Chapter 10 Arrow #2
We head toward our room, where we unpacked our clothes before we ran out for those burgers.
The compound is quiet tonight. I can hear a TV in the distance, Tiny’s voice, and a couple of the other guys cheering over a game.
It’s homey here in a way that surprises me.
I can see why my buddy Leo, Tiny’s son-in-law, decided to prospect into the Disciples.
They stopped being a gang, running on the wrong side of the law, not too long ago.
Now, it’s really a club here. A home and family.
Who knows. Maybe when all this shit blows over, I’ll learn to ride.
Belonging someplace has to start with people you want to belong with. And Annie’s making me see all kinds of possibilities.
My hair is still damp, and I’ve thrown on a loose tee and some boxer briefs to sleep in. I normally sleep in nothing but the skin I was born in, but I don’t think Annie needs to see my business the first night we’re sharing the same room.
While I wait for Annie to finish in the shower, I drag an extra blanket from the closet onto the floor and take one of the two pillows from the bed and drop it on the blanket.
I stretch out on the floor and check out the small TV Crow’s got in his room.
It’s not huge, but the compound has every possible streaming service, so by the time Annie opens the door, I’ve got some choices lined up.
“What are thinking, babe?” I call out before she closes the door. “Horror? Thriller? Movie? Show?”
She’s clutching a small pink-striped bag in front of her chest. She looks from me to the TV and then back to me. “What’s this? What are you doing?” She pads on bare feet over to a dresser and sets her little bag on top. “Josh?” she asks, her voice soft. “Why are you on the floor?”
I sit upright and smooth back my hair. “I want you to be comfortable,” I say. “Did you expect something different?”
She gives me an uncertain smile, and for the first time, I notice what she’s wearing.
The most freaking adorable button-down top.
It’s turquoise blue and has pink and orange cupcakes on it, but the thing I love the most is how thin the fabric is.
I can make out the hard tips of her nipples through the cotton.
And her sleep shorts… Fuck, they give new meaning to the word short.
They barely cover anything, and if she turns, which I am begging the angels in the sky above that she will, I’ll get more than an eyeful of Annie’s delicious ass.
“I thought we’d share this,” she says, motioning toward the bed. “It’s big enough, and I don’t snore.”
My cock stiffens at the thought of sleeping anywhere close to Annie.
Her long, smooth legs under the sheets. That perfect ass just inches away from my hands.
I don’t know if this is such a good idea.
I mean, it’s a fucking great idea. I want nothing more from life right now than to slide into bed beside Annie Hancock.
But whether I can stop myself from treating her like she really is mine… That’s something I can’t promise.
“Are you sure?” I ask, my voice nearly cracking. “You’re all right with this?”
“I’ll feel safer,” she says, not a single note of doubt in her voice. “Please?”
She doesn’t have to ask me twice. I grab the pillow from the floor and toss it back onto the bed. Then I pick up the blanket and drape it at the foot. “Lady’s choice,” I say, tugging back the sheet and the light quilt on the bed. “Which side?”
“Underneath you?” she says, meeting my eyes.
A bolt of heat hits my cock at her words, and I groan. “Annie,” I breathe.
“I want you to hold me,” she says. “Will you do that?”
Ah. Okay. I got it. She wants the closeness and the safety. While all I can think about is stripping off those shorts and bouncing my hand off her tight ass until she’s dripping, begging me for more, she wants the teddy bear. When it comes to Annie, I will take what I can get.
“Yeah,” I grunt, hoping against fucking hope that I can get under the covers before my raging boner gives her a reason to change her mind. “Come here, baby.”
She flips off the light switch by the door and turns the lock before she climbs into bed beside me. I lift my arm, and she nestles against my chest. I point the clicker at the TV and hope my dick won’t tent the goddamn sheets. Or if it does, at least I hope she won’t notice.
“This one?” I whisper, my voice thick. I can smell the sweetness radiating off her skin. Whether it’s lotion or soap or, God, just her, I’m going nuts trying to keep my hands to myself. I grip the remote and stare straight ahead. “Or this?”
I’m flipping channels like it’s my job when Annie sighs and rests a hand on my belly. “You pick,” she says. “I’m so wiped, I just want to listen and not think.”
She’s tired, not horny.
Not attracted to me.
That’s all right. I can fucking take this.
I pick an action movie that I’ve seen before.
Something with a lot of flashing lights, blood, and very little plot.
I give the movie a sliver of my attention, but it’s something to stare at while I try to ignore the gentle movements of Annie’s body against mine.
Her long hair is damp and soft, and I can’t fucking help myself.
While her face is against my chest, I stroke my fingers across her forehead, push her hair back, and gently massage the back of her neck.
“Ooh,” she moans. “Ohh, that’s nice.” She lightly strokes my chest with her fingers while I knead her tight muscles. “I can’t believe it’s only been two days,” she says. “I feel like I’ve known you forever.”
I know the feeling. But I can’t say anything. I don’t know what to say. I don’t care if I’ve known her two days, two hours, or two years. Annie is everything I’m into. And I want so badly to be inside her.
“Josh?” She suddenly sits up, cocking her head to the side. “Would you do something for me?”
I bark a laugh. “Yeah, babe. I’ll do whatever you want.” Except move the goddamn sheet from my lap.
