Page 23 of Aries

I reached over to wipe the chocolate from his facial hair. “I guessed a paddle because you mentioned spanking, and it’s not that. I’m wondering if it’s one of those cup things they use to relieve tension. You know, the ones they use in spas.”

“Nope, not that.”

I’d clearly forgotten half of the clues he’d been giving. “You said we’d both enjoy it.”

“I did.”

“So, I’ll rule double-ended toy from my list.”

“Cross that all the way out.” He fed me another chocolate covered strawberry. “Think of something we talked about today but didn’t finish talking about.”

My mind went blank. I’d poured my heart and soul out into a painting since then. I could barely remember the names of his employees. “I didn’t think you’d be giving me a pop quiz.”

“It’s not. I thought you were guessing, and I was giving you a hint.”

“Ok, give me one more. Like, will I be on my back for it? Is it an active type of thing?”

He smirked and hummed, looking me over. “You could be on your back if you wanted, or on your stomach,” he said. “You could also be standing or sitting. There’s a lot of possibilities.”

“And it’s something for us both?”

“Yep.”

I was completely lost. I had no clue what he was trying to guide me toward. “I give up.”

“Let me empty this and I’ll get it out.” He shared the rest of the champagne between our glasses. He took his glass and walked off, gesturing me to follow. “I know you’re gonna love it.” He pointed to the bag he’d brough with him. It was on my bed. “Are you ready?”

“Yes—no, yes. Oh my god. What if it’s something I don’t like?”

He smiled. He knew I was going to like it; I was just letting my anxieties rear their ugly heads. “You trust me, right?”

“Now I know that trust is involved, I’m not sure what it can be,” I said, giggling through the nervousness. I drank the remainder of champagne in my glass.

Gael dipped to the foot of the bed on a knee. “I think I might have built this up a little bit too much now,” he said. “It’s something fun.”

I watched, waiting to see what it was.

He pulled out a box. “Ooh, another layer.”

“Come on.”

And inside the box, there were pens.

“Huh,” I let out, cocking my head.

“Not what they look like,” he said. “Tattoo pens. Temporary tattoo pens.”

“Oh.” Relief swept through me, bringing about another laugh. “We talked about them earlier. I said you were old.”

Gael shook his head in the best disappointed Daddy way. “I was going to tell you about these. And maybe see if you wanted to draw on me. Or—if I could draw on you.”

Suddenly the idea of a tattoo wasn’t so daunting with the knowledge that it would only be temporary, and it wasn’t like my body was a blank canvas in his eyes anyway; I was covered in his love bites.

“How long do they last?”

“A week to two weeks,” he said. “I brought colors as well. They stain the top layer of your skin and then disappear forever. I bought them last year for Kelly, she wanted to see how temporary tattoos would look and certain designs. She didn’t like them, something about not having the tattoo gun in her hands.”

Nothing went in as I stared at the pens in his hands and then to his body. “You want me to colors in your tattoos?”

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