I stepped out of my shorts and kicked them aside. “I did.”
Knowing how much Panther liked the stars that decorated my right thigh, this idea had struck just recently, and seemed like the perfect gift for graduation. It was something I had a feelingbothof us would enjoy.
Panther bit his lip and flushed, which did nothing to dissuade my excited cock from thinking it was about to get some action.
“Can I see it?”
If I had my way, he would see it, touch it, lick it, and do all kinds of things to it—when it was fully complete and healed, of course—but for right now…
I started to unwind the saran wrap from around my thigh, Panther watching with fascination. I knew he could see the dark shape and shading of what was below, but judging by his silence, he hadn’t yet clued in to what exactly I’d had inked onto my skin.
“You did this today?”
“I did,” I said. “I wanted something to remember my time here at the Elite by. Something to remember the first time I saw”—I pulled the final piece of wrap free—“a panther.”
As the bold outline and shading of the sleek jungle cat came into view, the silence that fell was like that of a church. It was full of awe and reverence as Panther took a step toward me and slowly went down to his knees, and when he was eye level with my newly inked thigh, he finally spoke.
“Solo… Mateo… This is…” He looked up at me, and the love and wonder shining from his eyes told me everything I needed to know.
“You like?”
“Like?” Panther’s eyes fell back to the intricate artwork that depicted the striking hunter with eyes the same shade of blue as his, prowling around my thigh toward its prey. “This is stunning, beautiful, and even those words seem inadequate for how much work has gone into this. It’s not even finished yet, is it?”
“No,” I said around the lump in my throat. The way Panther was looking over his namesake, completely enraptured by the image, made it difficult to concentrate, let alone talk.
“Turn around,” he whispered. I slowly pivoted. “I love the way his tail wraps around the back of your thigh here…”
I loved that too. When Panther touched me just beneath the ink and said, “Spread your legs a little,” I was grateful to be facing the table.
I braced my hands on the top of the surface and closed my eyes. I couldn’t wait until the tattoo was complete and Panther could put his mouth on me. Fuck, I was close to begging him regardless.
“I know I can’t yet, but the way the artist has shaded this makes his fur look so sleek that I just want to touch it.”
Trying to get a hold of my composure, I looked over my shoulder and saw him studying the image with hungry eyes. “Then I was right?”
“Hmm,” Panther said as gaze found mine. “This is a gift for youandme.”
A wicked smile curved Panther’s mouth. He got to his feet and took my face between his hands.
“This is by far the bestandsexiest gift I have ever gotten in my life. I’m going to enjoy it—and you—often.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Unable to resist him any longer, I reached for the waistband of his jeans and drew him to me. The second our lips met, he opened for me, and as we stood in the center of his room on this last night here at the base, I knew it was the beginning of so much more. I couldn’t wait to see where the future was going to lead us.
37Panther
“MY OH MY. Aren’t you a sight.” Solo whistled, and I watched him in the bathroom mirror as he strolled up behind me, his eyes trailing up and down my body. He stopped, so close his front pressed to my back, and then he set his chin on my shoulder and met my eyes in the mirror. “I don’t think this view will ever get old.”
“It better not. In case you’ve forgotten, you’re stuck with me.”
“Mhmm. Mine for life.”
I shot him a wink. “And on the Elite plaque.”
A huge grin took over Solo’s face. “No one else I’d rather be stuck with.” He kissed my jaw, his touch radiating heat through my entire body.
