Epilogue #2
“Yeah,” she whispers happily, unblinking as he explains how it works to her, and then I’m slipping on the gloves as Cole shows me what to do.
How to hold the gun, the right level of pressure, and how to gently wipe the skin when it bleeds – and even though I’ve been through this process tens of times before, I listen to every word, giving him my full attention.
“Okay,” I rumble, and I lean toward Winter before I take the gun, holding her nape in my gloved hand and pulling her closer so that I can kiss her.
The kiss is warm and gentle, and, if Cole wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have stopped, but I tear myself away from her after a moment, needing to keep my focus until this is done.
I take the gun in one hand and gently grip her ankle with the other, hearing her soft intake of breath the second that the needle touches her skin.
I steel my jaw and keep my breathing even, my brow furrowed in concentration as I drag the needle.
“You okay?” I rumble, unable to look away from my work, but I give her ankle a reassuring caress as I finish the first half of her beautiful heart.
“Yeah,” she whispers softly, and I exhale with relief, grateful that she can handle it.
“You’re doing so well,” I murmur back to her, totally focused on the final curve, and the second that I join the two halves, my shoulders heave, the heart complete.
I set the gun down, wipe the area, and tear off my gloves as I rasp, “It’s beautiful.”
And then Winter’s mouth is crashing into mine, making me inhale with surprise as she leashes her arms around my neck.
“Hey, baby,” I chuckle gently, keeping one hand on her ankle so that she doesn’t knock the ink, and she bites her smile as she beams up at me, her dimples popping as I stroke her cheek.
“Wow,” she whispers breathlessly, and I can’t help but grin, knowing exactly how she’s feeling.
“I know,” I murmur back to her, because almost nothing comes close to the sensation. The adrenaline and excitement of being permanently inked by the person you love.
Cole breathes out a laugh as he grabs the aftercare wrap, smirking slightly as he glances at Winter.
“That’s the best reaction that I’ve ever seen to someone getting their ankle tattooed,” he admits, and Winter smiles shyly as he inspects her ink, needing to make sure that it’s dry before we apply the wrap.
“One more,” I tell him gruffly, caressing Winter’s ankle after we apply the wrap, and Cole quirks his brow at me in a question as I kick off one of my boots.
And then his mouth lifts in understanding, his warm eyes crinkling at the corners.
“Matching tattoos?” he asks teasingly, and he shakes his head in amusement. “You fuckin’ softie.”
I chuckle at that and start cleaning the area, too pumped to wait another second for this to happen.
“I want Winter to do it,” I tell him simply.
And Cole laughs, “Caden, I know.”
I lift my ankle onto the recliner that Winter’s currently sitting on, and she watches me with those beautiful eyes as I prep the gun, ready to hand it over to her.
“Caden,” she breathes out gently, “don’t I need to sketch it onto you first?”
But I shake my head as Cole passes her a pair of gloves, rumbling, “You don’t need to, baby. I trust you.”
She watches me for a moment and then she leans forward, pressing a chaste kiss against my lips, and my chest swells as she pulls away from me, savoring the anticipation of what we’re about to do.
“I’m ready,” I murmur, giving her the all-clear as she poises the gun above my ankle, and then I’m gritting my teeth at the first bite of the needle, my muscles clenching at the immediate sting.
“That feels good,” I admit quietly, and Cole chuckles as he gets to his feet.
“I’m gonna give you two some privacy,” he says, and I nod in appreciation, shoving my fingers through my hair.
“I’m almost done,” Winter says softly, and I practically groan, wishing that it could go on forever.
And, from her gentle answering laughter, Winter can tell.
“There,” she says as she finishes, carefully setting down the needle before wiping my ankle.
“I want you to do all of my tattoos from now on,” I rasp, and she peeks up at me with a playful smile, before disposing of the wipe and crawling forward so that I can kiss her.
I kiss her slow and sweet, getting lost in the feel of her as I caress her waist, and then she’s pushing my chest as she gets to her feet, leaving me breathless as she grabs the tattoo-wrap.
“You did amazing,” I admit, looking at my ankle from a couple of angles. “It looks just like yours, and you didn’t even sketch it. You didn’t even have to fill up a sketchpad with a thousand practice ones to get it right.”
She laughs softly as she sits back down, tenderly wrapping my ankle as I play with her hair.
“I want to keep your sketchpad forever,” she tells me.
I stroke her cheek. “Then it’s yours.”
Her dimples flex as she smiles up at me, and my heart thunders because I can’t get enough.
I can’t get enough of her, ever, and I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.
She searches my eyes as I caress her waist and then I’m pulling her onto my lap, lifting my leg onto the tattoo chair in front of us, and looking at my new ink with a smile on my mouth.
It’s definitely the smallest tattoo that I’ve had done but, because I’m sharing it with Winter, it’s also the most meaningful.
I chuckle quietly as Winter presses a little kiss against my cheek and then she stretches her leg next to mine, her sun-kissed skin shimmering under the warm lighting.
Her eyes flick happily between our matching tattoos as she wraps her arms securely around my shoulders, and I rub my palm up and down her back, my chest heaving in contentment for this perfect moment.
“I love them,” Winter whispers, laughing when I lean down to kiss her cheek.
“I love you,” I murmur back to her, and she strokes my chest as she turns around.
“I love you, too,” she whispers breathlessly, and then my mouth is on hers as I haul her against me.
And I chuckle softly as she giggles with happiness, completely in love with our matching tattoos.
Our beautiful branded hearts, the everlasting symbol of our forever.