Love and Tattoos Page 3

  Brax clucked his tongue in admonishment and he crossed his arms over his chest. The skull tats winked at her. “This isn’t about me,” he reminded her.

  “I’m right though, yes?”

  “You are.”

  “So, I know close to how many you have, but do you know for certain how many I have?”

  “Two.”

  It was her turn to cluck her tongue in disappointment. This was kind of fun, but she didn’t have to let him know that. “Oh you poor, misinformed man. That’s going to cost you your pants.”

  “Huh?” He shook his head in disagreement. “No. I’m not wrong. You have an art palette on your right shoulder blade and there’s a swirl behind your right ear.”

  “Still…” Her casual shrug was unapologetic. “You’re wrong. I have three.”

  He glared for a long moment and his squint told her he wasn’t sure she was being honest. “Okay,” he said, decision made. “I’ll bite. What’s the third?”

  “Words. Above and below the palette. It says “Got Art?” in a pink ombre color scheme.”

  “Now wait a minute.” The emphatic shake of his head had Annie laughing. “That could be considered part of the previous tattoo.”

  “But it wasn’t part of it. The palette was done before my senior year in college. The words were a graduation gift.”

  “I remember the pages and pages of palette designs you went through before drawing what you wanted. Who added the rest?

  “Joe,” they said in unison.

  “You had to know it would be him. He’d kill me if I let anyone else near me with a tattoo gun. You were out of town on a case or something and I was home to move the rest of my stuff. Some of my sorority sisters came to help and as payment, Joe gave everyone a small tattoo of their choosing.”

  “Yeah, I was bummed that I missed the moving party. Show me.”

  “Pants first, please.”

  She squirmed, both inside and out, under his unblinking perusal “Okay.” He stood and moved casually, deliberately, popping the button on his pants. He dropped the zipper, the metal teeth catching and releasing. The room fell silent, but Annie kept her gaze averted.

  This little back and forth thing between them was nerve wracking as much as it was intriguing. She’d already stripped a piece of her attire off for him, but him taking his pants off for her…? She had to pinch her wrist to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

  And he’d caught on.

  “Eyes on me, Annie.” She obeyed immediately but only made it as far as his lips, or was she looking at his chin? His neck? “Lower,” he growled. “You know you want to.”

  Truth was, she did want to. There was no use hiding it.

  She lowered her lashes and zeroed in on his cock, pressing against the boxer briefs he still wore. His cargos slid to the floor with a gentle push from his thumbs and then he was standing before her in underwear and a t-shirt.

  It wasn’t until he kicked the pants away that she blinked, but where he had grunted when he’d seen her without a shirt, she couldn’t make a sound when seeing him with very little covering his lower body.

  She’d always wanted him. Their earlier kiss had been their first. This half naked, or half clothed thing, depending on how one looked at it, was a first, as well.

  How many other firsts would there be before dawn and how many other firsts would she want after the sun came up?

  “You have to show me.” His words broke into her thoughts and she turned. She sucked in her breath when his fingers slid her bra strap over her shoulder, and then returned to dance over the tattoo. She let that same breath out in a rush when his lips feathered kisses along her skin. “Nice,” he whispered, seconds before he traced the edges of the ink with his tongue. “I like it.”

  He pulled her into the vee of his thighs with an arm around her waist and she considered melting on into the black and white tiled floor. Moist air from his mouth made her lose all presence of mind. There was only him and her and every fantasy she’d ever had about him… “Next?”

  “Wha —” She was still lost inside her head, lost in the feel of him at her back that she didn’t comprehend what he was asking.

  “Next question,” he said softly, gently urging her away from him.

  Annie shook herself and faced him again. How could he look so composed when she felt ready to fly apart at the seams? Arousal flooded every cell in her body making her blood run hot and were it not for the desire in his eyes, the pulse beating rapidly in his throat, she’d swear he was unaffected.

