Beauty

BEAUTY

M inty breath, smelling faintly of tobacco, fans across the side of my face. The corner of my mouth twitches in amusement, but Dominik isn't paying attention. His eyes are glued to the needles hammering into the soft flesh of my abdomen. Ink, black as night, staining my skin. Marking me with his name.

I crack open an eye, nearly jerking back at Dominik's close proximity. "Apparently, I don't even get room to breathe?" I deadpan. Dominik huffs but ignores me, choosing to cross his arms over my shoulder and bury his chin in my clavicle. The focal point radiates into an uncomfortable, throbbing pulse, but when it comes to him, I bear anything and everything.

The machine cuts off, leaving the room in a comfortable silence. The TV is still playing some vampire movie in the background, but it's just noise. "How you doin'?" Jaxon asks, rolling backward to toss his gloves in the trash can. Dominik sighs softly and pushes off me, but I raise my arm and drag him back down before he can move more than a few inches.

"Fine," I reply shortly, my cheek pressing against the top of my beauty's head. His dark curls tickle the tip of my nose, and my eyes close as I breathe him in. Forever smelling of mint, cigarettes, and longing.

Even after all these years, he's still… too much. Everything I don't deserve.

"Cool. I'm gonna take a ten-minute break, if that's all right with you, then we'll get back at it?" Jaxon asks as he stands, his blonde, pierced brow lifted in question. I nod once, having already dismissed him. His blue eyes flicker between me and my boy before he disappears behind a door.

"You don't have to be so possessive, you know," Dom mumbles into my chest before skimming his teeth over my nipple ring to let me know how much he loves it anyway.

"I certainly don't have to be with my cum leaking out of your ass," I bite out, making him flush, which is cute when he's such a little slut, and we both know it. Just as he parts his lips, I reach forward and yank him down by the nape of his neck. His shoulder knocks into mine as our teeth collide, tongues warring in a brutal entanglement filled with desperation neither of us have ever been able to suppress—not that we care to.

Breaths come fast, dampening our skin as perspiration and spit cling between us. Colors flash in a tantalizing ray behind my eyelids as Dominik's fingers scramble for purchase on my bare skin. Need so much more.

Tightening his curls in my fist, I drag my other palm down his bicep and over his ribs, clamping my fingers in the hollow curve of his waist, reveling in the hitch of his breath. How it's been years and he still feels this way for me.

I push Dominik away just far enough to roll off the side of the table before it tips, barely regaining my balance before shoving him into the adjacent wall. He releases a startled grunt that bleeds into a breathy giggle, and my intestines ignite.

I can't help but stare at him. The perfect representation of pain and beauty. Of perseverance and… forgiveness.

Dominik stares up at me, emerald-green eyes shining with vibrancy. His full lips twitch into a grin as he says, "Kiss me, baby."

My eyes roll at the pet name, but I step forward to press against him, uncaring that I'm smearing blood and plasma from my tattoo onto his shirt. In fact, it feels achingly familiar having blood between us again as I wrap my fingers around his throat, pressing my thumb beneath his chin.

His black curls roll across his forehead as I stretch his neck, far past the point of being comfortable as his head thunks against the wall, but my beauty only smiles wider. Sharp canines peek through flushed lips, grazed with the flash of his pink tongue before I sink my own teeth into the muscle and pull it into my mouth with fervor.

Dominik grunts, nails scoring over my bare shoulders before dropping down and sinking into the flesh of my lower back. I growl into his mouth as the flash of sharp pain causes my hips to jerk forward. Our hip bones collide, throbbing and decadent as our cocks grind together.

"Fuck," he breathes into me, fingers curled, urging me to move faster. Harder. I pull back to watch his bottom lip quiver, shimmering with spit in the bright light above.

His cheeks are flushed, eyelids at half-mast with pupils so large, they nearly swallow all green, leaving a lovely ring I want to lose myself inside of.

"Hey! No fuckin' in the shop!" a voice sounds from behind us, causing Dominik to startle. His eyes widen as his blush blooms down his slender neck, but his gaze never strays from mine. I lift a brow and roll my hips. His breath hitches on a gasp, his eyelids fluttering as his head falls back against the wall with a thunk.

"Fuckers," Jaxon mutters from somewhere behind us. I huff, and Dominik snickers, still smiling blindingly as he reaches up to capture my lips in a chaste kiss.

My fingers clamp around his throat as I deepen it, uncaring of our audience, of anything other than him. Always.

But then, a jarring whoop followed by a whistle breaks my concentration, and I pull back from Dominik with a glare. He rolls his eyes as he shoves me away, knuckles brushing over the dampness now staining his shirt.

I turn around slowly, my scowl aimed at the two men blatantly staring at us from across the room. Jaxon, even flushed with his own hair in disarray, is grinning mischievously while his husband, Leo, is feigning a scowl and looking equally unkempt. I scoff. Fucking hypocrites.

