Page 83 of Double the Redemption

She let out a weak laugh. The man was crazy. Easing back, her body buzzed with pleasure, and she stretched on top of him. She laid her head on his chest and rasped, “I only came out here to check on you.”

“And check me out again? I saw the way you were looking at me when I arrived.”

She gave him a bland stare. “You knew exactly what you were doing. Maybe I should be the jealous type with you walking around like that and anyone seeing you.”

“Taz did tell me it was going to be hard to resist me, given how good looking I was,” Ink joked.

Yeah, she could picture Taz saying something like that. With her fingertips, she traced his skin, gently running over the lines of his tattoos.

“I love your tattoos,” she murmured. “It’s like you’re a walking piece of artwork.”

“I’ve always loved tattoos, and they’ve been a way to express myself. I only tattoo important things. On my chest, I have a heart and my mother’s name. Cliché, but she loved those tattoos, and it was one of the only ones she got to see me get before she died.”

“What do you think she’d think of the rest of it?” She eased down a little more, peering at tattoos on his abs in the moonlight. She was wholly aware of his hard cock still pressing against her but ignored it, trying to muster the courage to do what she wanted next.

“She’d roll her eyes and ask me if I planned on tattooing my balls too.” He snickered.

Her eyes went wide. “What? She’d have said that?”

“She had a wicked sense of humor. And super dry. People didn’t always get it or appreciate it, but yeah, she would have. I used to joke that I’d get her face tattooed on my ass, and she’d tell me she had no plans to be staring at my ass crack and asshole for the rest of her life. She had to stare at my face enough as it was, and that was close enough.”

Naomi giggled. “I’d have loved your mom. That was good.” She ran her hands over the exposed V up to his hip bones. She felt the tension building in him, but he said nothing. “Did these hurt?”

“Like a bitch. They’re right over the bone, but it was worth it. They’re lines that run over my hips and up into the piece on my back. I have the club’s patch, but I added a few twists to give it a bit more life. I made the dragon bigger, fire breathing down over my back and hips. It was a huge-ass piece that took months to finish, but it was fucking worth it. Some of my best work.”

“You drew it yourself?”

“It was too important to allow anyone else to attempt to draw what I wanted. And it took me longer than that to find someone I trusted to do it justice.”

“Can I see it?”

He took a minute to answer. “Baby, if I’m getting naked for you, it’s to see it all, and I’m not sure that’s a good idea tonight.”

Her heart pounded. She looked at him again, really looked. This wasn’t a step she could take lightly. It was too important. Too poignant.

Was she terrified? Yes. Did she want him more than the terror? Yes. Was she ready for such a big step?

That was the thing, wasn’t it? A choice she couldn’t take back. She couldn’t regret it, because Ink’d been very clear about what it would mean. What it would change between them.

Permanently.

Her brain screamed at her to be careful, to think this through fully, but her body screamed at her to jump. To take the chance.

It was Ink. The man who’d been the one to make her feel comfortable.

To calm her panic attacks.

To hurt her.

Who spent time talking to her, sitting with her, and watching over her.

The man who was going to make her fall in love with him. Could she handle the heartbreak when it eventually came? She didn’t believe in a happily ever after for herself, but maybe, just this once, it would be worth the risk. Worth the pain at the end.

Or it could be the best decision she ever made.

That was the angel on her shoulder, the one that made her want to make the leap.

Ink just watched her, like he could tell she was struggling, processing. His fingers stroking along her back distracted her. His touches were light and careful, as if he was afraid he’d spook her.