The door shut loudly behind us, and he turned to flip the lock before putting me on my feet and backing me against the door. “Who the fuck was that?” he demanded, putting his face close to mine.
“Jordan,” I said with a shrug, not in the least bit intimidated by him. He could go out there and beat up a hundred guys in the cage, but I knew in my heart he would never lift so much as a finger in violence toward me.
“Your best friend, that Jordan?” I nodded, but he didn’t back away. “You fucked him.”
I just stood there, not answering him. I didn’t want to think about the time I nearly messed up my relationship with my best friend, and I didn’t want to lie to Barrick about it, so I just kept my mouth shut.
But that was all the confirmation he needed.
“How many times?” His voice had lost that edge, but there was something in his eyes that took me completely by surprise. Vulnerability.
“Once.”
“Once since he got to town, or once period?” The pain and jealousy lacing his voice had me putting my hand on his chest, right over his heart. A heart that was pounding against his rib cage.
“Once—period,” I answered honestly. “I told you, it was a mistake. One neither of us wants to repeat. He’s just my friend, Barrick.”
One of his huge hands covered mine, pressing it closer. “Baby, I miss you. I haven’t slept since Saturday. Food tastes like trash, so I don’t eat. I need you back, Mia.” Closing his eyes, he touched his forehead to mine, his confession tearing me apart. “I don’t know how much longer I can survive without you.”
My fingers curled in the material of his shirt, but as they did, my nails scraped over something beneath. Frowning, I jerked my hand out of his hold and tugged his shirt up to reveal a large white bandage taped over his left pectoral.
“What happened?” I cried, concerned.
“Nothing. It’s nothing,” he brushed it off, but I couldn’t breathe, thinking he was hurt and he was making light of it.
I tugged up one corner of the tape and pulled back the bandage. My knees went weak when I saw what he’d done to himself.
Barrick, my strong cage fighter who didn’t even blink when it came to facing down scary-as-hell guys wanting to beat in his face, was scared of needles. It was something Braxton had teased him about one night, and I’d thought it was adorable. My big, burly Beast was terrified of a little bitty needle.
That was why his body was free of ink, unlike Braxton’s.
Or it had been.
A fresh tattoo was now glowing on his chest. It looked like a starburst, the colors exploding right over his heart.
“Wh-what’s this?” I whispered.
“A firecracker,” he rasped, his dark eyes watching me, waiting.
A firecracker.
Me.
I was his firecracker, and he’d tattooed me permanently on his body.
He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t really care, would he? Barrick faced his fear of needles, sat through what must have been at least an hour and a half of them, just to put a piece of me on him for life.
Swallowing the lump that had filled my throat, I carefully traced my index finger around the outside of the tattoo. “When?”
“Right after I walked you to work tonight, I had it done.” Cupping his hand around mine, he brought it to his lips, kissing my palm. That gentle brush of his lips over my flesh was enough to make me ache, a delicious shiver taking hold of my entire body. Need charged his eyes, and he pressed his lower body hard against me, letting me feel he was just as turned on. “Do you…like it?”
My legs opened, making my dress rise up my thighs so he could press his hard-on where I wanted it the most. He bent his knees, and he gave me exactly what I wanted, pinning me to the door with his lower body as his cock flexed against my core. “I love your tattoo,” I moaned.
“Baby, you’re killing me. I want to be inside you so damn bad right now.” He kissed my forehead, and my eyes instantly filled with tears.
I missed his forehead kisses so much.
“I can feel how wet you are already,” he groaned, kissing his way down to my lips, where he licked at the seam, silently begging me to give him entrance. My mouth opened, letting him inside. “Have you been aching for me every night, firecracker? Do you lie awake in your lonely bed and wish I was beside you? Touching this perfect little pussy? Making you mine over and over again?”