Another guy pushes through the back door, stumbling to a stop when he notices the four of us standing in silence in all stages of dishevelment. His eyes dart around as a slow flush creeps up his neck. I narrow my glare at him, and he fidgets under my scrutiny before dropping his gaze to the floor and turning away as he walks toward the front desk.

Dominik cackles, and Jaxon shakes his head as he plops down on his chair, swiveling around to grab a pair of gloves. "Give Amos a break, Rhett. You're a bit intimidating. And given what he walked in on—I mean, we're in public! " he gasps, feigning being scandalized.

I blink, unperturbed, even as my beauty boy breaks into a deeper fit of laughter, and it's the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.

"And your husband isn't?" I deadpan. "Besides," I roll my eyes, "I'm sure he's seen worse from you two."

Jaxon snorts loudly, and Leo barks out a huff of a laugh. "True, I guess. But Amos is used to us. " Jaxon elbows his husband, smile never slipping. Then, he glances up at me. "Ready?"

Without a word, I climb atop the leather table, but before I can clasp my hands behind my head, Dominik walks over and adjusts the pillow for me. I glance up, my eyes softening for a moment when I catch a flash of vulnerability.

I part my lips to ask what the fuck has him looking so wrecked when a bell chimes, and I hear a voice I never fucking wanted to hear again.

"Hey, guys!"

My body tenses, jaw locking as my beauty sighs. With a gentle, reassuring smile—just for me—he faces Essa Monroe with a strength and resilience I admire, even without speaking a word. Resisting the urge to shove him out of the way and keep him hidden, I rake my eyes over the expanse of his muscular back, hidden behind a baggy T-shirt—but I know what lies beneath the clothes. Beneath his skin. What's inside. And what's leaking out of him.

The thought makes me smirk. But then, I catch sight of Essa Monroe walking toward us, and my lips fall into a sneer.

"Hey, baby girl," Jaxon says absentmindedly as he picks up his machine.

"Hey, Jax," Essa chirps. It grates on my nerves.

I lift my head, silently beckoning Dominik to come closer. He feels my movement and turns his back on Essa to pull his chair closer than before, if only by a few centimeters. He then wraps his fingers around my tattooed bicep, tracing the lines as we both listen to the conversation.

"What's up?"

"I just popped in to ask you if you guys could take Poppy tonight? I was gonna call you, but we were going grocery shopping anyway."

"Yeah. That should be fine. Need Leo and I to pick her up?" Jax asks.

"That'd be awesome. Is six okay?"

"Yep."

"Thanks. I'm gonna… head out," she says from somewhere to my left, further away than before.

Dominik pulls away slightly, and I turn my head to keep him in my sights as he gives Essa a small smile. His fingers clamp tightly around my bicep as he says, "It's nice seeing you healthy, Essa."

The smile she walked in with is gone, but her eyes are creased with warmth. "You too, Dom." Then, she turns and finally walks out the fucking door.

"Jesus fucking Christ," I mutter.

"Old flames and all that, eh?" Jaxon muses sarcastically.

"Shut the fuck up," Dominik grumbles with no heat. Jaxon bellows out a laugh, blonde hair flopping across his forehead. Leo dips down to whisper in his ear, then presses a kiss to his forehead.

"Where's your big guy headed?" Dominik asks as Leo's large frame disappears out the back door.

Jaxon's smile is so bright, it's ridiculous. I close my eyes so I don't have to see it. "Back to work. He owns a bar across town, but we've just finished up with this new music venue that's opening next week, so he's checking in on that."

Dominik harrumphs. "That's fuckin' cool."

Jaxon smiles brightly. "If you guys are still around then, feel free to stop by for the first show—on us."

I blatantly ignore the offer as I watch Jaxon wipe a damp paper towel over my oozing skin. Dominik's eyes drill into the side of my face.

After a minute of silence, I huff and glance upward at him. "What?"

Dominik's green eyes flicker between mine as his pretty, plump lips curve into a grin. "Looks like we're stayin' for a while."

I frown. "Beauty—"

"Nope." He shakes his head, curls bouncing erratically. "Not up for debate. We're staying. I haven't been to a concert in a long time!"

"No, we're fucking not. We can go to one literally anywhere else. "

But then, Dominik's dimple pops out, pale and hollow through his five o'clock shadow, and I'm fucking gone for him.

He leans in, brushing his mouth against the shell of my ear, but the fucking brat doesn't whisper a single word, instead speaking with full volume. "I'll suck your dick so good on the way to the hotel if we can stay."

Flames ignite in my gut, and Jaxon has the good sense to lift the needles from my skin moments before I jerk upward, shoving my fingers into my beauty's hair to drag him over me. I slam my mouth into his, all teeth and tongue, spit and venom.

Dominik moans shamelessly, as wanton as he's always been.

I swallow every noise as I fight for more before ripping myself away with regret, feeling breathless and pissed off. Pissed because I can't do anything about my cock throbbing in my jeans, biting into the metal teeth of the zipper yet a-fucking-gain.

