Chapter 56
Chapter Fifty-Six
Eva
“Can you take off your shirt?” I asked.
“Aren’t you tired?” A glint of mischief appeared in his eyes. “You want me naked for the discussion?”
“No.” I laughed. “The art on your back helped me escape.”
“Really?” He shrugged off his shirt and turned, giving me access to his back. It was covered with beautiful ink, but my eyes landed on the rose maze that caught my attention the first time I saw it.
“The rose maze.” My fingers traced the path to my escape. “There’s a backward S inside it. That was the way out.”
“What? The only map etched on me is on my arm, where I can see it.” He lifted his arm, showing the tats. “Other tattoos on my back were replications of my artwork. I don’t remember drawing a second map for Razor to ink onto me. Can you take a photo? I want to see it.”
Grabbing the phone, I snapped a few photos and showed them to him.
“What the fuck?” His eyebrows furrowed. “This isn’t my art. I don’t know what this is. Why did Razor ink this on me?”
“What about the other art? Do you recognize any of it?” I took a video of his back for him to check.
“I trusted Razor to ink me in areas I couldn’t do myself.” Kain studied the video. “Sometimes he’d take a photo to show me after the work was done. But the more tats I got, the more I trusted him and didn’t ask to see them. Razor was a fantastic tattoo artist. He taught me.”
Kain never had a reason to question the artwork. The back was a place on the body that didn’t get our attention like the others. I wouldn’t be able to see the areas on my back unless I stood in front of a three-way mirror. But how often did people study their backs?
Kain pursed his lips, contemplating. “Maybe Razor knew something about Hawthorne’s organization back then and wanted me to have the information.”
“Is Razor still alive?” I asked.
“I’m not sure.” Something flickered in his eyes. “I remembered hearing about a new construction being built, but I didn’t know much about it. Maybe Hawthorne built the rose maze as another precaution or an upgrade to the original one me and the boys escaped from.”
“What about these symbols?” I pointed to the image on the phone.
“I don’t know. Maybe they mean something.” He placed his phone back on the nightstand. “Or maybe it’s just abstract art Razor added to blend in with the composition.”
I nestled back into his arms. “You have other rose designs on your back, but something about that rose maze caught my eye, and I remembered it.”
“Because the maze saved you, I won’t kill him if I ever see him again,” he teased, but the truth clearly tinged his words. “No one inks me with an unapproved image and gets away with it.”
“Speaking of tattoos, can you design something for me?”
“You want a tat?” His eyes sparked. “Where?”
“You’ve inspired me. I want only one, not a whole canvas like your body.” My hand roamed his chest. “But I’m not sure where I want it yet.”
“My passionflower is a wild woman.” His hand skimmed over my breasts, teasing my nipples through my shirt. When they pebbled, he smirked and moved lower and lower.
My gaze held his, loving the way he made me feel. God, I missed his touch so much. Right now he relaxed my body, loosening the tension in my muscles. When his hand slipped under my waistband, I bit my bottom lip.
“Miss me?” Heat flickered in his eyes.
“Very much,” I breathed, licking my lips.
“You should have my name inked down here,” he crooned and slipped two fingers into me.
A wave of heat rushed through me.
“No need for a tattoo,” I moaned. “I’m already yours.”
He crushed his mouth to mine, kissing me until I was breathless. The horror of my experience faded away, anchoring me to this blissful moment. His touch and kisses filled my mind and body, creating a loving and safe space for me to float freely.
In pleasure, I fell into a deep sleep.