Page 8 of Chasing Ink (House of Ink #3)
Paradise Lost
S kye
We spend the last few days discovering the island.
We swim in the ocean and walk through the markets.
We enjoy our time together and not just the time spent behind closed doors but in public as well.
It’s a novel feeling to walk down the street hand in hand and not have to worry about who will see us.
It has been the best week of my life, but all good things must come to an end. We stand with Laine and Hailey at the airport waiting to board our flight back home and for the first time in four long, perfect days, Alistair isn’t touching me.
We agreed that my brother should be the first person to learn about our relationship. We are trying to mitigate any damage but we both know he is going to lose his shit when he finds out.
“How was the rest of your trip?” Hailey asks with a smile I can’t quite decipher.
“Great! We saw the waterfall and went to some local markets.”
She grins. “At least you got to see the island. Certain people,” she elbows Laine in the ribs, “kept me locked in the room all week.”
Alistair chuckles and I blush.
“The only bikini you packed was...” Laine stops talking and we all stare at him, waiting to hear what he is going to say. “Whatever.” He scoffs. “I wasn’t about to let you walk around like that.”
“You know she used to walk around half naked for a living?” I ask, earning a glare from him. “There are men all over the world with pictures and posters of her in their garages.”
Hailey snickers as Laine’s face goes an angry shade of red. I’m just having a little fun at his expense, but it looks like the top of his head is going to pop off.
“Breathe, babe,” Hailey says, pecking him on the cheek. “You know I only take off my clothes for you now.”
“Damn straight,” he mutters, pulling her in and kissing her deeply.
A woman speaks over the intercom calling our flight and we all grab our bags and make our way to the gate. Alistair walks beside me with a smile as he shakes his head.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he says with a smile. “Just thinking about that piece of scrap material you call a bikini.”
I laugh loudly. “You know you love it.” I wink at him, and he makes a muffled sound in the back of his throat.
“As long as you don’t wear it around anyone but me.”
I smack his shoulder with a grin. “You’re all cavemen.”
****
H ours later we are back in Franklinton and Laine drops us off at Alistair’s house. I left my car there while we were out of town and need it to get back to my apartment. And I need to see all my babies before I go home anyway so it’s a win win.
The moment the side gate swings open all four pit bulls bound around the corner of the house with their big goofy grins and wagging tails. In the beginning I used to complain about the sting from being hit by one but now I’ve grown used to it.
Zeus knocks my legs out from under me and then the trouble really starts. All four of them pile onto me, pinning me to the ground and covering me in their slobber kisses. My stomach hurts from laughing so hard and soon enough Alistair picks me up off the ground and places me back on my feet.
“You do know that most people don’t think that’s fun. Or hygienic.”
“Like I care what most people think,” I reply with an eyeroll as I head into the house. “Besides, our dogs are healthier and more spoilt than most people’s children. And they had a teeth cleaning before we left.”
“Okay, okay,” he says holding his hands up in surrender. He knows I hate it when people judge how I am with dogs. Or the dogs themselves for that matter and I will give him an earful too.
For a long moment we stand staring at one another, not knowing how to proceed now that we’re back in the so-called ‘real world.’ For the first time since I set this plan in motion, I wonder if I’ve made a mistake and that scares the ever-loving shit out of me.
Alistair steps closer and cups my face. “What are you thinking?”
“That this is very, very real.”
A smile tugs at the side of his mouth. “You can bet your ass it’s real.”
He kisses me. Softly, slowly, passionately and I know that this can never be a mistake. He is all I have ever wanted for as long as I can remember. He loves me and I love him, and we can face anything together.
He lifts me into his arms, and I wrap my legs around his waist like I have always been doing it instead of just for a week.
He walks us down the hallway to his bedroom where he slides me down the front of his body.
I’ve been in his house, in his room a million times, and yet, I suddenly find myself nervous and even a little shy.
I think he knows that this is different—more—than it was on the island because his hands shake as he undresses me. He takes his time, stripping me of every piece of clothing until I am naked before him. His fingers skim my skin and goosebumps cover my arms.
“Have I told you that you’re fucking beautiful?”
“A few times,” I reply in a whisper.
“Good. Because it’s true and you deserve to know it.”
My heart skips a beat at the intensity in his gaze, and I know I will never be the same again. Alistair Grey is part of me, my DNA, my damn soul, and I would be lost without him.
I strip him next. Taking my time as well. I kiss each of his multitude of tattoos and flick at the single piercing he has through his left nipple. He pulls me into his arms and kisses me again before falling back onto the bed with me against his chest.
We don’t speak. There are no declarations of love or dirty words whispered in the heat of the moment.
This isn’t sex for the sake of sex. This is us reconnecting and cementing our future.
This is us declaring our love to each other and making what we have real now that we have left our little bubble.
I sink down on his thick length with a wonton moan, his hands on my hips as I ride him slowly. Nothing about this is hard or fast but it’s still explosive when he rubs his thumb over my clit and my orgasm crashes over me. My entire body goes taut as pleasure swims through my veins.
Alistair curses low beneath me before his cock kicks inside me and he follows me into bliss.