Page 24 of All Your Pain

“You know what, I think she will.” I’m not going to tell her where I’ve been today. I’ll wait for her to discover the tattoo herself. I can already see her shocked face in my mind, how her cheeks will turn bright red and how her teeth will bite into her plump lower lip.

“If you say so.” Bones claps me on the shoulder then shouts, "dude! Whatever you're thinking about is giving you one hell of a boner." I shove him away so he stops staring at my very obvious erection, then head back for Holt to wrap the tattoo up for me and go through aftercare.

“I’d advise you not to get itwetbut I’m sure you’ll do what you want anyway. Just don’t blame me if your dick gets infected because you couldn’t keep it in your pants. What did T do for you?” He turns to Bones with his arms crossed.

“Well, I was inspired by my friend here.” Without warning he whips his whole dick out and shows off the silver piercing near the head that’s an angry shade of red.

“Jesus, I don’t need to see any more dick today." Holt pinches the bridge of his nose before adding, "you two are all settled so fuck off already.”

Bones laughs as he zips himself up and I push him out of the studio before he annoys Holt anymore. If Holt makes a swing at Bones’s pretty face I won’t hear the end of it.

“So are you going to invite me back to yours?” Bones wiggles his eyebrows at me as he leans on the hood of my car.

“Not a fucking chance.”

When I slide into the drivers seat, Bones taps on the passenger window and says, “I need a ride.”

“I thought you drove?” I ask as he climbs in without invitation.

“Nah the pretty, tall blonde I woke up with dropped me off. I can’t recall his name but he had the nicest assandhe paid for coffee.”

As I pull away and head towards Bones’s place to drop him off first, he gives me all the details of last night's lay. I was considering at what point I should let him meet Willow but now I’m thinking I better not. I love him like a brother but he’s a player and I’m not sure if I trust him around Willow.

Even if he didn’t make a move on her, I still don’t like the thought of anyone even looking at her that’s not me.

The fact that there are people out there in the world that even know she exists pisses me off. I know it's irrational. I can't exactly kill everyone that's ever looked at her, but fuck do I want to. Like a spoilt child, I want her all to myself and I plan on keeping it that way for as long as possible.

10

WILLOW

I’m not sure if it’s the same day or the next when my eyes open but I do know my body feels like it’s been run over by a freight train. A feeling I’m getting tired of waking up to.

“You know I’m kinda busy at the moment, if you need me just message,” Dean’s voice comes from next to me on the bed. It's low and husky like he's not long woke up. I pretend I’m still asleep so I can listen.

“No, I've not had a chance yet. Just give me a couple extra days to get things done on my end and we’ll do it then… No, you’re not coming here! I’ll meet you there.”

I can’t hear who’s on the other end of the call. Is it a work call? A woman? It’s crossed my mind that Dean might already have a girlfriend or be sleeping around, especially since he’s away a lot and sometimes comes home smelling of booze.

Pain stabs in my chest. I don’t want to be the one he’s cheating with but I also hate the thought of him being with anyone else. My breath hitches involuntarily and I quickly clamp my mouth shut.

“I’ve gotta go. Just text me if you need anything,” Dean says as he ends the call and I lay as still as I can, trying to pretend I’m still asleep.

“There’s no point being quiet, I know you’re awake. You make noise when you’re asleep, soft purrs just like a little kitten.”

I slowly turn over and see he’s leaning his cheek on the back of his hand as he smiles down at me.

His dark hair’s a mess from sleeping and it curls up in the cutest way at the front. I keep my hands tucked under the blankets so they don’t end up brushing through it. “I wasn’t deliberately listening.”I definitely was but there’s no point admitting that to him.

He shrugs nonchalantly, “doesn’t matter if you were. It was just a friend.”

A knot tightens in my stomach and I hate myself for having to even ask this, “a female friend?”

Something bright flashes in his eyes and he smiles so wide I can see the tip of his tongue as he strokes it along his teeth. “If it was, would you be jealous?”

I scoff and sit up. He wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my shoulder. “Heis a friend. So, no need to pout, baby.”

“I’m not,” I say trying to shrug him off but the ache in my muscles makes me groan and my body curls in on itself. Dean lets go of me and hops off the bed to crouch in front of me.

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