Virile (Whiskey Run Savage Ink 1)

I’ve thought about what I’m going to do if she doesn’t show up. There won’t be any stopping me. I know she’s scared of how her father will react, but I won’t let him stand in our way. I dreamed about Gracie last night and the life we would have together. I know she’s the one, and I’m not going to give up on us or our future.

When the clock strikes eleven and she’s still not here, I grab my keys. I no sooner get out the front door of the shop and lock it up when I hear her. “Hey, Aiden.”

“You came,” I say stupidly. I had hoped she would and hadn’t doubted it until the last hour or so.

“Yeah.” She nods, looking over her shoulder as if she’s being followed.

I stride toward her. “Are you okay?”

She nods, but instead of looking at me, she’s looking down at the sidewalk. I walk toward her, holding out my hand. “Come on, my apartment is upstairs.”

She reaches for me, and I wrap her hand in mine, taking her up the side stairs to my apartment. I open the door and hold my breath. I know this is nothing like her family home. The apartment has been decorated with furniture I got on sale at local stores. Nothing fancy and honestly, I’ve never worried about things like this before. But with Gracie, I do. I want her to like it here.

She walks into the room and straight to the wall of artwork. I’ve had a lot of my designs framed, and they’re hanging on the wall in various forms. “Are these all yours?”

I nod and walk up behind her. She’s staring up at them, pointing out what she likes about different ones, and I go to the side so I can see her face. But what I see shocks me. It was dark outside, and I totally missed this. “Gracie, what’s wrong? Your eyes are swollen, your nose is red... what happened?”

She’s shaking her head. “Nothing. Nothing is wrong.”

But I don’t believe her. I tilt her chin up with my finger. “Is it your dad? Did he upset you?”

She clenches her eyes shut tightly and nods. “Yeah, he did. But I’m here now, and I don’t want to think about my dad.”

I want to know so badly what is wrong with her, but she won’t tell me. I don’t want to upset her even more than she obviously already is. “Okay, but eventually you’re going to have to tell me, Gracie. I’m not okay with sneaking around. I want everyone to know you’re mine.”

Her eyes widen. “But you just met me...”

I nod as I take a step toward her. I’m right up against her, and I can feel the brush of her breasts on my stomach with every breath she takes. “Yeah, I just met you... a little over twenty-four hours ago, but it’s enough to know that I want you to be mine. There’s a connection between us that I’ve never felt before, and I’m not going to let you go, Gracie. I want you.”

Her hands go to my waist, and she tilts her head backwards. “Will you kiss me, Aiden?”

I lean down and press my lips to hers. I intend to go easy, but she’s hungry for my touch, opening her mouth like I taught her to. Our tongues tangle against one another, and her hands are moving up and down my chest. She lifts my shirt, pressing her hands against my warm torso. I pull back, panting. “I didn’t ask you here for this. We can wait. I don’t want to rush you.”

She’s shaking her head before I can even finish. “I don’t want to wait. Give me this, Aiden. Please, I need you.”

I cup her jaw with my hand, stroking my thumb across her swollen lower lip. “Are you sure?”

She nods, and I lift her up into my arms. Her legs go around my waist, and I put my hands on her ass, holding her tightly against me. Already, my cock is hard, pressed against her hot, molten center. Our lips meet, and I forget everything else except the precious woman in my arms.

I carry her into the bedroom and sit down on the bed with her in my lap. She is pulling at my shirt almost desperately, and I lift my arms so she can take it off. She stares at me, her fingers tracing the ink on my body. Her touch is like a spark, causing a flame to shoot through my body. “I wondered...”

“Wondered what?” I ask, pulling her shirt over her head. Her breasts are large, pouring out of her white bra. Her nipples are hard, and I touch them through the thin material. She gasps, pressing her body into my hands.

She moans, and her head falls backwards. “I wondered if you were tattooed everywhere.”