Chapter 17
Brandon
She’s lying. I can see right through her. Travis’ eyes catch mine, and he raises his brows in question. I nod and tilt my head toward the door, telling him I want them gone so I can figure out what in the hell is going on with my girl.
“It’s supposed to snow tonight; we should probably go before it starts.” Travis picks up his sleeping daughter and gently puts her coat on.
I still can’t believe he’s a dad. A damn good one, too. Never thought I’d say it, but I’m jealous of him. I feel like that should be me. I should be the one who has a family first, not my little brother. I’m really fucking happy for him, but the underlying jealousy itches at my skin.
“Oh, no. Please don’t go because of me. I’m totally fine,” Mary pleads and grabs my arm, asking for support.
“He’s right,” Charlotte chimes in. “The snow was starting on the way back here. I’m not comfortable being out in it with the baby.”
Mary nods but disappointment sits on her face. We say goodbye, and as soon as I shut the door, she plops down on the couch and flips through the channels. I stand there and watch her. Her left leg bounces up and down. She twirls her hair. Her eyes are on the TV, but she’s not actually watching it.
I stand in front of her, blocking the screen. “Talk to me.”
“What have you done the past ten years?”
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly that. What have you done with your life?
I rub my hand over the scruff on my face and contemplate my answer. What I’ve done since I was eighteen is look for her. I’ve been lonely. I was running with no end in sight . . . until I found her. But I don’t think that’s what she wants to hear.
“I went to college and got a job.”
“No . . .” She stands and paces in a circle around the couch then sits on the armrest. “I mean what have you done? Did you go on a vacation, clubbing, get a tattoo?”
“Yes, yes, and yes.”
“See? Guess what I’ve done? Nothing. None of them.” She stands again and walks around to grab my hands, smiling. “Let’s go get tattoos.”
“Uhh . . . I’m not so sure that’s a good idea . . .”
“Why? I think it’s a great idea! I’ve missed out on so much, and when I was sitting there having my nails done, I realized just how much.”
Instead of the normal sadness or disappointment she usually has when talking about the last decade, she actually seems happy right now. “So something did happen at the salon?”
“No. Well, kind of. I was getting my nails done and a bunch of young girls were talking about all this cool stuff they did. I realized that I haven’t done any of it. I’m going to be thirty-one next month. I want some damn life experiences!” She jumps up and down and kisses my cheek. “Come on. You don’t have to, but I want a tattoo.”
I can’t deny her so I nod and we drive to the tattoo shop. The entire time, she can’t stop smiling. When we walk inside, every person turns to see who walked in, and she squeezes my hand a little tighter. I make sure to look at every dude in the place, and make my possession known when I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her into me to kiss her head then step up to the counter.
I haven’t been in many tattoo shops, but this one looks like all the others. Artistic drawings on the walls, heavy metal music playing, and the buzz of tattoo guns vibrating.
A young woman with spiky bleach blond hair and more rings than I can count in her face smiles at us. “Hi. Can I help you?”
“Hey,” I answer, then wait for Mary. She’s the one getting ink, not me. I already have one I got on my arm when I was eighteen.
I nudge Mary when she still hasn’t said anything, too busy looking at all the jewelry in the counter. “Hi. Umm. I want to get a tattoo.”
“Okay. Do you know what and where?”
“Yes.”
Her response shocks me, and I raise my eyebrows at her. “You do?” I thought this was a split second decision.
“Yeah.”
She turns back to the girl and lifts her shirt up, exposing her ribs. Hell no. I grab the material and pull it back down, glancing around the room to make sure none of these fuckers saw her. “Leave your shirt down and just point to it,” I whisper.
The girl behind the counter laughs. “Don’t worry. The guys are all really professional. And trust me, a ribcage is about one of the least exciting places they look at.” She raises her eyebrows, and I laugh, my mood immediately lightening.
I can’t help the fierce possessiveness I feel, though. It’s been rooted in me since the moment I met her and has only intensified as the years went on. And now? Now, I don’t want any other man looking at her, let alone touching her soft skin.
“Do you do tattoos?” I ask.
“I do.”
“I want you doing hers.”
Mary laughs and gives me a little push. “If you’re available.”
She looks at the clock then at the appointment book. “I’ve got a couple of hours. What do you want done?”
Mary points to the spot right on her ribcage under the side of her right breast. “I want a stem of sweet peas.”
I try to hide my shock. Sweet peas are our flower.
“Cool. Do you have an image or do you want me to draw one?”
“Can you draw one? I think that’d be cool.”
“Sure. I’ll have you sign the paperwork while I get everything set up.”
I have to give my girl credit. She wanted something and she went for it. Instead of being bummed about missing out, she’s doing something. And I couldn’t be more proud of her.
We wait for about fifteen minutes before someone leads us to a room. I hold Mary’s hand and flinch every time her nails dig into my flesh. Seeing her in pain is the absolute last thing I want. If it were up to me, I’d take her away right now, but she insists she’s fine, so I have to deal with it. Over an hour later, my hand has indentations that I’m not sure will ever go away.
