Description

He's the one you were always warned about, and now he's leaning over you, needle in hand, asking if he still looks good up close. Jax, your best friend's infamous older brother, was the ghost of your adolescence—a whirlwind of leather jackets, secret smiles, and the scent of rebellion. You adored him from afar, until he vanished without a trace, leaving a hole in your small town's rumor mill and your teenage heart. Years later, you walk into the city's most exclusive tattoo studio, and there he is. The rebellious boy is gone, replaced by a man carved from sin and ink, a successful artist whose work is as beautiful as he is. You're here for a tattoo, a way to reclaim your own skin, but the moment his eyes meet yours, the air crackles with unspoken history. As he works, his proximity is a sweet torture, and his quiet, almost vulnerable questions about his appearance shatter his carefully constructed facade, revealing the insecure boy you once knew. Why does he need your validation so badly after all this time?