Fuck.
That didn’t happen, thankfully, but what did come to pass was almost as bad. Gabriel settled next to Cedric on the bed and cuddled up to his side. He wiggled his hips so he could slip beneath the blankets, officially joining Cedric in bed. Bare thigh against bare thigh, Gabriel’s chest against his side, a jolt ran the length of Cedric’s body and buried itself in his balls. In an attempt to ignore it, he reached for the remote and hit play on the movie he’d pulled up on Netflix. It didn’t matter what it was. What was on the screen mattered less than who wasbesidehim.
The way Gabriel’s omega smelled paired with Cedric’s body wash and shampoo made him want to bury his nose in the crook of Gabriel’s neck and breathe it inforever.
“Sir?” Gabriel whispered. He draped an arm lazily over Cedric’s stomach as he got comfortable, his back toward thescreen.
“Yes,Rabbit?”
“How long have you had your tattoos for?” Gabriel wasn’t looking at the television at all—his eyes were on Cedric’s body. Cedric wasn’t sure if he meant to be obvious about it, or if Cedric was hyper-aware of every little thing Gabriel did, but henoticed.
“The first time ink pierced my skin, I was eighteen. I’m twenty-fivenow.”
“Mm.” Gabriel nuzzled against his side and cuddled a little closer. “What made you want togetthem?”
Cedric was aware they were slipping toward informal conversation. The boundaries had been set when Gabriel had come to stay with him—respect was to be afforded to him at all times, and their relationship was supposed to be one of utility. Gabriel would obey Cedric and listen to his word, and in exchange, Cedric would guide him toward the best version of himself that he could be. Gabriel’s chattiness could be a sign that he was growing too comfortable with their situation, and that Cedric would have to remind him of his place, but for now, Cedric permitted him liberty. He was to be rewarded, after all. If Gabriel continued to be so bold once tonight was over, Cedric wouldstepin.
“I was a kid, and I thought they’d be cool.” Cedric watched the screen, taking in the shapes and sounds, but none of the meaning behind them. “I was in high school, I had money, and I was going on to college. When I first started getting them, I was sure it was because I wanted the world to know I was tough… going from my senior year of high school where I was top of the food chain into the world at large felt like a big step. I knew I was going to be a small fish in a big sea, and I guess I was looking forvalidation.”
“Oh.” Was it his imagination, or were Gabriel’s fingertips brushing his hip? If his arm nudged any lower, he’d feel the erection straining against Cedric’s boxers, and then what? It wasn’t like Cedric could explain that away. “Did you start with yourarm,or…?”
“I started with this piece on my wrist.” Cedric lifted his arm. His gaze parted from the television to focus on the honeycomb design that spanned six inches on his forearm, from his wrist upward. Framed behind the honeycombs, done in black and white ink, was a tree on a hill at sunset, where the horizon was light, but the sky above was darkened and speckled with stars. The honeycombs were in the foreground, done in bold lines, but the landscape was artfully expressed in pointillism. Since that piece had been made, the pieces around it had been blended in to match. Nothing on Cedric’s arm looked disjointed or out of place—he was one smooth canvas worked upon by one skillfulartist.
He carried her legacy whereverhewent.
“I got this done in one eight-hour session. It was my very first tattoo, and my artist told me that I was crazy. She suggested that I stop being such a macho-bravado-tough-guy and take it in two sessions, so I fired back and asked her if she wasn’t just afraid her hand would cramp up if she worked on me all day. I walked out of that session with her phone number and a fully finished tattoo, but she had the last laugh when I almost passed out threehoursin.”
“Eight hours for something so small?” Gabriel askedinawe.
Cedric held his arm in place to study, examining the honeycombs on his wrist. “Yeah. When you’re passionate about something, you want to do it right. She could have rushed, but she didn’t. She took the time to invest herself in the piece, and you can still see her skill now, even all these years later. It’s faded from light exposure, and it’s going to need to be touched up in the future, but her spirit’s there, if you look closelyenough.”
“You loved her,” Gabrielmurmured.
One corner of Cedric’s lips twitched upward. “Do you think so, Rabbit? What led you tosaythat?”
“The tone of your voice.” Gabriel settled down. His hair was soft from his shower—he’d taken Cedric’s warning to heart and had dried it thoroughly before coming to bed. “And the look in your eyes when you talk about her. You said it was just one artist, right? So you must have been with her for a long, long time if that space on your wrist took eighthours.”
“I’ll have to keep in mind how perceptive you are. You’re hiding all kinds of exciting secrets from me,aren’tyou?”
There was noreply.
“Her name was Brittany. She was twenty-five when I met her, and she was twenty-seven when she wastakenaway.”
“Takenaway?”
Cedric closed his eyes. “She was killed. No one knows what happened. Police investigation revealed the cause of her death, but not the motive, or who the perpetrator was. One day she was here, full of snark and laughter, and the next she never opened her eyes again. I dropped out of school and shut down for a year before I found my way again. It was the hardest time of my life, but it made me into who I am today. It shaped me into a man who appreciates life, and who understands that pleasures are only ever temporary, so they are to be enjoyed while they last. In the end, I like to think I’m a better person for it. She taught me to be the man I am today, and I’ll always carry her with me becauseofit.”
This time, it wasn’t Cedric’s imagination—Gabriel’s fingers traced across his hip soothingly. Cedric didn’t open up about his past very often, but there was a promise in Gabriel’s quiet ways that he wouldn’t spread rumors or pass harsh judgment. The trust Cedric had in him extended beyond the professional—it bridged the way to his heart, and he was as cognizant of it as he was the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. The part of his mind that desired Gabriel could not beshutoff.
“Not everything has to be temporary, Sir.” Gabriel’s fingertips continued to paint patterns across Cedric’s hip. “We canchangethat.”
Gabriel’s hand parted from Cedric’s side and found its way amongst the sheets. He lifted his torso and repositioned himself slowly, so that one of his knees rested in the space between Cedric’s legs. Cedric watched, slack-jawed, as the blankets fell away from them both, revealing the slender stretch of Gabriel’s torso and abdomen, and the way Cedric’s boxers pooled over his thighs. Gabriel settled down on his thigh and draped one arm over Cedric’s shoulder, the distance between them almost negligible. The tip of Gabriel’s nose brushed Cedric’s. All Cedric would have to do was tilt his head and they’d bekissing.
He wanted it more than he cared toadmit.
The television lit Gabriel from behind, playing with the blond in his hair. His skin glowed, and despite the dim light in the room, Cedric saw the color in his cheeks. He was gorgeous. Cedric couldn’tresisthim.
“I’m yours, aren’t I?” Gabriel whispered. “Sterling and Adrian gave me to you. I’m your property now, and I will never leave you. Never. All I want is to be with you, Sir. All I want is to make youhappy.”
