“Hell yeah,” I said as he helped me off the padded table and guided me to a full-length mirror in the corner.
He stood behind me, his fingers closed around mine, keeping my bunched up shirt in place while he turned me to the side. “What do you think?”
“Oh, god....” My heart caught in my throat. There was no single word to describe the outline of the magnificent creature that would soon be a permanent part of my body. She was even better than the image he had painted on me all those years ago.
“You won’t have the full picture until I start tattooing and put in all the shading and the golds and reds, but—”
“She’s perfect, Dare. MORE than perfect.” The phoenix stretched across my right side, her fiery wings licking my back, her tail curved slightly down my hip. She was feminine, majestic, regal. More powerful than anything I’d ever seen. “She’s not even inked on my skin yet, but she makes me feel so…alive.”
I pulled my shirt over my head and let it fall to the floor, moving my loose braid over my shoulder in the process. “I want to see what they look like together,” I said, tugging at the hem of his black tee. “Please.”
His eyes flitted to the thin, slightly see-through lace of my bra before he bowed his head and grabbed the material at the back of his neck, pulling the t-shirt off to expose his tattoo.
It was now my turn to stare. Even though my fingers and lips knew every inch of hard muscle and smooth, tanned skin, I could never get enough. Dare was all sharp edges and sculpted curves—so damn edible, and he somehow managed to look MORE delicious every time I saw him.
The sight of his tight pecs and carved abs caused heat to spread throughout me. My heart fluttered and my knees wobbled. Apparently I turned into a lust-filled maniac in his presence.
This is your brain on drugs? Screw that. This is your brain on Dare.
Hello, dopamine overload. Goodbye, rational thought.
I refused to peek at the triangle of muscle protruding from the waist of his jeans, in fear I’d probably end up on my knees, tearing at his fly with my teeth. Instead, I made my way up his body—over the paintbrush tattoo on the inside of his forearm, and followed the snake winding around his bicep to the black phoenix on his shoulder.
Pressing my back into him, I rose up on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing our two birds as close as possible. The image in the mirror took my breath away.
Our two birds signified the same rebirth—each of us rebuilding our lives, reclaiming ourselves, becoming who we wanted to be, not who we’d been sentenced to be by our fathers.
Dare really was the light in my darkness. I’d always known it. And now everyone else would, too. Even my parents, if I ever saw them again.
“You like?” he asked.
“I love,” I said, my entire soul humming. And I laughed—it bubbled up in my chest, spilling over into the room—because looking at myself in the mirror right now I felt genuinely beautiful for the first time in my life. I felt like ME for the first time. Reagan—the cold, unhappy bitch who used to mock me, telling me I would never be good enough for anything—was gone. In her place was Ree.
Me.
“Thank you, Dare.”
His reflection arched an eyebrow at me. “For what?”
For saving my life. “The tattoo,” I said.
He shook his head and pressed a devilish smile into my shoulder. “I haven’t even started inking yet. If you’re into premature appreciation, maybe you should first thank me for something else.” A sly grin crossed his face as he hooked his fingers into the back of my shorts. “Before I start tattooing, I need to see what you’ll look like the next time I paint you,” he said, slowly sliding them past my hips and over the curve of my butt. “I want you down to just your phoenix.”
An excited shudder ran up my spine as the cool air in the room hit my bare skin. The ache between my legs grew even stronger when he guided the shorts down to the floor. His palms trailed back up my legs, insatiable fingers gliding over my skin, sending my senses spinning.
“Wow, if I’d known I’d get this kind of treatment at a tattoo parlor, I would have done this a long time ago. Though you better not do this with all your clients.”
“Nah.” His chest vibrated with laughter. “I reserve my best work only for the ones I love,” he said. Then he ran one hand up the back of my leg and squeezed my ass. The humor in his eyes was overtaken by something darker and headier. “And those I care about marking as mine.”
