Reuben snickered when he recalled the soft whimper that had escaped his Kitten's mouth when all he had done was to hold her in place.
The events that happened after that were as follows:
Lina shivered when she felt his hand resting comfortably on her hip and she tilted her head sideways to sneak a peek at him.
Reuben's eyes were focusing on her back as he took in the view of her tattoo now that he was at such a close distance from her.
Having wiped her back until she was dry, he placed the towel on the chair and gently touched her skin.
Lina shut her eyes and bit her lower lip as she focused on the light touches she felt on the small of her back as it traveled higher with every passing second.
Reuben's finger trailed to the top as he touched the nape of her neck after which he leaned forward to give her a chaste kiss.
'So this is a sensitive spot?' He determined when he saw the slight tremor of her shoulders.
True to what he had deduced, Lina's entire neck was her sensitive spot, and right now that spot was being attacked by that man's soft lips.
His hot breath fanned over her skin causing goosebumps to arise as he moved lower towards her back.
Reuben gazed at the beautiful artwork made of ink on the major portion of her back.
His one hand remained on her hip as he kept her in the same position while the other hand traveled all over her back.
Touching, feeling the soft skin that was visible for the first time ever.
Reuben was already aware that his Kitten had a large tattoo on her back after he had caught a glimpse of her in his club when she had worn a backless dress.
But this was the first time he had seen it up close with no one to disturb him.
"Must have hurt…" He trailed off which made Lina nod her head in agreement.
Lina recollected the pain she had felt during her sessions at the tattoo parlor and sighed.
"It did. More than 6 hours and multiple sessions to complete that." She revealed the amount of time she had spent with the tattoo artist to finish this masterpiece on her body.
Reuben chuckled when he heard her words and then shook his head to indicate that this was not what he was talking about.
"No, my silly Kitten. I am talking about this…" He muttered as his fingers reached a certain spot on her back.
Feeling his hand touching a particular area of her back, Lina froze and tried to move away from him.
'No! How could I have forgotten about that!?' She cried out in her heart and struggled to get out of his hold.
Reuben could not understand why his girlfriend was trying so hard to escape from his grasp and had done so in such an abrupt manner.
"What is wrong, baby?" He inquired without letting her leave from that position.
His left hand secured her in place while his right continued to prod over the same area that seemed to have been the cause of change in Lina's behavior.
"Ruby, don't look!" She yelled and tried to turn away from his line of sight but once again failed to do so.
The man seemed to have understood what was wrong with her and hence he did what he had yearned to do ever since he had seen her naked back.
Leaning forward, he reached the right half of her back and pressed his lips onto the midsection of the tattoo.
Lina froze upon feeling his actions and bit her lips harder as tears welled up in her eyes.
"You think a small scar will stop me from liking you?" His whisper made the tears flow down her cheeks.
Her biggest insecurity ever since that accident during her childhood that caused her to develop Tachophobia was the scar that it had left.
The accident that she had been in was not without injuries.
Though she had almost come out unscathed, there was one thing that had left its lasting mark on her body.
That mark was the long gash on the right side of her back which was almost four inches long.
This was one of the major reasons why she had decided to tattoo her back in an attempt to cover up the ugly scar whose presence she wished to hide from everyone.
All through her childhood days, she worked hard to hide it and the only people who had ever seen that scar were health care personnel who treated her and the tattoo artist himself.
Now, this man standing behind her was staring right at it and Lina could not do anything but feel helpless.
"I never wanted you to see that!" She whispered in an aggrieved voice.
This time, Reuben twirled her around so that he might take a look at her face.
Witnessing the teary eyes and the swollen lip thanks to her biting it, he narrowed his eyes and stared at her face.
"Kitten, I want you to be able to express yourself freely to me." He revealed what he wanted from her.
"The scar on your back is what made you into the person you are today. Embrace and learn to love it because I most certainly do." He whispered in a gentle tone.
Lina's head, which had been lowered ever since she was turned around, finally lifted as she gazed into his eyes.
"So you don't find it unsightly and ugly?" She questioned and stared at him with nervousness apparent on her face.
Reuben gazed into her eyes and he cupped her cheeks, wiping the tears that had cascaded a few moments ago.
"No, I do not." His answer was without any hesitation or falsehood.
Noticing the doubtful look on her face, he knew that he had to make her believe his words which were nothing but the truth.
"Would you hate me if I was scarred?" He retorted with a question of his own.
The immediate and vigorous shake of the head he received made him chuckle helplessly.
"Scars are sexy, Ruby!" She answered with sparkling eyes.
'Maybe my girlfriend is a cute little pervert…' He speculated in his mind and shook his head in defeat.
"I find your scar to be sexy too." He reassured her which made the little Kitten blush in his arms.
Though Lina was still not convinced by his words, she smiled and gave him a tight hug for the effort that he had put in to make her feel secure about her body.