I rocked her against me, staying deep. It felt much better than the furious sex from last night. I slipped my hand between us, pressing my palm against the place where her heart beat wildly. A tremor ran through her and her breathing sped; tiny moans hummed over my lips as I increased the tempo. Tenley circled her hips, grinding hard and slow with me, until her muscles locked and her lips parted. My name came out on a whisper as she shuddered and clung to me.

When her body went limp and her breathing slowed, I flipped her over. Supporting my weight on my forearms, I stayed close, intent on seeing her. I maintained the same slow rhythm as before, the shallow thrusts more than enough. She drew her legs up, her knees hitting my elbows as she sucked in a high-pitched breath.

“Is this okay?” I asked, always worried about how fragile she was, physically and emotionally.

“Yes.” Her eyes were glassy, distant. She ran her fingers through my hair, and her heel came to rest on my ass, pushing down. “It feels good. You feel good.”

I captured her lips with mine, the kiss subdued.

“You can go harder,” she said softly against my mouth. Her voice trembled, the ripple echoing through her body.

I shook my head. The all-consuming need for her made the request difficult to deny, and it scared the shit out of me. “I want you like this.”

Her legs tightened around my waist as I continued to refuse what she pleaded for. But I couldn’t give in, because what I needed was to hold on to the connection we had for as long as possible. A flash of fire burned through me and settled in the pit of my stomach, signaling I was close. The lance of heat detonated like a bomb inside me, and I thrust into her harder than I meant to. Her limbs constricted around me.

I bit her shoulder like she’d done to me, leaving twin concave impressions I tried to kiss away. My arms burned with the strain of supporting my own weight in such a confined position. When I went to roll off, Tenley’s arms tightened around my back.

“Not yet, please.”

I hooked her leg over my hip as I rolled onto my side, taking her with me, still inside her. We stayed like that, mouths fused, hands moving over each other until her clock told me we needed to get out of bed. When I left the warmth of her body, it created a strange void that made my chest ache.

I wanted to stay in bed with her all day and keep that satiated expression on her face, but she had class and I had work.

“Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll make breakfast,” I suggested. Her hair was a wild mess. She looked like she’d stuck her finger in a light socket. It was hot, in a Tim Burton movie kind of way.

“I have a better idea.” She drew a lazy circle around my nipple, ghosting along the barbell. I tried to keep my dick from reacting but failed. “Why don’t you have a shower with me and I can help you make breakfast.”

“I like your plan better than mine.” I threw off the covers and sprang to my feet.

Taking in the lines of her body, I watched as she stretched. She was slow to get out of bed in the morning, always favoring her right leg. At first I thought I was the cause, but I realized it must be residual trauma from her accident, because after the first ten minutes the mild limp disappeared.

The shower took a long time. It wasn’t my fault, either. Tenley took great care in making sure I was clean. She paid special attention to the front of my body, particularly the groin region. I didn’t complain, and neither did my dick. Then I returned the favor, because I was all about equity.

Afterward we made pancakes. Well, I made pancakes and Tenley tried to keep TK off the counter. By the time we finished breakfast, it was almost eleven.

“I gotta get to work soon,” I said as Tenley put the last of the plates in the dishwasher and I rearranged them so she could fit more in.

Tenley glanced at the clock. “I should probably head out, too.”

“I’ll see you at six?”

“Mm-hm.” She fiddled with the collar of my shirt.

“You know, if you’re having second thoughts—”

“I’m not.”

“But if you were—”

Her eyes lifted to mine. “I want this.” The statement was loaded. She wasn’t just talking about the tattoo anymore. “I know it won’t be easy. And I don’t want . . . this . . . to stop. But you’re the only person who I trust to do this for me.” She looked at me intently. “So . . . how long will I have to wait after the first session?”

“For what?”

“For you.”

“Miss me already?” I smirked, but the twist in my gut unsettled me.

“I’m serious. How long?”

“A week, maybe a little longer. It depends on how quickly you heal.”

She tugged on my shirt and I acquiesced to her silent request, bowing my head to hers. There was nothing soft in her kiss; it was full of aggressive possession. Sometimes words were unnecessary.

My day was booked solid. It meant I didn’t have time to fixate on Tenley’s impending session or the resulting complications. I’d done enough of that over the past week anyway.

At five thirty I prepared the private studio. Once everything was set up, I pulled her file. I had modified the design to avoid the most concentrated scarring on her back. The ones on her shoulder weren’t too bad, which was good, because I couldn’t get around them. Part of the wings would inevitably cut through some of the most sensitive places. Lisa and I had a long talk about it, and she echoed my concern about how the ink would take. In the end we came to the same conclusion: Tenley wouldn’t be willing to postpone it, and I didn’t want her to go to someone else who might fuck it up.

“So tonight’s the night?” Chris asked.

It hadn’t taken long for him to get over things. I’d used a case of his favorite beer to apologize for challenging him to a throw down. It had helped smooth things over.

“Huh?” I looked up. He and Jamie were both watching me.

“You’re starting Tenley’s tattoo.” Jamie answered for him.

“That’s the plan.”

“Do you know the story behind the design?” Chris asked, crossing the room to look at the updated version.

Tenley hadn’t said anything about it since our conversation last Wednesday, and I hadn’t pressed for information. In truth, I didn’t want to hear something that might make me want to renege. I had no intention of disappointing her.

“You know how it is. Once they’re in the chair, they usually open up. I’m sure Tenley will be no different,” I said, assuming indifference. She had promised to tell me more about her scars. Maybe she would offer insight during the session.

“You’ve been with her every night for the past week,” Jamie pointed out. “You’d think she would have said something by now.”

“What?” Chris wore one of those brain-melting expressions. He looked from Jamie to me. “What’s Jamie talking about? You’ve been with Tenley every night? As in with her, with her? Like breaking the rule with her?”

“We’ve been hanging out. It wasn’t like I kept it a secret.” I shot Jamie a look. I hadn’t sought to publicize the information because I could have predicted Chris’s reaction.

“But, but . . .” Chris stammered.

“Lisa said she was in some kind of accident.” Jamie deflected away from the finer details of hanging out. Not that I would share them with Chris. I didn’t need him imagining Tenley naked. Just thinking about it inspired unreasonable violence.

“What kind of accident?” Chris asked.

“She has some scars.” This topic wasn’t any better than the previous one.

“Scars? Where?” Chris kept injecting himself back into the conversation.

“What are you, a fucking parrot?”

He didn’t have an opportunity to devise a clever comeback because two girls walked in.

“Asshole.” He jumped out of his chair to greet them.

Tenley showed up a few minutes later. I steered her directly to the private room so we could avoid Chris’s curious glances.