I smiled as he reached me, kissing my shoulder as he pulled my body into his.
‘Transformation, rebirth, renewal,’ I said, tilting my head back to rest on his shoulder. ‘Why?’
‘What would you choose if you wanted to signify “forever”?’ he whispered, brushing my ear with his mouth.
I turned around fully, goosebumps forming across my arms as he gazed at me, his eyes shifting down to my lips as I spoke.
‘The ouroboros,’ I replied with a smile, using my nail on his collarbone to make a circle, then a figure of eight motion. ‘It’s a snake eating its own tail,’ I explained, his fascination clear as he stared. ‘It means infinity, the eternal cycle.’
He nodded, swallowing, hesitating for a moment as he looked down.
I used my fingers to tilt his head to meet my eyes, just as he always did to me.
‘Yes, I’ll tattoo it for you,’ I said, smiling again as I watched his dawning realization, that I knew what he was thinking, what he wanted to ask. ‘And I’ll do the same design for myself too,’ I added, feeling him become very still.
‘Where?’ he whispered, taking my hand, his eyes beginning to glaze a little.
I knew what he was asking, knew he was too afraid to say it.
‘I’m not scared,’ I reassured him, knowing, at every single level, how much I meant it. ‘I’m never leaving you again,’ I added, reaching up to touch his mouth with mine for a moment. ‘Where would you like us to have it?’
He closed his eyes briefly. Then, lifting my left hand to his lips, he held my gaze as he kissed the lower half of my fourth finger.
We said nothing for a moment, not needing words for what this was, what it meant.
But as I nodded my answer, he used his left arm to reach down and scoop me up, choking a laugh, his face alight with something between complete happiness and disbelief. I placed my hands either side of his mouth as we kissed.
We gave everything we had to each other, every last barrier removed.
So, with everything spoken and unspoken, we eventually arrived back at Shelby’s. The auction was well under way, the bar packed tight as we approached the doors.
Jesse stopped me for a moment, raising my left hand to his lips again.
‘I can’t believe you organized all this for me, for my mom,’ he said, pulling me into him, the feel of his body against mine after the past couple of hours setting it alight all over again.
‘Team effort,’ I breathed. ‘Finally figured out that most things in life are better with others, shit that I could never do by myself.’
He smiled, his eyes holding mine.
‘Guess I need to figure out whether this whole bull riding thing is worth getting back into again,’ he said slowly. ‘I don’t want to be stressing you out every weekend.’
I shook my head.
‘It’s your decision,’ I replied, adamant that I wouldn’t be the reason he gave up on anything. ‘And I’m going to need your help here, because, fuck . . . this will be my first healthy relationship,’ I admitted, butterflies releasing as his gaze softened with such obvious adoration that it almost stopped me. ‘But if it’s something you love, that you’re passionate about, I’ll be right with you. I might need a whiskey or three just before you ride, but I’ll toughen up.’
He chuckled, shaking his head.
‘First of all,’ he started, releasing my hand to brush his thumb over my lips, ‘I don’t ever want you toughening up. The way you care, how much you feel everything – it’s one of the things I love most about you.’ He leant in, his lips touching mine for a moment, not quite letting us take it further before pausing. ‘And second of all, it is my decision, but we’ll make it together, as partners. Because whatever I love about bull riding doesn’t come close to loving you, to what I know we’re gonna have together.’
I grabbed him then, pushing us gently against the doors as I opened my mouth to him, heard him groan as my tongue teased his lips.
‘Hey! Didn’t you book a damn hotel room for that? C’mon, Lil’s up next!’ Lottie poked her head round the door, winking as I pulled back reluctantly.
‘Cock-blocker,’ I muttered as she disappeared back inside.
Jesse laughed.
‘You know I booked two nights there for us,’ he whispered, leaning down to brush the edge of my ear. ‘A whole weekend alone, away from the ranch, to show me what you can do with that tongue.’