The realization that he truly was about to permanently brand me with his art—and, in turn, HIMSELF—hit me hard. My body responded instantly, the tingling in my core spreading out into my whole system, making my heart race. I was so turned on my senses felt a hundred times stronger and more powerful. I could practically taste, feel, and hear the pleasure that he was promising in just that single look.
My nipples hardened behind the barely-there material covering them, once again drawing Dare’s attention to my breasts. He brushed his fingers across the fabric, sending jolts of pleasure through me, then claimed one, squeezing lightly and pulling it toward his mouth so he could wrap his lips around the pink peak. The combination of his warm, wet tongue and the soft tickle of lace he licked me through just about undid me.
My legs gave out, and I lost my balance, but he caught me…by the waistband of my thong, making the fabric slide across my swollen clit. He positioned me so that I was standing directly in front of him, my body on display in the mirror for him. Still holding onto my panties, he unclasped my bra with one hand, freeing me from its constraints.
“So beautiful,” he whispered in my ear. Cupping my breast with one hand, he pulled back on my thong with the other, bringing me deeper into him, rubbing my clit again. Then he released the pressure. Pull, release, pull, release. With the fabric grazing my throbbing clit every time, my hips started to rock with his motions as I moaned. “Do you see how fucking beautiful you are, Ree?”
I blushed at the image in front of me—messy braid, wide eyes, parted pink lips, quivering legs. I looked like I was possessed. Possessed by happiness and Dare. And probably also on the verge of orgasm if he kept moving my thong like that.
He wrapped my braid around his fingers and gently tugged my head back, claiming my mouth as his lips and tongue scattered my thoughts. Between his ownership of my lips, the firm grip on my hair, and his possessive claim over my thong, I was his. Completely and entirely his.
“Just a little pre-tat relaxation technique,” he said, pulling away, but not entirely breaking contact.
“Earning my trust, Wilde?”
“Just one of the many things I plan to acquire by this session’s end.” His lips burned kisses into my jaw and neck, latching on my wild pulse as he released my braid and slid his hand down my stomach to my front. His fingers ventured under the lace to cup my heat, and a loud groan thundered through him as he slid one finger inside me. “Fuck, you feel incredible.”
Skilled fingers skimmed my clit, flicking and massaging while his other hand continued to tug on my thong. The erotic blend of his fingers and the taut material sweeping over my folds made my head spin in ways I didn’t think was humanly possible. Energy was building up in my core, the throb between my legs was growing and growing, taking me higher and higher.
I was about to come. And probably also die.
“Hands on the mirror.” I heard Dare’s whisper in my ear, his voice hoarse with arousal. “Don’t pass out on me, Ree. This is supposed to be the fun part.”
Using the glassy surface for support, I rocked my hips back into him, giving him complete access, urging him to delve deeper, harder, faster, moving to the rhythm he set. His gaze firmly locked onto mine as I grinded against the rock-hard bulge in his jeans until we were both moaning.
Little jolts of electricity flowed through my veins and the throbbing between my thighs had me begging for release. The tingling intensified and I was already calling out his name, the pressure inside me barreling full
speed ahead toward a cosmic blast when—
He stopped.
Completely. Fucking. Stopped.
A small whimper of protest escaped my lips, but Dare quickly extinguished it with his kiss. Closing my eyes, I lost myself in the sensation of his tongue, then moaned as I felt him rip off my thong.
Still, his fingers never returned to that spot. The one place that really, REALLY needed him right now.
Instead, he released me and took a step back, nodding at the tattoo table. “Get on.” His breaths were controlled while mine were nothing more than quick, raspy pants. His eyes were so perilous yet alluring, and I had no idea what he was going to do.
All I could think was that he was planning something big. Like him—deep inside me.
Or maybe this was about something small, but terrifying. Like a needle.
God. The unknown was both scary and hot as hell.
I walked over the table, pausing at its side, running my hand over the clean sheet Dare had draped over it for me. “How do you want me?”
