Holy Batman, he was ripped. Sure, she’d seen him without his shirt before, but this felt different.
Because he’s yours.
All those muscles, all that gorgeous ink covering his skin. That pierced nipple which was extremely sexy.
All. Yours.
Lucky bitch.
Okay, that voice was definitely not Mama’s. She had to giggle a bit.
He raised an eyebrow. “I take off my shirt and you giggle? Should I be insulted?”
“No, I was just thinking of how much Mama would disapprove of us. And how good that feels.”
He shook his head. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think I would have liked your mother.”
“Oh, it’s okay. She would have hated you. But Mama had terrible taste in men. She always saw the surface of people, never bothering to look underneath. I never want to make that mistake.”
“That first night you saw me, at the club, what did you think?”
“That you were the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen in my life. I also thought you looked terrifying. Like a fallen angel.”
“I thought you looked at the tats and immediately believed I wasn’t good enough for you.”
She shook her head. “You’ve got that wrong, I’m the one who could never be good enough for a man like you.”
“Uh-uh, none of that talk,” he said sternly. “That will just earn you a hot, red ass.”
“Even if it’s the truth?” she challenged, figuring she was pretty safe right now.
His gaze narrowed. “Just because I won’t spank you tonight, doesn’t mean I won’t save your punishment until you’re feeling better.”
What? No!
“That’s not fair!”
He tapped her nose. “And putting yourself down isn’t healthy or allowed. I am not better than you. I am not more important than you. In this relationship, you come first. It damn near killed me to let you go back to that house. I haven’t slept. I haven’t done anything but worry about you and then when I learned you’d disappeared…” He closed his eyes and dropped his head.
“I’m so sorry, Ink. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I know. But I’m still not happy that you insisted on going back. I’m gonna have to blister your ass for that.”
“I had to go back! And you agreed.”
“I did. Reluctantly. Still, I think taking my hand to your behind is gonna make me feel a hell of a lot better and it will remind you that your safety is paramount to me. No more risking yourself because you don’t think your life means anything.”
“It didn’t before. I was only existing, not living.”
“Not anymore,” he whispered to her. “From now on, you’re gonna fucking live. You’ll feel more, see more, dream more, be more. And I’ll be right there beside you.”
“I don’t want you to be anywhere else,” she replied.
He kissed her gently. “Come on. Let’s get you clean and into bed. You’re exhausted and so am I.”
She couldn’t help but blush as he stripped off her clothes. She kept her face down as she stood by the bath, fully naked. She should have known he wouldn’t let her get away with that.
“Look at me, brown eyes,” he said huskily.