“Yeah, he made fun of Gunner for being a pussy during his tattoo.”
“Highly uncalled for.” The blonde man in question draped his long arms and legs over the lounge chair across from us. He shook his head disappointedly, but his eyes were full of humor. “Totally unprofessional.”
“Other than that,” Mari chuckled, “he just did his thing, didn’t talk much, like usual. Except for checking in with me about pain and discomfort and stuff. It was really sweet, actually.”
“He got her a towel so she could comfortably rest her arms on the back of the chair,” Gunner scoffed. “What a princess.”
Mari threw my soiled cleaning rag at him. “You used that armrest more than me!”
“I didn’t sayyouwere the princess.” He batted his eyes at her dramatically.
“See what happens when we leave you alone?” Reaper chuckled, returning to cleaning his guns.
“I have such great taste in men, don’t I?” Mari teased him.
“You do in one, at least.” I pulled her more into my lap, stretching her legs over mine to the other side of the couch. Now that she was all mine for the moment, I was going to savor her.
“Hmm, the same one who cooks me fresh eggs and plies me with good tequila,” she grinned, grabbing my chin. “I definitely hit a home run here.”
“You want me to help wash you later?” I ran my fingers lightly over the center of her back, just under her tattoo. “You’ll need to keep the new ink clean and moisturized.”
“Bath time ismydomain,” Reaper barked. “You can rub her down with lotion afterward, though.”
“Shit, man. Who gave you the monopoly on bath time?”
“No one,” he grinned. “I took it for myself.”
“Hmm.” Mari looked between us, amusement in her eyes at how we bickered over caring for her. “Maybe you can wash my back, and Reap can do my front?”
“I’m fine with that idea.” My fingers dragged across her sides. “As long as we get to switch.”
“Works for me,” Reaper muttered with a shrug.
“Okay, for real?” The exclamation came from Gunner, who stared at us from across the coffee table. “This is how y’all work shit out?”
Reaper cocked an eyebrow at him. “How else are we supposed to work shit out besides talking about it?”