  She paced out of the office and back again several times until she had her need under control. “Okay. Do you know my favorite sandwich?”

  “A Cuban. Annie,” he chastised. “You’ve got to come up with something that’s at least a little difficult.”

  “How do I like it?” The words were out of her mouth before she realized exactly how they would sound. Judging from the grin on Brax’s face, the sexual phrasing wasn’t lost on him.

  “With roast pork, baked ham. And spicy pickles, not dill. Oh, real Cuban bread, too.”

  He was right. Again. “Damn. You’ve apparently known me too long.”

  “That’s the whole point of this. When was the last time you had a good Cuban sandwich?”

  “I don’t know. Years. If you eat anything other than a Philly in Philadelphia, you’re committing a mortal sin.”

  “Is it true there’s a debate among some about which cheese to use?” His lips quivered and she matched his smile.

  “I guess. I was in a shop one time where there was a debate between the customers and the employees. Someone new to town had come in asking.”

  “Have you been brainwashed?”

  Annie laughed though the humor in it was lacking. “No. I was the new kid, you know? The people in the art department were doing what I wanted to do. They were successful. I wanted to be or at least thought I had to be like them. It was the same when I wanted in the sorority.”

  “But what did you have to give up in the process?”

  “A lot. Nothing. I don’t know.” Exasperated, she threw up her hands and turned away, walking out. Several minutes later, she returned. “I thought it was important to emulate those I worked with, imitate their best behavior, do as well if not better than they did so I could get where they were.”

  “Hmmm. In some respects, that makes sense. In others, you were falling in line and not being you and yet, you’re the one who was hired.”

  Shit. He was right. “Fine.”

  “Good. Give me your jeans.”

  “This really is all too easy so far,” she grumbled. “At least it is for you.”

  “Yes.” It was all he said for a moment. Then, “Jeans. Now.”

  “It’s been unfair too.”

  “Of course it has,” he placated, followed by a motion with his hand “Stop stalling.”

  Annie sighed but flipped the snap on her jeans. She thought briefly about refusing or arguing, but she refused to give him the satisfaction. She had a feeling that’s exactly what it would be if she fought against the ground rules he’d laid out. Especially since she’d agreed to them.

  A thrill of hunger raced through her as she noticed his gaze fixed on her fingers. Butterflies were going crazy in her stomach and her fingers trembled, but maybe she could drag this part of stripping out and give him a little taste of his own medicine. It would serve him right for putting her through the embarrassment and the lust she had to not only admit to herself, but to him too.

  She eased the zipper down, smiling to herself when Brax’s tongue slipped out to lick at his lips. His hands fisted against his thighs the farther the zipper went until it bottomed out.

  He really did want her. The knowledge that she wasn’t alone in these feelings warmed, and tempted her.

  She hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her jeans much as he’d done with his pants earlier. With a shove and a shimmy, she had them down her hips, her thighs, and finally they pooled at her ankles.
<
br />   “Damn,” he whispered.

  “See something you like?”

  “Oh yeah. Have waited a fucking long time to see you like this.”

  Annie stepped out of the denim. She nudged them in the direction he’d kicked his before. She refused to shy away as his gaze traveled from her pink painted toes to her pink and green polka dot panties. She squirmed and shifted, aroused beyond what she imagined she would be when he dared her to show up tonight, but still, she stood her ground.

  “I think I might go up in flames,” he said.

  “I kinda like having that affect on you. Ready for more?”

  “I’m ready for anything you have.”

  The bold words made her smile. “We’ll see about that. Do I have piercings?”

  Brax tilted his head. “Your ears.”

  “Yes, that’s obvious. But is that all?”

  He smirked and wrapped his hands around her waist to pull her close. His thumbs went to her breasts, rubbing against the center of the cup of her bra. Her nipples pebbled and desire swirled down into her belly. “I can’t make out any rings in your nipples. But your bra isn’t exactly thin and see thru… Your nipples seem lovely though.”

