Bryant choked up on the neck of the bottle of whiskey in his hand. He hoped Vaughn’s favorite liquor would be a peace offering and not a necessity to drown his sorrows in later.

He was about to knock on Vaughn’s door when it opened. The guy stepped out far enough to snatch the bottle out of his hands, then set it on the counter barely inside. He crossed his arms as he rejoined Bryant on the landing. “Since when do you drink the hard stuff?”

Damn, Bryant had forgotten about the camera built into Vaughn’s home automation software. Had the other guy been watching him as he stood out here, gathering his courage? Was he worried Bryant had spiraled out of control? Bryant wouldn’t blame him after their last encounter. “Figured if this doesn’t go well I at least owed you a drink for ruining your day off.”

“What is this exactly?” Vaughn asked.

“Me groveling.” Bryant prepared to admit his mistakes, though he dreaded the repercussions. “I know I fucked up majorly when I shut you out. And I…damn, Vaughn, I miss you. I’m so sorry. I should have trusted enough in us to know we’d make it through that shitstorm together. But I freaked out. It’s hard not to fall back into bad habits. I blamed myself for getting so caught up in our affair that I might have shortchanged my project, even though I realize now that’s not what happened. We did everything we could. Sometimes it’s just not enough.”

Today might be one of those times. But God, he hoped not.

Vaughn scrunched his eyes closed. Bryant reached out, but let his hand drop. He didn’t have the right to touch the other guy or offer his comfort. He’d given up all those perks when he’d shoved Vaughn away. Whether or not he was granted those privileges again was up to Vaughn. Not him.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Bryant.” Vaughn kicked at some imaginary rock on the landing. “I’m not sure I can take that chance again. I opened myself up to you, more than with anyone before. And you left me hanging. I won’t be able to handle it. You know, if we get back together and you revert to your old self again. The next time something goes wrong in our lives, how will you react? It’s been hard this summer—really fucking hard—to be so attached to you and then…nothing. I need a partner who will stand with me. Not someone who’s going to run or close themselves off. Someone who will trust that together we can survive anything and that being apart exposes our greatest weaknesses.”

“I want to be that someone. I’m sorry I couldn’t be before.” Bryant did extend his hand this time, and was shocked when Vaughn met him halfway. Not in a handshake, but by locking their fingers together. It was a simple gesture. Oddly intimate.

They stood there holding hands for a few moments before he continued. The heat and strength of Vaughn’s hand, laced with his, and their palms pressed together, gave him the courage to put it all out there. “I’m never going to take you for granted or leave you to fend for yourself while I stuff my head up my ass again. And I think I might know a way to prove it.”

“That’s not what I’m asking for. This isn’t one of your school tests for you to pass or fail.” Vaughn shook his head. “I just need you to understand how I feel if we’re going to find a way to fix this.”

“I know, but I’m willing to do it anyway. I want you to tattoo me.” Bryant took his phone out of his pocket with his free hand and pulled up the photos Vaughn had taken of him covered in ink. “Like this.”

Vaughn’s eyes widened. “But…”

Bryant interrupted, “I’ve thought a lot about this. It’s what I want. I want to be the me I could be if I quit being afraid and go after what I want. The me that you see when no one else ever has.”

“Damn,” Vaughn whispered. “I honestly didn’t think you were ever going to get to this place. Not after last time, at Sterling’s—”

“I’m slow. But I’m here now. Will you do this?” Bryant hoped Vaughn knew this was about a hell of a lot more than a tattoo. But just in case… “Wait. Don’t answer that yet. First, tell me what should have been in this gap, what was in that smudgy bit in the center of the actual drawing.”

Vaughn shrugged. “Nothing. I never finished that part.”

“Bullshit. You drew something and erased it.” Bryant wouldn’t cut him any slack. If he wanted the bold and confident Bryant, he was going to get it. He took the drawing from where he’d rolled it up and stuck it in his back pocket, comparing it side by side with the version Vaughn had drawn directly on his skin. He’d been staring at them like that when he’d first discovered the differences between the two.

“Fine. Fuck. It was my name.” Vaughn’s cheeks flamed. Even his neck turned red. Bryant couldn’t ever remember him being bashful before. His heart skipped a beat as he realized he had just as much power over Vaughn as the other guy had over him. “It was foolish and egotistical, so I removed it.”

“Put it back.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Put. It. Back.” Bryant shook the paper in Vaughn’s direction. “I want it. Right there, where you originally had it.”

“You really don’t have to do that.” Vaughn tried to break free, but Bryant kept hold of him. “I’m just glad you’re home. Here. Where you belong.”

Bryant insisted, “That may be. But I’m going to anyway. Because that’s what I want. You. Not only on my skin, but also in my life. For as long as I’m alive. You’re already taking up a lot of room in my heart and soul, so it seems only fair. If you won’t do it, I’ll find someone else who—”

“Bryant?” Vaughn jumped in.

