Marks on My Skin (Love & Ink #1) (14 page)

“Well then, this should be a fun night. I guess you don’t scare as easily as I thought.”

Kieran let out a grunt and returned his attention to me. “I was going to grab a coffee. Did you want one?”

“Sure. An iced one?”

He nodded and turned for the door.

“I’ll have one too! A caramel macchiato?” Darren called after him. The door slammed a moment later and Darren looked at me, the mischeivous grin of his still plastered on his face. “I don’t think I’m getting that macchiato am I?”

“Hey, get any more writing done?” I peeked into the office a few minutes after Darren had left. Kieran looked up from his laptop and his lips eased into a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Not really, no,” he sighed, “I just can’t get myself writing.”

I looked back toward Liam’s room. He was busy with another appointment.

“Why not write about something different?”

“Like what?” He asked. I walked over to him and slid onto his lap and this time his smile did make it up to his eyes. I brushed my lips over his, pushing his dark brown hair out of his face.

“Write about something that excites you.”

“Like you?” His mouth quirked up on one side and he ran his hands down my hips.

I blushed and kissed his lips again, “if it gets you writing again, sure.”

He lifted his hips and deepened the kiss, his tongue flicking against mine. ”Mmm, ya definitely inspire me, but I don’t know that I’d get much writing done.”

I kissed him again, my body already aching for him. “We don’t have to go to Darren’s tonight, you know.”

His body stiffened and his lips stilled against my jaw. “No, it’s fine. We can go. Wouldn’t want to disappoint him.” He flashed me a wry smile.

I frowned. “Don’t let him intimidate you. He’s just protective of me, that’s all.”

“Right. I’ll be fine. Ya finished up here?”

I nodded and slid off his lap. “Yeah, I’ll just let Liam know we’re heading out to Darren’s to hang out.”

“Hmm, hang out, eh?” His smile returned.

I went into the hall and peered into Liam’s room. He looked up from the tattoo he was working on, a zombie Hello Kitty on some girl’s ass cheek. He smirked up at me, in an awfully chipper mood.
Gee, wonder why.

“What’s up, Shayne?”

“Nothing. I’m all finished up. I was going to hang out with Darren tonight and he invited Kieran along. I thought it would be good if he made some more friends while he’s here.”

Liam’s eyes narrowed at me for a moment, but then his features relaxed. “Yeah, I guess it would do him some good.”

I nodded, relaxing some.

“I’ll make sure he gets home safe.” I winked and Liam nodded, letting out a grunt.

“Right. See ya later.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Give ‘Em a Good Show

My heart thudded in my chest as I followed Shayne up the stairs to Darren’s apartment.
It’ll be fine
, I told myself,
just like yesterday
.

“Ready?” She glanced back at me. She was dressed in a beige corset with a black lace overlay that pushed her breasts up, and a short leather skirt with a zipper down the back. I glanced down at my rather plain black t-shirt and jeans.

“Ya sure I shouldn’t have changed?”

“You look fine. Don’t worry about it.” Her hand slid into mine and she gave it a gentle tug. She knocked on the door and a moment later Darren answered, shirtless again, his new tattoo still red around the edges.

“You guys made it. Come in.” He said, staring at me again. A loud slap came from inside the apartment and I glanced toward Shayne. She nudged me forward and I followed, keeping my face expressionless. The apartment was huge. According to Shayne, the building used to be an industrial one and was converted into an apartment building several years back. The ceiling was high with exposed ducts and metal rafters.

“How the hell does he afford all this?” I whispered to her.

“He runs The Castle. The local dungeon.”

Well, that explained all his friends. Several men and women lounged about in the living room, chatting and drinking. A few others were engaging in play. One girl was tied up in silky black rope. It wrapped around her breasts and came around her back, binding her wrists behind her. The man had her bent over a padded saw horse and he lifted a black leather flogger with a silver handle, swinging it down against her bare arse with a loud
thwack
.

