Clarissa's POV

“Remove what?” I gasp.

I couldn’t believe this was happening right now. It felt like a dream, and this felt like the Damon I’d always craved. It was too good to be true.

“The one thing on your body that made me the happiest man alive,” he growls.

Did it really make him that happy?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lie.

I didn’t want to assume he was speaking about the tattoo; I wanted to hear him admit it first.

He breathes me in. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

I tried to stop my heart from doing the inevitable, but I was losing all control because of his nearness. It had me confused and, quite frankly, stupid.

“My name,” he croaks in a pained whisper.

What was he doing to me? His voice. The way he was looking at me. Everything was doing something strange to my body. I think he knew exactly what he was doing. This was intentional.

“Your name?” I gasp. “What about it?”

His hand travels up my thighs, and all the air is pushed out of my lungs from his unexpected touch. His hands are warm despite how cold the night’s air was.

“Why is it no longer on your beautiful body?” he finally asks the question I was waiting for. “It’s gone. Why is it gone?”

I take a second to think about how I wanted to respond to his question.

“Because you didn’t want it there to begin with,” I remind him after finding my voice.

He inhales sharply before cupping my cheek in his hand.

“I was a fool,” he whispers close to my ear. “A fool that didn’t realize his mistakes until it was too late.”

“Yes, you were,” I agree.

“I wish it was still there,” he confesses. “It meant more to me than you will ever know.”

I felt a shiver down my spine at hearing him admit how much it meant to him. That’s all I ever wanted to hear him say. I always imagined this would be his reaction after finding out about it. Another reminder that this could just be a painful dream. If it was, I was afraid to wake up.

“Why did you get it?” he asks, rubbing his nose against the base of my neck.

I swallow. “Because I wanted to be as close to you as possible. Your name on my body made me feel like you were a part of me. Something I didn’t think would ever be possible, considering who you are to me.”

“I thought we were already close,” he tells me.

“Not as close as I wanted us to be,” I confess.

“And how close is that?” he asks, waiting for me to give him an answer.

I don’t know how to respond to that. I was finally getting a reaction out of him, and the last thing I wanted to do was say something that would scare him.

I gasped when his finger slid past my nipple. “Is this close enough?”

“What a-are you doing?” I stammer.

“I asked you,” he growls. “Is this close enough?”

I can barely think clearly to answer his question. But it wasn’t close enough; it was never close enough.

“No.”

I cry out when he pushes my bikini out of the way, and the cool air touches me. Thankfully, the water flowed above us, providing the extra warmth I needed.

Soon enough, it didn’t matter because Damon’s face was inches from my breast.

“Is this close enough?” he asks as his warm breath brushes my exposed skin.

“No.” That was all I could say once more.

Before I could say anything else, Damon’s mouth quickly covered my nipple, closing over it. His lips gently rested on top, barely moving. He wasn’t sucking; he wasn’t doing anything; he just kept his mouth over it.

What was he waiting for? And why did this feel so good?

I think he’s waiting for me. I think he’s waiting for my permission to keep going. He wants to know if I’m okay with this. After all, I was the one that told him things should return to normal between us.

Right now, I don’t care about any of that. Damon was finally showing me the attention I’d always wanted from him.

I can’t stop myself as I bury my hands in his hair. I cry out when he finally begins to suck on my nipple in the gentlest way possible. He’s cautious with my body, easing me into everything. Both of his hands are on my waist and traveling higher.

I gasp when he lifts me into the air and pushes me up against the wall while still having his mouth on my breast. He opens his mouth wider, taking more of it in. My eyes roll back into my head from the intense emotions that came with it.

A sound inside the house forces us to break apart.

Damon is breathing hard, almost like he’s fighting for air.

“It’s still there,” I say suddenly before I can stop myself.

His forehead creases. “What?”

He didn’t realize yet that I was speaking about the tattoo.

“I never removed it,” I say again.

His eyes widen when it finally sinks in. “What do you mean? I can’t see it. You said you would get rid of it, and it’s not on your body anymore.”

“Come to my room tonight,” I whisper. “I’ll show you that it’s still there.”

I was used to sneaking into Damon’s room. Now it was his chance to do the same.

I don’t say anything else as I turn and walk away from him. I give him a full view of my backside. I’m sure he’s still confused about why he couldn’t see the tattoo.

I had to thank Autumn for her genius move. If I had worn the cover-up, Damon would have assumed the tattoo was gone.

He was convinced it was gone because I’d finally ditched the cover-up. I inwardly smiled at my tiny victory.

Just how far was Damon willing to go?