Lane curled into me, a smile on his face.“This one actually went pretty quickly. Sometimes it’s take after take,adjusting small things to get it all perfect.”
“It’ll be worth it, though. You’re going tolook amazing.” My smile widened as I remembered some of the clothing that he’dput on and stripped off. My stalker was perfection dressed or naked. “Who do wesee about getting some of those red panties?”
Lane laughed and gave me a teasing grin.“The red ones, huh? I thought you’d like them.”
“Oh yes.” I leaned in and took his mouthagain in a quick, heated kiss. “I think I need a private showing of those inevery color they have.”
Lane started rubbing one hand over my chestas he nodded. “I think that can be arranged, as long as I get to see what youwere so frantically working on.”
His smile turned tender, and he glanced atthe paper. “I’ve never seen you work like that. It was like demons were chasingafter you.”
“You kept moving, and I had to catch justthe right moment. It was maddening.” Reaching over to the side table, I frownedat the paper. “It’s not done yet. I’m going to have to come back and watchagain, if that’s alright. It’s the only way to finish it.”
Lane nodded like it wouldn’t be a problem,but he was too curious to give me a real answer. His eyes widened as I broughtit around and set it on his lap. Having him see it unfinished was incrediblyhard, but I just hoped he could see what it would eventually become.
“Oh…Wilder…” He seemed at a loss for words,but I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Finally, he looked up at me,tears in his eyes. “It’s beautiful.”
“It’s not done, but I think it’ll beperfect when it’s finished.” It had the bones to be something incredible, aslong as I could keep the feeling and the integrity of each part.
Lane shook his head. “Baby, even if this isall you ever do of it, it’s absolutely perfect.”
He looked down at the paper like it was amasterpiece in an art gallery, and I tried to see it from his point of view.Lane was kneeling in the center of the page, anchored down by two strong armsthat came up from the clouds below him. The tattooed arms kept him steady asthe people around him took shape from the clouds. Eli danced beside him in hismatching outfit, seductive laughter on his face.
They were the most completed figures, butI’d managed to fit in the rest of his family around him. Shy, sweet young guyswho hid in the corners of the page. Firm, strong men who had a don’t-fuck-with-melook as they dressed in sexy lingerie stood guard over the half-hidden formswho weren’t ready to come out and dance across the page like Eli was.
“Wilder, you just don’t understand. This isbeautiful. They’re all here.”
“Most of them. I have space for more overhere and I know I probably didn’t catch everyone, but it’s coming along.”Figures wrapped around each other and took shape on the page. Eventually, theywould be intertwined until it would be almost impossible to pick out one alone.They were meant to be together, not separate.
Lane’s finger hovered over the paper,tracing lines just above it. “It’s going to be like your tattoo. I can alreadysee the words. That’s what I couldn’t figure out.”
He looked up and smiled, his hand moving tomy chest instead of the page. “They’re words, aren’t they?”
I nodded and leaned in to kiss him again.“They’re things that make me strong and happy, pieces of my past and thingsthat I want to happen in the future.”
When I’d designed the tattoo, I’d wantedsomething completely different. After months of doodling and playing aroundwith different options, I’d finally figured out what I’d needed. No one thingwould encompass everything I wanted the design to say, so I hadn’t tried toforce it. The intricate lines and swirls that wrapped their way across my chestwere my life in words and pictures.
One day, Lane would be added. Maybe aname…maybe the swirl of fabric through the lines that were already there toshow how he’d wrapped his way through my life. His shy presence and hiddendesires had worked their way through my heart and had made a mark on me thatwould never fade.
Lane opened and closed his mouth severaltimes, but the words didn’t seem to want to come out. Finally, he shook hishead and gave me a tender kiss. “That’s beautiful, Wilder.”
“No, what’s going to be beautiful is when Iget you added to it as well. You, my love—my sweet, sexy stalker—make mehappier than I’ve ever envisioned and stronger than I ever thought possible.”Tears welled up in his eyes, and I leaned close to press my lips to his again.“I love you and nothing will change that.”
A tear slipped down his cheek and he leanedin to kiss me. As he pulled back, his hand came up to cup my face. “I waspulled toward you from the first moment I saw you. Something about you made itimpossible to walk away. I kept telling myself it was ridiculous to obsess oversomeone who could never understand what makes me…me.”
He shrugged like he still couldn’tunderstand it. “I couldn’t be more thankful that I was wrong. I love you,Wilder. The sweet man who sketches children’s books. The sexy tattoo artistthat pulls every eye to him as he walks in the room. The loving man whopatiently worked his way into my heart. They’re all pieces of the perfect manI’ve fallen head over heels for, and I can’t imagine my life without you init.”
Staring into his eyes, my heart clenched,and I tightened my arms around him. “You don’t have to, my love. I’m not goinganywhere. You’ve tattooed your way into my heart, and I’m going to doeverything in my power to keep you with me forever.”
Life took strange turns and sometimesdidn’t make sense, but I would be forever grateful to whatever fate put ustogether. Wrapped in lace, he was the man who I wanted with me for the rest ofmy life. My sweet love. My sexy stalker. My Lane.
Epilogue
Lane
“For god’s sake, I’m going to die of oldage before we get there.” Eli’s drama made me laugh, which was probably whathe’d intended.
I should’ve left his teasing alone, but Icouldn’t help it. “I’m sure you’ll look fine even with wrinkles and gray hair.The little ones you’ve got don’t make you look too old, so see, there’s nothingto worry about.”
