Fade Back (A Stepbrother Romance Novella) Read Online Free Page B
Author: Stephanie Brother
how Lux made her feel. And if she was totally honest with herself, a little lonely too.
"Portland, I think. For a while, anyway. It's the only place I'd go back to, I think. Not that I can."
"Why... if you don't mind me asking?" Becka felt Fitz bristle at the question, and wished she could take it back, scooping that one syllable up in a cupped hand and swallowing it down. And Portland… Why did that tug at the back of her memories too? Eventually, Fitz answered.
"Things didn't go so well there for me in the end. But they seemed really good at first, you know? Ah well, c'est la vie et cetera and so on. Okay, brace yourself. We're starting the needles."
"You mean you haven't yet?!" Becka was relieved to hear Fitz’s saucy chuckle again, and settled in to the table.
She braced herself against the needle, but her first jolt came when she felt Fitz’s cool, powerful hand spread against the naked flesh of her chest and upper belly, pressing down gently with a tantalizing hint of force. Oh boy. This guy. Wow.
"Nope, that was a regular pen. Sorry. Here we go!"
Chapter Five
I t didn't really hurt , or at least the pain was easy to trace along with the needle, disappearing as quickly as it arrived, with Fitz’s hand deftly moving from line to line. It stung just enough for the tingling and wetness between Becka’s thighs to finally go away, which was a relief in itself. For the most part, they were quiet. Becka let her tattoo artist focus on his work, enjoying the steady whisper of his breath, her body still humming with every touch.
In the intermissions, when Fitz refilled his ink and fiddled about with fresh needles, Becka stretched, and their chatting resumed.
"I've never been to Portland, though I hear it's pretty cool."
"It's beautiful, but it might be just a little too hip for me, truth be told."
"Too hip? For an award-winning tattoo artist? Are you kidding?"
Fitz chuckled again and shrugged in a self-effacing gesture; Becka found it so disarmingly cute she thought she might just fall in love with it. Fall in love? Shut up, Becka.
"Well, I knew a girl there. She was a lot cooler than me I guess 'coz she never had that problem. It gave the whole town this kind of hipper-than-thou vibe for me, and I just can't seem to shake it. But yeah, ostensibly, I should've fit right in."
"You didn't?" Becka asked, genuinely perplexed that a guy this handsome would have trouble fitting in anywhere. She also wondered if she'd be receiving any salacious tidbits regarding the nasty Wendy’s gossip about Fitz’s predilections.
"It didn't feel right, I guess. My ex," Becka’s heart sung at that laden syllable. Ex. So he dated. He might date again. He had a girlfriend, but not anymore. If Jerome were there, he would have been screaming ALL ABOARD at the top of his lungs. If Mick were there, he'd have rolled his eyes and said duh. But neither of them was there, so instead Becka just listened. “She kind of ruled that scene, and in the end I just didn't feel like my interest in the place was worth all the drama, considering I was the newcomer, so to speak. Either way, it turned out all her friends loved the drama and all my friends were her friends so I packed up and left, but two years is plenty of time to get to love a place."
Two years he'd been with that other girl? That was almost as long as Becka had been out of her geeky shell. In the three years since Becka burst through the doors of this new partying lifestyle, she barely remembered who she was before, and a lot of that she attributed to the admirers she'd teased along the way, and the confidence they’d given her. She tried to imagine forsaking the scores of conquests she'd had in that time for one person, and simply couldn't.
"Two years is a long time."
"For you maybe, but you're just a kid!"
Becka was surprised to find herself smarting from this. She was used to her youth being seen as a commodity, and deeply desirable at that. In her world, anyone over
"Portland, I think. For a while, anyway. It's the only place I'd go back to, I think. Not that I can."
"Why... if you don't mind me asking?" Becka felt Fitz bristle at the question, and wished she could take it back, scooping that one syllable up in a cupped hand and swallowing it down. And Portland… Why did that tug at the back of her memories too? Eventually, Fitz answered.
"Things didn't go so well there for me in the end. But they seemed really good at first, you know? Ah well, c'est la vie et cetera and so on. Okay, brace yourself. We're starting the needles."
"You mean you haven't yet?!" Becka was relieved to hear Fitz’s saucy chuckle again, and settled in to the table.
She braced herself against the needle, but her first jolt came when she felt Fitz’s cool, powerful hand spread against the naked flesh of her chest and upper belly, pressing down gently with a tantalizing hint of force. Oh boy. This guy. Wow.
"Nope, that was a regular pen. Sorry. Here we go!"
Chapter Five
I t didn't really hurt , or at least the pain was easy to trace along with the needle, disappearing as quickly as it arrived, with Fitz’s hand deftly moving from line to line. It stung just enough for the tingling and wetness between Becka’s thighs to finally go away, which was a relief in itself. For the most part, they were quiet. Becka let her tattoo artist focus on his work, enjoying the steady whisper of his breath, her body still humming with every touch.
In the intermissions, when Fitz refilled his ink and fiddled about with fresh needles, Becka stretched, and their chatting resumed.
"I've never been to Portland, though I hear it's pretty cool."
"It's beautiful, but it might be just a little too hip for me, truth be told."
"Too hip? For an award-winning tattoo artist? Are you kidding?"
Fitz chuckled again and shrugged in a self-effacing gesture; Becka found it so disarmingly cute she thought she might just fall in love with it. Fall in love? Shut up, Becka.
"Well, I knew a girl there. She was a lot cooler than me I guess 'coz she never had that problem. It gave the whole town this kind of hipper-than-thou vibe for me, and I just can't seem to shake it. But yeah, ostensibly, I should've fit right in."
"You didn't?" Becka asked, genuinely perplexed that a guy this handsome would have trouble fitting in anywhere. She also wondered if she'd be receiving any salacious tidbits regarding the nasty Wendy’s gossip about Fitz’s predilections.
"It didn't feel right, I guess. My ex," Becka’s heart sung at that laden syllable. Ex. So he dated. He might date again. He had a girlfriend, but not anymore. If Jerome were there, he would have been screaming ALL ABOARD at the top of his lungs. If Mick were there, he'd have rolled his eyes and said duh. But neither of them was there, so instead Becka just listened. “She kind of ruled that scene, and in the end I just didn't feel like my interest in the place was worth all the drama, considering I was the newcomer, so to speak. Either way, it turned out all her friends loved the drama and all my friends were her friends so I packed up and left, but two years is plenty of time to get to love a place."
Two years he'd been with that other girl? That was almost as long as Becka had been out of her geeky shell. In the three years since Becka burst through the doors of this new partying lifestyle, she barely remembered who she was before, and a lot of that she attributed to the admirers she'd teased along the way, and the confidence they’d given her. She tried to imagine forsaking the scores of conquests she'd had in that time for one person, and simply couldn't.
"Two years is a long time."
"For you maybe, but you're just a kid!"
Becka was surprised to find herself smarting from this. She was used to her youth being seen as a commodity, and deeply desirable at that. In her world, anyone over
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