Page 144 of Beyond the Stroke

“I need to get closer.”

“So come closer.”

His hands grip the sides of my waist and in one quick motion, he’s got me straddling his lap.

“How’s this?” he asks, grinning. “Because I think this is the perfect position.”

It is the perfect angle for painting, among other things.

“You would.”

“What can I say? I like this view.”

I shake my head, trying to focus on keeping my hand steady. I’ve never had this issue before, but there’s something about straddling Rory’s hips and leaning into his naked torso that makes focusing on my art more challenging. Oh, and the fact that with every tilt of my hips, I can feel his rigid cock pressing at my center. That’s making it nearly impossible to focus.

“Rory.”

“Hmm?” His brows lift, a feigned look of innocence on his face.

“Behave.”

“My beautiful wife is straddling me. It’s out of my control.”

“How’s your knee?” I ask, hoping to distract us from how good it feels to have him beneath me.

“Good.” He exhales deeply, like he’s letting all the day’s worries go.

“How was practice without Connor there?”

He chuckles. “I think I’ve gotten so used to pushing myself, it was hard to dial it back.”

“So maybe it’s been a good thing to have Connor challenging you?”

“Hmm. Still doesn’t mean I like the guy.”

Rory reaches up with one hand to brush aside a rogue hair, his thumb teasing along my jaw line as he sweeps it behind my ear.

“Stay still, Flipper, or it won’t be a mermaid, just a blob.”

That’s when I get an idea. I put the finishing touches on the mermaid, then mix the black and white paint to create the perfect shade of gray before getting to work.

I do some shading work around the fins and tail, then finish it off with a blue eye, just one since the animal is in profile.

“There. I’m finished.”

I climb off him to grab a hand mirror from the bathroom, then return to my position to show him my work.

“What’s this?” Rory uses the mirror to check out the art painted on his chest.

“Your mermaid looked lonely so I gave her a friend. His name is Flipper.”

Rory’s gaze locks on mine. “Now all I need is a cute little pug floating on an inner tube between them and our little family is complete.”

My heart pounds at his suggestion. To put Edgar in the painting, and that we’re a family. There’s a niggling feeling in my ribcage. Whispers of questions that have started to grow louder in the back of my mind.

What would it be like to give this man everything?

But this is just playing around. It’s temporary. The tattoo I’m painting and our marriage.

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