“Yeah?” He looks at me and pushes his glasses up with his wrist since his hands hold a paper towel and a tattoo gun.
“I want to get branded.”
Blade’s eyes narrow, but it’s Axel who throws his head back to laugh, then ruffles my hair.
“Aww, Drama, you never cease to amaze me.” He takes a swig from a bottle of Jack. “That’s one way to get his attention.” He winks at me, and for the first times in years, I don’t hate him. I don’t like him, but at least it seems like he might be rooting for me.
“Dolly?” Blade’s voice distracts me and I meet his eyes. “You understand what it means, right?”
Someone does a cannonball and there’s a loud splash and girls’ screams fill the yard.
“Of course.” I nod. “I know exactly what it means.”
He looks me in the eyes for what seems like an hour, but I’m guessing it was seconds. A smirk ghosts his lips. “Doc, do Dolly next.”
Doc glances up. “You want a tattoo or the brand?”
I look over at Edge who is still laughing but starting to make his way over to us. And I can’t breathe as I watch him move.
Danger.
His chest is angry and inflamed making me reach for the table to steady myself as he comes for me.
He’s so beautiful he makes me shake with need. His auburn hair falls over one eye and his ripped abs glisten with a small sheen of sweat. He’s almost mesmerizing.
“What’s going on?” He stops inches from me, and I swear to God I can feel the heat from his brand bleed into me.
“Yes.” I’m breathless, acting like a bunny or something. He’s mine and everyone needs to know it. Jealousy, it eats you up, slowly spreading its poison to your brain until you don’t know what’s real or fake.
“You’re done, Blade. Dolly, you doing this?” Doc takes off his rubber gloves and stands up to stretch.
“What are you doing?” Edge’s warm hand lifts my chin, forcing me to stare into his turquoise eyes. I’m so in love with him. Sometimes it’s hard for me to even put words to how I feel about him.
“I want to… I’m getting the brand.” He says nothing, but he doesn’t have to because it’s in his eyes as they caress my face. Leaning down to me, our lips inches apart, I breathe him in as the party vanishes.
Edge and Dolly is all that’s left. Then he steals my breath as his lips capture mine and his tongue fills my mouth. I moan and match him as I prove to him that he can have all of me. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him.
“Edge? She doing it or not?” Doc’s annoying voice breaks into my private world with Edge.
“You know what this means?” He backs up.
“I do.” And for a moment my heart races. Do I? Do I really?
“This is me giving myself to you,” I whisper. His eyes turn dark and my breath stutters. This is serious. Like getting the brand means shit in the Disciples’ world.
He looks over at Doc and nods. Blade motions for me to sit in the chair he just vacated.
“Here.” Axel hands me another shot. I down it and hold out my right wrist to Doc.
He rubs alcohol on it. “Okay, Dolly, you sure you want the brand? Because most of the girls prefer a tattoo. Trust me, it hurts way less.”
“No. I want the brand,” I say directly to him. He leans back and looks up at the guys, nodding.
“Check out our little Dolly. She’s more badass than you, Boomer.” He snickers as Boomer eyes me and mumbles something before he stumbles away.
Edge is next to me, his fingers possessively running through my hair as Doc gets the tiny branding metal hot.
“Shit,” I hiss. I shouldn’t have looked at it. My eyes dart to Edge’s as I sense the oncoming panic.
“Wait,” Edge demands and Doc sighs and leans back allowing Edge to squat in between my legs. My eyes feast on the way his jeans hug his thighs and I try to calm my terror.
“Baby? You don’t have to. Why don’t we have Doc do a tattoo?” He caresses my bottom lip.
“No. Do it,” I say to him. I can’t look at Doc. The smell of the branding metal and alcohol is bad enough.
“Hold her arm,” Doc says.
Before I can chicken out, I’m being lifted. Edge sits down in the chair as I drop gratefully into his lap.
“Do it.” And I don’t have time to say stop. Because I’m with Edge, I smell only him. I see only him.
I am only his.
I hear the sizzle before my brain can catch up to how fucking painful this is.
“Look at what my pretty baby has done for me,” he growls in my ear.
“I can’t believe I did that.” My eyes dart around at everyone. Screaming and cheering fill my ears as Blade and Axel laugh and shake their heads.