Small Town Hero

Chapter 30

"Little girl, I want to ink you." He stated.

"Ink me?" She tilted her head.

"With my crow. It means you're my 'ol lady." He said.

She asked him to explain what it all meant. Happy explained what exactly the crow meant and what an 'ol lady was. She just nodded her head as he explained things. They would be together. She would be his and he would be hers. Having his crow gave her authority around the clubhouse. It was essentially like being married the way she understood it. He asked her if she was willing to let him ink her. She stared at him as she thought about it. They were already living together. He kept her safe, came to her rescue every time she called on him, and she really cared for him.

"Noelle?" He asked.

"This is permanent." She stated making him worry she was going to turn him down, "But...I care a lot about you. I enjoy our time together. So...I guess I can get this tattoo."

"Good. Lay on your stomach. I'll be tattooing your left upper arm." He stated as he opened up the case on the desk.

She knew it was special since he was the one tattooing her. The very first tattoo she'd ever had. He prepared for inking her with the design he'd come up with months ago. A simple crow with a stitched up heart in its mouth with his name in the middle of the heart. He hoped she was going to like it when it was finished. She watched him intently as he began the process of literally marking her as his. The thought brought a smile to her face. There was no more contemplating what their relationship really was.

"Happy?" She suddenly asked.

"Hm?"

"I, uh, I just wanted you to know that...that I appreciate everything you do for me. I don't know if I've ever said it or not. I know you only get angry with me because you care." She stated making him stop his tattooing to look up at her.

"Little girl..." Was all he could say as he stared at her.

"It's ok. I don't expect you to really say anything to me." She looked away from him, "I just wanted you to know."

She didn't hear "I love you" too much growing up. She knew Janie's parents cared for her but they never said "I love you" to her. This was as close as she'd ever come to telling anyone she loved them. This was her way of letting him know how much she did care for him.

"Look at me." He commanded, voice low and deep.

She did as she was told.

"I care for you. Deeply. If anything ever happened to you... (He sighed) ...honestly, I'd go fucking crazy. I'm not a "talk about my feelings" guy so..." He sighed again, "I just want to protect you. To make you happy. I can't sit here and say I'll tell you "I love you" all the time because that's just not who I am."

"I understand. Spending time with you does make me happy." She replied.

Nothing more was needed to be said so he got back to tattooing her. She laid there watching him as he tattooed her. The intense look on his face as he worked made her smile. The longer he worked on her, the more turned on he became. He wasn't sure what it was about working on her skin he was loving so much. Perhaps it was because it was her. Perhaps it was because this was her very first tattoo. Whatever it was, he was loving inking her. He fought the urge to lean down and kiss her as he worked.

A few hours later and he was wrapping her arm in clear plastic to protect the new tattoo. She went into the bathroom to check it out as he cleaned up and put away his tattooing stuff. The ink on her arm nearly brought tears to her eyes. She finally exited the bathroom then quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. He slid his around her waist.