“I was, wasn’t I?”
Jared straddled Kyrone and pushed his T-shirt up again, this time only high enough to reveal the ‘Sweet and Sexy’ tattoo. He leant down to kiss it before running his tongue over the script and the hearts that had been placed after ‘Sweet’ and before ‘Sexy’. The tattoo rested over Kyrone’s hips, right next to the trail of short, coarse hair that ran down from his naval, getting wider as it vanished beneath his jeans.
“I understand this tattoo,” Jared said, sitting upright. Kyrone really was both sweetandsexy in equal measure. “And this one,” he added, carefully pushing Kyrone’s T-shirt further up his chest until he could see the Adonis tattoo. It was healing nicely, and the dark, inky scab was starting to flake off. “And this one.” He ran his hands over a tribal tattoo that ran around Kyrone’s left wrist. It looked a little bit like a stylised dragon. “But I’m not sure about this one.” He rolled the sleeve of Kyrone’s T-shirt up to his shoulder and stared at the half-sleeve tattoo of the stylised pirate on his right arm. It was gorgeous work but didn’t seem to match the other tattoos.
Kyrone moved his hands from behind his head to grasp Jared’s hips. “I was in the Navy for a bit.”
Jared’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
He couldn’t imagine Kyrone in a Navy uniform, but only because he had no clue what one looked like. He made a mental note to look up the British Navy uniform at some point soon so hecouldpicture Kyrone in it. He had a feeling it would be sexy. Fantasies aside, the Navy didn’t seem to mesh with studying economics and getting a job in chartered accountancy.
“I signed up straight after my A Levels with a couple of friends,” Kyrone explained. “When we passed training and got our first orders, we thought it would be a good idea to get a nautical tattoo.”
“You all got the same one?”
Kyrone nodded.
“And that was your first tattoo?”
“Yes. But not the last.” He brushed his hand up Jared’s back to rest on his shoulder blade over the seagull tattoo. “What about you? You’ve only got one. Are you tempted to get more?”
Jared shook his head.
“Even though you’re learning to be a tattoo artist?”
“Haven’t we had this conversation?” Jared asked around a chuckle. “It’s not part of the job description.” He tilted his head. “Why did you leave the Navy?”
Kyrone’s stare slipped away from him and became unfocused. He sighed heavily. “Dad got sick, and Mum needed me at home. I took a leave of absence, but after Dad died, I decided it was more important to honour his dreams for me than to go back.”
Jared scrunched his eyebrows together. He wasn’t sure how to react to that at all. “Do you miss it?” he asked as he tried to process what Kyrone had said.
“I miss the camaraderie and the routine,” Kyrone admitted. “But I don’t miss risking my life or being away from home for months on end.” He slid his hand to cradle Jared’s hip. “You look concerned.”
“I…” Jared pinched his lips together. It wasn’t his place to question Kyrone’s motives. What he did with his life was none of Jared’s business. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” Kyrone chided. “Tell me what you’re thinking?”
Jared blew out a slow breath. “Even if you don’t like it?”
“Yes. I thought we were working out if we could be more than fuck buddies? Part of that is being open and honest with each other. If we can’t talk about stuff, how can we make a go of things?”
Jared dropped his stare to the Adonis tattoo. “You want to keep seeing me? For more than sex?” He hadn’t meant to sound so surprised.
“Yes. Do you?”
“Yes.”
Kyrone stroked his face. “Then tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I don’t understand why you’d throw away a career in the Navy to make your father happy. It’s your life, not his.” He drew in a sharp breath. “Shit. Sorry. I know he’s gone, and it’s none of my business.”
“It’s okay.” He ran his thumb over Jared’s lips. “Dad really wanted me and my sister to make something of our lives. To do better than he had, to be able to provide more for our families than he had. A secure, well-paying job, nice home…” He sighed. “He didn’t live to see me achieve that. Drink,” he added. “He used alcohol to drown his failings. In the end, his liver gave out on him. It wasn’t a good way to die.”
Jared shuddered. “Being in the Navy is secure, isn’t it? Not without risks and I have no clue how well it pays, but there’s career progression and—” He shut up, clamping his teeth together.
“I also like being home,” Kyrone said. “When I was eighteen, I was happy to run away to sea. Now I’d rather put down roots. It must be my age,” he added in a grand tone.
“You’re notthatold.”
