She puffs out a heavy breath. “I’m okay.”
“Good.” I pull down my zipper and hook my fingers inside the elastic of my boxers. “Because I’ve got more.”
After a slow perusal of my upper body, ending at the bulge in my pants, she utters a dazed, “More?”
The night of the spectacular safe-room blow job, I kept my shirttails down so she couldn’t see this tattoo. I knew if she saw it before she was ready, it would be too overwhelming. Maybe it still will be.
I drop my pants anyway, kicking them aside and showing off the pretty script spellingMercyin a soft arch on my pelvis, which fits perfectly inside the V leading to my cock.
She gapes at it and stammers through some nonsensical noises, and all I can do is chuckle.
“I think you spoke too soon, Viper. I’ve clearly shocked you.”
“A little … I … what if this … what if we didn’t …”
That muttered query only proves she’s underestimating me, my devotion to her. It was there, and it was forever, even when I didn’t know if I’d ever see her pretty face again.
“I got this a year and a half ago. You were safe, but you didn’t want to see me or hear from me, and … well, it was … hard.”Excruciatingwould be more accurate, but I won’t put that on her. I clear my throat, attempting to choke back the anguish the mere thought brings. “Anyway, Axel was concerned. Afraid I was putting my whole life on hold for something that might never happen. He suggested that I try to move on, see if there was something else out there—someone else—that would make me happy. So, in answer to that, I got this. Jax told him casually during our family meal, and he knew never to fucking suggest it again.”
Her eyes blaze a trail over the letters, over my saluting cock, over my abs and chest as she works through an arduous swallow. Then she steps into me, and her hands do the same, igniting a slow, fiery path that scorches me from the inside out. But she’s silent, so I wait, both of our chests heaving in tandem. The air thick.
She draws sinuous lines and reconciles whether or not the weight of my feelings for her are crushing or comforting. And with her hands on me, I’m alive—livingin a way that’s only attainable in her embrace.
I hold on to that shabby silhouette of hope, the one I know can be the greatest villain there is. It thrives, beating the doubtsto death. Because there’s still a chance, whether you’re hanging from a bridge, down to your last dime, or staring at the girl who was once determined to leave you. The cloud of possibilities only renders the fall that much more decimating.
Finally, her sweet face tilts to mine, and at least for tonight, the cloud is steady.
She throws a hitchhiker thumb at the bath. “A French 75 rebirth and … then what?”
“We become a new version ofus,” I answer, my hands cradling her cheeks, “one day at a time.”
After considering that for a few seconds, she reaches down, spreading the dollop of precum over my length and cupping my balls with the most delectable pressure. My eyelids flutter as I release a groan, and when they pop back open, a wicked smile blossoms on her angelic face.
She waggles her brows. “Does it start with us—”
“Fucking?”
“Yeah.”
“Absolutely.”
“Okay, let’s do that.”
“Thank fuck.” I rip off her thong, hoist her up to my waist, and crash my lips to hers.
She rolls her hips, grinding her sopping pussy against my hard dick, so eager, her limbs tangled around me, her tongue swiping warm and wild against mine.
After I move us to stand in the tub, I study her for a beat, checking for any hesitation, but she peers back, simply trusting me, like she said earlier. So, I run with it.
“For just a minute, let your mind hold the pain. All the things lost, all the ways you’ve felt broken, all the reasons you wanted to …”
“Die,” she finishes on a whisper when it’s clear I can’t. Her eyes well with tears, lips tipped down to battle a frown.
I nod. “I’ll do the same, all while holding us under and letting the French 75 coat us until we’re lathered like a bad bachelor party held during Mardi Gras.”
She laughs at that, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“But then we’re gonna leave it all in there to drown and rise lighter without it.”
