Tattooed Moon

by Tiana Laveen

  Milan stared into his eyes, transfixed, making him feel like a great storyteller. He pretended to not see her, but the way she looked at him made him feel one hundred percent important. He loved that…

  “Then, as time passed, I said, ‘Screw this basement shit. I can just open my own shop. Working from home wasn’t always convenient.”

  Milan closed her eyes now, as if in the middle of a peaceful dream. His hair covered part of her shoulder, the strands sprawled about, and he felt like the rising sun, basking under the vibrant moonlight, in competition with the prettiest star in the entire galaxy. That star was his precious Milan…

  He pulled her closer to him, and it didn’t take much for she was suddenly lying atop his over-sized Bob Marley T-shirt. Now, her hair blended with his. Wavy, dark brown textured tresses slightly intertwined with his own. His groin throbbed, reminding him that no matter how cool he tried to be about the situation, the scent of her perfume and skin was turning him on and he’d lost track of time—didn’t recall even what he’d been saying. All that he knew was that he felt happy, and there was no other place he’d rather be.

  “Where did the name ‘Soul Inscriptions’ come from? Was that your idea?” she asked, her voice muffled as her cheek pressed into his chest.

  “Funny, I was just getting to that…” She’d gotten him back on track. “So, I went around looking for a property to rent, and ended up buying that space instead. Named it ‘Soul Inscriptions’ because of my philosophy about tattoos. Some people get them because they want to feel important, cool, and different. There was a time when tattoos were only associated with sailors and indigenous people. They were considered un-classy, only done by people who didn’t fit into society, rebels and derelicts. That changed; and now, everyone, even grandmothers and great grandmothers, are getting them but to me, the true meaning of a tattoo, to permanently mark oneself, means that you claim something to your very soul. You want it written on your heart. You can’t take it with you, so you try as hard as you can to prescribe meaning, to make sense of this craziness around us, you know?”

  “Yes, I know.”

  He was quiet for a few moments while he ran his hand up and down her arm. He toyed with her sleeve, biding time, until he gave up the battle. He needed her. Her soft lips slightly parted when he rolled her onto her back and straddled her.

  “What are you doing?!” She giggled, his ruby and gold Chinese lanterns strung high above them making her dark eyes glow.

  “I’m about to show you something…”

  “I’ve already seen it many times,” she teased, forcing him to laugh, too.

  He pushed her legs apart and settled between her thighs as he brushed her hair out of her face.

  “You know…I think you’re so used to keeping things to yourself, keeping things all bottled up, that you forget to breathe. I think you forget that you can talk to me, that I want you to, and shit, you just need to.” He traced the side of her neck with his fingertips.

  She swallowed and stared at him more intensely. “I never really thought about that, actually. I didn’t use to be that way, though.”

  “Well.” He exhaled. “Sometimes things happen that change us. If we keep letting something change us, it becomes a part of us, a habit. It’s no longer just an incident.” He snaked his hand under her shirt; she bucked playfully beneath him.

  “I knew you were going to try this!” She laughed, pretending to fight him off of her.

  “Relax…you’ve got it comin’ to you later.” He winked. “I have something else in mind right now, though.”

  She rolled her eyes dramatically and smirked. “What?”

  “Just feel it…” he said in a whisper as he hovered above her. “I’m drawing all over you…”

  Her smile slowly dissipated.

  “Tattoos…I’m putting tattoos all over your body.” He swirled his fingers, traced them on her, made straight lines, circles, triangles and prisms as he drew her closer to his spirit. “This is what you look like to me…a beautiful garden, with all sorts of flowers no one has ever seen nor smelled before, in colors we never even knew existed. Imagine a world where hues, shapes, sounds and aromas are all foreign to us. Nothing like we’ve ever known; that is what you’re like to me…some beautiful art no one has ever perceived, touched or cracked open. Some walking garden, a moon child with thighs that are softer than fur and sticky like honey after I taste you…”

  She sighed and shuddered ever so slightly beneath him.

  He went lower, placing his fingertips on her exposed navel, then made his way to her thighs.

  “You went through so much…were in so much pain, and I connected with you because through that, you were still so strong… You survived. I survived, too. And…you are so beautiful…so moon-like…full…glowing from the outside in. Hurting, from the inside out…cloaked from head to toe…but you needed something. And I needed something, too…you…”

  He kissed her stomach, a gentle brush of his lips against her slightly trembling flesh.

  “The first time we made love, I will never forget it. When you came, it was music to my very heart.” He laid another kiss upon her warm skin, this one a bit lower. “You are what I’ve been waiting for, Milan. I’ve met my share of women…but none of them were like you.”

  Her body responded beneath him; he felt her gaze following his intimate trails.

  “Just like this house and my tattoo shop, I knew what I wanted, what I was looking for. I know who I am…and I know who you are too, and I want to know even more about you. Let me…make you…cum to me…” He tugged at her jeans, and soon, they were around her hips. He slicked his hand inside of her panties and lay to the side of her, causing her to moan loudly as her hips bucked to his ministrations.

