Page 113 of Alpha Awakened
Royce thought about it for a moment before he answered. “They feel too private to let other people see.” And he hadn’t been home to his pack in years. Sometimes, when he looked at the ink on his arms, he thought that he didn’t have the right to claim that part of his heritage. Because of his estrangement from his home pack, he didn’t want to face a wolf from Mystic Storm and have them ask questions that he couldn’t answer. So, he kept them hidden under long sleeves.
“Oh. Well, I’m honored that you shared them with me.”
One look into Dylan’s eyes revealed that he understood Royce’s need to keep his tattoos and thus his life private, which made Royce even more glad that he’d decided to share them with the omega. Maybe one day, he’d share with him his other reason for not showing off his tattoos.
“I don’t have any tattoos.”
“I know you don’t. I’ve seen every inch of your skin.” Beneath the covers, he lazily smoothed a hand over Dylan’s bare hip. “Think I would have noticed a tattoo by now.”
“What if I had one in invisible ink?”
“Did your invisible friend do it for you?” Royce dryly asked.
Dylan pouted. “Very funny. Maybe I’ll get one someday.”
“Hmmm. Where would you get it?”
Dylan slowly rubbed his hand over his right pec muscle. “Maybe here.”
“That’s a good spot,” Royce said as he traced a single fingertip over the same place Dylan had touched.
“Or here.” Dylan twisted slightly, reaching behind to tap his fingers on the back of his shoulder.
Royce brushed his knuckles over his lover’s shoulder. “Hmmm. I like that spot too.”
“Or...” He paused as he stroked a thumb down his neck, stopping right before he reached his scent gland. “Here.”
This time, Royce leaned down to follow Dylan’s path with his lips. He lightly bit at the spot, just enough to leave a faint red mark behind on his throat. “I think that would be a great spot.”
“Do you think I can walk into a tattoo studio and ask them to ink your teeth mark into my skin?”
“Don’t see why not.” Royce answered with his lips still pressed to Dylan’s throat. “But I’d rather give you the real thing.”
“What about when it heals and fades?”
“I’ll have to bite you again.”
“What if I never want it to fade?” Dylan whispered.
Royce raised his head, his eyes flying to meet Dylan’s. He couldn’t mean that he wanted a permanent mate bond bite. But if he did... Royce closed his eyes for a moment to imagine his teeth marks over Dylan’s mating gland. His Instinct pulsed warm in his chest, thrilled at the idea. But Royce knew that they couldn’t — not without the Legion’s permission. And Dylanprobably hadn’t meant it like that anyway. This was only casual. He put the thought of biting Dylan’s mating gland away and kept the mood light and playful.
“Then I guess I’ll have to give you a fresh one every night.”
Dylan smiled. “I think I like this plan.”
“Should I get started on it right now, Corporal?”
“Please do, Captain.”
Royce moved to give Dylan what he wanted. He wished he could leave marks on Dylan’s throat for everyone to see and know he was claimed. But doing that would land them both in hot water. So he settled for lower. Lips pressed to hot skin, he left love bites and bruises in places that would be covered by Dylan’s shirt. Dylan moaned and gasped at each one, bringing a hand up to cup the back of Royce’s head and keep him close.
Royce pushed himself up from Dylan’s chest to look at his handiwork. Several passion marks glowed fresh and red on Dylan’s tan skin. He brushed his thumb over one of the bruises. “You look good with my marks.”
“Do I?”
“Absolutely. You know what else looks good?”
“What?”