“Tyler!” I exclaim, immediately pushing myself up and hurling my bare body toward the door. Of all things, he had to use permanent marker? He’s probably scrawled profanities across my skin and I’m having terrible visions of the ink taking weeks to fade. “Get this off me!” Running across the apartment with Tyler close behind me, I grab a candle from the kitchen as I pass and throw myself into the bathroom. I dump the candle on the floor and reach for a hand towel, covering it completely in soap. Desperately, I attempt to reach around for my back.
“Calm down,” Tyler says, but he’s still laughing and he’s not even attempting to hide it. He takes the towel from my hand as he steps behind me. “I’ll get it.
He starts to rub at my skin as softly as he possibly can and out of the corner of my eye, I see our reflections in the mirror. I tilt my head slightly to get a better look at my back, at the writing before Tyler wipes it all away. The words look foreign to begin with and I think he might have written in Spanish, but I realize that the mirror is reflecting them backward. I concentrate hard on each letter until it hits me all at once what’s he’s done. There’s only one word. One word, but written over and over again, covering every single inch of my back from the tips of my shoulders straight down to the small of my back.
All it says is this: MINE.
Each letter capitalized. Each letter bold and sharp. Each letter significant.
I part my lips as I release the smallest of gasps. I feel satisfaction rippling through my entire body as I realise it’s true. I’m his. I’ve always been his, never quite Dean’s, and Tyler’s always been mine, too.
As Tyler applies more pressure to my skin, he also sighs. “I hate to break it you,” he eventually says, “but it’s not exactly working. How about this?”
Suddenly his firm hands are grasping at my body, pushing me backward into the shower. Within a split second, he’s flicked on the water. It pounds against my back, pouring over my face, drenching me. Tyler’s laughing at my expression, but as I glare up at him through the water, I find myself shaking my head. I really can’t bear this any longer.
“Screw it,” I murmur. Slapping my hand against his chest, I grab a fistful of his shirt and pull his body into mine beneath the water. I stretch up on my tiptoes, crashing my lips hard against his. This time, I definitely take advantage of being in control, and with my new power, I push him against the back of the shower wall and press my breasts against his chest, my mouth moving in sync with the flow of the water.
His polo tee clings to his body as his clothes begin to soak straight through, but he doesn’t appear to care in the slightest. His hands are in my hair; his lips are against mine. The water keeps sparkling down over us in an endless burst, powerful and heavy, and it reminds me of what it’s like to kiss in the rain. Heavy, fast rain. Eager, I drop one hand to the hem of his tee as I make a messy attempt to tug it upward, and I shift the other to his belt.
“Stop,” Tyler groans against my mouth. It takes him a while to tear his lips away from mine, but when he does, he pants against my ear. I’m studying him through the stream of water, perplexed and irritated, wondering why the hell he keeps shutting me down, until I realize exactly why he’s come to a standstill.
Somewhere in the apartment, I can hear Snake’s voice.
“Wait here,” Tyler whispers, breathing heavily, chest rising and sinking. Within a heartbeat, the water is shut off and Tyler is already by the bathroom door. He runs a hand through his dripping hair as he swings it open, peering around the frame. “Guys, guys, we’re here. Shower went weird again. Was trying to fix it for Eden. Water kinda burst everywhere.”
“Who cares about the shower?” I hear Snake mutter back. “The real question is this: Did you guys forget about something? You know, like the fucking fireworks?”
Sighing, I slide down against the shower wall. I’m absolutely drenched and my euphoric rush has quickly faded away. Hugging my knees to my chest, I throw my head back against the wall. All I can think about is the Bible verse Tyler quoted, and the more I repeat it in my head, the more my lips curve into a smile.
Sinners, indeed.
18