Marks on My Skin (Love & Ink #1) (7 page)

A mischievous look moved through his gaze again.
Shit, why did I mention Darren?

“Oh, ya go with him, do ya?”

God, not again.

“Yeah. We have a lot of fun there.” I said benignly.

His eyes lit up and he waggled a suggestive eyebrow. “Oh, I bet ya do.”

“What are you, ten years old?”

The waitress came back, placing a steaming pizza pie between us, but Kieran didn’t break his gaze from mine.

“Ya know it’s easy ta read yer face. Ya can tell me if Darren’s
yer
secret lover
.” He winked. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was rather enjoying him grinning like a buffoon, I would have slapped him already.

“Careful, the pizza is really hot. Make sure you fold it over so the cheese doesn’t slip off.” I tried once more to dodge his intrusive questioning.

He let out a snort and pulled a piece free, gazing at me over it with a challenging gleam in his eyes. “Just tell me. I saw the handprint he left on yer arse.”

I choked on my drink and a look of gleeful amusement pulled at his wide grin.
Well, he asked.

“Fine. If you must know, Darren and I aren’t lovers.”

“Really?” He paused, holding the pizza slice with both hands.

“Really.” I nodded, then as he brought it to his lips, added. “He just occasionally ties me up and spanks me.”

“Oh…wait what?!” The grin was gone, replaced with a shocked gawking expression.

“He’s my Dom.”

“Yer wha?” He screwed his face up in confusion, trying to process what I’d said.

“My dominant. I’m his submissive. You know, the whole ‘sticks and stones may break my bones but whips and chains excite me’ thing?”

Kieran sat stock-still, staring at me with wide eyes. For a moment I thought his brain had short-circuited with this new information. He reached up and scratched his head with one hand, and I noticed his slice of pizza tilting forward precariously.

“Careful, the cheese is going to—”

Too late.
The steaming wad of cheese slid off the pizza and landed against his lower abdomen with a splat. Stunned, it took Kieran a moment to realize he just spilled burning hot cheese on himself.

“FECK! Sonofa!” He jumped up from the table and slammed his knee against it. More cursing ensued and the offending cheese slapped against the floor.

“Are you okay?”

“No! That feckin’ burned!” Kieran grimaced, hopping on one foot and clutching his side.

“Come on.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the bathrooms, ignoring the giggles from the other diners. Kieran hissed in pain and I shoved the small bathroom door open.

“Let me see the burn.” I told him. He pulled his shirt off as if it were on fire, revealing a broad tan chest with a light sprinkling of fine chest hair. I blinked, staring at the defined lines of his abdomen. I forgot what I was doing entirely until my gaze fell on the angry red skin just above the waistband of his jeans. I pulled several paper towels from the dispenser, soaked them with cold water, and pressed them against the burn, applying gentle pressure. “Better?”

Kieran let out a groan and dropped his head back. The sound ran right through me. “Jahysus, that feckin’ burned. Thank ya, Shayne.” He gasped. His hand slid over mine and I let out a slow breath. The muscles of his abdomen tightened under my hand and mine own muscles clenched between my thighs in response.

“Just hold that there.” I started to pull my hand away but his hand closed around mine and pulled it up his chest. “Kieran…”

His crystalline gaze held mine, a curious, thoughtful look in them, and his adam’s apple bobbed with a nervous gulp. He stepped closer, backing me against the sink and I swallowed hard as his lips drew close to mine.
Nope. I cannot do this with him.
With more willpower than I thought I possessed, I pulled away from him, not missing his disappointed look.

“I think we should head back to the shop. I’m going to get a box for the pizza.”

I slipped out of the bathroom, lightheaded and short of breath.
Since when did that happen?
It was no secret that we found each other attractive, nor that there was chemistry between us. Okay, that was an understatement…there was enough chemistry between us to recreate Chernobyl. If that disaster was any indicator of how things would go if we hooked up then maybe Liam had a point. Despite the amusing flirtatious side of Kieran that had emerged today, he was still coming to terms with the end of his marriage, and whether he wanted to admit it or not, it wasn’t hard to see he was trying to fill the hole his wife had ripped through his chest.

