His Favorite Color is Blood - Coffin Nails MC (gay biker dark romance) (Sex & Mayhem Book 8) (30 page)

Even Misha’s nape was getting hot
from the conflicting feelings tearing through his chest. Could this even be
called a proposal? Grim stated it so matter-of-factly as if they’d already
talked about it. Was Misha’s memory failing him? Impossible. The concept of
being married to another man was so completely foreign to him that he couldn’t
even make up his mind whether he’d want to participate in such a
non-traditional ceremony. He gave Grim a quick glance. Did he want to spend the
rest of his life with that man? Yes, yes he did. But was this really the time
to be discussing something so serious and personal?

Lucky thankfully opened his mouth
again. “Haven’t you known each other for, like, a month?”

Misha swallowed. “There’s no
rush, Grim. I’m not going anywhere.”

Grim looked up at him, and as a
bit of light died in his grey eyes, it became clear that this wasn’t what Grim
had expected to hear. “What does that even mean?”

When Lucky opened his mouth
again, Grim silenced him with a single glare.

Misha swallowed. “Is this really
the right time? With all the
things
going on?” They’d go to the court
and get married when Misha could
die
next week? What would be the point?

Grin frowned. “That’s exactly
why. I lead a dangerous lifestyle. What’s gonna happen if I can’t protect you
anymore? You’d have nothing to keep you afloat.”

Misha wasn’t happy with Lucky
listening to all this. This was private, and he couldn’t even say everything he
wanted while they were here. “You’re
not
dying.”

“How do you know?” demanded Grim,
staring at him from beneath his thick, well-sculpted brows.

“Can we talk about this at home?”
Misha hugged the vest and the folder to his chest, as if they could somehow
shield him from the terrible fate suggested by Grim.

Grim pressed his lips shut and
got up from the chair, rapidly pushing it back. “Fine,” he said and sat on the
red sofa in the waiting area behind Misha’s back. Not only could Misha sense
the grey eyes on him now, he could also see Grim in the mirror.

Misha took a deep breath of
fruit-scented air and didn’t feel any more relaxed when Lucky descended into
chatter about his own engagement and how Tooth proposed to him in front of the
whole club. Of course, Tooth did that. He didn’t just come to Lucky’s barbershop
and announce they’d be getting married out of the blue.

Misha knew Grim had his own ways
of showing affection. Instead of talking and showering Misha with declarations
or grand gestures, he did all those small things that revealed the depth of his
commitment, but Misha was still too stunned to understand what had happened.

Chapter 25 – Grim

Grim rushed toward the clubhouse
with his head boiling up. This couldn’t be happening to him. He did everything
right. He protected Misha, gave him the property vest, and he’d give him the
moon and the stars if he could. He even obtained a false identity for him so
that they could be together. Just days ago, Misha told Grim he’d gladly be
branded if that was what it took for them to be a couple, but marriage was too
much of a commitment?

“Grim! Come on! Let’s talk!”
Misha yelled from the car where he still was, since Grim didn’t help him into
the wheelchair, leaving it next to the door instead. And even fuming, it was
Grim who had to pay for Misha’s new haircut. The only services Lucky was
willing to do for free were for Grim, and Grim ended up not taking him up on
the offer. It was so fucking humiliating to have anyone else witness his
failure. He’d have never expected Misha to reject him. Not in his wildest
dreams. Not when he was already imagining them obtaining a license and having
everyone watch two gay men, who could finally be legally married everywhere in
the country, celebrating their special day.

“What about?” he shouted back.

“About what happened!” Misha
transferred into the wheelchair, already wearing the property vest, as if he
wanted to make a point. And what point would that be? Grim had no idea. A
confusing one, that was for sure.

Grim turned around and spread his
arms wide. So much effort went into organizing everything. And he even gave up
on riding his motorcycle for the sake of Misha’s comfort. It still wasn’t
enough to convince Misha that this relationship was serious. “I think you were
clear back at the shop.”

Misha started wheeling his way.
His new shoulder-length hair did look cute, but it didn’t make
him
a
nice person, no matter how much his lips curved downward. “No, I simply wanted
to talk in private, not with Lucky listening! You’re overreacting.”

“
I
am overreacting?”

Misha caught up with him, bumping
into Grim’s knee as he looked up and grabbed the hem of Grim’s T-shirt where it
stuck out from beneath the cut. “I love you. You’re my biggest hero. What’s
going on?”

Something collapsed in Grim’s
ribcage, but he still met Misha’s gaze. “I’m
not
your hero. I’m just
doing your bidding and gratefully taking whatever you toss my way.”

Misha cautiously grabbed his
hand. “That’s not true. You mean everything to me. I’m just surprised. You came
in, threw the passport in my lap, and announced we were getting married. I’m …
overwhelmed.”

