Taken by a Vampire (Vampire Queen) - By Joey W. Hill Page 0,76

the needle. Niall didn’t flinch, but his stomach muscles tightened like a drum. Evan could already see how he would edge out the dragon’s neck, using thicker lines for the turn of the head to give it a 3-D effect. He could use more whites and yellows for a highlighting effect, because the blood—and the fact that Niall didn’t spend most days in the full heat of the sun—would keep the fading to a minimum.

Evan picked up the scalpel next to the bowl, made a functional slice across his forearm. As the blood dripped into the bowl, Niall’s nostrils flared. The audience might be curious about the use of Evan’s blood, but the visceral and macabre easily blended with the primitive drives of Domination and submission.

Lifting a brush, Evan swished it through the blood, then applied a thin layer to Niall’s skin, over the first area where he’d be working. Then he took up the machine. “When the pain intensifies, listen to my mind, neshama. Find your center.”

He’d taught that inward focus to his servant early, a coping mechanism to handle a vampire’s more extreme demands, as well as to manage Niall’s personal demons. While a normal tattoo hurt, adding the blood to hold the design made it worse. Third marks had a high tolerance, but pain was pain. Being able to suffer in stillness didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt like hell.

Putting his hand on Niall’s shoulder to steady his stance, Evan eschewed the stool for now. He’d use it eventually, when he tattooed the dragon’s body along Niall’s upper abdomen, but he preferred to stand before his canvases when he could. It seemed more respectful to the muse—and the subject.

It took several hours to do all of it. He’d already sketched out the pattern, painted it, so he didn’t need to do a tracing. He had it locked in his mind, had inked it into Niall’s skin a hundred times. He knew every inch of his servant’s body as well as his own. Maybe better.

His servant had firm, healthy skin, thick and supple. Stretching it to allow the ink to flow into the skin smoothly and consistently was not difficult, but it still required concentration. Navigating the curves of bone and muscle, adapting when the layers of skin varied, adjusting the needle in the guide for deeper or more shallow lines. Pausing when his servant had to shift his body, because of the length of time it was taking. Though Evan could read that from Niall’s mind, he had known the Scot long enough to anticipate the movement, such that he would lift the needle even before the thought happened. Or utter a quiet admonishment, so Niall would hold still an extra few seconds until Evan was at a better stopping point.

Later, Tyler would tell him that most of the guests who came by to watch for a period of time ended up staying, absorbed by what they were seeing, the powerful energy humming between the two men, artist and subject. Master and servant. However, from the first prick, Evan was aware of nothing but his canvas. The rise and fall of Niall’s chest, the hitched breaths and quiver of muscle when things became too intense. The ribs were the worst, because the lack of adipose tissue made it particularly excruciating. Evan kept cool cloths handy, wiping the work area down frequently. Ink feathered during the tattoo process, so it was necessary to keep the area clear, but the side benefit was that it was soothing to the skin as well.

When he finished that section, Evan took a short break. Caressing his Scot’s broad rib cage, his bare hip, he rose to brush his lips over his shoulder, his throat, his mouth. Niall turned into the kiss, his lips for once almost docile under Evan’s, his mind caught in a deep well. His servant had stumbled into that area of his heart that embraced the possessive intimacy of what Evan was doing. It was the closest Niall came to subspace, a rare and precious gift that Evan savored. Niall didn’t often surrender, no matter the odds against him.

Taking a seat on the stool, he slid his knuckles along Niall’s inner thigh, grazing the testicles. “Time to keep going.”

Part of that subspace condition was a hyperalertness to every point of contact. Evan had stayed in Niall’s mind throughout, keeping track of his servant’s well-being, how he was holding up, so he also knew the man was aware of how