Desolation Road (Torpedo Ink 4)

The door to the closet was open when she had the bath ready. She walked through and stopped dead in her tracks. The closet was nearly the size of her former house. It was that enormous. Really it was two separate closets. Absinthe sat on a long low bench, his shirt off and his jeans open, working on the cords of his motorcycle boots.

“Kneel down, Scarlet,” he said immediately and leaned back, indicating she take over.

That little thrill went through her. Her stomach did a slow roll and her sex fluttered, heat rushing through her veins to pool low. She dropped to her knees in front of him, deftly loosening the laces.

“Pull them off.”

That was much more difficult, and she couldn’t do it from the position she was in. She looked up at him after struggling for a moment or two with the first boot. “I’m going to have to stand.”

He smiled at her. His smiles were never completely genuine. She was beginning to know him, mostly through the connection that was getting stronger. She realized the more they touched, the stronger they established a bridge between them. Her brain had always worked fast, but she had thought of it in terms of speed in learning academics. She had quick reflexes, which allowed for physical capabilities as well. This was something else altogether.

She wanted to be able to make him really smile. To find a way. She hadn’t seen him smile at any of his fellow club members either. She knew if she could have a genuine laugh, one completely real, it would be a gift. “I don’t know what you want me to do,” she admitted.

“You didn’t ask, baby.”

That voice, so gentle, played over her skin so gently it felt like the touch of fingers. She wondered if that was part of his gift. Could he do that? Make a sound feel like an actual physical stroke? She stood up, graceful because she had good balance and for him, she wanted to be as sensual as possible.

She tugged and removed first one boot and then the other. Before she could strip away his socks, he reached out and slipped his fingers through the tight red curls adorning her mound.

“Love the fire in these curls, ledi. You’re my little sexy kiska. We’re going to trim them down, but never get rid of them. I like them far too much.”

Absinthe stroked caresses through the red hair, and each time the pads of his fingers moved confidently over her curls, they dipped lower to her lips and clit as if he owned that part of her. Every word he spoke sent flames licking at her sensitive skin right along with his touch, as if his tongue held fire and he could turn her body into an inferno anytime he wanted.

“You make me feel sexy, Absinthe,” she blurted out without thinking and then shook her head and removed his socks.

“You are sexy, Scarlet. I’ve never found another woman more sensual.” He put one hand on her belly and eased her back a step so he could stand up, stripping his jeans off as he did. “Everything about you is sexy. Go get in the tub, babe. I’m right behind you.”

She was very conscious that he meant it. Absinthe simply tossed his clothes at a hamper and followed her to the bathtub. She could feel his eyes on her the entire way. She stepped into the bathtub and slid into the hot water. The tub was deeper than she expected, the color, teal, turning the water an incredible shade of blue.

Absinthe got into the steaming water directly behind her, his legs wide, pulling her body back into his so she was sitting between his legs. Immediately he cupped the weight of her breasts in his large hands, his thumbs gently strumming over her nipples. She let her head fall back against his chest and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of him playing with her nipples.

She loved being with him, skin to skin, close to him, the heat of the water rising around them, melting her body into his so she felt like she was sharing the same body with him. She let herself drift off for the first time in so long she couldn’t remember. She always had to be so hyperaware of everything. So vigilant. Here, with Absinthe, she felt safe. Peace settled into her as his hands moved over her body, claiming her.

Ordinarily, she didn’t like anyone touching her. She had tried using money to exchange for the needed lessons in survival training, and most of the time it had worked, until Adrik. He’d been merciless. Daunting. She’d nearly given up until she realized he was the real deal. An assassin, and he could really teach her the things she needed to know in order to get to the man who had taken his friends to her little sister’s home and beaten and raped her. This was the man who would show her what to do.