Heartless (Steel Demons MC #6) - Crystal Ash Page 0,79

warm, husky from just enough alcohol for a light buzz. I would have swooned if he hadn’t been holding on to me. I stole a few more kisses before he released me, watching his wide shoulders swing through the door of his bedroom.

I was tipsy enough to consider following him, closing the door, and finally having our first moment alone since he got back. Preferably several moments. Even more preferably, all night long. I wanted him on top of me, inside me, all over my skin. Every taste of him leading up to now felt like meager scraps. Nothing was enough until we had consumed each other whole.

The tattoo would take a few hours, which felt like an eternity right then. I had already waited days, months really, to make this man truly mine. I was at the point where I didn’t care who saw. If Shadow wanted to take me bent over the couch, I’d get into position before he finished the sentence.

Despite his growing comfort in social situations, I knew he wouldn’t go that far. So I had to keep being a good hostess for the next few hours at least.

Considering people were still using our kitchen table to eat, Shadow decided to set Larkan up on the coffee table. People gathered around to watch, and the newest Demon turned out to be not as wiggly as I thought.

“Can you put Noelle’s name on the skull’s forehead?” he asked at one point.

“You better not!” Noelle cried from across the room.

“No,” Shadow answered in his more serious tone. “The Demon can’t be altered in any way. I can put her name somewhere else, though.”

“My ass, then.” Larkan nodded determinedly.

“We’re divorced!” Noelle bellowed, unable to contain her laughter. “Shortest marriage ever!”

“Love you too, babe!” Larkan laced his hands behind his head as Shadow worked.

People started filtering out of the house as the darkest areas of the tattoo were getting filled in. Governor Vance, Finn, and Lis were among the first to leave, making cracks about being too old to party with us as they said their goodbyes.

The house had finally quieted down, with only a few guests remaining as Shadow made the finishing touches on Larkan. Most of them talked quietly with my other men across the house in the sunroom, which they were using as a smoking lounge.

My fourth man twisted and stretched, rolling his neck around on his shoulders once he finally put the tattoo gun down. Larkan thanked him and rolled off the coffee table, looking pretty exhausted himself.

“Had enough of socializing yet?” I asked Shadow, coming up behind him to rub his shoulders.

“Just about hit my limit, yeah.” He turned to look at me. “That never includes you, though.”

“Smart thing to say,” I smirked, circling around him until I landed in his lap.

He snapped his gloves off and pulled me higher up his thigh, kissing me like a starving man. My pulse shot up, heat throbbing between my legs. He was just as responsive and giving as ever, but his kisses seemed far more eager than ever before.

Our lips parted slowly on a breath, his eyes meeting mine before flicking down slightly. I couldn’t help myself from leaning in, tracing that scar tissue through his brow and eyelid with my lips.

“Come to my room with me?” he asked so softly, like he was afraid of what the answer might be.

I slid a hand up his chest, the organ inside pounding like a drum under my palm. That steady, firm beat contrasted with the buzzing in my body, the anticipation of finally being with him like a beehive in my chest.

“I’d love that, Shadow.”

Twenty-One

MARIPOSA

Following Shadow into his room, I turned and locked the door behind me with a soft click. He stood in the center of the room when I turned back to face him, his face a mix of curiosity and apprehension.

“You okay?” I approached him, taking both of his hands.

His fingers squeezed around mine. “I’m just not sure what I’m supposed to do.”

“That’s okay.” I offered him a smile. “We’ll learn together. Do you want to sit down?”

He backed up slowly, lowering to sit at the edge of his bed. I placed a knee on either side of his thighs, lowering into his lap as my palms skimmed up his massive shoulders. In the familiar position, some tension drained out of him already, his gaze softening as his hands came around my back.

“You know how to kiss me,” I told him, nudging my nose against