Page 37 of Under Kid’s Protection

Pulling her against him, he pressed his lips to her forehead again. “I’m very much on board with that.”

“I missed you,” she said softly.

Shifting her on his lap, he made it so she straddled him and he faced her. She rested her hands on his shoulders.

Kid cocked his head to the side as he studied Carrie again. In the time they’d spent together, she’d been an absolute mess. He’d watched her roller coaster of emotions as she oscillated between fear, rage, regret, hopelessness, and occasionally joy.

Her happiness was his favorite, and he wanted to see more of it.

“I missed you, too,” he said with a vulnerability he rarely felt.

Her smile brightened her features. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her chest against him in a hug. “So, you’ll be back tonight?”

Closing his eyes, he squeezed her tight. His heart swelled with an elation so unfamiliar to him he wasn’t sure what to do. This was a dangerous game, but when was he one to shy away from a little danger? “Of course.”

22

Carrie

Carrie had no concept of time or how long they’d sat there in each other’s arms within the tiny office of Kid’s tattoo studio. However, she was keenly aware that the people who were outside, the artists he’d brought in to stir up business, had bid him farewell. One even offered to lock the door behind him as he went. Thankfully, he’d stayed on the other side of the door and never peered inside.

Kid never left her. The two of them kissed and cuddled. He eventually ditched his shirt. They didn’t fuck again, which was strange. She’d never spent that much time with someone sans clothes without there being an intention to diddle one another.

She couldn’t recall the last occasion a guy just enjoyed being naked beside her without an agenda. At first, she wondered if it was because he needed longer than most to recover from an orgasm, but he had erections come and go while they sat there together petting each other and making out.

She felt like an innocent teenager again. Pure affection and appreciation at its finest. How was this possible?

The best part? One of her biggest fears hadn’t reared its ugly head. Kid had seen her tattoo. Having been so caught up in the moment, completely lust drunk, she didn’t freak out about it either.

Smiling to herself, she marveled at her own growth and healing.

Then their stomachs grumbled loudly.

“Okay, we need to eat,” he declared.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve had more than a yogurt and a banana. Maybe some coffee,” she said as she recalled what she’d consumed that day.

Shaking his head, Kid helped her off his lap. “That’s not enough. You need protein.”

“I know.” She shrugged and scanned the floor for her clothes. “I wasn’t hungry.”

“I’m glad I could work up an appetite with you.”

As she swiped her clothing off the floor, she sniggered. He wasn’t wrong. Shaking her head, she unwound her underwear from the tangle of her pants. Once she got the items separated, she stuffed one foot and then the other into her undies and yanked them up her thighs.

He furrowed his brows as he pulled up his jeans. “What’s that?”

“Hmm?” She glanced toward him to see he gestured toward her crotch.

Her cheeks flamed. How had she forgotten it was visible? Growing out her pubic hair had been her attempt at hiding it. She hated the thing, so of course he noticed it.

“The ink,” he said as he did the button and tugged up the zipper. “What is it? Not a common spot.”

She swallowed hard and turned away from him to stuff her feet into her leggings. “Nothing.”

“Hey,” he said. The heat from his body warmed her before his hands landed on her shoulders. “Don’t run from me.”

Once she got her leggings up around her hips, she took a deep breath and faced him.