17. Chopper
Chopper
I watch each line get inked on her skin. Each detail getting added in. I love seeing my girl with ink. It makes her sexier. Tougher. More of the Savage princess I’ll always view her as.
“How are you feeling, baby?” I ask softly as I take my place on the table and Roxy lowers herself into the chair next to me.
“It hurts less than I expected.” She glances down at her thigh and smiles.
I love that I was able to give her this. I pushed her to overcome her fears and she’s so happy right now. She doesn’t realize it, but I’d give anything to make her happy.
“Good. You’ll want another one soon.” I wink at her, wishing I could pull her into my arms and kiss her.
I hiss in pain as River moves to a sensitive spot near my nipple. I know there and near my armpit are the most painful spots this tattoo will have. I'm no stranger to painful tattoos. I’ve been inked in the worst areas and lived to tell about it. I just suck it up and deal with it.
“Are you ok, baby?” Roxy scoots a little closer and wraps her hand around mine.
The pain fades into the background. The only thing I can focus on is her calling me baby and her hand in mine. Any time she touches me, I forget all about the world around us.
Sometimes I wish I could disappear with Roxy and start a new life. I can’t imagine living without the club though. Knowing you always have men at your back who are willing to do anything for you. I don’t think I can walk away from that, but I’d leave it all for her.
“Yeah, I'm good as long as I have you.” I lift her hand to my mouth and press a soft kiss to her skin.
As River works on my tattoo, I watch Roxy and how she can’t take her eyes off of my chest. She’s held my hand throughout my entire tattoo, just like how I kept my hand on her other thigh through her tattoo.
I don’t know what changed last night. What finally made her drop the walls and be honest with me, but I'm more than thrilled she did. I can’t wait to get to know the real Roxy better. The things she keeps hidden from the rest of the world. Like her sugar addiction.
River wipes my chest one last time before looking up at me.
“What do you think?”
I hop off the table and move closer to the mirror. I love the way he made the lioness strong, but feminine. It’s perfect, just like Roxy.
“I think it’s amazing. Thanks, man.”
“Of course. Let’s get you both covered up, then we can head to the front of the shop.”
It takes a few minutes for him to cover both of our tattoos and for us to gather our things. With my arm wrapped around Roxy’s waist, we follow River to the front of the shop.
I don’t miss the way every eye strays to my girl or how they appreciate what they’re seeing. I have no doubt if she were here alone, these guys would be all over her.
River tells me the total for both of the tattoos and I tug my wallet out of my pocket. Roxy makes a move to pull out her credit card from the compartment in her phone, but I shake my head.
“Not only am I paying, but they don’t accept credit cards,” I whisper in her ear. I don’t want to embarrass her because I know exactly how she’ll respond if I do. The last thing I want is her to build those walls back up or for her to put any sort of distance between us.
“Chopper,” she says softly.
“Let me spoil you, baby. I’ve been waiting years for this.”
She stares at me as I hand over the money to River. I expect her to argue or to fight in some way, but she doesn’t.
“Thank you.” She squeezes my arm before resting her head against my bicep.
“Always.” I press a soft kiss to her forehead.
“Thanks, Chopper. It was great to see you again. Roxy, let me know when you want your next tattoo.” River nods his head before he disappears into his office.
He typically isn’t much of a talker and I'm sure having Roxy here is going to make him even less chatty. He knows he doesn’t stand a chance with her and even thinking about flirting will cause problems. Though we’re both in motorcycle clubs, since we aren’t in the same one, we don’t have much to talk about.
We’ll never discuss club business or anything like that.
Leading Roxy out of the shop, I climb on my bike and wait for Roxy to settle behind me. Her arms are around me a moment later and her cheek is pressed against my back.
I grin to myself. I never thought I’d get to call Roxy mine, yet she seems all in when it comes to us. I just hope she doesn’t change her mind. Nothing would be worse than finally having her and watching her rip herself away from me. But that means I need to talk to Porter and fast.