“Are you Buddhist?”

“No. Did you know the lotus is actually a part of the mytho-religious structure of multiple cultures and religions? A beautiful flower that grows from muddy water. Rising above, reborn as something more than those muddy roots.”

He kissed her neck as he slid his hands from her shoulders down to her fingertips. He turned her wrist up, moving it close so he could examine the ink there. A little outline of a stick drawing of a cat’s face.

“My grandfather was an awesome guy. He used to call me Kit-Cat. Not like the chocolate bar, but like a feline. Anyway. He used to send me postcards when he traveled for Colman, and he’d sign them with this little cat face.”

“I saw him race once when I was a kid. The local boys’ club gave out free tickets and my mom took us all. He was already in his sixties then but still badass.”

Asa came around to face her after thinking he needed to give himself a moment before he focused on her tits. But the ink on her back, the curve of her spine, and the sweet swell of her ass had wrapped around his cock like a fist. Freckles dusted over her shoulders and that only made her more beautiful.

He had a thing. For curvy brunettes with red lipstick and great tits. In their thirties and forties.

And here this blond, sweet-as-fuck package wrapped around what was turning out to be a dirty core was all he could think about. Those big blue eyes of hers, the way her bottom lip had the tiniest bow in it. Sweet, yes. But not innocent or naïve. He’d never met anyone like her.

And the story about her grandfather, fuck. Together with the way she essentially told him yes he was bossy and that was okay with her but when he went over the line she’d slap him back, only made him want her more. Strong, powerful women were hot as fuck, and this one got to him in ways that he’d be nervous about. Later.

She looked up at him, her lips curved into a smile. Not trying to hide herself or be coy. Also really fucking hot.

“Howie Colman was an absolute badass. He taught me how to drive.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded.

Scrolling tendrils of green wound their way from hip to hip. He danced his fingers over the super-sensitive skin. “Pretty.”

“It’s a work in progress. I added this frog here.” She pointed at her side, where a little green-and-brown frog had been added. “I’ll add little things when something happens that I want to mark.”

He liked that.

Not as much as he liked the barbell in each nipple. He tugged a little, twisting the bar, and she arched toward him with a moan.

“Tell me what you like about this.”

She caught her breath. “It feels good.”

He leaned in to nip her neck. “That’s not an answer to my question. Do you like the pain?”

He licked across her nipple, leaving it slick, and then tugged on it with his teeth before he did the same with the barbell.

She sank her fingers into his hair, holding him. “I like that better.” She went quiet for a bit, but he could tell she was trying to put it into words. “I don’t like pain. Not without pleasure.”

“Me either, darlin’. The pain is a way to get your body ready for the pleasure. Like a wave pulls back, gathers force, and crashes over the shore again. The balance is that place between them.”

“The first time it burned a little longer before it melted into pleasure. I think I must be very selfish because I want the pleasure faster.”

He cocked his head and thought about that. “That’s my favorite too. The shock of the pain and then the rush of chemicals to flood you with pleasure.”

“I want to see your body.” She tugged his hair to bring his face to hers.

He kissed her. “Impatient.”

“Damn right. I’ve been imagining you naked for five months now.”

Laughing, he stepped from his boots and then teased her slowly as he peeled off his T-shirt.

“I’m having a moment. I may need to sit down. But if I sit down I can’t touch you, so that’s out.” She got close enough to do just that. “Hmm. I suppose now we’ll have to test just how you like your nipples and those piercings played with.”

She bent her head to lick across first one and then the other nipple. He tried not to pant as she tugged a little harder than he had. And when she sucked it into her mouth hard and fast he couldn’t stop the way his hips jutted forward, seeking contact with her body.

He soaked it in as she ran her hands all over his chest and arms. She sucked in a breath as she traced the tentacles twisting around his shoulders and biceps.

“Wow,” she whispered as she circled him to take in the rest of the tattoo.

In teals and muted grayscale, the massive octopus took up Asa’s back. The artist had used the space on his skin perfectly. It nearly looked graceful, even over all the powerful muscles on Asa’s back and forearms.

And in one of the tentacles curled on his side was an ace of spades. “What’s this?”

“Just something left over from the army. Ace was my nickname. Not overly imaginative from Asa, but I had that ace of spades done first and then the octopus came after and my tattoo guy worked it into the new design.”

“It’s incredible.” She gave in and pressed her cheek to his back. So hard. Yum. “Do you have a thing about octopus? Octopi? Octopuses?”

He spun quickly, his hands at his button and zipper, and she sort of forgot what she’d been saying.

“They’re smart. They’re capable of changing their shape and size to adapt to any situation.”

Asa Barrons was a survivor. A guy who was proud of how hard he’d worked and what he’d built, and from what she could tell, he had every right to be.

“Show me what else you’ve got going on.”

He unzipped his jeans torturously slow – the look on his face told her he enjoyed the tease – and stepped from them, along with his shorts and socks. Looking at him totally bare, she nearly fell over.

Not only was he powerful with muscled thighs and hard calves, one bearing an intricate biomechanical-style tattoo, but his cock. Hoo, boy.

“You’re pierced.”

He handled himself firmly, and she tucked that away.

“I am.”

He had a barbell frenulum piercing, right below the head of his cock. A shiver ran over her skin. She’d never actually been with anyone with a pierced cock. But she wanted it. She licked her lips and the sound he made was nearly a snarl.

“Go on then.”

She dropped to her knees, brushing her lips up his left calf, behind his knee, up the inside of his thigh to lick up the line of his cock, pausing at the barbell. She studied it, tongued it gently, tugged on it with her teeth, and then she looked up into his face and swallowed the head of his cock, down past the piercing, tonguing it.

“Goddamn, yes.”

He stared down at her, gaze fiercely lit. The hand that slid from the top of her head and down to her jawline was gentle until he shifted, wrapping her hair around his fist and holding her from taking the head back into her mouth.

Suddenly she wanted it so much it surprised her. Straining to get closer, she licked across the head, shuddering at the groan he gave in response.

“Starving for it.”

She hummed her assent.

Magic.

PJ on her knees, those pink glossy lips wrapped around his cock, her cheeks rosy after struggling against his hold to get her mouth on him, was utterly breathtaking.

He rolled his hips, slowly fucking her mouth. She was tentative with the piercing. At first. Then she pushed a little, tugged a little harder, flicked her tongue faster.

He rode up to the thinnest of moments before climaxing and then pulled back. Her brow furrowed and she frowned.

Hauling her to her feet, he backed her to the bed and rolled on with her, tucking her body beneath his.

He had to take the reins and slow things down. Need beat at him with closed fists but he’d waited for this, fought it, and now that it was happening he needed to pay attention.