I am, but I’m not. I’m so tired that all I can think about is going home with him and falling asleep while he holds me. Maybe we should do this tattoo another day. A day where we can control our emotions better. Hell, he can’t even look at that binder without his hands shaking.

“Can we do the tattoo a different day? I want us both to be in the right mind.”

He closes his eyes and lets out a long breath. “I can handle it Phoenix. I would never attempt a tattoo on your body if I didn’t think I could.”

“It’s not you. It’s me.” I smile and he does too. “I’m just really tired and emotional right now. I didn’t get much sleep last night. As you know, I was up pretty early.”

He stares at me for a long moment before reaching for his shirt and keys. “Let’s go back to my house now. I’ll let you relax in the hot tub and I’ll make you dinner. You deserve a day of rest. Let me give that to you.”

That sounds so good right now. I can already close my eyes and picture myself there, naked with him holding me. At least, I hope that’s what he plans on doing.

“That sounds perfect.” I reach for my purse. “You lead and I’ll follow.”

Isn’t that the truth?

Chapter Eighteen

Phoenix

I slow my car as Kellan turns his bike into the driveway of a big white house with an attached garage. The door slides open and I see Kellan peek over his shoulder at me before pulling his bike into the garage and parking it next to his truck.

The house is beautiful with side-by-side picture windows and blue shutters, a screened in porch surrounded by some kind of red bushes and a brick path that leads up to the front door. I would have never imagined Kellan living in such a beautiful house if he only plans to stay for a short while. It surprises me.

I pull my car into the driveway and as soon as I kill the engine, Kellan pulls the car door open and grabs my hand. “You’re about to meet Rayne, but don’t worry, she doesn’t bite . . . hard.” The right side of his mouth pulls into a teasing smile as he helps me out of my seat. “Unless I tell her to.”

“Say what?” I pull my hand away from his and grab my purse. “If I get bit by something named Rayne, I’m going to bite you.”

His eyes land on my lips and now he’s fully smiling. “Can I count on that? I wouldn’t want you to make promises you can’t keep.”

“You ass!” I reach out to slap his arm, but he grabs it, wraps his arms around my body and throws me over his shoulder, causing me to squeal. “Hey!”

He slaps my butt and slams my car door shut. “You remember what used to happen when you called me names.” He takes off walking fast to the back of the house, his boots pounding hard against the bricks leading the way. “That hasn’t changed.” He pushes the privacy fence open and steps through it and into the back yard.

“Oh no! Kellan no!” I place my hands on his butt for support, while I lift my neck enough to see a pool come into view. “No! I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. Please put me down,” I plead as we come to stand right next to the large underground pool.

His chest rumbles from below me as he laughs, clearly determined to toss me into the water anyway. “That’s what you always said.” He grabs my purse, drops it to the ground by his feet and walks us over the edge of the pool.

Once we hit the water, he pulls me into his arms protectively and kisses me as we sink to the bottom. The water is cold on impact but I recover from the initial shock. The chlorine is burning my nose, but his lips make it all worthwhile. His fingers tangle through my hair and he grabs my thighs one by one with his other hand, wrapping them around his waist. The next thing my mind registers is us breaking the surface, his lips still attached to mine.

Somehow, we end up pressed against the edge of the pool, with both of us fighting to catch our breath as our lips separate.

Kellan smiles and I can’t help but to notice how sexy he looks wet. His hair is darker and slicked back with little droplets of water clinging to his long lashes. Each time he blinks, they fall to his cheek before running down his face and landing on his full lips. He runs a hand over his face and shakes his head. “I figured I’d throw myself in and keep you company this time. I guess I’m becoming a softie.” He grabs my neck, leans in and slowly runs his tongue up the tip of my nose. “You have a little water here.” He sucks in his bottom lip and smiles before running his tongue over the spot next to my lips. “And here.” A groan rumbles in his chest as he bites his lip, leans in and looks me dead in the eyes. “And here.” His tongue teasingly runs over my mouth, tasting me, before he sucks in my bottom lip and nibbles it. “Best water I’ve ever tasted,” he somehow manages to say while still sucking on my lip.

I can’t take this anymore. This is going to be hard. Really hard. I want him so bad, but I’m tired of this teasing. He’s too in control of it. It’s driving me mad.

I pull my lip away from his glorious mouth, smile and close my eyes. Placing my hand against his chest, I brush my fingertips over his defined abs, protruding from the wet shirt now stuck to his body, until I reach the end of my journey at the band of his wet jeans. Cupping his shaft in my grasp, I place my lips to his ear, grabbing the lobe between my teeth allowing my hot warm to caress his ear. “No one said I wanted to get wet, Kellan.” I place the tip of my tongue to his ear and stroke his hardness through his jeans, hoping to have the same affect on him, he has on me. “You get me wet against my will and you’ve been doing it for far too long.”

He watches me with a slight grin as I reach for his jacket and yank it open, sliding it down his arms, scratching my nails down his tattooed flesh on the way. I turn us around so his back is scraping the concrete of the pool and I push his chest until his back presses completely against it. “You’re so hard, Kellan,” I purr in his ear, still stroking him. “Do you like getting me wet?”

He wraps my hair around his hand and roughly pulls my head to the side, giving him the access to my neck he needs. He bites my shoulder and skims his teeth up my neck, toying with me and turning me on. “If I said I liked it, I’d be lying,” he growls against my neck. “I f**king love it,” he whispers. He takes control and flips us around, pressing my back against the pool and rips my shirt open.