“Great idea.”
She returns to her chair with haste, and I do another glove change before resuming. It takes thirty more minutes, during which she tells me more about her meeting with her mother earlier, as well as her work rival getting the job.
Once I’m done with the finishing touches, I use a fresh wipe to clean up the last of the ink and blood on her tender skin. Before I’ve put on the ointment, I tell her, “All done, red. You can go see it.”
She doesn’t look entirely confident as she gets out of the chair and walks up to the floor-to-ceiling mirror in the corner of the room. I can’t blame her. I just marked her skin for life, and she has no idea what I did. But as soon as she twists and lifts her arm to see the detailed drawing, her face lights up with what looks like pure joy.
“Oh my God, Jake,” she whispers. I’m right behind her now, and we look at it together.
It’s a small piece, barely longer than my thumb, but I worked hard on the finer details. The bright red ladybug is on a small cherry blossom branch—Victoria’s favorite flower. The artwork is delicate and feminine, matching Gen’s aura.
“Do you like it?” I ask, slipping a hand around her waist on the other side.
Her eyes are bright and teary as she looks up at me with excitement. “It’s amazing. It’s—it’sher.”
“She’s forever with you now, even if you have days you don’t think of her, even if you move on with your life and live it the way you want to. Victoria will always be a part of you, in your heart and right here,” I explain, grazing the skin under the ladybug.
“It’s perfect. It’s so perfect.”
Her elation pushes her to turn in my hold and bring my face down to kiss me. This time, things go a little further than before, and our tongues lick and invade, hungry and determined. It’s hard to resist the temptation of her, especially when I can feel her erect nipples poking through the thick fabric of my shirt.
“I love you,” she says into our kiss. “I love you so much, Jake.”
“And I love all of you, red—down to the last freckle.”
I’m so proud that her inner strength, the reason why I love her so much, finally grew enough for her to demand the things she’s owed. Fuck her parents and that job. They don’t deserve her. She’s destined for so much more, and I’ll be right there every step of the way, lifting her up and encouraging her.
“I need to take care of your tattoo first,” I mumble into our kiss when her delicate hands reach between us to start working on the buttons of my shirt.
“Will it take long?”
“A couple of minutes. Just the ointment and a non-stick bandage.”
“Let’s do this. And after, maybe I can pay for it with my body?” she suggestively offers.
“I’m a very expensive tattoo artist, Miss Kensington.”
“And I’m recently unemployed, Mr. Clarke, so I have all the time in the world to compensate you fairly. Also, I’ve been told I give amazing head.”
I can barely stay in character as I stifle a laugh. “Who told you that?”
Her arm is thrown over my neck, keeping me close as if she refuses to let me go. It’s not like I’d move even an inch away from her, anyway. “Some guy I met through a kinky dating app.”
“He probably knows what he’s talking about, then.”
“Oh, he does. Best sex I’ve ever had. Best man I’ve ever met. And the best ladder I’ve ever climbed.”
I’m still laughing when we kiss again. As we get lost in one another, I show her she’s my best everything, too. My sexy redhead, my proper little Miss Kensington, my naughty Gen…
God, how I love this fucking woman.
Epilogue
Gen
“Get naked,” I giggle with excitement.
Jake chuckles low as we both hurriedly tug and pull at our clothes. “I’m already halfway there.”