Dominik sits back with a beaming grin, knowing he got what he wanted—as he always does. My heart, my soul. My life.

All for him.

I flop back with a heavy sigh, willing my erection to deflate, but it's a no-go. "It's not going to go away any time soon. Might as well keep going."

Jaxon busts out laughing, head thrown back, throat exposed. Dominik follows suit, as well as Amos, and soon, the shop is filled with their ridiculous laughter with a dumbass vampire movie as their ambient noise.

After a few minutes, their laughter dies down, and then Jaxon's needles are back in my skin, licking fire. I hold a breath before letting it out slowly, relishing in it.

"Looks painful, baby," Dom says softly against the side of my face, all cuddled up again. Warm breath and whispers. And we both know he's not talking about the needles hammering into my flesh.

"It is," I reply with a grunt, molars grinding.

"No underwear?" he questions softly, unable to hide his desire. Soft lips graze my throat.

"Fuck no. I always need easy access to your ass, beauty." His pale face flushes crimson, but he doesn't look away. Doesn't hide.

I can't say the same.

I'm so proud of you.

I'm so sorry I made you feel ashamed.

I still hate myself—for all of it.

"Stop," he says suddenly as if he can sense the direction of my thoughts. I roll my eyes behind my lids but remain silent, unable to calm the storm.

Time passes in a haze of bearable pain. The kind you hate after a while but immediately crave all over again as soon as it's over.

Though my beauty is probably cramped from being hunched over for so long, he doesn't move his head from my shoulder, only turns it to the side to watch the rest of the film playing on the T.V across the room. And I find myself watching too, if only to pass the time.

Long after the credits roll across the screen, Jaxon pulls back and wipes me down, cleaning away the excess ink and blood.

"Shit, I can't believe you got that," Dominik murmurs.

"Why?" I ask without looking at it.

"Because… it's my name, " he answers like that explains everything.

I arch a brow. "I know. That was the point."

"But couldn't you have gotten, like… I don't know. Something not so…?" He trails off, eyes flashing with something akin to panic.

I roll my eyes. "Don't be stupid. And don't act like this," I wave my hand between us, "isn't forever, beauty. To hell."

His unease disappears in an instant, replaced with a blinding smile that never fails to steal my breath. An oozing warmth fills my heart, making me shift awkwardly on the table. "Are you done?" I ask gruffly. Jaxon finishes spraying me with something before rolling back.

"Yep. We'll let that sit for a few, then get you wrapped." He turns around to do his own thing, so I swing my arm out. Dominik steps into the curve of my embrace, pressing flush against the table, careful not to touch my inflamed skin. But his eyes trace greedily over the ink.

Six letters. One word.

All him.

"Beauty," he murmurs his name as his index finger traces the curve of my bottom lip. I snatch the digit between my teeth, sinking them into his flesh. He winces but doesn't try to pull away, so I suck on his finger instead, making his lips twitch, but it's a sad thing. Melancholic.

I grab his chin in a tight grip, lifting his head until those tragically green eyes see me and only me. "I don't know why you look like you're about to cry, but knock it off. I'm hard enough as it is, and we can't exactly fuck in Jaxon's shop, as he so studiously pointed out."

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't!" the man in question calls from somewhere behind us. Dominik's face breaks out into a smile. Blinding and beautiful and devastating.

"As if you haven't at least a dozen times yourself," I call out, never taking my eyes off my beauty boy.

"That's different, I own the place," he quips.

"I hope your cleaning sprays work well," I drawl, tapping the leather table I'm sitting on. I can't see Jaxon's face, but I'm assuming he blushes because of Dominik's hearty giggle.

"Do you need fucked to feel better, baby?" I ask sternly. His throat rolls, dark lashes fluttering. But when he opens his eyes, they're even more glassy than before.

"Damnit, Dominik," I growl, reaching down to tug on the front of my jeans, to no avail. He huffs, dimples on display.

"I just love you. Too much, I think," he whispers after dropping his head to my bare shoulder once more. He skims his lips over my flesh with the soft and gentle ease of someone who's done it a thousand times.

I massage the back of his neck, tugging on his curls. "I think it's the ‘too much' that's saved us. We've never done anything half-assed, have we?" I ask. He shakes his head against me.

"Then, why should loving each other be any different." I don't phrase it like a question—because it's not. When it comes to loving Dominik Reed, nothing about it has ever been less than all-consuming and cataclysmic.

"As stubborn as ever," he grumbles, but I feel his smile.

"That's the Scorpio in me, as you like to say," I grunt but press a kiss to his pierced ear.

"Because it's true." And this time, when he leans back and lets me see his face, it's to show me his devious little smirk, his eyes mirthful. Light and love dance in his forest irises. An endless depth I could lose myself in forever.

And I think I will.

"Says the Leo, " I snark back. His laugh sends goosebumps down my spine, husky and charged and alive.