It could be one hell of a night between us, but that’s all it would be as far as I was concerned. For him, it would only be a temporary fix. He’d feel just as shitty as he did before, and I didn’t want to be responsible for that.

Our waitress stood by our table staring down at the mess on the floor. When I came up beside her she smiled at me with a knowing look.

“He burn himself?”

I nodded, a faint grin pulling at my lips. “Can I get a box and an extra coke to go?”

The waitress looked toward the bathroom sympathetically then retrieved a box and three to-go cups from the back.

Kieran slinked out of the bathroom a couple minutes later, his shirt held in front of him. I stifled a giggle at his sudden modesty. A couple younger girls whispered and openly ogled him but the scowl on his face made it obvious he didn’t notice. Neither of us said anything as we walked out to the car and Kieran slid into the passenger seat. Safely out of the view of the patrons of Gino’s, Kieran dropped his shirt into his lap, giving me yet another eyeful of his bare chest.

“Not going to put your shirt back on?”

“It’s filthy. Got cheese and sauce all over it.”

I frowned at him. “Don’t be such a wuss. Put your clothes back on.”

“Why? Does it bother ya?” Kieran stretched out against the seat, apparently recovered from the awkwardness in the bathroom. I turned around and snatched a random shirt off the backseat of my car and tossed it at him.

“That’s clean.”

He sniffed the shirt suspiciously then slid it over his head, stretching Joan Jett over his pecs.

“It’s a bit snug.” He frowned down at the shirt. It stopped just above his belly button. “Am I less offensive ta ya now?”

I wiped a hand across my lips, unsuccessfully concealing my amusement. “Much better.”

We drove back to the shop in uncomfortable silence, neither of us wanting to bring up the incident in the bathroom or the conversation that led to it. Liam stood outside the back of the shop when we returned, taking his smoke break.

“The feck ya wearin’?” He snorted as soon as he saw Kieran.

“I spilled cheese on mine.”

Liam laughed and stole a glance at me. “Did ya not warn him?”

“I tried to.” I shrugged, choosing not to add why he’d spilled the cheese.

“There’s some shop shirts in the office. Go grab yerself one. Ya look ridiculous.”

Kieran shoved past him without so much as a word and Liam gave me a questioning look, then stared at the back door. “The hell crawled up his arse?”

CHAPTER EIGHT

You Wouldn’t Like The Girl I Used To Be

After our eventful conversation at Gino’s I expected Kieran to be put off and keep his distance from me. Instead it appeared to have the opposite effect on him. I was disinfecting my chair and prepping for my first appointment when I felt him watching me from the doorway.

“So, Darren is what? Your master?” He asked.

“No. My dominant. I’m not his slave.”

“There’s a difference?”

“Yes. It’s not necessarily a twenty-four seven thing. We have play sessions, I guess you could say.”

Kieran eased onto the chair in the corner, quietly contemplating what I’d said. “Why though? Why let him control ya?”

I shrugged. “I find it rather freeing, actually.”

Being a submissive was always hard to put into words, especially when talking to someone outside of that lifestyle. Kieran shifted against the chair and tilted his head.

“How’s being tied up freeing?”

I closed my eyes, remembering the first time Darren had dominated me. The pain, the pleasure, the rush of endorphins. It was stronger than any other drug I’d put in my body. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes to find Kieran staring at me.

“Giving up control helped me find control in my life.”

“What do ya mean? Ya didn’t have that before?” He was sitting up now, fascinated by this small confession, this little peek into something not many—even Liam— knew about.

“No. I didn’t. At all.” Kieran’s brows drew together at my words and the gears of thought turned behind his eyes. I flashed him a wry smile.

“What do ya mean?”

“I did a lot of stupid things. Got myself into trouble.” My throat tightened.
Why am I telling him any of this?

Kieran frowned, more a look of concern than disappointment.

