Sharpening His Broken Talon (Living Art Book 2)

by River Mitchell

  Slowly, I worked his shaft with a firm grip, feeling and hearing what my touch was doing to him. His breathing became more and more erratic and heavy; his grip on my hair nearly scalped me. And nothing had ever felt more perfect. I was in the arms of the man that had not only given me purpose but had captured my heart completely.

  “Do you want to come like this?” I asked, breaking away from Talon and leaning away so that I could see his entire face.

  Talon shook his head, pointed to me, and then back at him.

  “You want me inside you?” I needed to confirm. I knew what his sign meant, and I wanted the exact same thing. There was nothing I wanted more than connecting the two of us.

  Talon nodded again and tried to pull me back down to him. “Wait…we don’t have to do everything tonight. There are ways that I can be inside you without having to include my dick.”

  Talon and I had never spoken about past sexual partners or experience. But with him telling me I was his first kiss, I doubted he’d had any, and I really didn’t want him thinking it had to be all or nothing. Or that he needed to rush trying things he wasn’t ready for because he didn’t have the voice to explain or was embarrassed for not being able to say stop.

  Grabbing my face with both hands, he forced me to look directly into his eyes. What I saw was a man who knew what he wanted.

  “Come on; let’s take this to the bedroom.” As I spoke, I rose and held my hand out to him. I wanted to make this good for both of us, but mostly, I wanted to show him exactly what he meant to me. Without hesitation, he placed his hand in mine, settling all my fears and worries, and allowed me to lead him through the apartment to my bedroom.

  We both settled on the bed and stared at one another. Neither one of us in any rush to move things along too quickly, both of us content to just be in the moment. He was the first to move, leaning forward and resting his forehead on my chest. Moving my hands, I gently sifted my fingers through his hair. “You’re perfect,” I whispered into his ear.

  Talon looked up at me and smiled. I couldn’t stop myself from leaning forward to meet him and pressing my lips to his. He responded hungrily, opening his mouth and allowing my tongue to seek his. Leaving his mouth, I worked my way slowly down his body. Spending time on his nipples and chest, down to his abs, then his hips to his groin, and finally, licking along his shaft to take the head of his cock in my mouth. In response, Talon arched off the bed, groaning in pleasure. After spending ample time worshiping at the altar of Talon’s cock, I pulled away and reached over to the bedside table where I knew there was a bottle of lube and condoms in the drawer. But in my haste, I pulled too hard on the drawer, and the whole thing came apart. Not sparing it a second thought, I grabbed what I needed and returned to the man on the bed.

  “You can still say no. Or you can do me if you want?”

  Shaking his head, he pointed to me and smiled. I spent the next few minutes carefully and properly preparing Talon to take me for the first time. Starting with one finger thoroughly coated in lube and stretching him, I followed that with two then three fingers. Throughout the whole experience, our eyes stayed locked on each other.

  “You ready?” I asked. Smiling and nodding at him, I tore open the condom packet and rolled it on. Adding some extra lube to my covered cock, I positioned myself over him and lined my cock up. Starting slowly, I pushed into him until my balls were flush up against his ass.

  “Take a deep breath. It’s about to get really good,” I soothed.

  I began to move within him. I knew the moment I hit his magic spot because his eyes widened, and his grip on me tightened. Speeding up, and changing my angle so that I was able to hit sweet spot every time, I thrust, causing an array noises, grunts, groans, and moans. And every single one of them went straight through me. I could feel the build-up starting and knew there was no way I was going to let myself to cum before Talon did. I doubled my efforts.

  I was quickly rewarded when Talon shot over both of us. Thanking the lord I’d been able to hold on and make it good for him, I finally allowed myself the release my body so desperately needed, and I followed him over the edge.

  14

  Talon

  The morning started perfectly. I woke up in the arms of the man I was now positive I was in love with. I’d lost my virginity and could not be happier about it. My dad had sent me a text message letting me know he loved me and that he was glad he and I were back to normal, because he had missed me. I ate a huge breakfast that was cooked, ready, and waiting for me when I came out of the bedroom. I was wearing one of Tate’s sweatshirts. Yes, it might seem silly, but I loved it.

