Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Almost there, just keep still.”
Easier said than done, given Noah’s nose was itching, and he was desperate to scratch it.
Darcy had listened as he’d explained what he wanted for his tattoos then got to work taking photos of Noah’s scars and doing sketches. It took almost two weeks before they were ready and another week before they got started, a job cropping up in the middle. They were now on day six, the last and final day, and Noah was looking forward to being done.
“Okay, take a breather, and then I’ll do a last once over to make sure we got everything in.”
Noah sat up, scratching his nose with a happy sigh.
“You want some coffee?” Darcy offered.
“No, he doesn’t,” Ronan answered for him, appearing in the doorway.
Noah snorted but didn’t argue. Darcy, however, did. “Noah, would you like some coffee?”
Ronan stepped forward, folding his arms. Darcy held his ground, one eyebrow quirked upwards.
“Some tea would be great,” Noah said, keeping the peace.
“O-kay.” Darcy looked between the two of them. “Is something wrong?”
“There’s a maybe-baby,” he admitted.
“Three positive pregnancy tests, Noah,” Ronan said. “It’s not a maybe-baby any longer.”
Darcy grinned, pulling Noah into a hug. “Congratulations, you guys. That’s great. We haven’t had a baby since… almost two years now, right?”
“Almost,” Ronan agreed, tugging Noah toward him and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“I’ll make the tea. Ronan…”
“He’ll have tea, too,” Noah said. “If I can’t have coffee, neither can he.”
“You had coffee. Two cups at breakfast. Even shifters have a safe limit,” Ronan grumbled.
Darcy burst into laughter. “You two are adorably hilarious. I’ll be back in a minute. No peeking.”
The beta stepped into the next room, leaving Noah alone with Ronan.
“I wouldn’t have drunk more coffee,” he promised his mate.
“I know.” Ronan stroked a hand along his shoulder. “Is Darcy finished?”
“Almost. He wants to look it all over, make sure everything is as it should be. And then…”
“And then,” Ronan said, pressing a kiss to the side of Noah’s neck. “You get to see the new you.”
Noah felt unaccountably anxious. “You like it, right? It looks okay? Not too much?”
Ronan held him tighter. “You look amazing. You won’t regret it once you’ve seen it, I promise.”
Darcy came back with some chamomile tea. Noah tried not to laugh watching Ronan pretend to like it. After, Darcy went over every inch of Noah’s tattooed skin with a fine tooth come, filling in a few areas that they’d missed the first time around.
“There, all done. And you know where to find me if you need any changes.”
“Thanks, Darcy.”
Ronan led him back to their rooms, and by the time they got there, Noah was yawning.
“How about a nap?”
“It’s three in the afternoon, and I’m not a toddler.”
“No, you’re a pregnant omega. You’ve got the morning sickness and the weird cravings. Is it really so hard to believe you’re a little more tired than normal?”
Noah grumbled, but it was hard to disagree with the voice of reason. “I guess not. And I am tired.”
Ronan kissed his lips, drawing a brief moan from him before the alpha pulled away. “Get some rest. I’ll wake you in an hour.”
But Noah didn’t want to sleep alone.
“Come lay down with me? Just for a little while.”
“Sure.”
They got just inside the door of their room, and Ronan lifted him off his feet, setting him down in the center of their bed and climbing in beside him. Noah shuffled closer, latching onto Ronan’s shirt and hiding his face against the alpha’s chest.
“Sleep,” Ronan murmured. “I’m right here.”
When he woke, Ronan was sitting on the side of the bed, his back to Noah. His shirt was off, giving Noah the perfect view of his tattoos. Noah had the sudden urge to see his own body art in its completeness. His body had always been something he’d avoided looking at, something that brought him shame, until Ronan.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” Ronan said, glancing at him over his shoulder. “How about a shower?”
Noah nodded his assent, climbing across the bed to sit next to Ronan on the edge. The alpha wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close.
“Sore?”
“A little, just the newer ones.” He thanked whoever was responsible for shifter biology, it meant his tattooed skin healed in a matter of hours.
“Some hot water will help that,” Ronan said, standing and tugging Noah to his feet. He followed the alpha into the bathroom, leaning against the wall while the alpha got the shower running. He stepped under the stream, giving a long sigh as it cascaded across his skin. Ronan stepped in right behind him, reaching for the soap and a washcloth, and turning Noah to face the wall.
He let the alpha take care of him, lovingly washing every inch of his skin.
“How does it look?” he asked.
“Beautiful,” Ronan said without a moment’s hesitation. “You’ve always been beautiful to me, tattoos or no tattoos, scars or no scars.”
“But with the tattoos?”
“The tattoos look amazing. But I don’t think you’re going to believe that until you see them for yourself.”
Ronan hustled him out of the shower, helping them both dry off before leading Noah to what had once been his most hated room.
“Close your eyes,” Ronan said, guiding him through the door with hands on his shoulders.
The floor to ceiling mirror of the training room didn’t hold the stomach-churning fear it had once though his stomach did flip-flop a little with anticipation.