  “Yeah,” she huffed a short laugh. “I walked into that one. Any others?”

  He still teased her through the bra. She should smack his hands away but she just couldn’t seem to “You? No. I can see your belly button isn’t pierced and I… No,” he said again. “Just your ears.”

  “Wrong.”

  He tugged her bra away from the globes of her breasts and looked in. “Nipples?”

  “N-no.”

  “Damn, they’re pretty.” He hummed in approval and smacked his lips.

  “Thank you.”

  “Your blush is pretty too. No piercings in your nose or lips or eyebrows.”

  “Nope, none of those.”

  “Okay, so?” All of a sudden his eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped for a brief moment before he pulled it closed again. “You can’t mean…?”

  Annie had shocked him and she had to take a moment to relish that fact. Brax who was hot and worldly and tattooed up and down, was shocked. By her. “Yep.”

  “Holy. Hell.” Brax dropped his hands from her chest and rubbed his palms over his face. He shook his head as though trying to clear his mind. “When?”

  “Your shirt first.”

  “I’m the one with a nipple piercing,” he grumbled.

  “Nothing else?”

  “Nope.”

  “When it comes to you, that’s kind of disappointing.” Her casual remark earned her a sneer.

  “No, shit. But if you’ve got one…” He ran his fingers through his very short hair. “How? Why? When?”

  “Aren’t you forgetting what?” she suggested lightly.

  “Tell me,” he demanded.

  “Pledge week. Second thing we had to do.” He was even more sexy when he was heated and aggressive, that she answered immediately. The look in his eyes, the dilated pupils, the desire and lust… And that she did that to him. She just couldn’t get over having that kind of power over him.

  “Damn. You really wanted in that sorority, huh?”

  Annie grinned. “I really did.”

  “That’s my girl. Never resist a challenge.”

  “We had the option of having it taken out after pledge week but didn’t find out about that part of it until we made it through. After it healed, I kinda liked it and never considered having it removed.”

  “What is it?”

  “A ring.”

  “Where exactly? Above? Below? Or is it your actual clit?

  “Above. Vertical. There’s a ball in the center of the ring and —”

  “I need to see it,” he interrupted, coming at her, reaching for her.

  “Brax…” she hedged. Or was it teasing? She wasn’t sure. She only knew it felt good to be like this with him. He was surprised, maybe even shocked and she loved the little thrill it gave her.

  But then, he whipped his shirt off over his head and she forgot her own name. She never saw where it landed. Her attention was fixated on his chest, his stomach, his hipbones. Her gaze took in the rainbow of color covering every inch of his pecs and most of his lower abs.

  She’d always believed art, especially tattoos, should be a personal choice, something to reflect the soul, the heart, love. Yes, some people got tattoos on a whim, on a dare, but she could never do that. It would need to be special and she just didn’t know what would fit her.

  Around Brax’s calf of his other leg was a bright yellow lei. She wanted to ask why that particular design, but didn’t want to offend him. It seemed like something so feminine, and yet on him, it was anything but… The shades of yellow were blended well and it glowed with warmth against his skin.

  Her gaze traveled around his body, what she could see of it from her position. She could look at him all day for several days in a row and still not be able to catalog every bit of ink he had on his body.

  He had other flowers beyond the yellow ones. The one she could see clearly was a hibiscus bloom in a brilliant coral color. There was a wolf’s head, the scales of justice, a University of Florida logo, which if the scales on his thigh were a gator, would make sense. He also had tribal tattoos, scrolls and script, swirls, wings, waves, and a surfboard.

  Annie’s breath stalled in her throat. His pale skin, decorated with rich inks held her in thrall. She was tempted by the ring through his nipple and started to reach for it, but he grabbed hold of her wrist. Her mouth watered at his unyielding grip and she moved closer, only to find herself pressed against the desk with him looming over her.

  She’d never seen this dark, lust filled side of him and she wanted more. His hunger was arresting and blood pounded in her ears. Whatever he had to give, she craved. Whatever he wanted of her, she needed him to have.