“Yeah?”

“I’m the only man who will ever mark you, got that?” Vaughn asked, his old self snapping back in an instant.

Bryant smiled. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now stop talking and get your ass downstairs or we’re not going to make it out of here for a long fucking time.” He put his hands on Bryant’s shoulders and spun him around before giving him a tiny shove. “Because I am about to kiss the shit out of you and we both know it won’t stop there.”

“Maybe I’m okay with that.” Bryant looked over his shoulder, ready to abandon Plan A for a much sexier Plan B, where they had make-up sex first and did the tattoo thing afterward.

“There will be plenty of time for that later,” Vaughn promised. “Besides, did you know that tattooing turns me on?”

“I did notice you were ready to go every night after your shift, yeah.” Bryant nodded and looked away again. “I just thought that was because I was up here in your bed waiting for you to finish working, though.”

Vaughn fisted the back of Bryant’s shirt and drew him up short. He held Bryant in place as he jogged around to stand in front of him on the stairs. “You and tattooing both turn me on. It was a double whammy. Even more tired than I’ve ever been before, I couldn’t wait to be inside you. It’s been lonely these past few months. I’ve never had a dry spell this long in my life.”

Secretly, Bryant was thrilled to hear that Vaughn had been sleeping alone. He wouldn’t have blamed the guy if he’d found comfort elsewhere since they’d split, but it gave him a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach to think that maybe…just maybe…Vaughn had missed him as much as he’d missed Vaughn.

As if to make sure Bryant understood, Vaughn sealed their mouths. He caressed Bryant’s lips with his own, sweeping them back and forth before settling in for a long, slow exchange. He seduced, and reassured, with gentle laps of his tongue and a steady pressure. They might have caved and gotten naked right there on the back steps if someone hadn’t interrupted their make-up kiss.

A whistle cut through the air before a man shouted, “Hey, get a room!”

Vaughn’s head whipped around as if he was prepared to kick ass if anyone so much as thought about insulting Bryant or their relationship. Until he realized it was Viho, who gave them a salute and a huge grin before dragging Sterling to their car, which had been parked in the lot behind the shops. She blew them a kiss before she climbed behind the wheel.

Well, at least his cousins would know he was going for it, taking their advice. And even if things went to shit—though he was pretty sure now that they wouldn’t—they’d be there to pick him up.

Vaughn brushed the pad of his thumb over Bryant’s lower lip. “You’re even more delicious than I remembered. I never want to go so long without tasting you again.”

Bryant gulped, then nodded. “Good idea.”

“Let’s go.” Vaughn took his hand once more and led him through the back door of Cowboy Ink.

Bryant had waited until Vaughn’s day off so they’d have the place to themselves if everything went according to his plan. It took Vaughn a little while to set his station up including wrapping everything in plastic, pouring ink from larger bottles into disposable cups, and whatever else he needed to do. Bryant didn’t care. He got to stand there and watch his man work. Just being together, and not fighting, knowing they had all the time they wanted, was enough for the moment.

Vaughn sat on his swivel stool, then picked up his tattoo gun. He looked at Bryant then set it down again.

“What’s wrong?” Bryant asked.

“You really trust me to mark you permanently?” Vaughn stared into his eyes as Bryant took a step closer, then another and another until they were less than a foot apart. “I don’t want you to think you made another bad decision. This is forever. Be sure.”

Bryant tipped Vaughn’s face up. “Do you regret yours?”

“Whether or not you love me back, you’ll always have this spot in my heart.” Vaughn sighed. “But what’s right for me might not be right for you.”

“It is. You were always the right choice. You always will be.”

Vaughn smiled. “Okay. Then take your shirt off and lay your sexy self down on my table.”

“Oh, that sounds dirty.” Bryant adjusted his hard-on as he settled in.

He’d watched Vaughn work enough nights that he knew what was coming next. Still, he had to bite his cheek to keep from groaning as Vaughn took extra care cleaning his chest and shaving it. That barest bit of contact was enough to make him wish they were up to something else right then.

He figured he’d have some time to cool off as Vaughn prepared a stencil for whatever he was about to do. Except just then Vaughn asked, “Do you trust me enough to do this freehand?”

“I trust you completely.” Bryant blinked up at Vaughn, never more sure of anything in his life than that. “Do anything you want to me. I’m yours.”

Vaughn seemed to relax then. He perched on his low stool and rolled closer, his face as intense as Bryant’s had been when he’d occupied his own similar seat in his old laboratory.

The gun buzzed as Vaughn dunked the needles in the ink again. “No more joking around. This is serious business. Especially when I’m tattooing you, because I’m going to have to stare at this linework every time we make love for the rest of our lives.”

“That was so romant—” Bryant started to melt until the first pass sank into his flesh. “Son of a bitch! A little warning would be nice.”

“Shhh, Bryant. I’m working on my masterpiece.”

He didn’t say anything after that, but even hours of pain couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.