Carson only granted her a brief silent reprieve before he held her hand and walked her directly to the bedroom, leaving his drink and her coffee waiting. Once inside her room, Carson didn’t move toward the bed, but to the bathroom where he started drawing a bath.
“You’ve had a long, stressful day, Sie. Why don’t you unwind a little.”
She loved the way he’d started using Asher’s nickname for her, Sie. It might not be her real name, but it was endearing, and felt comfortable and more real to hear him use the abbreviated version of the name she’d chosen for herself.
Hearing Carson refer to her in such a comforting way made her want to hear “Lila” come from his lips. She wondered if he would think it was a pretty name? A fitting one? Would he shorten it, too? Years ago, Asher used to call her “Li.”
Lost inside her head, Sienna allowed Carson to pull her to sit with him on the side of the tub. He proceeded to take her clothing off one piece at a time, touching and stroking her entire body along the way, bringing little shivers and goose bumps to the surface.
He slid her tank top off in one swift motion, pulling it straight up and off, revealing her lack of a bra. Her breasts sprang to life, reaching for only his touch. Kneeling in front of her, Carson’s hands were magic as they slid down her body, rounding her butt and making their way back up to spend time tracing her rosebud tattoo, causing her nipples to pucker while waiting for him to come back to them.
She thought back to the day she got the tattoo. It was a reminder of how the life could literally be squeezed out of her. A flower wasn’t only symbolic of her stage name, but her life, and the actual meaning of her god-given name.
Sienna was a bloom, a botanical representation of life, just like Lila had once been. A flower could be strangled by its very own roots, and Lila was almost squeezed to death. She was a firm believer in God back in the day, but no more. Her parents and her marriage all in good faith took it all out of her. Being battered, hiding it, and having no one to turn to almost sucked her dry of life.
These days her tiny tattoo, the rose strangled by its own stem, was a constant reminder of how precious life was. She was a tiny bloom and every breath she took, each living moment, wasn’t to be taken for granted. It was up to her to stay alive. Belief in God didn’t save her once before.
She wouldn’t rely on God, or anyone else, ever again.
Carson still swirled his finger along the tattoo. “Does it mean anything special?” he asked while staring straight into her eyes, without stopping from tracing the design.
She couldn’t divulge everything that just went through her mind, but she owed him some truth. “It means life to me. How sweet and pure life can be when it blooms, it becomes something magnificent. I don’t know. When I was younger, I found beauty and some crazy meaning in the delicate flower design.”
Her hand reached out on its own volition and traced Carson’s markings on his forearm. Just the heat from touching his skin scorched Sienna. Their skin coming together was like a wildfire spreading through a wooded area.
“And this?”
“It’s ancient Arabic for alone. I, too, was much younger and feeling sorry for myself. No siblings, my mom up and gone since I was little, and I was the new guy in the FBI. I felt alone, and on one of my solo trips, I got this. Now it reminds me not to go back to that place of despair. To enjoy life. I guess our tattoos are pretty similar.”
Sienna nodded. “It’s hard to feel alone. I know, but we make the most of what we have. Like Asher made a family at the club for all of us. He, too, didn’t have a mom or dad to speak of, so he created a life for himself. I guess we all found one another for a reason. Like you and me.”
Feeling relaxed and sentimental was dangerous, Sienna realized. Too many truths were rolling from her mouth. She stiffened, determined not to reveal any more.
Then Carson reached over and kissed Sienna with a force and power that was both beautiful and aggressive, which brought a headier problem for her. They were in unknown territory, and she was trying to avoid emotional land mines as they rushed to each other.
It just didn’t seem possible.
Steam from the hot bath hung like a cloud of want and desire, waiting to burst all around them as Carson rubbed her arms, massaging her tired limbs, stopping to caress her breasts, his fingers giving a small squeeze to her nipples. He finally licked softly around one nipple, and then the other. He pinched each nipple again and soothed the slight but decadent pain with the warm heat of his tongue. The mixing of hot and cold on her breasts drove a little moan from Sienna’s throat.
Finally, he leaned her slightly back, keeping an arm wrapped around her back for support, and slid her yoga pants down her legs. She was totally bare underneath, and he took his time running his strong, rough hands down her smooth legs, coming back up again, slipping one finger inside her most sensitive area where her thighs met.