The room pulsed with the aftermath of heat.
My legs were trembling, still parted where Shane had left his mouth minutes ago. My chest rose and fell in shaky bursts. I couldn’t tell if it was the orgasm or the gravity of what just happened, but something inside me had been unspooled. Ripped loose.
The low hum of the tattoo machine had stopped. Silence sat between us now like something dangerous. He stood behind me, his breathing steady, controlled like mine hadn’t just wrecked.
I couldn’t see him.
But I felt him.
Close. Still in control. Always in control.
His hand brushed down the curve of my back, light but purposeful. He reached for a warm towel and began wiping down the area around my ribs, cleansing the ink and fluids with slow, deliberate strokes.
“You did well, Jade,” Shane mu
