Page 30 of Marked by the Mountain Man

“I can’t reach it. So, I need you to finish it for me.”

“Finish a tattoo for you? I can barely write legibly, and you know how awful I am at drawing. No way.”

“Well, can’t you at least manage a straight line or a circle?”

I cross my arms over my chest. “I am absolutely not using a tattoo gun on you.”

“But you’ve made me use it on you, Cub,” he counters, his hand sliding beneath the denim knee-length skirt I wear. His fingers run playfully over the bear he tattooed on my upper thigh to commemorate the craziest first and last date of my entire life and my new nickname.

“Not fair,” I moan, hungry for his hands, tongue, and cock. “It’s been a long day, Boss Daddy. I need you buried balls-deep, railing me and making me forget my own name.”

“Fuck,” he whispers, nostrils dilating and lips parting hungrily. “You know what I want, Hot Stuff?”

“What?” I pant.

“I want … no, I need, like I need air to breathe, your pussy on my tongue. Right now. But first”—he levels his gaze on me—“I require your steady hand.”

I shake my head.

“Please, Cub.”

“Oh, alright, I know you’re teasing me. Show me whatever it is you’re trying to practical joke me into.”

“A new tattoo,” he says, unbuttoning his shirt and pointing. “I need you to finish it.”

My hands go to my mouth, tears filling my eyes as I gasp. I can’t believe my eyes:

Hadleigh Marie Bardot, do you believe in love at first sight? The kind that never fails, never lets you down, and never hesitates? If so, will you marry me?

Yes or No

His eyes redden as he appraises my reaction, big splashy tears flowing over my eyelashes. “Yes, Hudson, with every part of my being, yes!”

He pulls me into his arms, lips devouring mine passionately. “Good,” he says between kisses. “Because I haven’t been able to imagine living without you since before I even knew what living with you was like. From the moment I laid eyes on you through the tattoo parlor window. “

“You’ve never changed your story,” I laugh breathlessly. “Always maintained it was love at first sight.”

“And I will until the day I die, Cub. Maybe I don’t know how to explain it. But it’s not every day a man flings himself off a cliff for the girl of his dreams.”

“No, it’s not,” I whisper, kissing him tenderly, my heart overflowing with love.

“I think we can both agree I went outside of my comfort zone for you?—”

“Oh, no, Boss Daddy, I know where you’re headed with this, and absolutely not. I won’t fuck up your skin or that beautiful tattoo.”

His emerald eyes plead with me. I know exactly what he’s doing, and I’m having no part of it. I shake my head.

“But, Hadleigh, how will I know what your answer is if you don’t mark it?”

“What am I going to do with you?”

“I’ll let you practice on another part of me, if that helps?”

“You’ve lost your mind.”

“The moment I met you, Hadleigh. Come on, Cub. You can keep a steady hand that long.”

“Alright,” I giggle, shaking my head. “But you owe me after this.”

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