  “That’s it…” he urged as he ran his fingers up and down her saturated pussy, then focused on her clit. “Your pearl…I’ve run my tongue across it so many times…and I can’t wait to savor you again,” he said, his voice raspy, his soul drawn to her, falling under her spell. “Your body…I want to possess it. I want to be tattooed across it. I want to be inside of it. Will you let me draw my name on your skin, baby?”

  With his free hand, he began to write his name up and down her thigh. On a moan, she tossed her head back, bunching up the blanket as he continued the slow, torturous seduction. “Yes…yesss….”

  “That’s right, baby…say it, tell me what you want.”

  “I want…you…” She writhed under his touch, whimpered with pleasure.

  After a while, he got back on top of her, keeping his hand steady against her pussy. He forced her knees together, let them take his hand hostage, locked between her constricting thighs, while he continued to press his fingertips into her pelvis, rocking his cock against her. Her eyes widened as the sensations mounted. She gasped.

  “Keep your legs locked, just like you used to when you’d masturbate as a teenager,” he instructed before leaning down and kissing the side of her face, layering it with delicate kisses. She smiled shyly, so becomingly. He smiled back.

  “You know that’s how you used to do it…humping sheets…” He grinned into her ear.

  He heard her laugh between moans and gasps.

  This warmed his heart as he continued on until he felt her wetness increase tenfold, flowing over his fingers. She screamed out and clung to him, climaxing hard beneath him.

  “Oh…shit.” She sighed, spent—and looking happy.

  He rose onto his elbow, kissed her cheek and stared down at her, pleased with his handy work. Literally.

  “That was…good.”

  “Mmmm hmmm.” He grinned. “Anything else you want? I aim to please.”

  “Tell me…something sexy.” She panted. “I need to catch my breath for a sec. That should hold me over for a moment… I just love hearing you speak. You have such a way with words.”

  “Hmmm.” He traced her navel with his fingers. “Sexy like what? Or do you want me to shoot from the hip? Askin’ for st
ories and sexy shit tonight, that’s a tall order,” he teased.

  She smiled up at him, her eyes darkening with wonder and inward amusement that bubbled forth right before him.

  “How about…a confession?”

  “Hmmmm… Okay, here is my confession. It turned me on so fucking much when you told me you hadn’t had sex in a while…that I was your first after such a long time. I don’t know, I just found that erotic… I guess it’s male ego.” He shrugged. “We sometimes want to feel like we are special, chosen, you know.”

  “I did choose you.”

  That admission filled him with joy. “That’s good to know…very good to know.” He kissed her nose, beaming down at her. “What we have, I believe, is different. Every time we come together like this, it’s an experience, not just sex.”

  She gently stroked his ear, making him coo into her grasp.

  “I like how we fit together,” she whispered.

  “And I like how open you are, willing to try new things. I like…no, I love that you want me like you do. I can feel how much you want me when your body melts beneath mine and I feel your pussy grabbing my dick, pulling me further inside of you…shit, baby…” He ran his hand over her breasts, then cradled her head, bringing her forehead to his, treating her like a precious, fragile gift. Then, he pressed into her, pushed his groin over and over into her pelvis until he couldn’t stand it any longer and the woman was moaning beneath him. Reaching low, he unzipped his pants. His cock sprang forward and within seconds, he was guiding himself inside of her. She sank her teeth into his shoulder blade.

  “Ahhhhh!” Throwing her head back, her lips parted wide as if she were delivering a silent scream. Her body arched as he pushed in and out of her, until he was fully immersed and satisfied with the depth. He thrust harder; her wet walls gripped him and he found himself unable to slow down.

  “Uhhhh!”

  “Mmmmm….ahhhh!” She held on, her sexy moans turning him on impossibly further.

  “I fucking love you, baby!” He pumped harder and faster, his dick seemingly having a mind of its own, and his hip muscles tensed and released at each pass. “…Never going to let you go…never.”

  “Don’t you ever!” she screamed, clutching him tight, churning her hips hard and seductively until he lost complete control.

  “Uhhh, shit! Shit!” He clutched her tight, pushing deeply within her, his eyes rolled back as he came; his climax forced his muscles to tense as he released within her wet, sheltered confines.

  “Mmmmm!” he groaned into her hair, her ear no doubt warm from his intense exhaling. He slowly opened his eyes, though it was a struggle. The desire to simply fall asleep tried to seduce him as each additional second passed. He ran his lips against her cheek while she remained motionless, but hugged him so damn tight, he couldn’t move if he’d wished to.

  “See…”

  “See what?” he asked groggily as he wrapped his arms around her waist and nestled his chin in the crevice of her sweet smelling neck.

  “You do some strange things, sexually, but they are sexy…and they feel good…sooooo damn good!” She laughed lightly. “This is why I can’t leave you alone. You’re too good in bed, apparently too good outside on the ground, too,” she joked.

  “Oh, really?” He grinned, his brow arched. “So you are only with me because I can make you cum over and over and give you tattoos at a discount?” he teased. He gripped her fingers, then interlaced them with his own.

  “You know what I mean!” She released him to pull her shirt down. Rising, he lay back on his elbow, allowing her room to draw her panties and jeans back up. He reached down and fastened them for her.