“Okay. All done.”
Mary hops off the chair and turns sideways in the mirror. “I love it,” she whispers. “It’s perfect. Thank you so much.”
“It looks great, babe. Just adds to your hotness.” I stand behind her and run my fingers over her pink skin, careful not to hurt her, and step back when the artist applies a bandage. I kiss Mary’s neck, and she melts into me.
“Yeah, so. I’ll just meet you guys up front.”
The door closes and I run my hand down her other side, clad in only her bra and a small towel, which I rip away and toss on the ground. “You’re so sexy. You know that, right?”
She gives a noncommittal grunt, and I grab her hair and tilt her head, allowing me access to the sensitive skin on her neck. Not giving a shit that we’re in a tattoo parlor, I kiss my way from behind her ear, down to her shoulder and back up again. “God,” I growl into her neck. “How do you always do this to me? Make me want to fuck you wherever we are. I want to sit in that chair and have you ride me.”
She sags back a bit and moans under her breath.
“Yeah. You’d like that wouldn’t you?” I squeeze her ass. “As much as I’d love nothing more than to have your tight pussy wrapped around my dick while you slide up and down until I explode inside you, I can’t risk someone else seeing you. It wouldn’t end well for them.”
She sighs deeply and turns around. “Let’s go.”
I have no choice but to follow her out. I grip the back of her jacket and give a little tug, halting her movements until she’s next to me again.
She absolutely refuses to let me pay, so I begrudgingly watch as she forks over some cash. As soon as I open the door, a wave of snow hits us.
“Oh, shit!” She jumps back and pushes me ahead of her so she can bury her head in my back.
I wrap an arm around her from behind and shuffle my feet as fast as I can to my car. After I help her get inside, I reach over her and start the car. Then I give her a kiss before I grab the snow brush from my trunk and wipe my windows off.
“How did it get so bad so fast?” she asks, when I finally get inside.
“We were in there for almost two hours and it was already started.” I shrug.
“Yeah, I guess.”
I concentrate on not sliding off the road and getting us home safely. Mary runs to the bathroom, and by the time I get in there, her jacket and shirt are already off and she’s staring at the tattoo in the mirror. She was supposed to leave the bandage on a little while longer, but apparently, she was too excited.
“Don’t you just love it?” Her fingers gently trace the green stem.
“I do. It’s beautiful.” I lean on the doorjamb.
“You know why I got this, right?”
“It’s our flower.” I sound like a little bitch, but whatever.
“It is.” She catches my eyes in the mirror. “Thank you for taking me.”
“You’re welcome.”
“And for everything else.”
“Really haven’t done much.”
She turns and hops up on the counter. My eyes fly to her breasts hidden beneath the black bra. I lick my lips, craving them, craving her.
Her throat clears, and when I make my way up to her face again, she’s smiling. “You helped me get my driver’s license reinstated, gave me a place to live, brought happiness back into my life, and gave me a future.” She jumps down and I straighten as she makes her way to me. Her hands land on my chest. “You love me, despite every single mistake I’ve made. I can’t help but worry, though.”
“Worry about what?” I rest my hands on her hips.
She hangs her head. “You’ll get sick of—”
I slam my mouth to hers, shutting her up. There is nothing about her I could get sick of. I back her into the sink until her ass hits the ledge then hold her face. “Shut up. I’m a grown ass man who knows what he wants. I fucking want you. Always have. No mistake you have made or will make will change that. I don’t want to hear that shit anymore. All right?”
“You can’t know that.”
Time to turn the tables. “What would make you leave me?”
She pulls her head back and grips the side of the counter. “What?”
“Right now. Are you happy with me? Do you want to be with me?”
“Of course,” she snaps.
“What is something that I could do that would make you not want to be with me?”
“I don’t know.”
“Nothing? I can do absolutely no wrong? I could beat you, and you’d stay?”
She gasps. “No. But you’d never do that.”
“Right. So give me an example. What is a mistake I could make that would cause you to leave me?”
She thinks for a moment. “If you cheated on me. I couldn’t forgive that.”
“And you know that would never fucking happen, right?”
“Well . . . yeah.”
“Would you ever cheat on me?” I love her more than the air I breathe, but cheating is an absolute no-go.
Her eyes narrow. “No.”
I growl just thinking about another man fucking her. “That’s the only thing you could do to push me away. Are you going to?”
“No.”
“See, then. Nothing you could do would make me leave you. Nothing you’ve done in the past, either. Don’t you understand that by now?”
Her shoulders slump. “Can’t you see that I don’t understand how you can still want the damaged girl you used to know? I’m trying here, Brandon. I really am. But I think it’s normal to have these doubts. Can you at least get that?”
If I step back and look at where she’s coming from, I guess I can. It only means I need to do more to prove I’m committed to her and only her for the rest of my life. To appease her, I nod my head. Her eyes lighten, and I know all she wants is to have her feelings validated.
I pick her up and carry her to the couch. “I believe you owe me a ride.”