Hard Checked (Ice Kings #4) - Stacey Lynn Page 0,77
in, biting her while I squeeze her tight, giving her everything.
All of me. However much she wants, I’ll give more.
“Shit,” I pant and kiss where I’ve bitten her. It’s enough to leave a mark and I like that. She’ll have to hide it.
Or show it off.
Let everyone know she’s mine now.
Possessiveness is not my natural inclination, but it’s there. With the mother of my child.
My girlfriend.
My head swims from the events of the day, the early morning wakeup call and plane ride and all that’s transpired since.
Shit. I’m pretty sure I say it again out loud, more of a breath against her heated flesh and let her comb her hands through my hair.
When I can think straight, I take us to my back and then roll us to our sides. I pull out only long enough to kiss Gigi’s belly which earns me a smile.
“Stay here. Let me get you cleaned up.”
“Thank God,” she says playfully. She throws her arms to the bed and sighs. “Because I don’t think I can move.”
“Thanks. Make me feel good. Maybe next time tell me I’m the biggest and best you’ve been with.”
She winks as I start to turn toward the bathroom. “You are. Definitely.”
I laugh and head to the bathroom where I wet a washcloth. After I’ve cleaned us up, I climb back into bed and throw the comforter over us.
She’s at my side, mermaid and butterfly tattoo at her shoulder I can’t help but kiss it.
“When do you have to get to work?”
“As soon as my legs remember how to work.” I laugh against her shoulder. “I didn’t think today would go like this.”
“Me neither. But I’m glad.”
She turns to me and kisses my temple. “Me too. I was so worried. And scared.”
“Hey. Stop. We’ll figure this out together, okay? All that’s important is that we’re together while we do it. At least to me.”
“You’re an even better man than I imagined you to be.”
I’ve already told her I like her and want to be with her so I don’t repeat myself. Actions speak louder than words anyway. I suspect we’ll both have our demons from failed relationships we’ll need to navigate soon enough.
“What are these tattoos for? I’ve always wanted to know.”
She chuckles, this melodic low sound and slides her fingers through my hair. Pretty sure she likes my long hair more than I do, she plays with it so much.
“Is that why you always kiss them?”
“I’ve always wanted to ask,” I admit. “And know you better. Know your secrets. What’s so important to you you’ll have it etched into your skin forever.”
“Why didn’t you ask?”
I pull back enough so I can meet her eyes directly. “I think I was afraid knowing would make me like you more than I thought I should.”
She swallows thickly and I pull her to me. She has a small flower inside her other hip I can find in the dark at this point and script on her ribs that looks like a poem or a song. I run my hand there, across the ink I can’t see.
“The butterflies and mermaid,” I prod when she stares at me like she either wants to kiss me again or more. Not that I’m complaining.
“My dad calls me butterfly. My mom started it when I learned how to ride a bike. She kept telling me to spread my wings and fly and let it take me to wherever I was called. My dad says it all the time now. When I went to him about taking off to Europe he said, ‘spread your wings and fly butterfly’ and I knew I had his acceptance what I needed to do.”
“I like that for you. That you had that and parents who gave that to you.”
“I miss my mom. All the time. But I look in the mirror every day and know without a doubt what she’d want for me and it helps.”
“I’m sorry you lost her.”
Her breath shakes and trembles as she inhales deeply. “The mermaid I got in Germany. They have a lot of different symbolizations, but mostly it was for femininity, independence, transformation. I was just divorced, figuring out who I wanted to become.”
I kiss her mermaid tail while she laughs and glances up. “I was also maybe a little lonely so I figured, what the hell.”
“What the hell.”
“I think I’ve always been someone willing to leap without looking.”
“I like that about you, too. You’ll keep life interesting.”