  So really, I should’ve known it would all turn into chaos. It was the law of something or other, wasn’t it? Too many good things happening would cause the bad shit to follow.

  Still in my love and post-fucking bubble, I was not prepared for the invasion explosion that awaited us the moment we stepped foot inside the tattoo shop.

  “Have you seen it?” Tristan shouted the moment Tate and I came through the door.

  “Seen what?” Tate asked.

  “The video someone took of the show last night. It was posted on YouTube. It’s gone viral, and has almost 200,000 hits already,” Tristan explained excitedly.

  Dread hit me fast. Why the hell had someone put me on the internet? This was my worst nightmare on a fucking epic scale. The only reason I even sang was so Tristan wouldn’t have to deal with all the shit that was bound to follow. I certainly didn’t want 200,000 strangers to pass judgment.

  The color must’ve drained from my face, because Tristan saw his statement wasn’t met with happiness, and he tried to backtrack.

  “All the comments are really good, T, I promise. They loved you. All you guys.” Tristan tried to placate me, but nothing they were saying was getting through. All I heard was that nearly a quarter of a million people had left a judgment on me. Emily’s words started swimming around in my head. Freak. Stupid. Retard. Embarrassment. Waste of space.

  “Hey!” Tate said as he moved in front of me. Both of his hands palmed my cheeks. “Take a deep breath and remember that the only people that matter are family, and every single member of this family knows how fucking amazing you are. You were a rock star last night. Please do not let one person’s actions, which I am sure were not malicious, change how you felt about what you did and who you did it for.” I knew what he was saying was right, but I couldn’t stop the fear and words from getting louder in my head. I wish I could. There was no switch I could flick to make it normal. To mute the words and allow myself to shrug it all off.

  “Tris, do we know who put the video up? Do you think we could talk them into taking it down?” Tate enquired.

  “I don’t know who it was,” Tristan said, sounding disappointed. I knew he wanted me to see only the positive in the situation. But I just wasn’t built that way. I was put together wrong. “I thought he would be happy to know how much people liked it. He was great last night. Everyone said so.” Tristan tried again to explain his excitement.

  It was at moments like this that I was at my most frustrated. I wished I could explain how and why I thought the way I did. But that in itself felt like a big fat judgment. Almost as if I wasn’t allowed to feel the way I did. Or that I was putting it on, making a bigger deal out of it than it should’ve been. That I was being irrational; nobody understood. The negative was all I heard, the positive never penetrated. I was conditioned to believe the worst. I wished more than anything I was better at filtering out the good from the bad. Or maybe that I was able to block out or become numb to what would hurt and wound me. My brain just didn’t have that off switch.

  I knew Tristan only wanted to share what he thought was something I would look at and be proud of. I heard him say people were leaving positive and nice comments. That was still drowned out by the feeling of dread that people would look, laugh, and ridicule, taking away the one piece me that I liked. Everything else was judged, evaluated, discussed, and nitpicked
. The singing was all mine. It was for me and for Tristan last night. Not for anyone else to tear apart.

  “Let’s go into the back. Did you come in for your tattoo?” Tate asked, helpfully distracting Tristan as he walked us all through to the staff room at the back of the shop.

  For the rest of the afternoon I was tuned out. I sat silently and in my own world. I somehow missed Alfie and Fear turning up. I missed someone calling my dad and Molly. I even missed Alfie starting my brother’s temporary tattoo. What I didn’t miss was Tate at my side the whole time. He knew not to push; he knew not to ask if I was all right; he knew not to keep bringing the subject up until I was ready. He knew I needed him.

  Pulling my notebook and pen out from my pocket, I started writing down everything I wanted to say.

  * * *

  Thank you for letting me think, thank you for being here, and thank you for not letting me sink too far.

  Do you think we will be able to take the video down? TRUTH!

  Can you check to make sure that Tristan is ok? I really didn’t mean to freak him out earlier.

  Can I have a hug?

