Permanent (Indelibly Marked) (Volume 1) (23 page)

He watched her eyes move down and the smile dissipated. Not sure what caused the reaction, he hooked his finger under her chin and made her face him. “I’m glad you came with me tonight.” Ragtime music whispered through the restaurant and he took the program from her hand. “They’re playing our song.” He stood and took her to the miniscule dance floor.

Lindsay glided into his arms. “I only slow dance.”

“Well then that’s what we should do.” They swayed together.

“How did you find me?”

“I had to.” He wrapped one arm around her pressing her to him. “I had to.”

“I’m so glad you did.”

He didn’t really know what to say, and put his hand on the crook of her neck.

“I was going to talk to you when I got home.” She swallowed. “I never gave you a chance to explain.”

“We’re here now.” He kissed her ear.

“Biomechanical tattoo.” She ran her hand across his forearm.

“What?” He glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

“I just like this one.”

Any time she acknowledged his tattoos it ignited something in him and he squeezed her close.

“Why tattoos?”  Lindsay asked softly.

Now they weren’t dancing, they simply stood in the middle of the dance floor holding each other.

 “I don’t know. I always drew.” He wanted to give her an honest answer. “At first I thought it was cool. Ivan and I would hang out at Hugh and Stubbs every weekend. They started paying me to create pictures and I found something really fulfilling about seeing what I drew on people’s skin. It’s not really art.”

“Yeah, well I call it art. A lot more people pay for your art than most traditional artists, and your customers wear your art permanently.” She stared up at him. “They have to love it forever.”

“Lindsay.” He tangled his hand in her hair. “Maybe I should have stayed an artist and tried to make it in the business world.” Now he frowned and turned away. “I screwed up in so many ways.”

“You’ve done what most people don’t have the guts to do and started your own business. We will fix this.” She took hold of his upper arms. “We’re getting organized, I’m making arrangements with those you owe money to, and the IRS is only going back a year.”

At her words his blood pooled in his feet. After all they had been through, he couldn’t tell her, not with her looking at him with hope and conviction. She was even more stunning when she had a cause.

“Maybe we should get to some betting, the races will start soon.” He gave her a soft kiss not feeling worthy to deepen it. “Let’s figure out the best horse.”

They returned to the table.

“Let’s just pick a name we like.” Lindsay slid closer to him. “We’ll beat the odds.”

She fit perfectly next to him and he handed her the program. “I think we should use your expertise.”

*~*~*

The limousine driver pulled up alongside their apartment. “I’m going to stretch my legs.” He nodded at Shane and left the car.

“Did you have a good time tonight?” Shane put his arm along the back of the seat and reached out for her hair with two fingers.

The limousine, exclusive seats at the track, and dancing to ragtime music were all incredible, but nothing compared to him coming to meet her. His honesty and his words meant everything.

“I had the best time.” If she had a ledger to record how amazing the night had been, only one thing would be missing. Would she be able to fill in her last entry?

“Do you think you’d allow this humble tattoo artist to take you out again?” He moved closer and looked into her eyes while his fingertips traveled from her hair to her jaw line.

“I think I may.” He barely kissed her all night, and now she wanted it.

“If I formally ask you now, will you answer me now?” He wrapped his arm around the back of her neck.

“Absolutely.” She watched him lick his lips.

Shane moved his face closer. “Will you go out with me?”

She waited for the rest of the question.

“You said you’d answer now.”

“When do you want to go?”

“Just answer the question.”

Still not feeling like it was a full question, she answered anyway. “Yes.”

“That’s the answer.” He took her chin in his hand. “Do I get a kiss now?”

“Yes.” She closed her eyes. If she didn’t, she would attack and devour him.

Since the last time he kissed her, she’d thought about nothing else. He’d magically returned to her and she wouldn’t waste it.

His kiss was soft and tender, as if he was holding back. He parted his lips and his tongue tentatively explored, instantly stoking that incredible yearning inside her. He continued, keeping his mouth pliable and gentle, but she wanted more. She needed to scratch an itch only Shane could reach by kissing her hard and deep. She didn’t want his restraint. She wanted him to grab her like he did the night in the tattoo shop.

