A Hunted Man (The Men of Halfway House) (28 page)

He ignored the sting of Cam's blunt nails digging deeper into his muscled back. Pure ecstasy infused his blood and drove him to piston uncontrollably into Cam with every ounce of power he had. Sweat trickled down his brow as he pushed himself harder. He reached for Cam's hard shaft. The instant touch yielded another yell as Cam arched hard and stilled before spilling his release into Hunter's hand.

The tight grip around Hunter pushed him off the edge. Tremors rippled throughout his body as he roared his climax. He collapsed onto his forearms and rolled to lie on his back next to Cam.

They worked to steady their breathing, their legs and arms spread wide.

A hand clumsily fell on Hunter's face a few moments later.

"Ow," he said conversationally. He looked over and saw Cam watching him with a huge, lazy grin. His eyes danced with wonder and mischief.

"I hope you're ready for round two, old man. 'Cause that was worth an encore," he said in a slurred voice as his fingers trailed a path along Hunter's face and neck.

Hunter lazily chuckled. "Give me a minute to recover, and I'll show you what this old man can do."

And he did.

Cam opened his eyes and tried to shift in bed. He barely had enough energy to move let alone fight to be liberated. He looked down and saw Hunter's arm and leg spread across him.

His stomach fluttered. This was the first time he had ever slept in the same bed with another man.

Every muscle in his body hurt, he ached in places he didn't know could pain him. But he didn't care. Last night he had been worshipped, spoiled, and worn out. He looked over and saw Hunter still asleep, his head turned on the pillow, facing him. He could see the slight bruising on his neck.

His
mark.
Fuck yeah. Mine
. He smiled smugly to himself.

"Good morning," Hunter mumbled into the pillow with his eyes still closed.

"I thought you were sleeping."

"I don't want to sleep when you're looking at me like that," his words muffled against the fabric.

Cameron chuckled. "How do you even know I'm looking at you if your eyes are shut?"

Hunter opened his eyes and looked at Cam. "I can feel you looking at me."

Cam had never been this connected to anyone. He reached out and stroked the arm that encased him.

"What time is it?" Hunter asked, not moving.

Cam craned his neck to see the clock on Hunter's side table. "It's almost nine."

Hunter closed his eyes. "We've got to get up."

"Why?"

"There's someplace I want to take you."

"Where?" Cam asked, sitting up when Hunter rose from bed.

"It's a surprise. I'll make us some breakfast before we leave." Hunter grabbed a pair of jeans from the drawer and dressed.

Hunter reached over to kiss Cam. Cam grabbed him by the waist of his pants before he had a chance to walk away. He smiled when he saw the number of bruises and scratches on Hunter's torso. He ran his fingers over each discoloration that would ultimately bloom in color. When he looked up, Hunter's molten silver glare was filled with unmistakable desire.

"Mine," Cam said possessively.

"Yours," Hunter responded with equal fire.

Cam rested his weight on his knees and pulled Hunter into a greedy kiss.

Hunter separated from the kiss with a groan. "Get dressed. I'm going to make breakfast so we can leave."

Cam scowled as Hunter left the bedroom. He could hear his steps travel through the house and reach the kitchen. He debated getting dressed but then heard the clanging of pans. Grumbling, he got out of bed and stretched.

Cam joined Hunter in the kitchen moments later. "Why is most of your house so….plain? It's almost as if you don't live here, other than your room."

Hunter poured juice into two glasses. "I hadn't noticed that really. I guess it's because it doesn't really feel like a home. Feels more like a house where I sleep. I'm usually up at the crack of dawn and can't wait to get out of bed and into the office."

"You didn't wake up early this morning."

Hunter walked over to Cam and pulled him close by the waistband of his pants then wrapped his arms around him. "No, not today."

Cam quirked an eyebrow. "Is this the part where you get sappy on me?"

Hunter sighed then pulled away from the embrace. "There's no one to welcome me when I get here from work. It's just a house."

Cam crossed his arms. "It's a nice house."

Hunter straightened to his full height and crossed his arms in the same manner, mirroring Cam's stance. He looked at Cam in that way he did that reached inside Cam's soul. "It's a house. Maybe if you were here with me, I'd see it more as a home."

Cameron continued to stare while the words sunk in and rattled his soul. With everything going on, Cam refused to hope for a future until his past was resolved. He wouldn't be able to survive if something happened to Hunter because of his ghosts.

Hunter reached out and placed his hand on Cam's cheek. "C'mon, let's eat so we can leave." He withdrew and turned to grab the dishes while Cam remained still, his body slowly becoming numb.

Cam didn't want Hunter to think he didn't care or that his words hadn't struck a nerve. He pushed a whisper of a voice past the lump in his throat.

"Hunter—"

Hunter immediately turned and, in two strides, grabbed Cam's face and delivered a kiss with unmistakable desire. Cam gripped Hunter's shoulders and returned the kiss with just as much passion, hoping to convey how much he wanted to be with him.

Cam tried to open himself, to allow the feelings behind the unspoken words to filter through his system, but he couldn't. He knew what it was like to hope and want for something then to have it all disappear. He wrapped his arms around Hunter and just held on.

Breakfast could wait.

"So where are we going?" Cam asked as they walked down the sidewalk of shops.

"You'll see."

They finally stopped in front of a small space with a window full of various types of color and black tribal-like designs covering his view of the inside. "A tattoo parlor?"

Hunter nodded. "If you don't want to do this, we can leave. I got a referral to this place and a specific artist. Aside from the traditional tattoo work, this person specializes in tattoos on and around scar tissue."

Cam was too busy looking at the interlocking designs on the window to focus on what Hunter was saying. He looked back at Hunter when he realized he had stopped talking.