“I have more of those if you want to give them a try. I know Shayne’s a fan of floggers.” Darren leaned toward me and I frowned at him. He smirked and turned his attention to Shayne. “Why don’t you slip into something a bit more comfortable?”

Her brown eyes glanced toward me and I nodded. She disappeared into one of the other rooms, leaving Darren and me alone.

“So, you ever flogged anyone before?”

“No. Can’t be that hard, can it?”

Darren snorted next to me. “We’ll see, won’t we? Just make sure you don’t hit certain spots.” He pointed to the girl on the sawhorse. “You see how he is only hitting her on the meatier parts and keeping away from where her major organs would be? It hurts too much and you can actually cause damage to someone if you hit them in those areas.”

One of the men sitting on the couch, a particularly lanky fellow with shaggy blonde hair noticed us standing there and walked toward us in a pair of tight leather pants. “This Shayne’s little friend you were telling us about?”

I glared at Darren and he laughed, clapping a hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah. Kieran, this is, Zeke. He’s one of the regulars at the club. That girl on the far end of the couch is his slave, Leah.”

I nodded. “Nice ta meet ya.”

Zeke and Darren exchanged looks. “So you going to play tonight? Or just here to watch?” Zeke asked. The snap of leather against bare skin came from another room followed by a soft moan and I glanced around, anxious for Shayne to return.

“I plan to play.” I answered finally. Zeke made a similar snort as Darren’s, looking me over with doubt.

“You know, I think this is the first time Shayne’s ever brought her own playmate. I’m rather curious to see you in action myself.” He thrust a brown leather flogger into my hand. “Why don’t you warm this thing up while you’re waiting for our dear girl, hmm?”

“What, on you?” I couldn’t help the mortified look that moved over my face. Darren coughed in a poor attempt to camouflage his laughter.

“While I’d pay money to see that, I think he was talking about using it on Leah.”

“Right.” My ears burned in embarrassment but I kept my face straight. Zeke waved a finger at the voluptuous redhead perched on the couch, next to another woman I instantly recognized as the barista from the coffee shop. Elle winked at me, playing with her turquoise amulet then tugged on the leash of a man who I also recognized from the coffee shop.
Well, I guess you really never know what people are into.

The redhead bounded toward us in nothing but a leather collar, pulling my attention away from Elle. Zeke curled his finger around the metal ring that dangled from the front of her collar and pulled her toward him. “Leah, darling, our friend Kieran is going to give you a nice little flogging.”

She nodded her head obediently. “Yes, Master. Where do you want me?”

Zeke stroked her bare breast with his other hand and tugged the ring, leading her to the end of the couch. “Bend over, darling. Let him get a nice view of that beautiful ass.” He grinned. She did as he said, positioning herself with her arse in the air. Zeke nodded, stepping out of the way after giving me a quick demonstration. “Go on. Don’t be afraid. She won’t bite—unless I tell her to.”

I gulped and stepped toward her, glancing back at the girl on the sawhorse again. I watched the man flogging her, twirling his wrist as he brought the leather down against her skin. The motion reminded me of twirling glow sticks, like I’d done so many times when Niall and I snuck off to raves in our teenage years. With a deep breath I returned my attention to Leah’s bare arse and did my best to ignore the several pairs of eyes watching me. I squeezed the leather handle in my hand and lifted my arm, bringing it down and twirling it so the leather danced across her skin with a light
thwack
. Darren and Zeke nodded but looked rather unimpressed. I lifted my arm again, bringing it down the opposite way. The leather slapped harder across her skin and red lines bloomed across her flesh. It brought back visions of last night and I did it again, a little harder. Leah whimpered and lifted her arse higher. I twirled my wrist again, dragging the falls lightly over her arse before delivering another solid swing. She gasped and Zeke stepped in, holding his hand out for the flogger.

“Not bad. Not bad at all. I thought you said you’ve never used one of these before.” He teased. I smiled, glancing at Darren.

“Couldn’t be too hard to learn, could it?”

