Hot Ink

by Carrie Ann Ryan;Cari Quinn;Sidney Bristol

  “Who did it?” He traced the outlines of each of the three figures. He hadn’t even noticed the background, which was a field bordered by trees and burial pyres. The detail was amazing.

  “A guy in New Orleans. I started getting it when I visited my twin.”

  Kit placed his palms on her shoulders, and slowly slid them down, feeling the play of her muscles under his touch as she shifted and moved. There wasn’t a bit of tension in her body, at least until he got closer to her ribs. He ran his fingertips over her sides and she squirmed, jerking her arms and laughing.

  “Not fair,” she wailed.

  He dug his fingers into her hair around the bun. Like a kitten caught by the scruff, her movements subsided. She whimpered as he feathered light touches over her most ticklish areas. He pulled her back, until their bodies were aligned and her head rested on his shoulder. Her eyes closed and lips parted.

  She was so fucking beautiful.

  He traced the dark swirls of a vine over her hip, leading down to a cluster of flowers on her right thigh. It appeared most of the tattoos he remembered were covered up now with brilliant, beautiful pieces. He approved. Hell, a lot of the tattoos they’d gotten back in the day were awful things anyway.

  The pink hearts begged for his attention, teasing him. He couldn’t imagine how much those had hurt, but he sure as hell appreciated the aesthetic. Gently, he traced the heart around her right nipple. She sucked in a breath and arched her back. He switched, and traced the left, watching her face, the tiny movements she couldn’t help. She turned her face away from him, biting her lip.

  Why? Did she like it?

  He bent his head and inhaled the scent of her shampoo. He’d never been able to remember what she smelled like, and it had bothered him. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and breathed deep. Shampoo, and some sort of herbal scent or fragrance he couldn’t put a name to. He pressed his hand to her chest, between her breasts, forcing their bodies together as tight as they could go.

  Renee panted and he could feel her pulse race under his palm. He’d barely touched her, and they were both so caught up in the moment, the rest of the world might as well not exist.

  He turned his face toward her shoulder, opened his mouth and bit. She cried out, almost a scream, but he held on. After a few seconds, he released her, kissing the angry mark and gentling his hold on her.

  “Ow, fuck.” Renee rolled her shoulder, but didn’t open her eyes.

  “Too much?” He released her hair and stroked the skin over her stomach. Some of the inked lines he could follow with touch alone, almost like braille of the body.

  “Just surprised me is all.” Renee shook her head.

  Kit circled to stand in front of her. “Do you not like biting?”

  Her eyes opened, narrowed, and one side of her mouth kicked up. “Come a little closer,” she purred.

  The kitten had claws. He liked that, but later. If this turned into a primal wrestling match, they’d lose all sense of where they were and the whole, no-sex-on-the-premises rule. He had a particular love of a woman’s nails and teeth on his skin. Maybe it was from the tattoos, maybe he was just a glutton for pain, but it turned him on.

  “Take your shirt off. Please, Sir?” Renee still had that sly glint to her gaze.

  “Why should I?” She called him Sir. That was a punch to the gut for some reason.

  “I asked nicely.”

  “Hm. You did.” He stood back, as if to consider her request. He was used to standing out because of his bear-like stature, but here, he felt—normal.

  “Oh come on. Please?”

  “I don’t know…”

  Renee took one step back, then two forward, a quick hop and jumped. She grabbed the chain above her with both hands, lifted herself up and wrapped her legs around him in a move so sudden he couldn’t react except to catch her bare ass in his hands. She laughed and grinned.

  “Tricky. What exactly do you think this is going to accomplish?” He took two small steps until he was under the hard point and the chain no longer pulled her back. It was fine for him to keep from hurting her, but what about the things she might do to herself?

  “I don’t know. Get closer to you?” Her gaze flicked to his mouth.

  That was an answer he could respect. He tugged the glove out of his pocket and slid it on as Renee slowly leaned down, as if she thought he would stop her. There wasn’t any chance of that. He got the glove on the moment before her lips touched his. He slid the glove over her bottom and she gasped. She arched her back and her legs tightened around him. Her gaze seemed to lose focus as he drew his palm up her back.

