Chapter 7 JP – NO MATTER WHERE
We laid there so still that it was one of the few times I could actually feel the ship swaying. Her body was stiff as a board, and it felt like all the progress we made last night was completely wiped out.
I rubbed her bare shoulder and back, trying to relax her. “Didn’t hit your head, did you?”
“No, I'm okay,” she said quietly.
“Do you want me to go?”
She paused for a beat, and I practically held my breath. “No.”
I nodded and continued rubbing her back.
While so much was the same, my eyes trailed over the subtle differences.
The added gold piercings up the cuff of her ear, the slight crows feet that made her eyes look even happier when she smiled, the way she’d leaned out in some places, flared out more in others. She was beautiful, but she was scared.
“All right, where's the rest of little Miss Ali’s tattoos?” I asked, trying to distract her mind. “How many am I looking for?”
She gave me a wary side-eye. “Five, but you have to promise you won’t make fun of them.”
My eyebrows pulled together. “Why would I?” I hated that she felt the need to be so guarded.
I swore right then that I’d do my best to earn her trust because I wanted her to feel safe with me more than anything.
“Mmm, okay, so here’s one.” I tapped behind her ear, then I picked up her right arm to inspect.
“That arm already has this.” She pointed to the scar that snaked down her forearm, a result from the surgery after a fateful fall at Centre Ice.
I pressed a kiss to her scar, and her eyes softened. Picking up her left arm, I turned to see the inside and was rewarded. Right above her elbow was a small tattoo in tiny, bubbly handwriting that read: No matter where.
“Ah-ha, number two. It’s nice.”
“It’s Annie's handwriting,” she said with a small smile.
“Interesting,” I said as neutrally as I could.
“Don’t be mean. She's my sister,” she said with a little laugh, finally loosening up.
I nodded. “She’s just a little crazy.”
“I know.” Her face lit up with a laugh. “That’s why she has one that says No matter what in my handwriting.”
“That’s really nice,” I said earnestly. And it made sense.
Anastasia was dubbed “the Wicked Witch of the West Rink” by Kappy, because she was a terror back at Centre Ice, and even though we’d occasionally hear Annie and Ali bickering with each other at the rink, they were also always the first to stick up for one another.
“Hmmm, okay, where else…” I wanted to look under the loose slip dress she still had on but wasn’t sure if she was ready for that. I moved down the bed to look at her legs.
Lifting her right ankle, I spotted number three. I turned and kissed the little bird tattoo, making her gasp in surprise.
My eyes flew to hers. I liked that sound. I liked it a lot. Moving slowly, I kissed up her leg.
“JP,” she said breathlessly.
“Should I stop?” I murmured against her skin. I could see goosebumps rising, making me feel absolutely elated inside.
Her brown eyes met mine. “No,” she whispered.
When I kissed the inside of her thigh, a giggle popped out of her.
I paused and raised an eyebrow.
“Sorry,” she said, biting her bottom lip. Her shyness took over and a little blush bloomed in her cheeks. “Ticklish.”
“Good to know.” I kissed that spot one more time, making her squirm until she swatted me away.
I paused and fingered the bottom of her dress. “Can I?”
She gave a little nod. Knowing she trusted me filled me with more pride than when I scored during a playoff game.
Slowly smoothing up the material, I spotted a little ink peeking out from her light blue undies by her hip. I carefully adjusted the material to see another delicate rose beautifully drawn on her hip.
“Four is beautiful. So fucking beautiful.” I said while kissing it, making her gasp again.
Smoothing her dress a little higher, I was rewarded with number five.
“Five is cool,” I said, touching the small Russian lettering. “What does it mean?”
Instead of answering, her hand went to the side of my neck. “What does this one mean?”
“Coordinates,” I answered, turning my head to kiss the inside of her wrist.
“To where?”
“Herb’s,” I said with a grin. The old garden nursery that my grandparents passed down to my dad.
The place where I worked before I was even legally allowed to work.
The place where Ali worked in high school.
Herb’s was our peaceful bubble, away from the rink and everyone else, where we could just be together.
A smile bloomed on her face. “I miss that place.”
A little glimmer of hope started growing in my chest. “You do?”
She nodded eagerly, and those golden eyes of hers bounced to my lips.
“Damn,” I whispered under my breath, trying to settle myself down.
I needed to pull back. If I stayed in this bed with her any longer, I’d kiss her again, which wouldn’t be a problem, except I’m not sure either of us would stop, and I didn’t want to rush this on her.
I needed to get this right. It was too important.
Pulling myself away, I eased off the bed.
“All right, let’s get going. I need some breakfast.”
For a split-second, she looked taken aback by my quick change-up. She laid back down and stretched her arms and legs. “Don’t you wanna sleep a little longer? This is one of my only days of the week I can actually sleep in.”
Looking at her sprawled out in bed was dangerous. Pulling at the back of my neck, I stepped away. “Nah, let’s go. Gotta get food.”
She just groaned.
I snorted a laugh. “Last warning.”
She closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.
I grabbed her little ankles and pulled her to the edge of the bed, making her yelp and laugh.
“I warned ya. If we don’t get breakfast, I'm going to eat you,” I said simply.
She burst out laughing, and I absolutely loved it. “Wow, you don’t have a shy bone left in your body anymore, do you?”
“Nope.” I grinned proudly. “Last of it left the building after Kappy signed me up for the body issue of that magazine a couple years ago.”
She collapsed into more giggles with her face turning a deep shade of red. “Piper sent that to me.”
I ruefully shook my head, secretly loving that she saw it.
.