  * * *

  Once finished, I handed the note to Tate and watched while he read it. I saw the exact moment he got to my hug request because, in a flash, his arms were around me, holding on tightly. It was the safest and most balanced I’d felt since walking through the door of Living Art.

  “I am right where I’m supposed to be, and trust me, having you in my arms is quickly becoming my favorite thing.” He confirmed his statement by tightening his arms around me. “Did you want to watch the video? I’ve got to admit, I’m a little curious,” Tate admitted.

  I really didn’t want to watch it, but if Tate did, I would. I guess I would have to at some point, better to do it surrounded by family while drawing strength from Tate.

  I nodded and shrugged. Fuck it.

  “Hey, Tris, can Talon and I watch this video you told us about?” Tate asked my brother who was across the room. My brother was so shocked by the request he almost jumped up from the chair where Alfie was currently working on his arm. The only thing that kept him seated was Alfie’s shout.

  “Would it be okay if we all watched it?” Molly asked.

  Why not go big or… No, I couldn’t even finish that sentence. I just wanted this over with. I nodded and watched as Molly set up the computer to the projector we used in the shop for blowing up images. Fuck, this was going to be brutal.

  Not wanting to watch, I kept my eyes on Tate, my dad, Molly, and Fear. I knew Tristan already liked it, and Alfie was concentrating on what he was doing. So I decided to gauge how bad or good it was from everyone’s reactions.

  I could hear everything, but there was no way in hell that I was going to turn and watch.

  “I am so damn proud of you, T. You were amazing up there. I had no idea you sang.” His dad was the first to speak up. I could hear the emotion in his voice and it helped ease some of the tension I felt.

  “That right there is my little brother. How awesome is he?” Molly shouted, pride oozing from voice.

  “He is my little brother, too. Don’t be greedy. Learn to share,” Fear spoke up.

  “Hey, don’t forget me. He’s my brother, too,” Tristan shouted.

  “Yeah, well, he is my boyfriend, so I trump you all.” The instant the statement left Tate’s mouth the room froze, everyone completely silent.

  I‘m pretty sure everyone could hear my heart beating inside my chest.

  “He is your what now?” Molly was the first to comment.

  “Um, whoops. That was obviously not the best way to share that news. I maybe should’ve kept my mouth shut.” At Fear’s cough, Tate sighed and continued, “I should definitely have kept it shut. I’m really sorry, Talon.” He faced me, his face burning bright red and his eyes full of regret and worry.

  Learning forward, I kissed him on the tip of the nose. In the scheme of things, my family finding out, or confirming suspicions they might’ve already had, was really the last thing on list of the things I cared about. I knew my family was accepting about sexuality. My not telling them was never about a fear of rejection. It was more of a lack of need to share. I wasn’t with anyone, male or female. It just never came up.

  Smiling at Tate, I took his hand and entwined our fingers, letting everyone know that he was mine and I was his.

  “Hello, boys, Mama comes bearing coffee and nuggets!” Sheridan shouted while banging on the door at the front of the shop. This was about to get interesting and I was not sure yet if that was a good or bad thing.

  “So you two are together? Like together, together?” Tristan asked.

  I nodded at his question and moved my hand into the sign for okay, asking him the silent question.

  “If you’re happy, I think it’s great…you are happy, right?”

  I nodded and smiled at his question. I was the happiest I had ever been. It had to be obvious to everyone because as I took in everyone’s face, every single one of them morphed from surprise to amazement and finally to a happiness and excitement that almost matched my own.

  "Helllooooooo, we’re waiting out here and all of your coffees are getting cold and it will not be my fault!” we all heard Sheridan yell out. Tate and my revelation had caused everyone to momentarily forget she was here. Fear was the first to shake it off. Tate had told me this morning he’d confessed to his best friend what he felt about me. So it was no surprise that he was the first to gain back his senses.

  “What on earth took you so long, sweetie? I thought the nuggets and I were going to have to pick the lock there for a moment.”

  “Sorry.”