She kneels on the bed facing me, her eyes excited. “Your tattoos. I want to see all of them.”
Oh fuck.
“I’ve got ’em everywhere, Annie. Back, arms, and…”
“And?” She grins, her brows lifting.
I shake my head. “Annie, I did some stupid shit when I was younger. Nothing illegal, right? But…”
“Is your penis tattooed?” she asks, but she doesn’t sound scandalized.
Right now, I wish my dick had ink because I would love nothing more than to show it to her. But no, my dick is just the way I was born with it. “No,” I say, “but my ass cheeks are.”
She claps her hands and practically bounces on the bed. “I need to see,” she begs. “Seriously, you can’t tell me your ass is tattooed and then not show me.”
“I can’t just show you my ass, Annie.” I shake my head. “Seriously, I’ve got some major low-class ink back there, babe. I just…”
But then she moves her fingers to the top button of her pajama top. She slowly unbuttons just the first one. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” she says.
“You have a tattoo?”
A deep pink flush covers her cheeks. “I want to see your ass, Josh.”
“All right. First, top half.” I work my arms through the sleeves of my tee and toss the fabric onto the floor. She leans close and inspects my ink.
“Tasteful,” she says, nodding, the long strands of her hair covering her nipples. “Sexy, even.”
I have to bite back a smile. “You think I’m sexy.” It’s more of a statement than a question as I rake a hand through my hair. “Well, this is going to change your mind fast.”
She claps her hands as I climb off the bed. “Show me your booty,” she chants again.
I start cracking up as I slip my fingertips under the waistband of my briefs and face the wall. “Now, you promised,” I remind her, “if I show you mine, you’ll show me yours.”
“Oh yeah,” she says, giggling. “A deal’s a deal.”
I tug the right side of my briefs down, sighing dramatically. Normally the first time a woman sees my ass is after we’ve been intimate. By then, I’m past the worry that my tattoo is going to be the reason she doesn’t let me into her pants.
But if Annie’s going to show me hers, I’m biting the bullet. I shove down just enough of my briefs to reveal my entire right cheek.
“Whoa,” she gasps. I hear her move across the bed, and then I feel the gentle pressure of her fingertips lightly tracing the design.
Fuck me.
I grit my teeth together to hold back a groan as the blood fires through my cock like a freaking cannon.
She’s exploring the wildly colorful design in silence until she finally asks, “So, I can tell it’s a crown…” She sounds apologetic.
“It’s all right,” I say, “I know it’s the most shit-looking crown ever.” I mean, Jesus. I’m showing this thing to an actual artist. I tug the fabric back over my ass and give my dick a minute to cool itself down before turning back to her and climbing back in bed.
Her giggle is back. “What exactly does it mean?”
I yank back the blanket and slide into bed, hopefully before she sees I’ve got an erection as tall as Tiny is wide.
“My buddy Anthony thought it was clever. He was practicing with his first gun. I was his first human canvas.”
“Josh…” Her fingers touch the space over my heart, stroking the light hairs that dust my still-bare chest. “Why the crown?”
I groan and close my eyes, dropping my head back against the wall behind the bed. “That I’m an ass king,” I blurt out. “I’ve always had a thing for a great behind.”
Annie is silent for a second, and then she laughs so hard and so long, I can’t help but laugh with her. Once she’s breathing normally and she’s stopped shaking her head, I grow serious.
“So,” I remind her, my eyes narrowing. “I believe it’s your turn, babe.”
She nods and then licks her parted lips. “Well,” she says, “I…” Her hands are on the second button of that cupcake shirt. If she doesn’t hurry up and open it, I’m going to eat my way through and not stop until I feel her hot skin between my teeth.
“Annie?” I urge.
“I didn’t realize you were a butt guy,” she says, a sudden shyness flushing her cheeks. “I assumed most guys like boobs.”
“Ass king is just my tattoo, but I love it all,” I assure her.
I’m curious what an artist would value so much that she’d permanently ink the symbol or the object into her skin. I can’t even guess what it will be. Something girly or artistic…maybe pretty words.
My fingertips are burning to touch her as her fingers find the last button on her cupcake top. The sides fall open, leaving the middle of her body partially exposed, revealing just the sexiest bit of cleavage and a soft, smooth stomach.
God, I am dying to see her. All of her.
Now that we’re alone in this bed, all I can think about is bending her legs and touching her pussy. I want to look at every inch of her, taste her skin, and fuck her until she’s screaming for release.
And that ass.
I want to bend her over my lap and spank those tight cheeks until her juices run down her thighs. I want to see how many times I can make her come with my fingers before I claim her with my cock.
I try to break up my frantic thoughts, my desperate desire for this woman, by reminding myself this is just a game. None of this is real. But then, Annie works the cupcake top over her shoulders and lets it drop to the bed.
She kneels before me, her tits bare, with her lips slightly parted.
“Annie,” I whisper, my eyes caressing the tight globes of her breasts. They are smaller than I imagined but even more spectacular.
My breathing is ragged, and my dick is so hard, I’m sure the tip is weeping a river into my briefs.
“Annie,” I rasp, clenching my hands into fists under the blanket. “I don’t see a tattoo.”
“Josh…” Her gaze never leaves mine. “I don’t have any tattoos.”