Spider: A tattoo romance (Rough Ink Book 2)

by MV Ellis

  “Which would be hard given I don’t know where you live.” Silence. I wasn’t trying to be a dick, but it was a fact. If she passed out, I wouldn’t know where to take her, unless I went through her purse looking for ID or something.

  “Don’t sweat it. It wasn’t a dig, just an observation. C’mon, let’s go.”

  “Yeah, okay, but I just wanted to say one more thing.” She propped her chin on her hand as it rested on my chest so she could look me in the eye again. Whatever she had to say, it was serious.

  “You want to know how I got through the hard times after the incident with Tommy, when I felt like just throwing in the towel and giving up, like I couldn’t climb up the spout again?”

  “Yeah. Tell me.”

  She looked away momentarily before swinging her gaze back to mine. “I used to think about the moment you threw yourself on top of me to shield me. I would focus on how content I was wrapped in the arms of a stranger, even under such terrifying circumstances. How you made me feel protected and safe. Two things I’d never really felt until that point. I’d think about how amazing your muscles were pressed against me, and how great you smelled, and how comforting that combination was. I’d remind myself that someone out there had cared enough about me to do that, and I owed it to you to honor the faith you showed in me, even if you were oblivious to what I was doing.”

  Holy shit. I swallowed hard. What did a person say to a revelation as big and personal as that? I had no fucking idea.

  A small tear rolled down Emi’s cheek. I stopped it before sucking the tiny drop of salty liquid from my thumb.

  “I thought about you a lot too. Wondered where you were, and if you were all right. If you’d call me. I hoped you would, but more so, I hoped you were okay. I mean, I knew next to nothing about you, just that things were tough, and that from the minute you walked into the studio, I felt the inexplicable need to protect you. I wanted to go all action hero and drag you away right there and then.” I still kind of wished I had.

  “I could see that you were hurting, and with Tommy acting the way he was, it wasn’t hard to see why. Except for on the football field where I was an absolute beast, I’m not the guy who goes around picking fights or throwing his weight around, but I had the instant urge to tear him a new asshole and hand the old one to him on a platter. I just wanted to shield you from his shit.”

  More tears brimmed in her eyes.

  “No more crying. Let’s just focus on the fact it could’ve gone so badly wrong, but it didn’t, and we’re here together to tell the tale.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. You’re also right that it’s starting to get cold, so let’s hustle.” She smiled, but I hesitated a moment longer, looking into her deep amber eyes.

  “You’re sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah. They’re tears of happiness. Well, kinda. I’ve come a long way in the last year, and I’m feeling good. Optimistic even, for just about the first time ever. Well, mostly optimistic, anyway. Sometimes I still can’t stop the niggling doubts from pushing their way through.”

  “Doubts about what?”

  “I don’t know. Life. Everything. I guess past experience has shown me that there’s always a nasty surprise just around the corner.”

  34

  Emi

  We traveled back to the city in comfortable silence. It was another unique experience. With Tommy, nothing had ever been comfortable or silent. His constant diatribe of cursing and angry outbursts at other drivers would punctuate the air even when we weren’t talking to each other. The rare silences were loaded with tension and anger, and I knew trouble would follow.

  It felt so nice to just sit and be in Chris’s company, and when he stretched across the center console and offered me his hand, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to reach for it, lowering it to my lap as he drove with the other.

  I looked out the window, a goofy grin on my face, embarrassed for myself that something so basic could bring me so much joy.

  “Something I said?”

  The sound of Chris’s voice broke through my thoughts, startling me a little. “Hmmm?”

  “You’re smiling big. Was it me or something you saw outside?”

  “Neither. I was just thinking about how perfect a first date this has been, and how many other firsts we managed to tick off. I had a great time. Thank you so much for going to so much effort.”

  “Don’t mention it. I mean, my intentions weren’t strictly honorable, so I feel bad taking credit for it.”

  “My intentions weren’t honorable either, and I see yours still aren’t.” I motioned toward the bulge in his pants and watched his grin spread to match mine.

  “Yeah. You can assume that if you’re around, they won’t be. Ever. I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty much permanently hard when I’m with you.”

  “You think I hadn’t noticed?”

  “I hoped you hadn’t so you didn’t think I was some kind of teenage horndog. But I guess I didn’t figure on you checking out my package 24-7, so….”

  “Ha! Well if it makes you feel any better, I’m in the same situation.”

  “What, a perma-hard-on?” He laughed

  “I definitely find myself with a ladyboner a lot when we’re together, or even when we speak on the phone. But chicks are lucky, it’s not obvious to anyone but us.”

  He chuckled. “Well, I would very much like to see this ladyboner you speak of.”

  “And if you play your cards right, you will.”

  My grin broadened as I laughed, enjoying the lightheartedness of the situation. Fun was something I needed a lot more of in my life. It felt so good to laugh; I’d almost forgotten how to.

  We made it to another Mr. Big and managed to eat a meal this time—a repeat of the earlier wasted order. We were done in record time, given how ravenous we both were. When we reached Chris’s car in the lot, he stopped before opening the door for me.

