Page 116 of Control Freak
He looked shocked. “Holden, seriously?”
I laughed because here was a camboy, someone who’d been shameless on-screen for money, clutching his pearls over me getting a hard-on in a tattoo shop.
“I’m not saying we should do anything about it right now.”
I shifted, wincing a little as my chest gave a twinge.
“Does it hurt?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I was due for a break.”
Shiloh nodded. “The touching is okay?”
“Yeah.” He didn’t look convinced. “It’s therapy, hon. It’s not supposed to be easy. But I feel safe, and I know my limits. I won’t go too far.”
“Okay.”
The rest of the tattoo session went smoothly. Cyrus settled into the artwork, too focused to ask Shiloh to touch me. But we’d done enough to break down the barrier to entry. Shiloh had touched my chest and my arm.
Now, I clung to his hand as the discomfort from the tattoo gun washed over me in waves.
“Shy,” I said through clenched teeth. “Do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Go on my other side, away from Cyrus, and touch me again.”
“Are you sure?”
“I want a distraction. It’ll help.”
Shiloh rounded the table, pulled up a stool, and hesitantly laid his fingertips on my shoulder.
My focus instantly shifted there, away from the tattoo gun.
You’re in control here, Holden. Don’t fuck it up.
“Slide your hand down my arm.”
Shiloh slowly complied, his hand trailing tendrils of fire, nerves sparking in the wake of his fingers.
“Okay, stop.”
He lifted his hand away immediately. I took a breath. Okay. I could do this. Shiloh had complied with my every order. My skin was tight, overly sensitive. But the tattoo gun instantly pulled my focus right back there, away from my arm to my aching chest.
I closed my eyes, riding the wave of endorphins pouring in. When I was ready, I took a breath and did it all over again.
“Shiloh,” I whispered. “Touch me again.”
CHAPTER 28
Shiloh
I’d never lovedHolden more than when he lay back in that tattoo chair, vulnerable and in pain, and sought out my eyes for reassurance.
I’d touched him sparingly—only a few times in total and for mere seconds—but it was mind-blowing just the same.
The warmth of his skin. The texture of the hair on his arm. The firmness of his muscle.
