Trent stood and pushed the stool back to the corner.“Trust me.I’ve got you.”
***
Harper’s head was spinning and it wasn’t all fear.Touching another human in a small but incredibly intimate way had left her breathless.
Trent’s strong arms, incredible patience, and gentle manner had done more than simply help ease her.Underneath the usual sense of panic and fear, he had managed to stir up feelings in her body that had been buried, dormant for years.
The flip in her stomach was a mix of discomfort and relief.The part of her that yearned for another’s touch wasn’t completely broken.Like the person who felt the draw of the ocean but couldn’t swim, she felt the pull of another but didn’t know how to respond and stay safe.
“How are you doing, Harper?”Trent hadn’t touched her yet, but he was standing right behind her.She could feel his warm breath on her skin.
“A bit light-headed, to be honest.”
“Put your head down between your knees.It’s either the presence of my greatness—which happens all the time, so don’t feel bad—or the adrenaline.Take some slow, deep breaths.What you’re doing tonight is a huge step.”
She did as he said.His scuffed black boots disappeared from her line of sight and reappeared a minute later.
“Please don’t pass out and fall off the bed—my insurance doesn’t cover dental.I’ve got a cold cloth for the back of your neck.I’m just going to move your hair and put it there, okay?”
“Sure.”It was slightly easier to be touched this time, his fingers brushing the back of her neck so gently before he placed the cool cloth down.
“Better?”he asked as he stroked her hair.His touch—it was actually soothing.“It sometimes takes a minute.”
“It’s a little better.Thanks.”
Trent went back around the bed.His hands moved systematically from her neck down her back, stopping here and there.
She knew the bigger scars.The first line of the letterM.The straight line down the letterB.The line that underscored “Bitch.”The strokes made with the most anger had caused the most damage.
Her emotions threatened to take her over, swallowing her whole.Embarrassment that she had put herself into such a position.Anger that she had allowed another person to damage her like this.Frustration that she’d believed the police would keep her safe.Relief that the scars were the only things Trent could see—and that he didn’t know everything else that had happened that horrific night.And something altogether different as his gloved hands continued to touch her skin reverently.She focused on counting her breaths, reaching ten this time before starting all over again.
“Okay, Harper.We’re done.”She heard the snap of the gloves as he took them off.
Trent took a moment to remove the now-warm cloth from the back of her neck, dispatching it and his gloves into the stainless steel trash can.
She pulled her shirt swiftly over her head, taking refuge in it.
Trent walked around the bed to her and pulled the stool back over.
“There’s good news and good news.Which do you want first?”
“The good news, I guess.”She sounded uncertain, which was a lot better than sounding scared.
“There’s plenty we can do to hide this.”
“What’s the other good news?”Harper asked.
“That I want to do it.”
***
“Tattooing is simple.Needle inserts ink wherever tattoo artist places needle.However, if there is anything different about the skin, the ink will not land the same.Most of your fine, silver scars I can tattoo over and pretty safely say that the ink will deposit the way we’d need it to.”
This was like no other consult he had ever given.Sure, he’d tattooed over hundreds of scars.Burns.Bike accidents.But nothing quite like this.This was going to take some serious time and patience on both of their parts.
“Some of the bigger scars—and I’d say there are three that fall into this category—might be less predictable.So you have two options with those: either the design just has shading there with no hard outline detail, or we work around the scars completely and allow them to show.With everything else covered, they won’t mean anything anymore.They’ll just look like abstract marks.”
Trent took a moment to let that sink in.Without thinking, he reached up and held both of her twitching hands in his, stilling the frantic movement of her cold fingers with his palms.She didn’t pull away immediately, which he took as a sign of progress.The shaking calmed as he continued to hold onto her.