  “So where am I taking you? Please don’t say a subway station. I know you want to maintain your privacy, and I totally respect that, but I’m not comfortable just dumping you somewhere to get mass transportation at this time of night. Will you at least get an Uber or a cab instead, please? I’ll pay.”

  “You don’t need to do that.”

  “I’m aware. But I want to.”

  “You can take me home.”

  “My place? Sure, why not? Hop in.” He popped the lock and opened the door for me, glancing at me when I didn’t move.

  “No. I said home. As in my home.”

  “What? I thought….” He did that thing again where he raked over his jaw with his hands, and it almost killed me. “Look, if this is about the comment I made when we were up the hill, I’m sorry. I really wasn’t hinting or trying to push you beyond what you’re down for. It was an observation, one I would’ve kept to myself if I had any kind of brain-to-mouth filter game. Ignore me.”

  “It was something that was said up on the hill, but not what you think. When I talked about when I was in your arms that day, you made me feel safe and cherished… well, you still do, and thinking about all that triggered something in me. In a good way, I mean. It got me thinking that if you’re this symbol of safety and security for me, why wouldn’t I trust you fully?”

  “I feel you, but I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

  “And I’m not. Thanks for checking in, but I’m fine.”

  He hesitated again, nibbling on his lip. I took a photo in my mind and made an appointment with my ladyboner to review the image at a later date. It was hot as fuck.

  “C’mon, before I change my mind and have you put me in a cab.”

  That got him moving. I climbed into the car and he closed the door before rounding the hood to the driver side. I told him my address as we pulled out of the lot.

  “Queens, huh? We’re almost neighbors.”

  “I know.” I wanted to say something witty and lighthearted, but the nerves were setting in and I had noth
ing. Maybe sensing my declining mood, Chris glanced at me, briefly sizing me up before returning his gaze to the road ahead.

  “You okay?”

  I nodded, which was dumb given he was no longer looking my way.

  “I meant what I said before. You don’t have to do this right now. Your pace, remember?”

  “I remember. This is my pace, I promise. It’s been a day of firsts, and this is the biggest of them all, so whether now or another time, I’d be nervous. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to do it. It just means it’s a big deal, okay?”

  “Okaaaay….”

  “Don’t sound so worried. I’m good. We’re good.”

  As I put my key in the lock, I wavered one last time. It was a tiny moment, but I heard Chris’s breath catch as he hovered behind me. The warmth radiating from him reminded me again of the feel of him as he blanketed me with his body that day at the tattoo studio. I swiveled around in the too-small space, taking him by surprise. He laughed, but before he could finish, I’d swallowed the sound, pressing my lips hungrily against his. Despite the ambush, he didn’t miss a beat, instantly returning the ferocity of my kiss.

  The key was in the lock, but the door remained closed. Chris rested his forearms on the door, caging my face, and I reached up into his hair, grappling to draw him nearer. I’d gone from hesitant to horny in an instant, and couldn’t get enough of him.

  As the kiss escalated, Chris moved one hand down along the length of my body. Tearing his lips from mine monetarily, he reached down to bend my leg up toward his waist. When he realized that our height difference meant the important parts didn’t line up, he repeated the movement on the other side, that time lifting me so I could wrap both legs around him and he had me right where he wanted me. As he ground into me against the door, I mimicked the movement, rotating my hips and increasing the pressure against my clit.

  Minutes passed that could have been seconds or hours. My focus was on Chris and the heightened feeling and emotion passing between us. He was the one to pull back again, his voice rough and panting as he spoke.

  “I really want…. I think we should go inside, or fair warning, your neighbors are gonna get a free floor show.”

  I looked long and hard at his beautiful face, his lips more vibrantly colored than usual and a little puffy due to the ferocity of our kiss.

  I blinked, my mind foggy, before nodding slowly. He reached up and turned the key in the lock, nudging the door open with his knee before handing me back the bunch. No sooner were they out of his hands and back in mine than he’d replaced his hand on my butt, walking through the door with me still in his arms.

  As he tapped the door shut with his foot, I flicked on the lights in the open concept living area.

  “Umm… welcome?” I mumbled against his lips as we resumed our kiss.

  “Thanks… for… having… me.” He looked over my shoulder, his gaze sweeping the room, probably looking for a suitable surface. Settling on the dining table at the center of the room, he moved toward it in a few strides, lowering me on top. Tearing his lips away from mine, he spoke again.

  “About that ladyboner….”

  “What about her?”

  “I want to talk to her.”

  “Talk to her? What? Oh. Wait….”

  “Yeah.” He licked his lips as though he was hungry, although having watched him annihilate a burger in about three bites only a half hour earlier, I knew he wasn’t. Not for food, anyway.

  “Maybe I should grab a quick shower first. I mean, we could take one together… ”

  “Nope. That’s not gonna work for me. I mean, it’s an awesome suggestion, and I’m definitely all about showering you at some point, but patience isn’t a thing for me right now. Why don’t you just lie back and let me….” His sentence died in midair as he licked his lips. Holy shit.

  He nudged me backward, sweeping aside a pile of mail and an action figure to make more space.