“Ya know, we all do stupid things sometimes. Hell, I should be the poster child for that, considering my own situation.”

I smiled despite myself, and a pleased grin spread over his lips. Kieran stood and came over to me. A rush of shyness forced me to turn away from him and busy myself with organizing the containers on my countertop.

“Hey. It’s alright. Ya don’t have ta tell me anything. I was just curious.”

His tone was sweet and genuine, but he really had no idea where he was treading. His hand touched my shoulder and my muscles tensed.

“Shayne? Ya alright?” His breath tickled my shoulder and I bit my lip doing my best to ignore the reaction it sent through me.

“Sorry.” I spun around. My stomach fluttered uncomfortably with him standing this close and I took a step to the side to put space between us.

“I don’t mean ta pry, but we can be friends, ya know? If ya ever wanted ta talk about it, I’d listen. I wouldn’t judge ya.”

I laughed then, a sour, bitter laugh.

“Trust me, you wouldn’t like the girl I used to be. You don’t want to hear about her.”

He let out a snort, disbelief clear across the frown on his lips. “I doubt that.”

His sentiment was nice, but I knew better. I was a wreck before Darren. Nobody gave a shit about me, so neither did I. Nobody told me no, so I did whatever the hell I wanted. And I let others do whatever the hell they wanted to me too. But I wouldn’t tell him that. He didn’t need to know. He was just fascinated with me the way someone was when they passed a ten car pile-up. You wanted to know what happened, but you didn’t want to be a part of it.

“Shayne?”

I shook myself from my thoughts and offered him a smile, but his frown deepened, seeing right through it.

“I have an appointment in a few. You should probably get back to work too.”

Kieran’s shoulder slumped in resignation and he nodded. “Right. I’ll see ya later.”

I’d barely gotten any sleep last night. I was exhausted but couldn’t clear my head enough to rest. My mind kept wandering to Shayne.

You wouldn’t like the girl I used to be.

Her words and that haunted look that moved through her eyes stuck with me the entire day. It was a peek beneath the surface. One she quickly pulled back under. I couldn’t help wondering about that other girl.

Shayne laughed, smiled, and joked the rest of the day, hiding it well, but I knew that darkness was still there, hiding underneath. Whatever put it there must have left deep scars.

Then there was the other revelation she’d shared yesterday. I still had a small burn mark left on my stomach from it. I’d never met a girl that was into that sort of thing. Or maybe I had and I just hadn’t realized it. Hell, I hadn’t realized what my own wife was into until I walked in on her little sex party.

Still, Shayne didn’t come off as submissive in any way. She seemed quite the opposite in fact. I knew it wasn’t easy to put up with Liam. Growing up with him, it was either his way or the highway. Only someone equally as strong-willed and hard-headed could stand running a business with him. My mind wandered to her bent over the pool table in front of me, the curve of her arse, and the red mark that peeked out from her skirt. When I first saw it, I was shocked. It looked painful. I knew some men enjoyed that sort of thing, but I couldn’t even fathom laying my hands on a woman like that—not that Kendall would have let me try. But Shayne let Darren. And she liked it?

I glanced around the office, as if the mere thought of Shayne would cause her to appear behind me. Loud music played, bleeding through the wall the desk was against and I knew she was deep into her tattoo session. Relieved at that, I let my mind wander further into the mystery that was Shayne. What else did she let him do to her? She’d joked about whips and chains, but did Darren use those too? Was it like they portrayed on TV, or in those weird late-night documentaries I’d seen once when I was too lazy to grab the remote a few feet away? Shayne seemed mostly normal, if not a bit eccentric. Not like some of those people they’d interviewed on that documentary.

Curiousity picked at me, making me abandon the current story I was working on. Some girl in a haunted apartment. She’d have to wait. I opened a browsing tab and typed in “BDSM” and “Submission”. A couple BDSM 101 pages came up, and I scanned over them. I read about subspace, the high a submissive can experience during play.
Was that what she found so freeing?
She’d gotten that little smile on her face talking about it.
Christ, that was sexy.