Earth(71)

"Is Lucy – gay?"

Now I was in a full out grin. "What do you think?" I teased.

He didn't notice. "Look, everyone does what they have to do to survive. I'm not going to hold anything against—"

"I'm not a lesbian," I said, cutting him off. I put the canteen in his hand and scooted closer. "Erika is a good friend." I took a pillow, hugging it to my chest. "There are good people in One Less. We need to consider that as we are figuring out what to do."

He leaned into me, nudging me with his shoulder. "I told you – we'll talk plans later."

"Okay." I straightened my back, the smile returning to my face. "What else do you want to know about Lucy, since we are on the subject?"

He turned the full brunt of his glowing, green eyes on me. "I want to see Lucy's tattoos. All of them."





Chapter 45





Control Freak





I took the canteen back from him, before he even took a drink. I downed the rest of the wine. My head swam in pure delight. I shifted in front of him on my knees and removed my shirt, then my bra. When I glanced at him again, he lifted up to his knees to look me in the eye.

His hand went to my cheek, tracing the outline of the cherry blossom branches.

"Maybe a little too obvious, don't you think?" he asked.

"I didn't ask for it – they just did what they wanted."

"Permanent makeup, too?" His hand traced over my eyelids and across my eyebrows.

I nodded.

"And your back…" He drifted around me, running his hand down and around my waist. "Almost all of it is covered with ink."

I stayed silent, letting him explore.

"The scar is almost completely invisible. The tattoo artist really knew how to shade." His hand hovered over my shoulder.

"Artists," I said.

"Hmm?"

"There were two of them."

His hand drifted up my neck, mumbling the words, "Earth, air, fire, water. That’s a popular one with Wiccans."

He came around in front of me again, pulling me up so we were both standing. He held my good wrist in the air, reading the bracelet of ink to himself. His lips moved with the words. He curled his fingers into mine. "I got a tattoo, also. Want to see it?"

"You did? Yes, of course I want to see." I looked up at him with wide eyes.

He stepped back, taking off his shirt. A dark splotch of ink over his heart was just visible.

"It isn't nearly as intricate as yours…" he trailed off.

I pulled him into the moonlight streaming through the windows of the observation tower. Light lit his chest, showing a small, fat bee. My throat constricted as I placed my hand over the symbol of the daughter I left behind.

"It's beautiful; thank you." I stepped in to him, meaning to bury my face in his chest.

Instead, he lifted my chin, guiding my lips to his. I opened my mouth, allowing him in.

He pulled the rest of me into him. "You're not going back, I can't let you leave again. Kaitlyn…and Lucy, stay here with me." His fingers dug into my waist.

"Shut up," I mumbled. "We'll talk plans later."

His hands moved down, then lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist. He stumbled forward until I was pressed against the glass window. His hips pinned me in place.

"People will see," I protested.

He held my hands out to the side while he ran his tongue up my neck. "Let them."

My entire back tattoo was on display. Shivers raked up and down my body, paralyzing me. Finally, he released me and my bare feet touched the floor. He unzipped my pants, slowly sliding them down my thighs until I stepped out. I did the same for him.

We paused apart, our eyes running up and down the length of each other's bodies.

"It's been so long," I whispered, folding my arms over my midsection.

He stepped in. "It's still me."

"I know." I ran my hand over the stubble on his cheek, then let it drop. "It's just – I'm not sure how much of me is left."

He took my hand, entwining our fingers. "I don't have any protection. Maybe we shouldn't. I mean, what if you—"

"I can't get pregnant again." I swallowed hard. "At least, I don't think I can."

"Okay," he whispered. "Then let's find out how much of Kaitlyn is left." He took my arm at the elbow, guiding me to the pillows. "Lay down."

I obeyed, biting at my lip.

He followed me down. "Stop that. I'll do the only biting tonight." He ran his tongue the length of my lower lip, then nibbled at the corner. His knee snaked up in between my legs giving him access. I melted, relaxing my legs. It felt good to let someone else be in charge of my destiny; especially when destiny ended in an orgasm.