Chapter Two
After the Needle
I didn’t want him to stop touching me.
The buzz of the tattoo machine had long faded, and yet my skin still felt electric. Behind my ear, where the ink had been laid, pulsed like a hidden secret—hot and aching in the best way.
Silas wiped gently over the spot, his gloved fingers slow and almost reverent.
“There,” he said, voice lower than before. “It’s done.”
I swallowed, suddenly aware of the wet heat between my legs, the tight grip I had on the armrest. I couldn’t even look at him. If I did, I might say something I couldn’t take back.
Or worse—do something I couldn’t undo.
He peeled the gloves off and tossed them aside, moving around me with calm, controlled precision. He was composed. Cool. Not flustered at all by how flustered I was.
He probably s
