Chapter Five
Sothea
His chest, above his heart. A perfect place for a mark.
And he wanted it where it was as visible as possible.
I thought that was the greatest of ideas, and so did my bear.
And once I got my stupid head out of the way, my expectations of disappointment and excellent system for causing my own problems, I decided to take things one step at a time.
He was my mate. Would he understand that? Would he even want to be?
Step one: tattoo. Something I did multiple times a day and knew how to do well.
“Would you like to take your shirt off?” I wheeled the stool up close to the chair, promising not to let the sight of my mate bare from the waist up distract me from the job at hand.
Unfortunately, as he pulled his shirt over his head, he released even more scent.
Why had I ever thought I could get past what every cell in my body and my giant bear were insisting on. Mate. Mark. Take home to den.
“I’m going to shave the area so there are no stray hairs to get in the way of the gun.”
“Not like I have a lot of hair,” he chuckled. “But that makes sense.”
“And then I’ll clean it with alcohol.”
He lay back, chest rising and falling with his breaths. “That didn’t hurt at all. What comes next?”
“Now, we apply the stencil so you can get a good look at the design on your body and let me know if you want to make any changes.” As I worked, the familiar rhythms of my art soothed me, and I felt more sure of myself. “Just takes a few moments. Hold still, okay? So it goes on as it should.”
“Okay.” He sucked in a breath and held it.
“You can breathe.” I lifted the stencil and turned the chair to face one of the mirrors. “This is your chance to make changes. About position first. Are you happy with where it’s placed?”
He tipped his head from side to side. “Yes. It’s good.”
“And size. If you would like the art to be bigger or smaller, now’s the time to say. It’s a lot harder to adjust once we start with the inking process.”
“Does it affect the price? I mean, I’m sure it would, right? A bigger tattoo would use more ink and time?”
As if I would take money from my mate. But a human wouldn’t know that.
“No, in this case, it would be the same price if you made it a bit bigger or smaller. Mainly because a smaller version takes longer due to the fine detail. And larger takes longer because of the area. So, size doesn’t matter.” A lie…and I hoped he wouldn’t realize that.
“Oh, that makes perfect sense.” It didn’t, at all. But I was grateful that he thought so. “I think a little bigger. Don’t you?”
When I drew it, I knew just how I wanted it to look on my mate. And that included his pleasure at looking at it. So, while I might be following procedures, my opinion was bound to be, “Yes. I agree.”
“If you’re ready, we’ll start on the outline.”
“Breathe slowly and evenly and don’t tense up. It will be a much more pleasant experience that way, all right?”
“You’re the expert.” He was trying to sound brave, but the slight tremble in his voice gave him away.
“Yes, and my job is to give you not only the best art I’m capable of but to guide you through the experience. Trust me?”
“I do.” Now, he sounded a little surprised. “It’s going to hurt.”
“Many people describe it as stinging, a little like a sunburn, but everyone is different.”
“I suppose if it was really awful, people wouldn’t come back again and again. I see so many with dozens of tattoos.”
“I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts afterward.” I rested a hand on his shoulder. “Relax, find a comfortable position because you’re going to be staying still for a while. You good?”
“I am,” he said. “What happens after the outline?”
“Then we get to color in the picture. That’s the fun part with all the colors and shading.”
He shifted around a little then placed his hands on the armrests and gave me a brave smile. “Let’s do this thing.”
Tattoo virgins were never predictable, but as I did the outline, we chatted a little bit about this and that. He winced a few times, but when I asked if he wanted to take a break, he said no, and when the outline was complete, I had him look in the mirror again.
“That is so cool,” he marveled. “Even without the color, it’s beautiful. Do you buy these designs somewhere?”
“I drew this. It’s mine. And now yours.”
“It’s so wonderful, I suppose you’ll probably do a lot of them.”
“Altan”—I had seen his name on the paperwork—“this is a design that will only be used once.”
“My gosh, I didn’t realize. That makes it even more special.”
He had no idea. But maybe one day he would.
“At this point, we can stop and you can come back another day, if you like.”
“Do I have to?”
“No, not at all. It’s up to you.” And while I wouldn’t mind having a reason for him to come back and spend more time, the size and design was one I could easily do in one session. “So…continue on?”
“Yes, please.”
“Then I’m going to have you stand up and walk around a bit, use the restroom if you like, and have something to drink. We have bottled water, soft drinks? I can go get you a coffee if you like?”
“Just water, I think. But a little break does sound good.”
Altan walked around the shop, admiring the various pictures of art on the wall, swung by the bathroom, and returned with a water Greta handed him. “I’m ready.”
He never asked for a break, the brave omega, and I took my time, longer than I usually would, getting every shading right.
I had the vision in my head even more than on the flash, and as the bear came to life, my heart went into it.
I wanted him to love it as much as I did, and when he looked in the mirror, I held my breath for his reaction.