“Ready?” Ronan asked, turning Noah so that they were standing chest to chest. He blinked open his eyes, holding Ronan’s gaze.
“Ready.”
“Then take a look.”
Taking a deep breath, Noah glanced over his shoulder into the mirror and gasped.
He no longer saw a mass of scars blighting his skin. Instead, he saw a tangle of briars, winding their way across his back, roses hidden among them. And, on the nape of his neck, a larger rose bloomed, Ronan’s mating bite in the center.
Hands on his shoulders gently turned him, so he could see the tattoo trailing its way onto his stomach, wrapping around the small bundle of scars that crossed his abdomen.
“It… it’s beautiful,” Noah said, tears coming to his eyes. His breath came out in a sob, the tears escaping and trailing down his cheeks.
Ronan’s arms wrapped tightly around him, the alpha turning them both to the side. It gave Noah the perfect view of how their tattoos complemented each other.
“This isn’t about hiding,” Ronan said. “It’s about taking ownership. Those scars are yours, and now you’ve made them a part of you, accepted them, found a way to love them.”
Noah nodded, taking a deep, shuddering breath and forcing the tears back.
“It’s because of you,” he told his mate. “I’ve learned to love myself because you showed me I was worthy of love. I didn’t believe it before, I didn’t think I could have this. Thank you for believing in me.”
Ronan caught his hand, lifting it to his mouth to press a kiss to his palm.
“Thank you for trusting me. I know it hasn’t been easy, I know you’ve had to take a lot on faith.”
“It was worth it,” Noah replied in a whisper. “And I love you so much for taking a chance on a damaged omega from some backwater pack.”
Ronan raised an eyebrow, and Noah gave an embarrassed shrug. “I’m not ashamed to admit I was damaged. Not broken, like my pack said, but hurt. But then you were there, and you healed me. Your love made me whole.”
He found himself pressed tightly to Ronan’s chest.
“You complete me,” the alpha told him, “in a way I never thought possible. I love you.”
Noah let himself sink into his mate’s embrace, never wanting to let go. He inhaled deeply, drawing Ronan’s scent in, and something stirred inside him. The alpha felt it too, backing Noah up against the mirror, pressing kisses hot and heavy on his neck.
Ronan’s hands ran down along his side, slipping behind to cup his ass and lifting Noah up. He wrapped his legs around the alpha’s waist, his hands on Ronan’s shoulders.
“I want you,” the alpha rumbled, pushing him harder against the mirror. He held him in place effortlessly, kissing Noah full on the lips, distracting him while his hand slipped between Noah’s cheeks, one finger pushing inside. Noah shuddered, moaning into the kiss as the alpha expertly worked him open.
He found himself suddenly on his feet again, staring into Ronan’s dark eyes for a moment before the alpha spun him around to face the mirror.
“You watch,” the alpha told him. “You watch how beautiful you are, how sexy, how much I want you.”
Noah was panting with need, pressing his palms against the cool surface of the mirror. When Ronan’s hands gripped his hips, and the alpha’s cock pressed between his legs, he pushed back against it.
“I need you inside me,” he begged. “I feel so empty.”
“Easy,” Ronan murmured, hands tightening around his hips. “Not so fast.”
“Fast and hard,” Noah insisted. “I’m not going to break.”
He knew the Ronan was thinking about the baby, about being gentle. Noah didn’t want gentle, he wanted to feel every inch of the alpha’s passion.
Ronan laughed. “What my omega wants, my omega gets.”
He kept his promise, pushing inside with one quick thrust. Noah gasped, pressing his cheek against the mirror. At first, he could do nothing but stay in place, feeling every push and thrust as Ronan took him at his word.
Bracing his hands against the mirror, he lifted his head, watching their dance through the mirror. His own eyes were wide with lust, his cheeks and lips flushed. Over his shoulders, he could see Ronan, the alpha’s dark eyes meeting his, a grunt escaping as he quickened his thrusts.
“Handsome,” Noah breathed, drinking in every bit of Ronan he could see and feel.
“Beautiful,” Ronan replied, a hand catching Noah’s chin and drawing his head upward. That was all the warning he had before Ronan’s mouth was on the back of his neck, kissing the skin before sucking hard at the center, sending pleasure shooting right down to Noah’s groin.
Ronan’s thrusts quickened, and he knew they were both close. The alpha’s hand brushed against his hip before he slipped it between Noah’s legs, fingers wrapping around his shaft and pumping in time with his thrusts.
“Come for me,” Ronan said, his nose nudging the side of Noah’s neck as he gave one final push of his hips. Noah cried out as his orgasm washed over him, feeling the alpha still inside him, a muffled curse slipping from his lips as he came.
They both wound up on their knees on the ground, holding tight to each other. Ronan laid them down on their sides, surrounding Noah with his body heat.
“We can do that every day, right?” he mumbled to the alpha.
He could hear the grin in Ronan’s voice. “Sure thing. And twice on Sundays.”
“Gotta love Sundays.”