Order (Tattoos and Ties Duet #2)(82)

“Take off your shirt and straddle it.”

Key gave him attitude, lifting a brow and purposefully taking his sweet time to shrug off the T-shirt while facing Alec, continuing to effectively block his view. Key winced a couple of times, and Alec did have sympathy, but his eagerness got the best of him. He grabbed the T-shirt from Key’s hands and tossed it on the table.

“You’re killing me. Turn around,” Alec ordered. Key’s blue eyes met his, and he swore that, after this, he was going to kiss that sexy smirk right off Key’s handsome face. Key shook his head and used his finger to motion for Alec to turn around.

“I’ll tell you when to turn back,” Key teased.

“What? No. I wanna see.” Alec stood his ground until Key lifted both brows and waited him out. So, begrudgingly, Alec finally turned, crossing his arms over his chest, tapping his foot with anticipation. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about the tattoo. I tell you everything.”

He heard the chair scrape across the tile floor, and he twisted around only to find Key still standing. “No peekin’.”

“You’re driving me crazy!” Alec complied with Key’s request, but the curiosity was killing him. “You have five seconds.”

When he turned back, Key was straddling the chair, his back to Alec, watching him through the reflection in darkened glass of the window. Alec froze at what he saw. The massive tattoo was stunning, the detail incredible. How in the world did that magnificent tattoo represent him in any way? “A fallen angel?”

“No.”

Alec moved closer, completely drawn to the image, taking in the finer details of the intricate design. He lightly ran his fingertip over the tip of the right wing.

“Explain this. Why?”

Key shifted in the chair, moving to where his legs were on one side, and Alec moved with him, staying at his back.

“It’s the defender of mankind. I looked up the meaning of your name and it fit,” Key explained. He looked back at Alec, but winced and gave up, turning forward again. Nash came running, nipping at Key’s steel-toed boot.

Alec crossed his arms over his chest, remembering a time when he was a young boy. He and his grandmother had spontaneously looked up the meaning of his name. That night, she and he had decided when he grew up, he should go into law. She’d convinced him it was the best profession to help him live up to his name. He’d forgotten that precious memory and had to swallow the sudden lump forming in his throat.

“This is how you see me?” he asked, his voice small even to him.

“Kind of,” Key answered and turned around, reaching out to clasp Alec’s hand before he was able to cross his arms over his chest to help hold himself together. “You okay? You look weird.”

“I’m stunned,” he said, knowing that simple word didn’t begin to describe all this emotion rolling through. Key’s hand tightened on his. His gaze lifted to Alec’s and he saw worry reflected there. A concern for Alec, just the way Key always cared for him with such a sweet gentle need to ease any anxiety Alec may have.

“Don’t be freaked.” Key searched his face, and that seemed enough to knock Alec out of his awestruck trance. He gripped Key’s hand and brought it to his lips, softly kissing Key’s palm before lowering to kiss his upturned lips.

“I’m the exact opposite of freaked out,” he said against Key’s lips and lifted a few inches to stare Key intently in the eyes when he asked his next question. “Is that how you see me?”

“I might not have chosen all this exactly.” Key nodded toward the interior of the house then slid a hand across his chest. “But I mark my body with significance. No matter how this turns out between us, I always want you with me. You’ve had the largest impact on my life. I wanna remember everything about this time, so I made it the biggest ink I could.”

Alec couldn’t help the well of tears as he tugged Key from the chair, sealing this moment with a sweet lingering kiss. He stayed there, carefully wrapping his arms below Key’s waist. His eyes closed with his mouth against the man he loved.

“I never want to lose you,” he whispered.

This time, Key moved and cradled his face with his palms.

“It’s not supposed to make you cry.” Key tilted Alec to better look him in the eyes.

“I feel so loved. I’ve never felt so loved.”

Key’s mouth lowered, his tongue pressing along the seam of Alec’s lips. Alec opened and put everything he had in that kiss. Key moaned and held his face tighter as if he couldn’t get enough, and he kissed him with a fervor that made Alec melt.

Just as suddenly as Key had kissed him, Alec found himself sucking air. Key was gone from his hold. When the lusty haze started to clear, he realized Key was reaching for his phone in the back pocket of his jeans. There was a purposefulness on his face that had the fine lines at his mouth more pronounced.

“I’ve got someone for you to meet. Can you go?” Key asked in a rush, the phone going to his ear.

The words were unexpected, and it took Alec a second to understand. His brow furrowed and slowly his heartbeat started to pick up. Someone meant another person knowing about the two of them. Key had resisted that from day one.

Maybe he’d misunderstood.

“Hang on for a sec,” Key said into the phone, staring at him as his brows lifted in question.