“We want you to be ours, Melissa.” Diesel looks straight at me.
“Yes,” adds Bishop. “It’s just us four. Nobody else. You’re not to see another man aside from us three, and we’re forbidden from seeing anyone else too. How does that sound?”
I narrow my eyes. “Honestly, it sounds a little controlling.”
“It’s a pact.”
My heartbeat spikes. All I’ve wanted is to be alone with them. I don’t wanna share their bodies with anyone else, Gigi especially.
“It’s only you, Melissa,” continues Bishop. He steps forward from around the tattoo table and takes my hand, squeezing it. “Now, listen, we’re going to have to do something about that virginity of yours.”
The mere thought of them taking it has me wet in seconds. I wish there was an explanation for it, but I don’t think anything in the English dictionary could define this feeling. What I feel for them transcends words. It’s like there’s a magnetic pull coming from the north and south poles, glueing me to them. We’re as different as night and day. They’re killers, and I’ve never even held a weapon.
They’re sinners. I’m more of a saint.
But maybe it’s time that changes.
Daddy has always prided himself on hard work, but now I question the legitimacy of it all. Maybe it’s okay that I don’t let work consume me every second of the day. Maybe it’s okay for me to take a break and enjoy myself.
I feel my skin melt off the second Bishop lays his hands on me again.
“Is this what you want?” Cash asks, finding my eyes. The sprinkling of freckles around his nose catches the light, his pale skin glowing in the mood lighting.
“Yeah.”
Diesel approaches and starts laying me down on the table, planting a kiss on my temple. The cold surface makes me gasp at first, but I quickly acclimate and relax.
A warm light shines over me, blinding. Diesel lowers it so it’s no longer directed at my face, but my body. “We want to see every single inch of you.”
My pulse spikes.
“So, you want to go ahead with the pact?” Bishop asks.
I nod.
“Good.” He smiles, signaling for Diesel to come over. “We have an arrangement here when we want to make a woman ours.”
I try and steady my pulse so I can hear what they have to say.
“We want to tattoo you, Melissa,” Cash says. “Is that okay?”
I watch them, wet at the thought of them touching my skin.
“Diesel here has a steady hand,” Bishop says. “If you’re serious about us, as much as we are serious about you, we can do the design now, if you like.”
I think for a moment, trying to push past the burning between my legs to think straight. I’ve known these men for only a few days. They kill and scam and commit all kinds of sins, and now they want to inject ink into my skin, branding me as their own?
I don’t know what possesses me to say yes, but I’ve never agreed to something so quickly in my life.
“Just so we’re clear, darling,” says Diesel, stepping aside to ready the needle. “After this, we get you back home to the city, but we stay in contact. Agreed?”
I nod from the exam table.
There’s some clunking as Diesel messes around with equipment I don’t understand. “Don’t worry about us. We can protect ourselves. What we’re worried about is you, darling. Can you ease our minds and promise to stay out of the way?”
“We don’t want you getting hurt,” adds Cash.
I nod in agreement.