Page 46 of Silver Sinner

"You cooked, I clean," I reply softly.

"Is it tough for you to give up control and let someone take care of you?"

I gently roll my eyes. "No one takes care of me. I don't need them to."

"Sure, it might not be a need." Pierce slides one warm, soapy hand up my forearm to my elbow. "But is it a want?"

Suddenly, in the middle of my kitchen up to my elbows in soap suds, I feel overly exposed. Like Pierce has just pulled back a layer I never knew I was keeping closed and suddenly all eyes are on me. A rush of heat flushes through me, and my lower lip trembles as Pierce leans closer, pressing me gently against the counter.

"Your silence tells me all I need to know." His voice is low in my ear and he kisses the shell, then he steps away to serve up dinner and leaves me with a chill in his stead.

I want him back.

I want his arms around me, soothing me and telling me it will be alright. I want him to reassure me that he's strong and powerful… after all, he found Maddie. He's rich. He could protect me and let me sleep. It's a sudden fantasy that screeches to a halt when Pierce serves dinner and jerks a thumb to the cardboard over the kitchen window, broken by Trik and his pasta box.

"What happened to your window?"

My tongue slides out and licks over the healed split left by Trik's fist as I sit, then I shake my head. "I tripped over the table leg and the pasta box in my hand went through the window like a rock. Who knew pasta could be so destructive?"

Pierce's gaze remains locked on me as we sit, and I can't tell if he believes my story. Not that it matters. As soon as we delve into the meal, once again all thoughts of Trik melt away. The sauce is spicy enough to make my lips tingle, but not enough to cause any pain. It's a welcome heat that soothes into a sweetness after a few more mouthfuls. I've nearly devoured half the plate before we speak again.

I glance up and for the first time, spot a splatter of ink peeking out from underneath the lapel of his shirt. When we were in bed together, it was far too dark to see anything, but now my interest is piqued.

"Do you have a tattoo?"

Pierce glances down at himself and smiles. "I do, yes."

"Wow. I never noticed it when we were uh…"

"Fucking?" Such a lewd term spoken so politely is oddly hilarious, and I laugh.

"Yeah. It was dark and I guess I didn't notice."

"It's a snake. My brother has one too."

"Matching tattoos?"

"In memory of our father."

They all have the same tattoo? "Can I see?"

"You just want me to take my clothes off."

My cheeks flush immediately but I don't look away. "Maybe."

Pierce holds my gaze and lowers his fork, then he stands slowly and one by one, he pops each button and the silk of his mauve shirt slowly falls away to the side. Rippling abs and curls of dark hair on his chest reveal themselves as he shakes his shirt lapels and then very slowly pulls his shirt off his left shoulder.

A black snake starts just above his elbow and winds around his bicep, then it slithers up to the meat of his shoulder, where the head rests with fangs bared just shy of his neck. It's rather beautiful and seems to move and wriggle as he shifts and flexes his arm.

"Wow… and you got that because of your father?"

"Mhm. My brother has the same tattoo on his right arm. My father had it up his back and we were going to get the same but it felt… wrong. I wanted to honor him in my own way, and then it just felt natural to have the tattoo on our arms instead."

I'm transfixed by it, or rather I'm transfixed by how mouthwateringly sexy Pierce is. In the light of my kitchen, it's hard to believe a man who looks like that has any interest in a woman like me.

"It's so beautiful."

"Thank you. My mother designed it for my father, so I carry them both with me. The reputation with it."