  A vampire glove was exactly what it sounded like. A glove, except the palm had many points, like tacks, driven through the leather. They weren’t terribly sharp, but the sensation of all those unyielding edges sliding over skin was unique. He kept one arm around her ass and stroked her back with the other. She grasped the chain and pulled herself up a bit, arching her back.

  Renee was amazing. In the matter of a few moments they’d resolved the lack of communication. Here, now, their bodies and souls communicated on a more honest level.

  She wanted him, but there was something holding her back. That he’d left her? Yeah, it was a fuck-up he’d regretted the moment he got on the road, but back then it wasn’t like there were cell phones to let her know. He wasn’t about to repeat that mistake.

  He glanced at her breasts and smiled. Had piercing her nipples made them more or less sensitive? He placed his gloved hand against her breast and squeezed. Renee’s spine straightened and her eyes snapped open. Her jaw froze on a silent scream.

  More sensitive, he’d be willing to bet.

  “Kit,” she wailed. Just the sound of it was enough to make his dick throb.

  He released her and her head sagged forward. Her body shook slightly.

  “Get down.” He patted her bottom.

  She didn’t protest. He held her while she put one foot, then the other on the ground. She wavered slightly, unsteady on her feet. Her shoulders sagged and she hung from the cuffs.

  Kit pushed the tendrils of hair that had come loose off her face. She tipped her chin up, eyes closed and a slight smile on her lips.

  He did this to her. It was a heady, powerful feeling. One that had taken him time to really appreciate. In the beginning they’d done whatever felt good, and he’d learned how to listen to his partner. Now, he didn’t need words, he just...knew.

  She opened her eyes slowly, peering up at him. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up. If the lady wanted him shirtless, who was he to argue? He tossed the garment behind her, into their pile of things, and stood there a moment, allowing her to look at him.

  One side of her mouth kicked up into a smile as her gaze crawled all over him.

  That was about as much as he was going to take. Kit closed the distance in a single stride and kissed her again, this time he grabbed her ass with his gloved hand. She might have squealed, had their mouths not been crushed together. She went up on tiptoe, leaning her weight into him as he squeezed harder.

  Renee kissed him back, savage and with as much desire as he had for her. He ran his non-gloved fingers down her side and she tried to jerk away from him, but he had all the control. She turned her mouth away from his, gasping and giggling.

  “Kit, Kit stop that,” she said between breaths.

  “That’s not how you stop things,” he taunted.

  “Don’t do that.” She twisted out of his hold, but there wasn’t anywhere for her to go. She took maybe two steps before the chain stopped her.

  He held up his hands and wiggled his fingers at her.

  Her eyes grew large and round. “No. Kit, I mean it.” And yet, she was grinning and laughing.

  Sometimes, no really did mean yes. It was why they used red to really put a stop to things.

  Kit took a step toward her and she sidestepped, circling him as far as her tether would allow. She laughed without him coming anywhere near h
er. Her laughter was contagious and as they circled, her pretending she could get away, and him simply wiggling his fingers at her, he felt a lightness he’d lost. This was fun and real.

  He lunged and caught her around the waist, hoisting her up off her feet and opened his mouth, setting his teeth against whatever fleshy bits he could get hold of and bit again. He flicked his tongue over her upper breast as he held on. He released both her skin and his hold, letting her slide through his grip back to her feet.

  “Ouch! Again with the biting.” Renee wiggled and glanced at the two crescent marks above her left breast. She wouldn’t be wearing anything low-cut for a while, at least not if she didn’t want to show off his mark.

  Kit could reply, but words abandoned him. He tugged the elastic band out of her hair and tossed it over his shoulder. He wrapped the length around his hand. Their gazes locked as he pressed his gloved hand against her chest, between her breasts, and slid it down over her stomach. Renee gasped and her spine bowed away from him, but he kept the pressure steady. As he reached the band of her panties, he dropped his head to her chest and kissed the angry red lines, going to his knees to follow the tracks.

