Otis chuckled as Adi straddled him.

"Babygirl, I KNOW you can't go another round. You've hit your limit."

"Yeah, But I like this angle." She smirked, leaning down to kiss him.

He gripped her thighs, stroking them with his thumbs. "Mm...I like this view, too." His eyes fell to the intricate designs decorating her thighs underneath his palm.

"What's wrong?"

"You...You've told me that all of your tattoos mean something to you, but I don't know what." He met her eyes again. "Will you tell me?"

"I didn't think you'd be interested..."

"I am. Of course I am. It's art, isn't it? Besides..." He leaned up to kiss her. "You're my favorite canvas."

She stroked his face, then pushed him back down to the bed, earning a grunt. "You are smooth, aren't you?" Sighing, she stroked her thigh next to his hand. "The anchor...is because I'm a christian. And in countries where we're oppressed, we wear anchors instead of crosses because it resembles the cross. And I want to always remember where I came from. So the anchor holds me steady, reminds me who I am when life swarms around me. No matter how rich I am or successful. I'm always...Me." She paused, gauging his reaction. He was listening intently, tracing the design with his fingertips. "This one..." She moved his hand to her other thigh. "This one is for my career. It's the symbol for medicine. The caduceus. And in latin, it says 'Victor without victory...' because for every life I save, there's a thousand I didn't..."

"But you saved mine..."

Her face reddened. "I changed yours, I didn't save yours...Anyway..." She moved her hand to the sides of her thighs. "I have Edgar Allan Poe on one thigh and Vincent Price on the other. Because I love horror."

"Mm-hmmm..."

"I have 'Cara Mia' on my upper thigh...Because I love the Addams family..."

"That's it? That's all the meaning?"

"It doesn't have to always be so grandoise, Otis."

"Okay..."

She placed his hands on her sternum. "I have the deaths' head moth...As a memento mori... a re-"

"Reminder of death. Of your own mortality..."

"As a doctor...You feel like you play god. I want to remind myself that I'm mortal. Just like the people I'm saving."

"And dating a serial killer isn't enough of a re minder?" He asked, a devilish smirk on his face.

She swatted him, giggling. "On this side of my ribs, I have a lilac bush, for my grandmother...She always had lilacs growing in her yard. When you would wake up on a spring morning, you could smell them in the air..."

"That one's my favorite. I love the way it hugs your curves and moves with your body. It's beautiful..."

Blushing, she continued. "My left hip is for my grandfather. His name. He was left handed."

"That was your first."

"Yeah...And my other side of my ribs is for my favorite book-"

"To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus was your favorite. The bird is a mockingbird...and the quote is from the book."

The smile that graced her features couldn't be stopped. He did listen. He knew and absorbed every detail about her. He wasn't just...lying. "My stomach was the worst...My medical school's crest on one side. My college's on the other. It was horrible."

"Is that why it's in black and white?"

"Yeah...I wanted color but I couldn't stand it. You know the meaning behind those."

"Obviously." He swatted her ass cheek. "What's this tattoo mean?"

"My lipstick print? It means kiss my ass."

He laughed. "Really?!"

"Yeah! I wanted to get 'Grade A prime sirloin', but Mia talked me out of it!"

"I'll have to thank her the next time I see her."

"The moon is for my mother...We always say ' I love you to the moon and back', so that's what's on the inside of my arm. The flowers on my shoulder are she and my grandmother's favorite flowers- pink roses and purple lilacs and bright yellow sunflowers. The tiger lillies are my favorite. So we all come together."

"The mountain cameo one on your other arm? With the starfish and seahorse on the rope banner?"

"I'm from Pennsylvania. So the mountains are in my heart, but the ocean calms my soul. I need both to feel balance. To be content."

"I like that. I really like that." He marveled, stroking the ink. "How about the straight razor on the side of your knee?"

She smirked. "That's...for my shaving fetish..."

He guffawed. "Your what now?"

"I get really hot and bothered when you shave. But I like your stubble. It's...like...the transformation? I don't know. It would kill me if you let me shave your face..."

"Mmmm...I don't like...that loss of control...But...I..."

"I'm not asking you to let me, honey. I know that's...a trigger."

"I think...I would let you do it. Sometime."

"I'm not going to push, sweetheart." She kissed him. "What about you, huh? What does your tattoo mean to you?"

"You hate it so much I never thought you would ask me that."

"I don't...Mm... I just...I love your chest so much, you're so fucking hot and it just...doesn't fit to me. But...Does it have a meaning?"

"Mm-hm."

"Well?"

"To me...It means...My freedom from my parents. My wings..." He traced the wings around the skull. "My wings to set me free. The skull, the death of my old life. Getting it, the actual action of it itself, was...Me reclaiming my body as my own. And...Letting myself know it was MINE to do with what I wanted. Not a toy for someone else to use. I was...Branding myself as my own being. And not someone's possession."

Adi fell silent, staring at the piece in question.

"An apprentice did it. When I was homeless. I was...16 or 17. He was offering cash for people to be his skins for practice. He got practice. I got my freedom...And 10 dollars."

"What?!"

"That was a lot of money back then!"

She traced the wings with her finger. "I changed my mind."

"Hmm?"

"I still think it's ugly...But I love it."

"IS that what you say about me every night before you go to sleep?"

"Otis!" She swatted his chest again. "No! I think you're wonderfully handsome and gorgeous and sexy as all hell. You know that!"

He kissed her, gathering her in his arms. "I love you..."

"I love you too, Otis."

"...I love all of your artwork..."

"Thank you, baby...That means a lot."

"Maybe someday, I'll get another one. One that you like."

"Maybe." She smiled.