INKED 8: A Tattoo Shop Reverse Harem

Encouraging me to lie next to him, I glance at the sky and then the app, finding the real stars and then matching them to the constellations on the screen. Niall points them out one by one, saying their strange names in his deep, rumbling voice, and I shift closer so that I can see what he’s talking about. At least, that’s what I tell myself.

Really, I’m seeking out the warmth of his body, wanting him to get closer. The more time he takes over our date, the more impatient I get until I roll onto my side to watch him rather than the stars.

God, he’s gorgeous. The ring he has through his eyebrow adds just a hint of danger, and his tattoos are just beautiful. I’ve never wanted to mark my skin, but the more time I spend with the men from Ink Factor, the more I can appreciate the permanent beauty of what they create.

Eventually, Niall must sense me looking because he turns and smiles. “What are you looking at, Miss K?”

“You,” I say. “Do you ever get weirded out seeing yourself reflected back by your brothers?”

“No,” Niall says. “They’ve been with me from the point of our creation. Although we have our differences, they’re like an autonomous extension of me.”

“I keep wondering if it’s going to be weird, you know, being with Dex after Lex, or Kole after Kase. With you guys, I have to worry about two more versions of you.”

“I think you’ll forget the similarities because of the differences.”

“I hope so.”

“Anyway, each of the dates is going to be varied, so that should help too.”

We smile at each other, and the silence between us joins the emptiness of the atmosphere all around us. Since darkness fell, the intermittent bird call has faded, as though they fell asleep with the disappearance of the sun.

Now it feels as though we’re in this place all alone. The darkness, rather than feeling empty, is like a protective cloak all around us.

Niall reaches out to touch my hair, letting a strand pass through his thumb and index finger in a way that feels surprisingly tender. Then he leans in to kiss me with the lightest of touches, sending the hairs rising across my scalp. Our kiss gets deeper as he rolls closer, his leg resting between mine, thigh pressing upward with light pressure that makes me want to moan.

The wind blows, rustling my hair and chilling my skin, and without missing a beat, Niall reaches for the spare blanket, drawing it over us.

There’s something so sweet about the way he touches me, and combined with the setting. I feel as though I’ve taken a step into my past. This is the kind of date that high school kids set up to lose their virginity. I might not be a virgin, but being with Niall is new, and being outside is too.

His hand traces the line of my dress across my breasts, sending tingles through me like ripples across the lake water. My fingers trace the muscular strength of his back, drawing him closer, relishing his weight and warmth.

There’s no shyness when he uncovers my breast, or nervousness when he bends to suck my nipples into tight, yearning points. I don’t worry about what he will think of me tomorrow when he pushes up the hem of my dress and finds the delicate lace of my panties with the very tips of his fingers.

Tomorrow doesn’t matter because this is all about today. It’s about putting all the things that have wounded me firmly back in the past. It’s all about living in the moment and letting myself feel. It’s about shedding old skin and growing a new one that isn’t scarred and fractured but new and shiny.

His first touch between my legs is tentative and gentle and even more arousing because of it. He’s a man who knows what he’s doing but doesn’t want to rush. He’s not using this experience to make things happen quickly. He’s letting me adjust and enjoy.

Our bodies move with a synchronicity that should only be present between couples who’ve been together for years. When his fingers push inside me, and I cry out, my voice echoes in the emptiness around us.

My hands seek his skin, tracing the undulations of his abs and the roundness of his pectorals.

There’s so much that is new to discover. When he opens his pants, I don’t notice the piercing at the end of his cock until it grazes against my skin, and I tense.

“It’ll feel good,” he whispers as though he knows exactly what I’m thinking. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

He doesn’t ask me if it’s okay to push inside me. He doesn’t need to because, by that point, my legs are spread wide and my pussy is wet against his thigh.