The Devil's Tattoo (26 page)

"Zoe," he said breathlessly.

"
Shhh
," I murmured.
"Don't."

Leaning back against the kitchen counter, I ran my hands down his
back and underneath the waistband of his jeans, feeling the warm skin of his
ass. He seemed to be unsure of my reaction and to make myself clear, I sunk my
nails into his skin, pressing my lips against the corner of his jaw.

"Are you sure?" he asked with a frown. "I
don't…"

"Please," I murmured against his lips. "I need
you."

"Zoe…"

"You once said that you'd do anything I asked," I
interrupted. "I'm asking. I don't care what happens next. I need you
inside me."

He let out a strangled moan, his eyes closed. "I want you
Zo
, so much. But after what I did…"

"I need you to fuck me, Will Strickland."

That seemed to work. He let his jacket drop the floor and pushed
mine from my shoulders, flinging it over the couch. Abruptly, he tore my
t-shirt over my head, my hair wild over my face. Pushing it out of the way, he
trailed feather light kisses down my chest, before unhooking my bra, freeing my
breasts.

Teasing my nipples with his tongue, he said, "Hard or slow,
Zoe? Tell me how you want me to fuck you."

When he spoke like that, it made my insides clench tight. I knew I
was wet and I wanted it any way I could get it.

"Hard," I gasped as he pulled his shirt off and fumbled
with the button of my skinny jeans. "Fast."

Kicking my boots off, he did the same and with one hard tug, he
pulled off my jeans and underwear in one go. His followed, but not before he
pulled a condom out.

"Do you want it here?" he whispered against my lips.
"From behind? In your bed?"

"Stop talking," I moaned. "I want to come."

With a wild growl, he picked me up, holding my body against his. I
wrapped my legs around his waist and he pressed me against the wall, thrusting
inside me, burying deep.

"God," I gasped, biting into the skin of his shoulder,
but he didn't stop. He held me against the wall and moved inside me, his
thrusts relentless, driving me closer and closer to the edge. I wanted hard and
fast and he knew how to give it to me.

"Fuck, Zoe," he grunted. "You make me burn. Just
you. Only you."

Abruptly, he pushed me back onto the kitchen countertop, my back
flat on the cool surface as he stood over me. Holding a leg over his shoulder,
he didn't slow his rhythm, pounding in and out of me. Watching him over me like
that almost undid me, seeing the unmasked pleasure on his face. I'd never seen
that look in anyone's eyes before and somehow I knew this was just for me. This
took him as completely as it did me.

As I felt an orgasm building inside me, I took my breast in my
hand, kneading the sensitive flesh and my other hand went towards my clit,
which was open and wanting at this angle. As my finger began to circle,
Will gasped, his hand tightening on my thigh.

"Don't stop," I moaned as I began to come, calling out his
name. Arching my back, I
spasmed
around him urging
him to follow and he did. The look on his face gave away how hard his release
was as we watched each other fall over the edge.

"
Zoe
," he gasped, slumping over me, my legs
wrapping around him.

My hands ran through his hair as the stubble on his jaw rasped
against my naked breasts, both our chests heaving with exertion. That feeling
of pure
need
I'd felt earlier was more than satisfied. It'd been
quenched for now.

"Take me to bed, " I whispered, moving against his
length that was still deep inside me. "We both have some explaining to
do."

CHAPTER
THIRTY-FIVE

WILL

I carried Zoe to bed, pulling the covers back and setting her gently
onto the mattress. Tucking the
doona
up to her chin,
I stroked a thumb down her cheek, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her
ear. With a sigh her eyes began to droop, and I suddenly began to worry about
her eye. I couldn't see in the semi-dark, but it would probably bruise
something fierce.

Her apartment was small, so there was no missing the bathroom. As
I cleaned up, I couldn't help but let my thoughts wander and my anger simmered
as I began to mull over everything that had happened tonight.

She'd hit him. Not the slap she'd clocked me with - it was a full
fist punch, her entire weight had been behind it. She'd probably given that
bastard a black eye.

Zoe was the strongest woman I'd ever known. I hadn't heard all of
their argument, but I could guess the extent of what her ex had done to her. If
I could go back there right now, I wouldn't hesitate beating the crap out of
him. I wanted to smash him into pulp for hurting her.

She was better than that. She had the strength to stop when she
had every right to lose it. She was ten times the human being I had been.

Whatever she chose to do now, I would do it, even if she didn't
want me. I'd told her that I'd do anything she wanted and I intended to keep
that promise from now on and forever. She'd trusted me then and she'd trusted
me now when she asked me to bring her home.

I was hers to do with what she wanted.

Going back into the kitchen, I opened the freezer and found a
packet of frozen peas. Grabbing a tea towel from the bench, I wrapped them up
and went back into the bedroom, hoping to god that this wasn't the last time I
would see her.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-SIX

ZOE

It didn't register completely when Will took me to bed and pulled the
covers over my naked body. Nor did it register when he went out and came
back. A cold cloth pressed against the side of my face and I gasped at the
sudden temperature change.

"I nicked your peas," Will said, propping himself up on
an elbow beside me.