  She didn’t move away from him, but she did wiggle in place, sometimes arching her back, other times kicking her foot up.

  He palmed her right breast, pushing the generous mound up with one hand and sliding the glove up once more, making another set of lines next to the first. He went all the way up to her breast, but not over the nipple. He wasn’t about to torture those beautiful hearts. Not with anything but his mouth.

  She groaned and the chains rattled overhead as he kissed the second set of lines. He pushed his gloveless palm up over her breast and chest until he could wrap his fingers around her throat. He didn’t squeeze, but he could feel the way she stopped breathing, either in anticipation or in obedience to an implied command.

  Her pink nipples were tight nubs now. The little bars had tiny crystals in the ends he hadn’t noticed earlier. They sparkled—like her. He licked her right nipple and she squirmed, but not much. Gently, he closed his teeth around the jewelry and sucked. Renee whimpered, yet remained perfectly still.

  Interesting.

  Kit peered up at her and slashed his right hand over her bottom, using the glove savagely. She rocked up on her toes, which made him tug her breast.

  “Ow, Kit!” Her voice vibrated against his left palm.

  “Hm?” He licked the abused breast and grinned up at her, but her eyes were still shut.

  He switched breasts, pressing the glove harder, going over the backs of her thighs, sticking to the areas where she either didn’t have tattoos or had the fewest, for two reasons. First, he didn’t want to ruin the ink. Second, he wanted her to see those marks and remember him, because he sure as fuck wasn’t going to forget this.

  “Kit, enough.”

  He stood, bringing the glove up her other side until he pressed her breast up. She had her eyes squeezed shut so tight and her teeth clenched.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?” He grabbed her hair again.

  “Just...do something else.”

  “Is it hurting?”

  “Yes. No. That’s not...it.” She shifted, rocking from side to side. He could feel the tines of the glove scraping her skin.

  “Too bad you aren’t in charge.” He wrapped his hand in her hair, pulling it a bit more and watching the subtle way her expression tensed.

  It wasn’t pain, though he’d be willing to bet that was an underlying factor.

  He bent his head until he could feel her breath on his face. She was lost in subspace, all feeling, no thought.

  “If I touched you now, would you be wet?” he asked, pitching his voice low.

  She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

  “Renee…” He eased off on the glove.

  “Yes, okay? Yes.”

  Kit wrapped his right arm around her, and crushed their bodies together. He kissed her and scraped the glove up the tender flesh on her side. She might have squealed had his tongue not been in her mouth. He kept kissing her, not sparing her the rougher edge of his dominance. She felt his teeth, the gloves, his nails, it was primal and what they felt.

  “Kit,” she whimpered when their mouths parted. Her lips were swollen. He’d bitten her a little harder than he intended, but that was the way of things sometime.

  “What?”

  “I want to stop.” Her eyes opened, barely tiny slits. She meant it, he could just feel it.

  “Are you sure?” She was into it, he had a plan, and yet—there was dead certainty in her voice.

  “Yes. We should take this home.”

  She wasn’t saying stop as in red; she meant stop as in pause…

  * * * *

  Renee kicked the front door closed a second before Kit flattened her against it. He grabbed her knees and hoisted her up in a motion so primal it left her breathless. She was covered in scratches from head to toe from the glove. She’d never had anyone use it so roughly before.

  Her head spun from the conflicting emotions pinging around inside of her. She wanted him, but she shouldn’t. He did things to her body that made her feel like nothing she’d ever experienced before. But underneath all of that was the sensation of rightness, of belonging that playing and kissing him had brought out.

  She was in trouble.

  Kit gripped her ass as he kissed her. The sharp points of the finger picks he’d taken from the toy bag pressed into her bottom as he rocked into her.

