Page 54 of Tessa

There was a bit of a tickle while the design was pressed on to his skin. “You don’t freestyle?” Dax asked, wondering if that should make him nervous.

Axel grunted. “Only if people ask me too. Some prefer it. Others, it makes ‘em too nervous. Shouldn’t, though. I’ve been doing this more than twenty years. I got the steadiest hand in the state, a wall full of awards, and I can tattoo just about anything, anywhere. Gonna start now. In a minute there’s gonna be no turning back.”

It was like waiting for a spanking, Dax surmised. Sometimes the build-up was the worst part and he just wanted Beau to hurry up and start so he could get it over with. That was exactly how he was feeling now.

Finally, finally, a soft buzzing sound filled the space and he felt a pinch of pain as the needle touched his skin.

“Ready?”

“Mmmhmm,” Dax murmured, between gritted teeth.

And then it began.

The pain wasn’t much different from a spanking—well, okay, it was a lot different, but taking it wasn’t. Unlike a spanking, it was pretty much constant, no annoying starting and stopping. He didn’t have to deal with feeling it fade, only to have it return with a vengeance a minute later. He just had to settle into it and allow his mind to drift off to other things.

Chapter Fifteen

Beau

Beau stepped through the door to the room he shared with Dax, that he hoped they’d eventually share with Tessa also, and all but wilted against the door. The meeting had taken longer than he’d expected and he’d gotten done just in time to get stuck in rush-hour traffic on the way home.

Dax and Tessa were standing in the middle of the room, taking selfies with their backs to him.

“Hey,” he said, grabbing their attention. “That was a long day, and I am covered in dust. I’m gonna jump in the shower. Strip and join me.”

He was caught off guard by their deer-in-the-headlights expressions.

“Oh, we… already showered,” Dax stammered.

“So?” Beau narrowed his eyes. “When has that ever stopped you before? Besides, it wasn’t a suggestion, boy. It was a command. I’ve had a long day and I missed you both, and all I want to do right now is hop in the shower and clean off with my two favorite people.”

He caught the look that passed between them but he didn’t know what it meant. They looked nervous. No, not nervous. Scared. Or guilty. Maybe both. Suspicion rose in his chest, suffocating him.

“What is going on?” he asked in a tone that demanded an answer.

“Well… uh… you see…” Dax stammered, “I uh… liked Tessa’s tattoo so much… I wanted to get one of my own. So I did. Only it isn’t temporary. And I can’t go in the shower for twenty-four hours.”

Sure they were playing a prank on him, he cut his gaze to Tessa. She just nodded as if to confirm. “We both got them. I can’t go in the shower either.” She quickly looked at the floor.

For Beau, it hadn’t really sunk in. It made no sense. He’d left his sweet, innocent babygirl with her other Daddy. Dax was supposed to Daddy her. Take care of her basic needs, let her have some fun and possibly spank or spoil her. Ideally both. Joining as her partner in crime and permanently marking both their bodies was not on the list.

And yet, he could tell they weren’t joking. As anger bubbled beneath the surface, Beau turned on his heel and stomped toward the bathroom. Only when he got to the door did he pause. “When I come out, you both need to be naked and bent over the bed, tattoos on full display.”

In the bathroom, he closed the door behind him and stripped, stepping under the warm spray. This was not how he’d envisioned his evening playing out. What had Dax been thinking? He growled as he washed the dust from his body, scrubbing himself way harder than was necessary and staying under the water as long as he could, until it started to get cold. When he turned off the spray, he realized he was no longer alone in the bathroom. Pausing, he listened to the sound of sniffling and frowned. It was certainly Dax, but why was he in there?

Yanking back the curtain with a scowl, he found Dax naked from the waist up only, bent over the bathroom sink with his head in his hands.

“Did you forget how to follow instructions, boy?”

With a start, Dax straightened, wiping furiously at his face. “No, Sir. I just needed a minute, that’s all.”

Despite himself, Beau softened, and really looked at the young man in the mirror. Dax’s face was a mask of distress.

“Why did you do it?” Beau asked, stepping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around his waist. “You were supposed to be the Daddy.”

“I know, I know, I know and I’m sorry.” Dax sighed and turned, leaning against the bathroom counter. “It’s a lot of things. And I don’t think this is the best time to talk about them, because I messed up and deserve the consequences. I don’t want it to influence how you punish me.”

“Don’t worry. Not much chance of that,” Beau growled, then softened. “But let me ask you something. If you don’t tell me what’s going on now, is it going to come out while I’m blistering your ass? Because I’m guessing that whatever it is, it’s not something you want to be discussing in front of Tessa.”