  “Tell me what’s on your mind?” he asked as he studied her expression. She was drowning in something, her thoughts had turned left, and he refused to allow her to mentally travel without him riding shot-gun. There was a long pause as he stared down at her, his heart beating fast, patiently waiting.

  “I think…no, I won’t take the easy way out.” A spark of fear flittered momentarily in her eyes, then it was gone, although her eyes brimmed with pain and passion. “I love you, Julian.”

  He took her hand and kissed it, holding onto to it a bit tighter.

  “I knew that.”

  “I knew that you knew; sometimes it’s just good to hear it…to say it.”

  “Quite true… Hey, I want to ask you something.” He couldn’t keep his hands off of her, but he forced himself to create a bit of space between their bodies.

  “Yeah?”

  “Would you marry me?” He scratched the back of his ear, looking down at her as if he’d only asked her to go inside with him for a cup of tea or coffee.

  “What did you just say?” she asked softly, as if she couldn’t trust her own hearing.

  “I asked you to marry me, Milan,” he said seriously, wanting her to see that this wasn’t a joke or a game. “I want to marry you, do you understand?” He cupped her face and laid a gentle peck on her lips. She kissed him back, tasting like the fresh strawberries he’d fed her earlier that evening.

  “Julian,” she breathed, looking at him in disbelief. “You have no idea how shocked I am right now.”

  “Why?” he asked sincerely. “We love each other. I want you to have all of me…my world, my home, my name. I want to give it all to you! I’m not worth a damn if I’m not sharing what I love most with someone who loves me too…and I love you so damn much, Milan.”

  A tear rolled down her cheek. And then, she smiled wide at him as she caressed his chin with a slow drag of her fingertips.

  “…Don’t tell me no.” His voice trembled. Everything was on the line, and dare he admit it, he suddenly felt as if she just might let him down. “Tell me anything but ‘No.’”

  “How could I tell you ‘No’, baby, when my heart already said ‘Yes?’”

  *

  “And this is Julian…” Milan introduced. He almost didn’t catch the introduction, so mesmerized he found himself by her body, dripping as it was in garnet kisses, also known as sparkling sequins.

  Damn, she looks good…

  Lust crawled up and down his spine. He couldn’t see her outfit clearly earlier that evening. He’d picked her up and brought her to the company dinner as her date, just as they’d discussed so long ago, but when he arrived she had been wearing her long, light-weight jacket, which had properly hidden a delicious, succulent candy, better known as her lovely ass, just below the surface. Now, she was unwrapped. He traced his bottom lip with his tongue in appreciation, then snapped back into reality once someone in the near distance erupted into boisterous laughter, grabbing his attention from his impish thoughts.

  He extended his hand to the man standing there in his dark russet suit, and a head of brown hair with a bit of gray at the temples. It was perfectly coiffed and paired with a thick, Southern accent fit for the narration of children’s stories.

  So, this is the big guy….

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Kearny.” Julian shook his hand heartily.

  “Please call me Garrett.” The man’s light brown eyes sparkled as he gripped Julian’s palm, as if he knew a secret of some sort.

  After a bit of small talk, Milan led him over to the dining area.

  “They have some things you can eat, Julian,” she explained as she pointed to the elegant salad bar at the restaurant. “And look, these right here look fine, too.” She pointed to some rolls, conveniently close to a carved roast beef station, causing him much amusement at the irony of the situation.

  “Honey, don’t worry about me. I can make my way around.”

  “By the way,” she said, a crooked grin on her gorgeous face as she grabbed a plate and added some sliced fried green tomatoes to it. “You look absolutely amazing.” She looked him up and down, making him feel good on her arm while he ogled the raw sliced vegetables cured in Mandarin sauce.

  “Thank you.” He picked up a plate as they made their way, one after the other, down the line for appeti
zers and salads.

  “I really like what you did with your hair, too.” She spooned cold string beans with almond sauce on her plate.

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  He placed a few blackberries on his own, tempted to pop one in his mouth right then and there, but thought better of it. Julian had taken extra care with his appearance that day; his hair received the royal treatment. He’d slicked it back and plaited it into a tight, neat braid, allowing it to hang down his back. He wore a black blazer, black dress pants and insanely expensive dress shoes that he’d only worn once in his thirteen months of owning them. A vibrant red tie covered the shiny, ebony buttons on his shirt. Black swirls danced on the bottom of the tie, giving a bit of a Japan meets Parisian style feel.

  Fact of the matter was, he knew how to dress. Julian was a laid-back, down home, country boy at heart who preferred signature shirts with jeans for comfort’s sake but he had a flair for appearances, for the physical and visual. After all, he was an artist and he knew what looked good with what, and what didn’t. A natural matchmaker of fabrics, texture, textiles, hues and shades, he could create a masterpiece in a matter of moments. This was one of his strong suits, and part of the reason why, when he first met Milan, he could sense she was a woman with style and sophistication. Her clothes weren’t over the top, just the right amount of sexiness and class to reel his rebellious ass in. He leapt on her sharp hook, caught on the line, dangling there like a damned fool, begging to be taken back home, fried and eaten. She had him…