Sweet Surrender [18+]

t w e n t y - e i g h t

"Josh, I'm not doing it," Lauren said firmly, shaking her head. "I think it's a terrible idea."

"But I want it," Josh whined like a little child ready to throw the biggest temper tantrum of his life. "Isn't the customer always right?"

"Not when the customer is a moron."

"I thought you'd think this was the sweetest and most romantic gesture ever and be obligated to give me unlimited blowjobs for the rest of my life."

Lauren rolled her eyes dramatically. "Then, obviously, you don't know me that well."

"You seriously don't want me to get your name tattooed on my other bicep?" Josh looked at her skeptically as they sat together on the wide chaise lounge on the brand spanking new wooden back deck they built together over the past three months.

The project probably would have been completed in two months, but Lauren had a problem keeping her hands off a shirtless and sweaty Josh. The way his muscles flexed when he picked up a power tool or a heavy piece of wood made her mouth water and her sexual core wet and pulsate with undeniable need.

When she found an opening to jump into his arms and tempt him with kisses and dirty words in his ears, he couldn't resist returning her passionate kisses and carrying her inside the house for hours of sex. They christened every room, every surface, every space during the first month of reconciling.

Lauren had never felt so alive, so sexy, and so loved when Josh spent the weekends and helped renovate her little house. Even though they agreed to slowly rebuild their relationship, they both knew what they wanted most: to build a life together.

Josh had spent the second month finishing jobs in his hometown after giving notice, interviewing with several home repair companies and accepting an impressive offer from a well-established and well-known business, and gradually moving into the house.

Despite the chaotic nature of their new beginning, Lauren had never been so sure of their choice to take a second chance at their relationship. When they didn't spend the nights cuddling on the lounge and talking for hours beneath the stars, they curled up on the couch and watched movies, discovering new likes and dislikes.

Once Josh settled into the house and the new job, they began a new chapter with new tattoos. Like a wide-eyed child eagerly waiting for Christmas Day to arrive, he could not contain his excitement about having Lauren ink his left bicep with the intricate raven design she had drawn in her apology letter.

Although Josh had previously met some of her co-workers during short visits at work or at the bars on the weekends, he easily charmed them with his unbridled enthusiasm and clear adoration for the artist during the five hours Lauren worked on his tattoo.

The raven ink hadn't even dried when he believed a tattoo with Lauren's name would be cool. Apparently, he had been wrong.

"I triple check with my clients to make sure that's what they want," Lauren revealed, snuggling into his side, as a finger lazily brushed her arm. "Because I have created dozens and dozens of designs to cover up names."

"Well, I'll either cover it up after you kick me to the curb or I'll keep it as a reminder that I will forever be fucked up."

"You're so weird."

"Weird would be lying to my future baby mama that I had a close relationship with an aunt whose name was Lauren – hence the tattoo in remembrance of her – and I'd like to name our daughter after her to preserve the ink."

She studied the serious look on his face and wondered if she fell in love with a psychopath or a very creative storyteller. "That's so fucked up, you know that, right?"