Grim bit his lip, but as Misha’s
fingers tightened around his palm, he couldn’t help but enjoy the warm touch.
“Do you think I’m not confused? I never met anyone I wanted to stay with.”

Misha swallowed and looked into
the open lounge behind Grim’s back. “My mind is wrapped around Zero calling at
any point. We need to talk strategy, and … the last thing I was expecting was
you wanting ...
marriage
. I mean … we’re together whether it says so on
paper or not.”

Grim sighed and pushed his other
hand into his pocket. Blood drummed against the warmth of Misha’s hand as they
looked at one another, and he stepped toward the building. There was a sense of
resignation coursing throughout his bloodstream.

“This way I could keep you safe
even when I’m not there.”

Misha pulled his hand back so he
could follow him in the wheelchair. “You’re not going anywhere,” he said, but
his voice got a higher pitch.

Grim stopped at the bottom of the
stairs and looked back. “No? How do you know? Don’t you listen to what I say?”

Misha held his arms out in a
silent plea, reminding Grim of the first time he did that in a motel bathroom.
A sense of deep tenderness spread through his chest. Grim loved being so useful
to him, always by his side, and always being needed, but if something really
did happen to him, Misha needed to be protected from all the storms that would
come after. Grim had talked to Tooth about it and asked him to make sure Misha
would be taken care of if anything happened. He wasn’t as free to provide for
himself as other people. He was vulnerable and scared. He couldn’t be left on
his own.

“I don’t want to live in a world
without you,” Misha whispered. “You’re my shield.”

It was like a bolt that lodged
itself in Grim’s heart and injected him with the sweetest of poisons. “Maybe
you should say
yes
then,” he said and picked Misha up.

“You need to know nothing would
be fine without you.” Misha wrapped himself around Grim like ivy, and his milky
scent found its way into Grim’s nose, deeming him incapable of fighting any
longer.

Grim started walking upstairs
right away and pulled Misha so close he might have choked him a little bit, but
he really needed his warm touch and the sweet smell that seemed ever-present on
his skin.

“I know,” he said in the end and
pushed inside their room.

“And I didn’t want Lucky to hear
things like this. They’re mine and yours only,” Misha moaned but gave Grim a
tender kiss on the mouth, barely a brush of lips, but it still felt like an
electrical charge.

“And I thought you love me, so it
would be a formality,” said Grim and leaned against the door, forcing it to
shut with their combined weight.

Misha stroked Grim’s jaw. “Of
course, I’ll marry you. I’d jump into a fire for you. It was just so unexpected
and sounded more like you preparing your last will than you planning a life
with me.”

Grim took a deep breath and put
Misha down on the mattress, sinking to his knees in front of him. He stroked
Misha’s stumps through the fabric. “I want to plan it, but planning can wait,
and this kind of stuff can’t.”

“I understand. I’m sorry I
embarrassed you.” Misha never once looked away from him with those big, sincere
eyes that for once hid no hint of sarcasm or fear.

Grim rested his cheek on Misha’s
thigh, resigned to his fate. “If Lucky knows, Tooth will know too. Fuck.”

“Does it matter what he thinks?”
Misha tried and ran his fingers over Grim’s nape, but there was hesitation even
in his question.

Grim brushed his finger over the
soft leather of Misha’s cut and smiled. It felt good to see his patch on Misha.
Now anyone would know when they saw them together. In that way, it was even
better than marriage. “Reputation is important in this business. Never forget
that.”

“That’s why I wanted to talk in
private, but I guess I fucked that up too. A month ago, I didn’t think I’d live
to be twenty-five, and now I’m supposed to be getting married. My brain melted
a bit.”

Grim watched him, knowing there
was something he was still missing. He wasn’t that good with people. “Tooth
proposed with everyone there. I thought one person wouldn’t make a difference.”

Misha licked his lips and poked
Grim’s arm. “You didn’t exactly propose …”

Grim scowled. “Why, you want a
diamond ring now?”

Misha pulled Grim up to the bed.
“Yeah, like I care about sparkly shit. I want you to ask.”

Grim gave a sharp laugh and sat
down next to Misha. “And that’s it? I ask, and you’ll agree?”

Misha shifted closer on his
knees, grabbing on to Grim’s arm for balance. “Maybeee. But only if you fuck me
really well.”

Grim swallowed a deep gulp of
air, seduced already by Misha’s dark eyes and sweet smile. “Birdie. I love it
when you talk dirty to me.”

“Can’t help it. I’ve got a dirty
mind.” Misha licked along Grim’s bottom lip, his tongue like a match to fuel
his fire.

Grim leaned in and captured
Misha’s lips, grabbing his hands in place. The rush of adrenaline made him
oversensitive as he brushed his mouth against Misha’s. “Convince me ...”