He inhaled sharply and cursed under his breath. “How many times did you ask me that exact question in Paris while I painted you? How many times did I have to grit my teeth and stop myself from describing in detail every position I wanted to take you in just because you weren’t mine?”
The sensual ache in my body returned at those words, pleading to be satiated. “Well, I am yours now.” I leaned against the edge of the table, offering myself up to him. “So…take me. Please, please take me.”
His eyes glided over my exposed body, pausing at the peaks of my nipples before dipping to the stencil on my skin, and traveling even farther south. “Lie on your back,” he said.
When I did, he wrapped his fingers around my wrists. Pulling them up above my head, he gently guided my hands to the sides of the table. “Hold on tight. Don’t let go,” he said, then moved back down, hovering over me as he paused at my lips. “And don’t you dare move.”
Oh, god.
He adjusted the table, and leaned over his equipment where the sterilized needle was ready and waiting in the machine. Every muscle in my body went rigid, and my heart attempted to leap out of my chest when he picked up his gloves.
Shit, shit, shit.
My gasp caught his attention. “Ree, look at me,” he said, claiming my chin between his fingers and pressing his forehead to mine. “I’m not going to hurt you. Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” I had to show him I was strong, that I was worthy of this beautiful phoenix’s power.
“Good.” He seized my lower lip between his teeth. “Because what I’m about to do breaks the rules of both tattooing and fucking.”
“First rehab, now tattoo parlor. You’re breaking all kinds of rules.”
“You only have yourself to thank for that,” he said.
I laughed, feeling the tension melt away as a different kind of thrill ran through me. “So…we’re starting with the outline?”
He nodded. “I’m going to do a quick test run first. Make sure you can handle it.”
I squeezed my thighs together, simultaneously turned on and scared. I expected Dare to start the machine, but instead he kissed his way from my lips, down my neck to my chest. He pulled one nipple into his mouth, sucking and nipping at it, before moving to the other to do the same. He then kissed his way down my stomach until his lips were nibbling right above my core, and I was already rocking to the rhythm of my pulsing sweet spot.
When he parted my thighs and brought his mouth right back to where I needed him so badly, the urge to grab his hair trumped his orders to keep still. His tongue lapped at my folds, swirled around my clit, teasing, taunting. My hips bucked under the pressure of his mouth, and my fingers wrapped around his short, dark locks.
“You’re cheating.” His voice hummed against me in low warning.
My body quivered under his touch as I panted in reply. “And you’re playing dirty.”
I could’ve sworn I felt him smile. “Tell me you don’t love it,” he said.
Oh, god, I fucking loved each lick and every nibble. My response came in the form of a loud moan.
“Good.” He spread my knees wider and thrust his tongue deeper. “Now, hands on the table, Ree.”
I gripped the table again, allowing him free reign. His tongue drove me wild, and my body was already wound so tight from what he’d done to me by the mirror that my climax approached quickly and forcefully. Once again, just as I was about to launch off the edge and burst apart, he pulled away, leaving me aching in pleasure-infused agony.
FUCK. ME.
“Please…”
He licked his lips and grinned. “Not yet. We have a long session ahead of us.”
A little part of me wanted to scream in frustration, but a much bigger piece was excited as hell by the idea of more Dare, more…this.
“I need you on your side. And you’re going to have to be very still for this part.” He put on his gloves, then massaged cool ointment over the stenciled area of my skin, and I immediately knew what was coming next.
The pain part of pleasure and pain.
The first few stings of the needle caused me to bite down on my lip, but the next few weren’t so bad. Soon, all I was focusing on was the soft hum of the machine and the way Dare’s eyes seemed to be worshiping each line and every stroke he made. Whenever he paused to wipe, the corners of his lips lifted into a reassuring smile that seemed to be aimed straight at my heart.
With the outline of the wings done, he shifted back into pleasure mode, putting down the gun to lavish attention on my mouth, nipples, and stomach, finally ending up back between my legs, teasing me hard and fast with his tongue and fingers before pulling away yet again to return to the phoenix’s body.