"Sorry. What do you mean tattoo scars?"

Hunter shook his head. "Tattoos on and around scars. I figured they could look at your arm and work with the current ink you have there and maybe add to the design or create something else to cover some of the scars you hate. Change it up to something you choose. Never mind. It was just—"

Cam grabbed him by the hand and hauled him into the shop.

"Hi, can I help you?" a slim woman asked. Ink trailed down her neck and spanned across both arms all the way to her wrists. The design was so intricate and intertwined it almost seemed as if she wore a fitted patterned long-sleeve turtleneck underneath her shirt.

Cam looked up at Hunter expectantly.

"Hi, yes. I have an appointment with Leslie. My name is Hunter."

The petite woman smiled broadly and extended her hand in greeting. "That's me. You mentioned tattoos and scars over the phone. What do you need?"

Cam lifted his sleeve to reveal his scarring and ink. "Can you do something with this?"

Leslie reached out and grabbed Cam's arm. She turned and inspected his bicep to assess the extent of the damage and work needed. Cam wanted to cringe but patiently allowed the woman to touch the raised skin in some areas.

"Definitely," she said with a smile. "I'm sure we can work up a design that will make that unnoticeable. It all depends on what you want to do."

Cam listened to her as she explained the different requirements of tattooing over and around the scars. She explained how the ink would take more than one pass to show up properly on the scar tissue and how some of the scars, especially the keloids, might hurt more than the others. They discussed different concepts and designs. Within seconds, Cameron knew what he wanted—a simple piece that would take advantage of the scar tissue to look as if parts of the design were embossed on his skin. The design would expand on the existing prison black ink with the addition of a little color and extend past the one side of his arm into a partial wraparound tattoo with the use of curved lines that followed each shape of his scars.

Hunter quietly observed and listened intently to the exchange, never interrupting.

Leslie sketched a design, which she then transferred to Cam's arm. Using the faint brown lines as a guide to where the new art would be, they then discussed a few freehand additions should the scar tissue become more of an issue than expected.

Cam looked in the mirror and moved his bicep around to see the back of his arm. "I don't want to overdo it with the ink. I prefer to keep it as simple as possible but just enough to do something with…this," he said, lowering his shirt sleeve.

"We'll stick to a very basic palette of reds and yellows. We'll use the current black you have for the shadows and I'll work in a little more so it blends in with the other parts of the piece. Instead of making the lines straight, we'll use the jagged black ink you have and the scars to add curvature to the lines. Don't worry," Leslie finished with a smile.

Anything was better than the curved slashes that marred his arms, but still, he couldn't help worry they'd be too stubborn to incorporate into the simple piece. "How long will this take?"

"It's a relatively simple design. Depends on how long you can sit in my chair in one sitting."

He looked over to Hunter, hoping there were no other plans for the rest of the day.

"He's all yours today all day if you've got your schedule free," Hunter responded.

Cam hid his smile. He loved how Hunter knew what he was thinking without saying a word.

"I can try to get it done in two visits but it all depends on how stubborn your scars are and if they'll need a second pass." She guided him to her chair and prepped her station.

Cam settled back into the chair and took a deep breath. Hunter grabbed a nearby stool and slid it over to sit close to him when Leslie stepped away for a moment to speak with another staff member to block out her schedule.

"Nervous?" Hunter asked.

Cam nodded.

"Why a sunrise? You didn't even need to think about it."

"My mom. We used to start in the garden so early we'd always take a break to watch the sun rise. She believed it was one of God's masterpieces," he finished with a sad smile. He looked over to Hunter. "Sunrises give me hope. Regardless of what happens, the sun always rises above everything."

Leslie returned to her station, slid her stool and table of items close to Cam, then began.

Cam barely felt the initial outlines of the design. It felt no different than a mild scrape of a sharp nail across his skin. He winced when she filled in some sections, coloring around some of the mild scars.

Maybe this won't be so bad.

He had spoken too soon.

Cam didn't turn to see her work but instinctively knew exactly where she was on his arm and which scar she would hit next. He tried to level his breathing, inhaling deeply and clenching his jaw when she colored over the two worst scars.

This. Fucking. Hurts.

He screwed his eyes shut and tried to bite back the pain. The scars that he hated for so many years would now be critical to the design. They would become the rays of light emitted from the sun and the raised skin would make it appear as if the rays were embossed on his arm.

The pain was too familiar.

His mind drifted to that day in the laundry room when his arm was first pierced.

"Cam?"

He opened his eyes as Hunter's voice jolted him back to the present. He hadn't realized his hand was shaking until the weight of Hunter's palm steadied him.

"Did I ever tell you about that one fishing trip to the Keys with my dad when we caught that sailfish that jumped into the boat?"

Cam shook his head, barely able to speak as he pushed through the pain of the billion hot needles poking his arm.

Hunter grabbed Cam's hand and began a rhythmic stroking of his fingers as he spoke.

He focused on the tone of Hunter's soothing voice and the gentle caress against his skin. His voice, always comforting, helped to shut out most of the pain. Hunter talked about driving trips with his family, endless fishing experiences, school growing up, Cole's obsession with his car, his addiction to Lucy's cookies, and even a few stories of his time in the Marines. Hunter talked about everything and nothing. Ramblings. He knew exactly what Hunter was doing, distracting him from the discomfort.

Cam smiled. Hunter had never spoken this much non-stop not even during their phone conversations at night.

After several hours of work, Leslie held up a mirror for Cam to view his arm. "It's a bit red right now but it'll look better once the ink settles. This is as much as I can do today but I think we can get this finished up with a second short visit. You can get a better look over there." She pointed to a large mirror at the side wall.