  She’d foregone the leggings for the trip home in favor of wearing her denim skirt and tank top with only the panties underneath. To say she’d been eager to leave the dungeon was an understatement. They hadn’t stopped on the way to her place, but he had done his best to drive her crazy. She had a large bite mark on her thigh he’d given her while sitting at a red light.

  Was it possible to orgasm from a bite? She’d never heard of such a thing, but her eyes had rolled up in her head, and for a moment, she hadn’t been able to think clearly. At least not until the car behind her started honking.

  He closed his teeth around her lower lip, the implied bite more than enough to make her shift and move her hips against him. So what if she was going to have a fat lip tomorrow? It felt good tonight. He tightened his grip on her ass and she hissed against his mouth as the faux nails pressed into her skin.

  Two could play that game.

  He hadn’t put his shirt back on after they’d called a time-out on their scene. She dragged her nails over his shoulders, his neck and down his chest. If he could mark her, she could mark him.

  “Mm, harder.” He nuzzled her neck, his whiskers tickling.

  She grinned and bent her head, biting him in the same spot he’d bitten her first. He dug his fingers and the picks harder into her ass. There was no way she’d be sitting down for a while, but fuck if it wasn’t worth it.

  “Oh yeah,” he purred.

  Kit scraped his beard over her shoulder and bit her upper arm. She let go, gasping and squirming again as her vision hazed. He went on biting her, clearly intent on marking her in such a way that she’d remember him long after he left. If only he understood the marks he’d leave on her soul would never go away.

  Renee dug her fingers into his hair, twisting and pulling until he released her arm. She held his hair in both hands, somewhat controlling the beast, her gaze on his mouth. He slid one hand down her thigh, the picks leaving lines of fire on her skin. She lowered her head, as if to kiss him, but when he strained toward her, lips parted, she bit his lip just as he’d bitten hers. He grunted and drove the picks into the tender skin behind her knee, but she only bit harder.

  He turned from the door, and she tightened her thighs around his waist—not that he was letting her go anywhere. His grip on her ass and knee firmly enough that she was in no danger of falling. Or so she thought, until they began to fall.

  Renee gasped, letting go of his mouth. A choked scream was all she could manage as Kit fell fo
rward, the room too dim to tell where they were. Cushions hit her back half a second later. Kit’s weight pinned her to the couch, and as her eyes adjusted to the single lamp on across the room, she could see the grin nearly splitting his face.

  “Not funny,” she growled.

  “Oh, I think it’s hysterical.” He lowered his face to her neck once more, kissing and tickling her with his beard. “Your pulse keeps jumping.”

  “Yeah?” She stared at the ceiling, not seeing it as he continued his trek up her neck.

  Peaches darted out from behind the curtains and over the back of the sofa. He hissed and leapt to the floor, scampering away.

  “Sorry, Peaches,” Kit muttered without remorse.

  Renee couldn’t spare a thought for her cat, not with Kit surrounding her.

  He rocked his hips into the cradle of her body and her eyes rolled back into her head. Sex with him would be nothing like it used to be. Her whole body was on fire, her clit throbbed, her breasts ached, and she yearned for him. It was as if nothing had changed between them, except they were older, wiser and knew what they wanted. Right now, all she wanted was him.

  This wasn’t the Kit of her daydreams; he was a hell of a lot better.

  He pushed his hand up under her shirt, those nails coasting over her skin. She held her breath as his fingers circled her breast. Around and around, never touching her stiff nipples, which was worse. She wiggled back and forth, gripping his shoulders.

  “I’m not going to touch your nipples,” he said.

  “What? Why?” She hated the whimper in her voice, but damn.

  He lifted his shoulders, but made no reply.

  Oh, hell no. He was not going to tease and tease and tease her like that.

  Renee relaxed as much as she could, allowing Kit to continue his now lazy exploration of her neck and upper chest. She waited until he was relaxed and totally enthralled with tracing the bite mark with his tongue.

  She shoved up on his left shoulder and rolled. They tumbled off the couch and onto the floor. Kit took the brunt of the fall, with her landing on top. She tried to sit up, to take some control back, but he grabbed her shirt.