Epilogue
This was one of the most wonderful, beautiful, joyful moments of their partnership. Man, this was a horrible idea. They had decided this morning that it was time to get the rings tattooed on their fingers.
So now Bret was sitting in a chair holding Cade’s other hand as a guy with tattoos all over his bald head was torturing his bear. He had started second-guessing this whole thing when they had walked into the shop and were greeted by the owner. Said owner had on jeans with a huge chain running from his wallet to a belt loop. He wore a black T-shirt, sleeves cut off. On the front was a huge white skull and cross bones with red eyes. Tattoos blanketed his arms, and there were huge silver rings on all of his fingers in the shapes of skulls, dragons, and bats.
After discussing the design of the rings they wanted, the guy had gone into the back to take a few minutes to create a drawing. Cade had turned to him and asked, “What’s the matter, honey?”
“Bear, I don’t mean to be rude or nasty, but do we want him to tattoo us? I think he pulls wings off of flies when he’s bored.”
“Now listen to me, baby. He is one of the best tattoo artists around. And I’ve gone out and had a beer with him on occasion.” In typical Cade fashion, he continued. “No, he doesn’t pull the wings off of flies. Think about it. Would you want someone who was wearing a polo shirt and khakis, short hair, and not a tattoo in sight tattooing you? You want someone that knows what it’s like and how it feels.”
“Crap, you’re right. Okay, we can do this.”
A short time later, the guy came back and Cade sat in what looked like a dentist’s chair. They were getting matching rings. The rings were going to look like they were made with a bronze metal weave with an amber stone centered in the middle. After the guy cleaned and had even shaved Cade’s finger, he’d drawn a ring on his finger just like the drawing they had already approved. Then he had started the loud buzzing machine and proceeded to ink the lines into Cade’s skin. After a couple of minutes, Bret noticed Cade was getting pale. Bret realized then, that even though his bear wasn’t trying to show it, the guy was hurting his man. To top it off, the guy wiped the line he had just made, and Bret saw there was blood on the cloth.
“Stop!”
Immediately the buzzing stopped and both men turned questioning looks at him.
“What’s the matter, honey?”
“Cade, he’s hurting you. We can’t do this. You shouldn’t be hurting.”
“Baby, do you know anything about tattoos?”
Well, that question caught the pup’s attention. A frown appeared on that pretty face. “I know that some really look cool. And I know once they’re on, they’re pretty much permanent.”
“Come on up here, baby.” Cade indicated to his lap. It took a little help from the tattoo artist, but they managed to get Bret on his lap, leg brace and all. “Tattoos hurt when a person gets them. I thought you knew this. There is also a little blood. If you don’t think you can handle it you can just wear the ring alone, not the tattoo under it. I wouldn’t ask any more from you.” Cade gave him a soft kiss.
“It’s not me that is the problem, Cade.” Bret was getting angry. “I won’t have you in pain. Let’s go home.”
Cade turned to the artist. “Keep going.”
Bret was just about to argue again when Cade looked him right in the eye and said, “Kiss me.”
As their lips met, the nasty buzzing started. But Cade kept kissing him. Then he ran his lips over his jaw and up to his ear, pulling the lobe between his teeth. Bret’s fingers tangled in Cade’s hair, holding on as his lips were again taken into a wet deep kiss. The kisses continued and as was with their union, Bret became lost under Cade’s possession. Slowly Cade broke the kiss and Bret saw the deep love shining in his eyes. There was also a twinkle of amusement, too.
“He finished my ring, baby.”
Bret turned and looked and there on Cade’s finger was the ring that they had envisioned. It was beautiful. Turning back to the bear, he said, “Get up, I want mine.”
“I think I’ll just stay here. He can do yours from on my lap,” Cade informed him. He was going to be in the position to stop the whole thing if the pup couldn’t handle the pain. Hell, he might even stop the whole thing if he himself couldn’t handle the pup in pain.
He watched the pup put his hand on the table, and after prepping the finger, the first line was inked. Bret stiffened and Cade was ready to call a halt. But then Bret turned and buried his face into his chest. Cade realized that Bret was determined to get through this in order to have the symbol of their love permanently on his finger. The next few minutes passed by with Cade rubbing Bret’s back and whispering how much he loved him. Then it was finished. The alpha, dominating, possessive part of him rejoiced at how gorgeous Bret looked with his still kiss-swollen lips, over-wide velvety brown eyes, and his ring marked on his finger.
The artist wrapped their fingers and explained after-care instructions. Cade then gathered Bret up in his arms and carried him out to his truck. Heading home, he had plans for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Bret in his bed and in his arms, where he belonged.
* * * *
Jack surveyed the perimeter of the community center building as he crouched behind a tree off to the side of the front doors. Who would have thought some kid would bring a gun to the center in the small town near his house and proceed to start shooting everyone in sight? He supposed everyone was surprised when these incidents happened in their own town. The shots had stopped for the last few minutes and Jack wasn’t sure where the shooter was presently in the building.
The rest of the team members were at various points surrounding the building. The police were behind barricades in the parking lot. He could see at least three ambulances had just arrived to transport the victims. Further back he could see a crowd gathering. Some were what he referred to as gawkers, people who just wanted to see what was happening. Then there would be the ones who had family inside.
“What are our orders, boss?” he murmured into the small mike at his mouth.
“We make our way in and wait for an opening to get the people out,” Cade replied.
Jack took a deep breath and then he was on the move.
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bellann Summer lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband and children surrounded by lakes and woods. In the summer Bellann enjoys fishing, camping, gardening, and growing flowers. Autumn is spent out in the woods exploring the beautiful colors and nature at its finest. In the winter there is ice fishing, snowmobiling, and sitting in front of the wood fireplace. She has always loved to read and any free time is spent with a book in her hand. When major life changes occurred, she decided to try writing what she liked to read. And it worked.
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Bear's Pup [Rescue for Hire 1] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) Page 7
