Nurse to Heal the High Seas Doc - Chapter 10
Soft brown hair fell along Shane's chest as he stared at the hotel ceiling.
Perfection. That was the only way to describe spending the evening with Nicole Sapson.
He dropped a light kiss on her forehead, enjoying the scrunch of her nose as she sighed. “Is it morning?”
“Unfortunately.” Shane kissed her head again. His mouth had traced nearly every inch of her last night. And it had done nothing to squelch the fire of his desire.
“We have to head back to the ship.” Nicole pushed up on her elbow. Her cheeks reddening as she looked at the scattered clothes on the floor. “This was impulsive.” She ran a hand along his stomach. Impulsive. He hated that word. “Not sure that's the descriptor I’d use.” Though he wasn’t sure what word he would use, if asked. “About your tattoo?”
“Which one?” Nicole winked. The one on her wrist wasn’t hidden and Shane had seen hints of the design she had on her thigh before, when they’d gone out to dinner. The angel wings, though… They were a work of art that took up nearly her entire back.
He ran a finger along one of the wings. “It must have taken three or four sessions.” He’d never sat in a tattoo chair, but he knew a full back piece took hours.
“No. There was no time. I mean, it did take almost twelve hours. I had to set sail a week later, so…” Nicole stretched.
“You sat for twelve hours. How?” The nerves in her back should have been shot.
“I mean, I walked in, asked the artist for it and then told him I had to leave the country before he could do a follow-up session. He hesitated but—” she bit her lip and shrugged “—I convinced him I could handle it and that I’d take very good care of his creation.”
“Walked in? Like on a whim?”
Nicole kissed his cheek. “Yeah. Remember, I told you everyone has something they will throw caution to the wind for. Mine is tattoos.”
He didn’t think that was the reason for sitting so long. “Why the wings, Nicole?”
“Caleb was gone. Everyone was so kind. So understanding. And I was…happy.” She swallowed. “The wings cover some scars that…” She swallowed, again. “I needed them, the artist had time, and I figured why not.”
His arm tightened on her waist. Protective. A useless action given the man she needed protecting from was a ghost…or hopefully experiencing a fitting punishment in the beyond.
“'Figured why not.'” He kissed the top of her shoulder. “I have never heard anyone say that about a tattoo before.”
Nicole ran her hand down his abs, slowing as she got below his belly button. “Then you haven’t talked to many people with tattoos. I knew a nurse that got several because he was bored and had extra cash. That was a direct quote.”
Her hand shifted a hair lower. “We only have a bit of time before we need to be up and moving. I think there are better uses for our time than tattoo discussions.” Her fingers wrapped around his manhood. “Don’t you?”
She dropped her lips to his before he could answer.