Then it hit her. He kissed her but she wasn’t kissing him, only followed his lead. She needed to kiss him too and the thought made her nervous. Shane was experienced, she wasn’t, but she needed to figure out how to please him and keep up.

Lindsay gathered her courage and leaned in. When he followed, she took the initiative to put her hand on the back of his neck. With all her resolve, she kissed him deeply, pressing her lips hard against his and searching out his tongue with her own.

“Yes,” Shane growled and tilted his head, treating her to more of the same, giving her what she wanted.

She pressed her palm to his face and her other hand slid down his back.

“That’s right, baby.” He moved on top of her, raking his hand down her side.

For the first time she felt his full weight on her. At his reaction, she slid her lips from his, kissing his jaw and down his neck.

“Right there.” Shane buried his face in her hair. “That’s good.”

Remembering how amazing it felt when Shane did the same to her, she gave him an open-mouthed kiss on his neck, running her tongue across his skin. The tang of his aftershave tickled her taste buds.

“Harder, baby.”

She sucked on his neck at the same moment he palmed her breast and his fingertips tickled her already hard nipples.

“Oh man, don’t stop.” He ground his hips into hers.

She gasped. His body pressed against her in just the right way.

“Oh yeah.” He did it again, this time harder as he found her lips again, thrusting his tongue in search of hers.

Her insides coiled and pressure built. It could only be relieved by moving against him and allowing the enormous bulge in his jeans to perfectly stoke that specific swell of pleasure within her.

She braced her foot on the floorboard, reaching to heighten the sensations and grabbed at his Mohawk, arching her back.

“Lindsay, yes.” Now he kissed and sucked her neck and caressed his hand along her leg. “Kiss me, now.”

She kissed him and he made a noise, a cross between pain and euphoria.

“Linds.” Shane drove his hips into hers. “Oh God.” He kneaded her breast and slipped his arm under her, holding her tight to him. “Linds.”

As he pressed himself along her again, her body demanded release, but the realization at how easily she could go over the edge with Shane right there in the limo on their first date, suddenly cleared her head. The fog of lust faded, and the blaring light of inexperience shone down on her. She couldn’t sleep with him, not on their first date. She put her hands on his chest.

Almost instantly he pulled back, panted and touched her lips. “You okay?”

Not quite sure how to answer, she nodded. Technically she was okay, but her body disagreed. “I had the best evening.”

He blinked with glazed eyes then gave her a soft kiss. “Me too. I guess you had a really long day.”

“I’ve been up since about five.” Lindsay deeply appreciated that he’d given her an excuse to stop the speeding train. She tenderly touched the top of his hair. Was she really there with him?

“I guess we should let Tony take his limo. I’ll walk you up to your place.”

“I hope it’s not out of your way,” she teased.

Shane moaned as he moved off her and then chuckled. “Hey, we fogged up the windows.”

She forced a laugh. She’d never caused such a thing, only heard and read about it. The windows reminded her of how much she missed in her former life. For someone like Shane it probably seemed juvenile, but to her it meant a lot.

A groan escaped his throat as he struggled to his side of the car. “Next time we need to take it upstairs.” He smiled and opened the door.

The gust of cold air hit her like a blast of reality. The upstairs comment said everything. Next time there wouldn’t be making out in the car. She was an adult expected to do adult things, and he was talking about one area where she feared she could not transform.

*~*~*

“Hold on.” Shane took Lindsay up the stairs to their apartments and caught her arm. “I forgot something.”

She smiled and licked her lips.

“Well that, too.” Not one to miss an opportunity, he took her roses, put them down and gave her a light kiss as he reached into his pocket and handed her a phone. “This is purely selfish.”

“Why?” She took the phone and held it to her chest.

“That whole incommunicado thing didn’t really work for me.”

“Thank you, Shane.” She kissed him.

In the car she’d taken the lead until he almost lost control. Shane moved closer and deepened the kiss.