"
S'ok
." I took the packet of
frozen peas he'd wrapped in a tea towel and pressed it against my eye. I was
sure I'd have a shiner there for a week or so.

"I'm so sorry, Zoe. I didn't mean to hurt you. I promised I
wouldn't and what did I do?" His hand caressed up and down the curve of my
waist, the muted glow from the security light outside highlighting the worry in
his features. "I'll understand if you want to end this. I don't want you
to, but…"

I silenced him mid-sentence, pulling his bottom lip into my mouth,
my fingernails pressing into his back. "Shut up."

"Zoe," he breathed against my mouth and I dropped the
frozen peas on the floor.

"Tell me the truth. Everything."

He took a deep breath. "I don't know where to start."

"At the beginning helps."

"The beginning…" He let out another long sigh. "I
didn't want you to have to deal with her. I thought I could have words with her
and get her to back off, but she turned up anyway."

"Who was she to you?"

"She was my girlfriend. We'd been together for around three years."

I'd been with Jason for almost two years. I knew a long
relationship like that would
had
to have been serious.
We'd both had someone before, but even though, it still hurt that he'd loved
someone else. But, despite my jealousy, I had to keep asking questions if I was
going to get over this.
If we both were.
"What's
her deal?"

"Mish is a model. She does stuff like fashion week and
sometimes goes overseas. A year and a half ago was when it went bad. She
was opening a show for some big designer in Sydney.
It was a
big deal so
,
I went to surprise her
. You know,
to be supportive. It wasn't until I caught her in the act that I
realised
what had been going on. Every time she'd go away,
she'd screw her way through any male model she came across."

"You walked in on her?"

"In the throws."

I frowned, understanding how being cheated on tore your heart in
two.

"It really messed me up. I blamed myself for the longest
time. I
agonised
over everything I'd done, wondering
where it had gone wrong. I must have done something to push her away, but I
didn't know what. She crawled back and I let her, but it wasn't the same. The
trust was gone, you know? I ended it a year ago. That was a month before that
gig. You know the one I saw you at?"

"Yes. How could I forget.
"

"I felt like I was drowning and you brought me back. This
mysterious woman in the crowd threw me a lifeline." He let his eyes fall
away from mine. "The other day… on your birthday, she started messaging
me. Saying she missed me and wanted to see me. It was so out of the blue, it
threw me."

"That's why you were so distant?" I asked with a scowl.

"Yeah. I'm sorry. It's just been such a fast turnaround… you
know with you and…" He stopped mid-sentence, a pained expression on his
face.

I knew what he meant. The emotional turnaround and given us a both
a serious case of whiplash.

"I know now that I didn't love her. I thought I did at the
time, but what that
was
pales in comparison to what I
feel for you. It was a mistake."

"Will…"

"I didn't mean to, Zoe. I didn't mean to do it."

I ran a hand up his warm chest, feeling the pounding of his heart.
I trailed my fingers along his collarbone and up his neck, finally cupping his
face. Looking into his eyes, I
realised
how sincere
he was. I'd never thought
Will
would be the kind of
guy to cry, but his eyes sparkled.

"Seems we both had psycho ex's that wanted to
capitalise
on our fragile emotional state," I said,
shifting against him, so our legs tangled.

He gazed at me with a puzzled look, like he didn't understand the
meaning behind my
words, that
I was beginning to
forgive him.

"Jason and I..." I began, but he placed a finger over my
lips, silencing me mid-sentence.

"You don't have to," he whispered. "I'm not mad at
you for not telling me. I understand why you didn't. You stood up to him. When
it came to me, I caved."

"I want to."

"You're stronger than you
realise
,
Zo
. You put me to shame."

"I need to tell you, Will."

"Okay. If it's what you want."

I took a deep breath, wrapping my arm around his familiar body. I
needed familiar to get through this. I hadn't told the entire story to anyone
since I lay in the hospital with Dee at my bedside. I never told my parents the
whole
truth,
they didn't need that kind of worry. So
much time had passed, I wasn't sure if I remembered how it went. I'd been out
of it mentally for a long time. "I knew something was wrong the moment he
came home. He was different. He couldn't look at me. I asked him what was
wrong and he just
lay
it out there. He'd been seeing another
woman behind my back for six months. I'd been oblivious. I was
happy
."
I stifled a sob.

Will's hand tightened on my waist, but he didn't say anything. He
didn't need to.

"My first mistake was to slap him in the face. Then he told
me that he was in love with her and they were getting married.
The
next week
.
My second mistake was to punch him in
the face."

"It wasn't a mistake," Will's voice was quiet and thin.

I silenced him with a finger over his lips, the tension set in his
jaw, unnerving. "Then he hit me."

His eyes squeezed shut.

"My reaction was to run. He'd never raised a hand to me
before. Ever. I was terrified. He came after me of course, and grabbed my arm
just as I was about to go down the stairs. I yelled at him to let me go, and he
did. I turned and that was when I felt his hand on my back."

"God, Zoe."

"I remember everything. I remember falling down onto the
concrete below. I remember screaming. I remember the sound my arm made when it
broke." Tears began to spill out of my eyes.

