“We settled on in vitro using a surrogate. We saved a long time to afford the process, and it took several rounds before the surrogate got pregnant with a viable baby. That particular round, it had been my semen.”
The marker, which had been moving quickly, slowed. “That shouldn’t have mattered,” Javi said.
“I don’t know if it did, officially. But I suspect that he felt cheated, that he was supposed to have a baby, and he didn’t feel like he was, now. Before we could truly talk about it, though, he left. It was abrupt. The surrogate was barely three months pregnant when he asked me for a divorce.”
“Shit,” Javi whispered.
“Shit, indeed. And I think the surrogate panicked almost as much as I did. But I assured her I wanted the baby. We ended up becoming friends, and I was able to be there when Giuliana was born.”
My jaw clenched when I thought about what came after. “Kyle never called. He didn’t ask about her. As soon as the divorce was granted, he virtually disappeared. One of the things that got me through it all was coming up with a plan. One where I was able to protect Giuliana and me from being hurt again. I was… I was so afraid.
“So if you’re wondering why I kept pushing you away…” I reached back to squeeze a firm thigh with my hand. “It was because I was wildly attracted to you from the get-go.”
Javi’s laugh was rich like velvet. “You mean the party? I thought you were going to call the cops on me.”
“I was, actually. My brother, Mason, is a cop. But then you opened the door, and I just lost the nerve. You’ve got a really good lean, you know? The way you lean on doors and counters and stuff. It makes me melt.”
“Note to s-self: Good lean,” Javi joked. “Well, I’m glad you were able to look past my appearance, give me a chance.”
“Look past it? It’s one of the things I like about you, Javi. You’re so beautiful, inside and out. I know how corny that sounds, but it’s true. Aside from Giuliana, I think you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
He kissed my neck then. “Your drawing is finished. Wanna see?”
He scooted off me and walked me over to the large, full-length mirror I had in my bedroom. When I peered over my shoulder, my breath was stolen by what I saw: Javi had perfectly captured Giuliana as she smiled, cheeks puffed and rounded. It looked so much like her that I ached at its beauty.
Up until now I’d never considered a tattoo, but seeing my daughter’s face on my back, a reminder of the choices I’d had to make and the joy she’d brought me nonetheless, I knew it needed to be permanent.
“Do you like it?” Javi asked, sounding more like a nervous schoolboy than the professional artist he was.
“Are you kidding me? I love it. Would you tattoo it for real? On me?”
Javi grabbed my hand. “Of course. It would be an honor to do it.”
He pulled me to him and kissed me again, and it was different than the kisses before. This kiss started so soft it was a whisper, a breath, teasing me until I started chasing him, desperate for more. And he gave it. Javi kissed me like I was fine wine, like he needed to savor me.
My cock thickened, swelling with need. But I wanted him to know how appreciative I was of his art. Of him, and all that he gave me. “I want to suck you.”
I dropped to my knees in front of him before he could say anything and pulled his boxer briefs off, freeing the beautiful cock they’d held. It sprang out, veined and thick, the tip glistening with precum. My tongue darted out for that first taste and it was perfection, salty and musky and so very Javi.
My lips circled the tip and I ran my tongue back and forth across the slit until Javi hissed and his hips bucked a little. Inch by inch, I took him into my mouth, being sure to lick and taste every bit of him. When he hit the back of my throat, I groaned at his appreciative, “Oh, fuck, yes.”
I sucked hard and slow, using my hand at the base of his cock, marveling at its hardness, while I moved my mouth up and down. When I felt the