She stepped back. “Good night.” She gave him another smile, picked up the flowers and entered her apartment, taking one more look back before closing the door.

A mixture of sleepy and giddy, he waved and waited to make sure she locked the door. He headed to his place, simply needing to take a shower, calm down and think about the evening. Showing her the type of man he could be was more important than ever.

When he walked in Dillon sat there, grinning on the sofa. Between staying with Carson and Ivan and creative timing, Shane had managed to avoid the eldest Elliott. But with Lindsay home, he wanted to be as close to her as possible.

“You’re past curfew.” Dillon lifted a beer bottle in his direction.

He flipped him off on the way to the refrigerator. “You can’t be here.”

“I live here, too.”

“You walked out with barely a forwarding address. You need to get out of here. I’m not a boarding house for wayward imbeciles.”

“If that’s how you treat your brother, I would hate to see how you treat Lindsay after the newness wears off.” Dillon picked up the television remote and flipped the channel.

Refusing to allow his brother to rile him, Shane stuck his head into the refrigerator, but the cool air didn’t help.

“Well, you’re not over there with her, so maybe she’s smarter than any of us thought.” Dillon chuckled. “Maybe she’s the one using you. Wouldn’t that be a laugh riot?”

He slammed the refrigerator shut, rushed at Dillon, grabbed his collar and pulled him to his feet. “Listen here, pretty boy, I’m not letting you screw this up for me. You’ve done enough and I’ve always forgiven it for mom and dad’s sake, but that’s over!”

“Go ahead and have your good girl fantasies.” Dillon pried himself free. “I think she knows what’s up. Whatever I do doesn’t matter. Lindsay knows what you really are.”

“You’re an asshole.” He shoved him and tried to push the image of the letter out of his mind. This was precisely why he couldn’t show it to her. They were too new and too fragile after everything that happened.

“I’m your brother. I’m only trying to help you.”

“Gee, I’d hate to see if you were against me.” He growled and headed for the bedroom.

“I just don’t think you two are a good match, I’m trying to save you both a lot of heartache,” Dillon called after him. “What do you expect to happen?”

“Not your business. What did you expect to happen when you took off?” He turned and pointed at him.

Dillon turned off the television. “What’s that for?”

“A warning. Talk to her, look at her, say something to her and you will be sorry.” He stood there a moment longer then closed the door. There was only room for him and Lindsay in the relationship. Suddenly desperate for a connection to her, he pulled out his cell phone. Ivan had texted earlier about doing brunch tomorrow. With a reason to call, he dialed her new number.

“Hello.”

The sound of her voice instantly calmed him. “Am I your first call?”

She laughed. “Well since you are the only one who has the number, I would say so.”

“Yeah, maybe I should give you that.” He read her the new phone number. “That’s not why I called.”

“Then enlighten me.”

“We’re all going to breakfast tomorrow. Can I take you with me?”

“This is different.”

“What is?”

“Normally you would have just told me we were going to breakfast.”

“Well now we’re going out, so I thought I would be a gentleman and ask you.”

“Oh, well then I accept.”

He sat on his bed and took a breath. “I’ll pick you up at nine.”

“Okay, watch the traffic.”

Now he laughed. “Night, baby.”

“Good night, Shane.”

He tossed his phone on the bed and went to take a shower, not to calm down from Lindsay’s kisses, but to wash away Dillon’s negativity.

Chapter Twenty

“Tell me everything.” Emily gripped Lindsay’s hand.

“Don’t.” Shane pulled her back and put his arm around her.

Lindsay took a breath.

“Jerk.” Emily moved closer to Lindsay and stuck her tongue out at Shane. “You were with her all night. I lost my best friend for days.” She hugged Lindsay’s arm and whispered. “Where did he take you?”

Emily’s words brought a smile to Lindsay’s face. Was she really Emily’s best friend?

Shane leaned over her to address his sister. “What are you doing?”

Emily frowned and waved him away. “I’m trying to find out about your date.”

When the entire table stopped talking and stared at them, Lindsay put her hand over her mouth. Actually, Carson, Emily and Ivan stared at them while Dillon glared at Shane.