  “I fell down, Fear, and I got a big boo-boo on my knee,” we all heard Lily’s little voice say, just as she walked into the back room. Her little voice had a slight tremor in it. It was clear she was trying to be brave.

  “Hey, little nugget, come and show me that boo-boo,” Alfie told his sister. Lily walked straight over to him and lifted up her knee, which did indeed have a big scrape on it.

  “Oh wow, that is a big one. Does it hurt?” he asked her.

  “Yeah, I went arse over tit. Gamma said maybe I should try out for gymnastics because it would have scored a perfect ten.”

  “Did she?” Alfie responded, looking at his mother with a look that would kill a lesser woman.

  “Uh huh and then she said she wished she had her camera out because that was some funny stuff,” Lily explained.

  “Well, wasn’t that nice of Gamma, teaching you new phrases like ‘arse over tit’ and wanting to record such a precious moment?”

  “Yup. She said that I styled it out like nobody’s business.”

  “Of course you did. You’re mine. I bet you looked stunning,” Alfie said, eyeing his mother.

  “Come over here, Lily, and I will fix up your knee and maybe we can get Tate to make you a special bandage so that you will feel better super-fast.” Fear held out his hand for Lily to take.

  Okay, so the world had not imploded. Everyone now knew that I sang, and I was still standing. Someone had posted it on the internet: still standing. My family—and especially Tate—thought I had nothing to worry about. Inside, I didn’t think I’d ever felt so full. Maybe this wasn’t so bad. I really needed to stop thinking the worst.

  Of course, everything turned to shit not even a week later. For three days at least, I could almost believe I might be able to enjoy my newfound happiness. Tate and I were blissful. He helped me focus on the good instead of allowing the dark and painful thoughts to drag me down. And those focused happy times were magnified a million percent. I have never been happier and the fact that my dad and Molly, Tristan and the rest of the family could see it made it all even better.

  I also found out in those three days that I was somewhat of a nymphomaniac. Tate and I couldn’t keep our hands off each other, and we didn’t want to. Every time I saw the man, all I wanted to do was jump him. He pretty much felt the same, meaning neither of us have
left the bedroom for long. That was not to say our hanky panky was limited to the bedroom alone. We had managed to christen every room in Tate’s apartment and even managed a quickie in my room at my dad’s house. Tate kept saying he wanted to christen the back room of the tattoo shop. I wasn’t sure if I was quite at that point yet, but I had no doubt that he would talk me into it.

  It was day four that things turned to shit. The first sign of unease was my phone ringing and interrupting Tate and my early morning kiss and cuddle. No one ever rang my phone, anyone that knew me knew I wouldn’t answer it. More often than not they texted; if it was really important, they would ring whoever I was with. Since Tate’s phone didn’t ring, we chose to ignore it and concentrate on each other.

  Two and half hours later, while I was sitting at the breakfast bar, enjoying the lunch Tate had prepared for me, I finally checked my phone.

  “Hello, I am calling to speak to Mr. Parker. My name is Stacey Mickonous, and I am calling in the hopes you will allow us to interview you for tonight’s show. The YouTube video of you and your band went viral in mere hours and has catapulted you all into the limelight. We at Live@10 would like to give you the opportunity to share how you all feel about this amazing time in your lives. I am sorry for the short notice; it took me a long time to track you down. You can contact me at this number. I look forward to hearing from you. Have a nice day.”

  15

  Tate

  My stomach plummeted as I watched Talon’s face drain of color. We had been having such an amazing few days. He was happy, happy like I had never seen him. Whoever was on his phone had managed to eradicate any of the shine that I had built up.

  Not liking what I was seeing, I grabbed the phone out of Talon’s hand and listened to message that had fucked up our perfect day.

  “Hey, it’s okay. I will call them back and tell that you are not interested,” I told Talon at the same time that I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. I knew what was upsetting him; he didn’t want anyone digging into his life. The secrets there caused so much pain to not only Talon, but the entire Parker family. I didn’t waste any time; I gave his hand another squeeze before Ietting go and getting up. My primary concern at that moment was to slay whatever was causing him pain. In this case, it was a dragon named Stacey Mickonous.