He snatched his wrists, panic clawing at him. “No.”
Arsen frowned at him. “What’s wrong?”
Ever froze. Whatwaswrong? Arsen had seen Ever’s back before but not the rest. Not the other scars. “It’s bad.”
“What’s bad?” Arsen asked, brow furrowed.
Ever swallowed the lump of sand in his throat. “The…damage. The…scars. It’s worse in the light.”
Arsen blinked at him then kissed his forehead. “It’s okay.”
Ever’s heart hammered in his chest. It didn’t feel okay, but he nodded, releasing his wrists. Arsen peeled Ever’s shirt off, dropping it to the floor, then hissed as he saw Ever’s back in the mirror.
Ever looked up just in time to see Arsen’s expression grow dark. He didn’t know what it looked like since the last of his injuries had healed, but even before then, his back had been a road map of pain. Long tracks of scar tissue criss-crossed his shoulders and trunk where the belt buckle had torn his skin. There were random burn scars on his upper arms, a puncture wound from where Jennika had jabbed a screwdriver into his shoulder for burning dinner.
It was all so ugly.Hewas ugly.
Arsen hugged him again, hard, like he was trying to say something without words. Ever just sat there, limp in his arms. Those scars were permanent. They would never go away. He would look like that forever. It was humiliating.
Arsen stepped back and pulled his own shirt off in one fluid motion, then turned to show Ever his back. There was a strangely-shaped scar on his right shoulder—two wide marks side by side.
Ever reached out and touched them. They were smooth.
“My father shoved me into a steam pipe when I was little. We all have scars,besenok.”
When he turned to face him once more, Ever’s hands fell on his torso, fingertips tracing the scorpion tattoo on the right side of his chest. “Why is this the only tattoo not in color?”
“We all have it. Seven, Lake, Cree, Nico, Levi, Felix, all of us. We got it for Jericho. So he’d know what he means to all of us.”
“Why a scorpion?”
“‘Cause he’s a Scorpio,” Arsen said then added, “And ‘cause it looked cool and was cheap enough for all of us to afford at the time.”
Ever smiled at that. It was all so sweet and normal. Except, it wasn’t. Arsen was a killer and so were his friends. So was Jericho. It seemed so surreal to think that Ever lived among killers but had never felt safer.
He trailed his hand across Arsen’s chest to the tattoo encircling his nipple. The words “Press Start” surrounded the areola. What did that even mean? Before he could ask, Arsen took his hands and brought them to his lips. “Shower,” he said, like he was reminding himself.
He pulled Ever from the counter. Once he was on his feet, Arsen’s thumbs hooked in the waistband of his pajama pants. Ever closed his eyes. He didn’t want to see Arsen’s reaction.
There were more jagged scars across his ass, his thighs, and a few across his hips from when the belt got away from her. He stood, trembling, eyes squeezed shut as he waited for Arsen to say something. Anything. To ask what happened. But he didn’t.
Ever sucked in a breath, eyes jolting open, as Arsen’s lips trailed over the scar on his hip, then one across his ribs. He was on his knees in front of Ever, looking up at him with those pool blue eyes. He reached back and gripped the counter, not at all sure what to do with his hands in this situation. He wasn’t entirely sure what the situation was.
Arsen kissed Ever’s belly again then his thigh, then his tongue traced the dip of his hips, hands sliding behind Ever to cup his ass, squeezing gently. Ever didn’t know anything about refractory periods, but he was already half-hard again. Arsen watched his face as he placed open-mouthed kisses over Ever’s belly.
Ever nodded. He didn’t really know why. It just felt like Arsen was asking him something. Arsen took him in hand, tongue darting out once more to run along the underside of his cock, before his mouth closed over him, engulfing him in the most perfect heat.
Ever’s knees buckled at the first pull of Arsen’s lips. Arsen’s hands dug into Ever’s hip bones, holding him up even as he sucked him. He was so strong. It was so hot. Ever had to be dreaming. A low moan escaped, but he clamped down on his lip, trying to muffle it.
Arsen pulled off with a pop. “Don’t be quiet on my account.”
Ever blushed, squeezing his eyes shut once more. If he kept watching Arsen’s head bobbing, he was going to come in three seconds. He was already getting that same intense heat pooling in his stomach, his spine tingling. It just felt so fucking good, each movement sending sparks over every nerve ending. The sound of Arsen sucking was obscene. And so fucking sexy.
Ever’s fingers threaded through Arsen’s tresses without thought, gripping tighter every time Arsen took him to the back of his throat, the muscles there convulsing around him, encasing him in the tightest, wettest heat. Soon, he was fucking into Arsen’s mouth without thought, desperate to come for a second time. He was so close…he just needed a little more.
“Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. Arsen…” He didn’t know why he said his name, only that he needed to say it. Then he was coming a second time, his release spilling onto Arsen’s tongue before he could even warn him.
Arsen didn’t stop, though. He just kept sucking until Ever shivered from oversensitivity, pushing him back with a hiss. Arsen got to his feet, then captured Ever’s lips in another kiss, letting him taste himself on his tongue.