  This time he was the one to push my dress up. I propped myself up on my elbows keen to watch him. He started by rubbing my clit in a circular monition through my underwear.

  “Your panties are soaked already. I like that.”

  He wasn’t the only one.

  As I smiled, he applied more pressure with his thumb. Just when I thought I would lose my mind, he pulled my panties aside and pushed first one finger and then another inside me.

  “Uh….” My jaw hung slack before a coherent word could form.

  Keeping his gaze locked with mine, Chris began moving his finger slowly in and out, using the other hand to massage my clit.

  “Oh….”

  Just as I thought I couldn’t take anymore, he withdrew his fingers.

  “Hold that thought, baby, I still want to have a word with her.” He knelt on the floor, leaning forward to place his mouth where his finger had just been, and started fucking me with his tongue. As the arousal swept through my body, the thought occurred to me that we were ticking off more firsts. Not that nobody had gone down on me before, but it had been a long time.

  Tommy wasn’t into it—or anything that didn’t focus on his pleasure. He’d put on a show of enthusiasm for it when he was worming his way back into my life right after his release from jail, but he had flat-out refused ever since. I’d almost forgotten how good it felt, though Chris was doing an amazing job of reminding me of the wonders. He clearly liked “talking” a lot—obviously a cunning-linguist.

  “You should stop or I’ll come any minute now.”

  He shook his head, saying nothing, just sucking my clit harder.

  I wanted to hold on, but I just couldn’t, instead surrendering myself to my impending orgasm. As I started coming, Chris nudged my legs open wider and pushed his tongue farther into me. I grabbed his head, pulling him forward, desperate for more friction. When he sucked on my clit one more time, I came hard, back arched against the table, my scream no doubt heard by the entire building. I didn’t care. It would probably be a welcome change from the sounds of Tommy using me as his personal punching bag.

  As the dying embers of my climax started to fade, Chris pulled his mouth away from me and rose to standing again, licking his lips.

  “You know when someone’s just made for someone else? Even the way you taste is just fucking perfect. If it weren’t for my shitty knees, I could do that all night. I mean, I still could, just not kneeling, is all. Or if I was going to be on the floor like that, maybe I could have one of those cushion things like you get at some churches. Then I could be down there forever. Or as long as you’d let me—”

  Wow. He could talk underwater.

  “Chris?”

  “Yeah?”

  “As much as I love the sound of your voice”—and I did—“right now I’m way more concerned about how you feel than how you sound.”

  “How I feel? I’m fine. No, not fine. Fucking great!”

  My meaning had clearly gone right over his head.

  “Why? How do you feel?” His eyebrows bunched in concern.

  “I feel like I want to feel you inside me.” I nodded to his tented pants. “Please tell me you have a condom in your wallet.”

  I would have been better prepared myself, but I had in no way been expecting the night to turn out that way. In my head, when I’d been prepping to meet Chris, I’d ruled out sex altogether. It was a first date, after all.

  The fact was, I’d had lots of plans and preconceptions about how the evening would pan out, and almost all of them had been wrong. I was too embarrassed to reveal to Chris the lengths I’d gone to hide where I lived, only to change my mind. That was a story for another day, if at all.

  The knot between his eyebrows melted away just as quickly as it had formed, restoring his features to their former unblemished perfection—though I almost liked the frown more than his smile. Almost. I loved being able to see what he was thinking—good, bad, and everything in between.

  “I do,” he answered. “Not that I was presuming I’d need it. I just—”


  “Shhh… It’s okay. I’m glad you do, because you’re definitely going to need it.”

  35

  Spider

  I grinned to myself as I fished in my back pocket for my wallet. Emi’s capacity to surprise me seemed to be endless. I’d put so much care and attention into planning the night, but the honest truth was I hadn’t even been 100 percent certain she would show.

  I’d hoped she would, of course, and I’d sure as hell wanted her to, but I could never be too sure with her. She was skittish, which was understandable given what she’d been through with the monster who’d claimed to be her boyfriend. It just made it difficult to predict how she would behave in any situation.

  As much as I was glad things had gone the way they had, I would have been happy if we’d watched a movie while holding hands at the “drive-in” and called it a night. Hell, I’d have been glad if she’d shown up but then decided she couldn’t go through with the date. Just having her turn up would still have been a win.

  As it was, given how guarded she’d been about me knowing where she lived, never in a million years would I have predicted that we’d end up back at her place giving her dining table a workout. It was the type of surprise I could get used to, although I didn’t want to mention it in case that reminded her of the reality of what she was doing, and she changed her mind.

  I retrieved the condom, then slipped out of my jeans and boxer briefs before getting to work on the buttons of my shirt. Halfway through, I felt the weight of Emi’s stare boring into me. I stopped what I was doing and looked up. As I suspected, she was propped up on her elbows, watching my every move.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Hmm… I’d say it’s more than okay, but yeah, okay is a good place to start.” She tilted her head, casting a critical glance up and down the length of my body. “Have I told you how unbelievably hot you are?”

  “Let me see…. Nope, I don’t believe you have.” I pretended to try to remember if she had or hadn’t.