He let out a snort and shrugged. My eyes found Shayne standing in the corner, and she flashed me a shy smile. She wore a black leather harness. Straps ran down the front of her body, between her thighs and around her breasts, putting them on full display. My breath caught in my throat as I took in her naked form. Her small but full breasts stood at attention, her pale pink nipples begged for me to taste them. She walked toward us and I admired how the tattoo running down her side and over her hip moved with her. Desolate, beautiful vines that accentuated her figure, striking and dark against her pale skin.

“Shayne, there you are. I’ve got something special planned for you.” Darren grinned and motioned her to him with his finger. She glanced at me as Darren placed a hand on her shoulder. “You too, Kieran.” He added.

I followed and he brought Shayne to the middle of the room, tugging her by the front of the harness. A bar hung down from a pulley on the ceiling. He grabbed leather cuffs with handles on them off of a nearby table and secured them around Shayne’s wrists.

“Hold your arms up.” He told her. She obeyed and he attached the cuffs to the bar, tugging to ensure they were secure.

“That’s my girl.” He winked at her and patted her cheek. I gritted my teeth, a twinge of jealousy moving through me with his words.

Next he brought a rubber bit gag to her lips and she opened her mouth. He fastened it around her head with deft fingers. I glanced back toward the girl on the sawhorse again but the man was no longer flogging her. His fingers twisted into her hair as he thrust himself into her mouth. I averted my eyes, embarrassed, but others were watching as if this was an everyday occurrence. Perhaps at Darren’s little parties, it was. I chewed my lip and returned my attention to Shayne and Darren. He was securing a bar between her ankle with cuffs so that her thighs were spread apart. Darren waggled an eyebrow at me and went to the wall, pulling the other end of the chain. It hoisted Shayne up so that her toes barely touched the floor. He grabbed two floggers and handed me one.

“You take one side, I’ll take the other. If you hear her hum ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’, stop.” He said and spun her so she was facing me. Shayne’s eyes met mine. Fear, want, and anticipation blurred together and she let out a muffled whimper against the gag. Her chest heaved, and I traced a fingertip over her breast. Darren smacked the flogger against her arse and she arched her back, her moan muffled against the gag. Her eyes pleaded with mine, glancing down at the flogger still clutched in my hand. I lifted it and dragged the leather falls over her breasts. Her nipples budded into tight little nubs and her eyes burned into mine. I dragged the leather lower. Her eyelashes fluttered against her flushed cheeks and she whimpered once more.

Please
.

I took a calming breath. Nerves and desire made my heart race. She whimpered again, sticking her chin out at me and I twirled the flogger. It came down across her thighs and her head rolled back with a muffled groan. Another
thwack
came behind her as Darren swung his flogger down against her arse. Her chest heaved harder and I held back my own groan watching the rise and fall of her breasts. A tingling trickled down the base of my spine and I squared my jaw, bringing the falls down against her other thigh.

“Now to mix it up a bit.” Darren grinned from behind her and grabbed her hips. Giving her a push, he sent her into a gentle spin. He flicked the leather across her skin, with flair and confidence. I took his lead, realizing just how much of the room was watching us. I twirled my wrist, bringing the leather across her arse, her shoulders, her thighs and her arse again before the twirling slowed. Her eyes caught mine and the ecstasy in those golden brown depths made me throb against my jeans. Darren stopped her so that her back was to me, and I ran my fingers over the red lines across her arse. I gave it a firm squeeze and she pushed back against my touch. Unable to help myself, I brought my hand down in a heavy slap and a small squeak escaped against the gag.
God, the sounds she could make.

A drunken haze settled over me and I slid my hand between her thighs. She wriggled against my touch and my fingers teased her already slick opening—then tugged the leather strap taut against her. Shayne threw her head back with a deep, full-throated moan as another
thwack
sounded across the front of her thighs from Darren. Her thigh muscles tensed but the bar kept her from closing her legs. I tugged the strap again, slapping her ass with my other hand and found my own breath growing ragged.