"That scar on your arm," he said, tracing the lines of
my tattoo.

"I had to have surgery. It wasn't healing and they had to fix
it. I couldn't deal with seeing it, so I had it tattooed."

"It doesn't look like a surgical scar."

"I broke it so badly, the bone was sticking out."

He drew in a sharp hiss. "Bloody hell."

"Mrs. Cooper downstairs heard my screams and came out. By
that time Jason had already ran. She called an ambulance and Dee."

"That bastard ran off?"

"I could have called the cops. He could have gone to jail.
But there were no witnesses. It was my word against his and I didn't have the
kind of money it took to fight it in court. I had no choice but to let it go.
It was a week or so before I got out of hospital and in all that time, Dee and
my parents were the only people who came to see me. It wasn't until I went home
that I knew that he'd been telling lies to everyone. I tried to tell them the
truth, but they were quick to brand me the jealous ex-girlfriend. I got hateful
emails and messages. I deleted everything. Got a new number, got a new email. I
had to fall of the face of the earth or end up in some psycho hospital. They
seemed to forget the part where Jason had blatantly cheated on me. They all
sided with him and believed the story that I'd just fallen."

"Everyone but Dee."

"Dee was the only friend I had outside of his."

"If I ever see that bastard again…"

"It's over, Will."

"What about the other woman?"

"I tried to find her in the beginning, to talk to her. Tell
her the truth. But, I couldn't find her and nobody would talk to me."

"What did he say to you tonight? Why was he even there?"

"He wanted me back."

"What the fuck?"

"He didn't admit to it, but something must have went wrong
with his marriage. He must have seen how well I was doing now and wanted to
crawl back. You know, the whole victim messed up mentality. Maybe he wanted to
take advantage. I'd never let him. Not after what he did."

"Zoe," Will
murmured
, holding
me close. "God, your resolve is so bloody strong. I feel like a coward
next to you."

"I was a coward," I said. "For two years I was.
Then Dee got me to play in this silly little band called The Devil's Tattoo.
Somewhere along the way I decided to live again, but even then it wasn't right,
not yet."

He pressed his lips to my forehead, fingers trembling against the
skin of my face.

I wasn't quite finished yet. "How the hell does someone
recover from that kind of betrayal? I never did. I
realise
that now. I'm sorry I ran off that day. I'm sorry." I couldn't help the
tears that began streaming from my eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Zoe.
Nothing
."

"I panicked."

Will let out a long shaky breath and pressed his lips against my
forehead again. "I wish I could take it away. I want to make it
better."

"Did you mean it? What you said before?" I whispered.

He cupped my chin and drew my tear stained face to his. "I
love you Zoe Granger. I don't even know how that's possible. But I do. I've
never been more certain of anything in my life. I didn't tell you because I was
afraid I'd scare you away."

"I never thought I'd be able to let anyone else in," I
said carefully. "But you walked in with your infuriatingly sexy stubble
and turned me upside down. The effect you had on me scared me shitless."

"If it's any consolation, I felt exactly the same way."

"Then," I whispered. "You took it away."

He gazed at me with hope in his eyes and my heart did that
flip-flop it had done the first time he'd spoken to me. "Zoe, tell me I
haven't fucked this up."

"You really are a class
A
jerk, Will
Strickland." After what we'd been through, he still hesitated. I captured
his mouth with mine and kissed him, taking control. "You're mine."

He had me on my back a second later, a knee pressing between my
legs. "If I'm yours, then you are
mine
." He kissed me
long and slow, his tongue teasing mine, and it was full of everything he felt
for me. Everything fell away and it was just
me and him
.

The cold packet of peas was back against my face, and instantly it
cooled everything else down as well.

"How's your hand?" he asked, pulling it up to his mouth,
lips brushing against my tender knuckles.

"Sore."

"You have a mean right hook,
Zo
."

"I never knew." I pulled my hand away and pressed it
against the top of the frozen peas.

"Do you think it might be broken?"

"No," I shook my head. "It moves okay. I think it's
just
gunna
bruise a little."

"Damn," he sighed. "You have an awesome new guitar
to play, too."

For the first time in days, I smiled a genuine smile. It would
take a little time, but somehow I knew we were going to be okay. He
loved
me.

"We're going to Europe in two weeks," he said, suddenly
serious. "I'll be gone almost three months."

"I know." And I didn't like it one bit, but maybe time
apart would do us good.

"I don't want to leave you."

"It's okay, I have a Fender to keep me warm at night."

"Zoe," he groaned, pulling me against the length of his
body. "You're making me feel inadequate."

I ran a thumb over his nipple in slow, lazy circles and teased the
edge of his jaw with small fluttering kisses.

"That's a little better," he said through heavy breaths,
moving against me, the frozen peas falling aside again. "Seriously though,
Zo
. You need some rest. It's two am." He
rolled me over, wrapping his arms around me, obviously intending to stay. I
pressed my body back into his, closing my eyes. He could stay as long as he
wanted.

"I love you Zoe Granger," he said against my hair.
"I know you're not ready to say it. I know it'll take time after
everything, but I'll wait."