By the time the outline was completed, I was a complete mess. Not due to the discomfort, but because of the desperate need for release that was driving me to the edge. I’d barely felt any pain while he tattooed, but every time he kissed, licked, and touched me, a raw unfulfilled ache tore through my insides. Sprawled on the table with my hands above my head, I had been completely at his mercy, and my body was starting to rebel. I was so tightly wound and so incredibly turned on, I felt like a single gust of air could be the trigger that pushed me over the edge.
“You did amazing,” he whispered on a kiss. “We’re done for now. I’ll finish the rest next time.”
I looked up at him with a wide, excited grin. “Do I get my reward?” Dare had delivered on his promise to take good care of me. Now I just hoped he’d finish the damn job, before I was forced to take matters into my own hands.
His shoulders shook with laughter. “You make it sound like you were the only one being tortured here. Try keeping your hand steady while tattooing a sexy, naked chick that keeps moaning your name over and over again as you work.” He finished wrapping my tattoo, then bent his head and grazed his teeth over my collarbone. “We both get our reward,” he said, his eyes full of fire. “Right fucking now.”
NOW. That three-letter word had never sounded so sweet.
He moved to the foot of the table, pulling my ass all the way to the edge, spreading my legs so that they were wrapped around his hips. My arms still above my head, his gaze heated my skin as it raked over me, all the way from my mouth down to my throbbing core. He followed with his touch, running two fingers over my lips all the way down to heat deep inside my core.
“Please, Dare…I can’t wait anymore.”
My body shuddered and I let out an audible sigh of relief when I heard him unzip his jeans. Then he was pushing inside me, groaning and thrusting so deep, the answer to all my dirty fantasies and horny prayers.
I watched every muscle in his body tighten as he drove into me, his chiseled face an erotic portrait of arousal and need. One of his hands teased my nipples as the fingers of the other drifted up and down my thighs, first gentle, then growing in greed as his hips began to move faster and harder.
Looking down at me with his stormy gaze,
he hooked his arms around my legs and lifted them up so they were resting against his shoulders, shooting me a satisfied grin when I cried out, knowing exactly how far into me that maneuver had brought him. I felt every long, hard inch fill me, stretch me, own me as he moved with powerful, piercing strokes.
The force of limitless delayed climaxes was locked within me, vibrating deep in my core, begging to be released. I was no longer teetering on the edge of some tall cliff…I was floating in space in a whole other universe, needing Dare to show me the way home.
His thumb touched down on my clit at the same time as he drove inside me, detonating the first quake. With every intense thrust, he set off a new wave of pleasure, each spasm taking me higher than the previous one. Arching my spine, my eyes rolling to the back of my head, I cried out his name through ragged breaths, experiencing what I could only describe as the best and longest orgasm of my life. Or rather, orgasms. It was impossible to tell when one ended and the next one began.
Just when I thought I’d died and gone to some kinky version of heaven, Dare leaned forward and slammed into me again, his eyes meeting mine as another toe-curling burst of delirium surged through me. I cried out his name, and he responded by groaning mine as his own release quaked his body.
He collapsed on top of me, careful to protect my bandaged side as he pressed his lips to mine, parting them with his tongue, and indulging in a long, leisurely taste of me. His kiss spread fire through my veins, reaching a place even deeper than the one he’d just come from.
“How do you feel?” he asked, glancing down at my covered tattoo.
“Free.” I smiled into his mouth. “Happy.” Excited to be on a path that finally seemed to be going in the right direction.
Ecstatic to be walking it with Dare.
sixteen
“REE! You’re here!” That familiar shriek only belonged to one Wilde. My body flooded with warmth at the sound of her voice. “Oh, hey, Dare.”
“Dalia,” Dare said without turning around, his attention focused entirely on my tattoo as he shaded the wings over my ribs. “So great to see that I’m just a postscript.”
Escaped Artist (Untamed #3) Page 10