  “Let me see it, Annie.” His voice was little more than a growl, impatient and insistent. “I’m fucking hard. I need to see that piercing. I need to touch it, taste it…”

  Chapter Three

  “Let me see it.” He wasn’t about to take no for an answer on this. Annie was too tempting by half and whether she knew it or not, she was driving him fucking insane. She was curvy and lush, beautiful, and her goddamn clit hood was pierced.

  One heartbeat, then two, followed by what seemed like a distant third, and she spread her legs wide across the corner of the desk. The overhead light was on, but it wasn’t enough for him, and he flipped the switch on the lamp nearby. He swivel the head and with shaking fingers, tugged the crotch of her pink panties to the side. He couldn’t make a sound. There, glinting in the brightness… “Jesus, Annie.”

  He couldn’t remember the last time he was so turned on. There was horny, and then there was horny. His hand tightened on the delicate and damp silk. “Remember what I said about you needing me?” He flicked his gaze up to catch her nod before focusing on her pussy again. “Well, turns out I need you more. I either need my dick inside you or I need my tongue working through those lips and playing with that ring. Both before the day is over, but definitely one of them right the fuck now.”

  Annie’s eyes widened but she jerked her head in a nod. “Condom?”

  Brax mentally fist pumped the air. “Don’t. Move.” With reluctance, Brax let go of her panties and sidled over to his desk. He kept a box of condoms in the back of the bottom drawer. The view when he turned back to her made him nearly swallow his tongue.

  She didn’t look at him as she slid the silk of her panties over her hips and thighs. Not his face anyway. She did however, stare at his crotch again, which considering that’s where all the blood in his body was at the moment, that was just fine.

  She shimmied and the fabric fell to the floor. His fingers had never itched so painfully as when he took in her naked body. Her belly wasn’t flat or concave, but soft and rounded. Her hips weren’t slim and neither were her thighs. She didn’t have the body many women strove to starve themse
lves into having, but she did have a body made for being wrapped around him.

  “God, you’re fuckin’ hot.” The words were growled more than spoken and a blush covered her from feet to cheeks, but she didn’t try to hide from him.

  She was the one to lick her lips this time and he honestly didn’t know how much more he could take before he pulled her close and tasted her. At this point, he didn’t care which part of her either. He’d be happy with a lick of her belly just to whet his appetite.

  She surprised him further by reaching back and unclasping her bra. She slipped it off, and then it was his turn to gulp and swallow. Full, round globes with lovely light tan nipples that were, as they had been when covered up, erect, tight buds. Her breasts weren’t perky. They instead had a bit of sag, a lovely tug from gravity. They were real, and beautiful and made his mouth water.

  When she stood straight, he forgot to breathe. Oxygen to his brain was gone and repurposed elsewhere.

  Her ass had a tongue-swallowing wiggle when she took two steps back to the desk and her tits had a forget-his-own-name jiggle when she eased onto the surface.

  He captured her with a hand around the back of her neck before either of them knew what he was doing, and stole a kiss. Her tongue tangled with his without any coaxing. A few papers and other office things covered the top of the desk but as he invaded her space and urged her backward, a single sweep of his free hand had everything on the floor. Her legs opened on either side of his thighs. He wanted inside her, on top of her, under her. He’d only wanted to up the ante, but it may be his undoing until he did something to take the edge off.

  At the same time, he rather liked the edge.

  Her scent was musky, moist. Earthy mixed with a hint of coconut. She had a neatly trimmed triangle of hair above her mound, but the lips were shaved smooth, giving him an unfettered view of pretty dusky colored lips “Never seen a pussy so sweet, so pretty.” Truer words had never been spoken. Her labia and the silver piercing were wet. Brax was salivating behind his teeth and his dick was leaking from the tip, dampening the front of his underwear. They were shed quickly and when he looked up, her eyes were trained below his waist.