The possessive edge in his voice sends a shiver down my spine.
Unable to resist the pull of his stormy eyes, I relent. “Fine. I’ll come hang out and you can do my tattoo.”
His lips curve into a victorious smile. “Awesome.” Liftingmy hand, he presses his lips to my knuckles. “I can start working on the design tonight.”
“Okay,” I agree, suddenly excited. “But I get final approval.”
“Of course.” Standing, he moves around the table and pulls me to my feet. “You’re going to love it, I promise.”
Sliding his hands down to my hips, he pulls me against him. “And I promise to be gentle,” he growls in my ear. “For your first time.”
I roll my eyes and grin. “You are such an ass.”
“Pretty sure we’ve already come to that conclusion,” he grins wickedly before capturing my mouth in a searing kiss.
Later, curled up in bed with Goonie purring at my feet, I scroll through tattoo designs on my phone. Nothing seems quite right. They’re all too generic, too universal, or just not... me.
With a sigh, I toss my phone aside and close my eyes, trying to visualize what I would want permanently etched on my skin. Something meaningful. Something that captures this crazy, unexpected chapter of my life.
The squeak of my bedroom door makes me open my eyes. Ryder, shirtless and barefoot, is standing in the doorway with a sketchbook in his hand.
My hearts skips when he leans against the doorjamb all sexy and shit. “Can’t sleep?”
I shake my head. “Just thinking about tomorrow.”
“I came up with an idea.” He pushes off the frame and comes over to sit on the edge of the bed. “If you’re interested.”
Curious, I sit up as he opens his sketchbook and turns it toward me.
On the page is a beautifully rendered sketch of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, his enigmatic smile stretching across his face as he fades into wisps of smoke.
Beneath the image, in an elegant, flowing script, are the words:
We’re All Mad Here
My breath catches. “Alice in Wonderland.”
“I remember you told me it was one of your favorite books as a kid.” His voice is soft. “And it seemed... fitting.”
I trace my finger over the quote and something clicks into place. “It does kinda feel like I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole.”
“Right?” He chuckles. “A man with a tragic past who appeared in your kitchen out of nowhere and a writer who creates fictional worlds—it is all a bit mad, isn’t it?”
“It’s perfect,” I whisper as I study the intricate details.
The cat Ryder rendered is both whimsical and slightly dark. With intelligent eyes that seem to look right through you, they glint with mischief as his body dissolves into nothingness. Smoke curls and twists around the letters making them look as if they are floating.
“Did you just draw this?”
“Yeah.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he almost looks shy. “I was thinking maybe here.” Reaching out, he lifts up my shirt, brushing his fingers along my ribcage, just below my breast. “The cat could wrap around your side, with the quote following the curve.”
His touch makes me shiver and my skin erupts in a riot of goosebumps. “Yes,” I breathe. “That’s exactly where I want it.”
“I can adjust anything you don’t like,” he offers. His eyes stay locked with mine as his fingers continue to slowly caress my skin, but I shake my head.
“No. It’s...” I search for the right words. “It’s exactly what I didn’t know I wanted.”
Something intense and possessive flashes in his eyes. “Good.”