The playful spark in Misha’s eyes
was just what Grim wanted his life to be about. Misha reached back and pushed
his pants below his ass before falling back to sit on the bed. Grim’s heartbeat
spiked when he realized he’d be seeing the naked stumps in a matter of seconds.
Misha slowly pushed the fabric along the delicious planes of his legs, and
there they were, with a few bruises and abrasions that needed to be kissed
better, but otherwise smooth, soft, and ready to be touched.

Grim couldn’t stop himself from
groaning as he approached Misha, kicking his boots off the bed when he lay down
flat and cuddled up his face to one of the stumps, kissing it along the scars
as his senses savored the scent left by the detergent that had been used to
wash Misha’s clothes.

“So easy.” Misha snorted and put
the other leg on Grim’s shoulder, rubbing it gently. “But don’t worry. I’ll
never use my power over you for evil.” He stroked Grim’s hair, and as much as
Grim cared about it being in order, he didn’t give a fuck right now. With
Misha’s stumps on both sides of his head, his mind emptied of any rational
thoughts, leaving only dirty fantasies that led him to open his mouth wide and
suckle on the silky skin criss-crossed by equally smooth scars. He nipped on
them and didn’t even notice when his hips began to grind against the mattress.

Misha’s voice echoed in his head
as if it came from another world. “It used to freak me out when someone did
that, but it’s starting to turn me on with you.”

“What changed?” whispered Grim,
tickling the very tip of the stump with his tongue, and gasped when Misha
pulled his other calf closer to the back of Grim’s head. He couldn’t help
himself. Their shape was so ... different from average legs, so sexy … Each amputation
he ever touched felt a bit different, and those stumps were completely unique
to Misha, a testimony to all that he’d been through.

Misha giggled, and it was the
sweetest sound that made Grim want to tickle Misha again. “You. I like seeing
you so excited because of me. And I like you touching me. The skin there is so
sensitive.”

“You know where my skin is soft
and smooth?” whispered Grim and unzipped his pants, snickering as he looked up
at his lover.

Misha bit his lip with a grin.
“No. Show me.”

Grim untangled himself from the
lovely legs and kneeled, yanking his shirt off first. “That’s right. You
shouldn’t commit to marriage before inspecting the goods, should you?” he
asked, throwing the shirt at Misha.

Misha laughed and smelled the
shirt with a long sigh. “I guess I have to get a trial run then.”

Grim’s cock stirred, and he freed
it out of the confines of his pants with relief. “I live to please sweet,
pretty birds like you,” he rasped, pushing the leather down his thighs and
letting out a mixture of Grim’s own musk, salty and spicy, with the underlying
aroma of leather that, he hoped, would soon become addictive to Misha.

Misha put Grim’s shirt away and
pulled off his new vest along with the tank top. “I don’t think I’ll ever tire
of looking at it.” He reached out and ran his fingers over Grim’s chest.

Grim chewed on his lip and got
rid of all his remaining garments, presenting his body in all its naked glory.
“Put on the cut,” he whispered and squeezed his growing cock as he leaned
closer to Misha.

“You wanna see it on me when we
fuck?” Misha smiled and did as he was asked. The cut was a symbol of belonging.
Misha was all Grim’s and it gave him a thrill like no other. Every encounter
with other amputees was like an elusive wet dream now.
This
was the
reality he wanted to live in for the rest of his life.

Grim nodded and kissed Misha,
pushing his body between his thighs. Their bodies rubbed, creating a friction
that fizzled in Grim’s brain. “Yes. I want you to always wear it. I want
everyone to know.”

“Lucky has one from Tooth, and he
said no one dares bother him.” Misha smiled into the kiss, running his hands
along Grim’s back.

“I bet,” whispered Grim, arching
under the fiery touch as he slowly ground his hips against Misha’s, sensing
each body hair tickling his skin. “No one will ever dare to touch my property
if he wants to stay alive.”

Misha showered wet, passionate
kisses over Grim’s jaw, moving down to his neck. A gentle suckling told Grim
he’d be getting a hickey, and he didn’t mind at all, smiling at the
pain-pleasure of the suction and nipping. Misha’s hands went all the way to
Grim’s ass and squeezed it.

“I see you want me really close,”
whispered Grim, massaging Misha’s pec. “And what is
that
? You want
everyone to know, too?”

Misha nuzzled the place where
he’d just suckled on. “Yes. Only a little mark. I can’t get enough of you. I
might be your property, but I’ve never felt more free.”

Grim’s heart leapt. To Misha, he
really was a hero, and despite all the failures that lingered at the back of
his mind, being acknowledged by the person who mattered most made him feel like
he could move mountains with his bare hands. “We can do whatever we want. We
could stay somewhere for a while, if you want,” promised Grim, pulling on
Misha’s lip with his teeth.

“I loved spending time with you
in the forest.” Misha ran his fingers up Grim’s spine, sending a shiver of
excitement from the fleeting touch. But the sensation soon changed into a buzz
of arousal when Misha started rocking his hips against Grim’s.