Available [Marked 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (14 page)

Ryan may have majored in art and may have worked as a tattoo artist for a living, but he wasn’t really an artist. The art didn’t suck him in and engross him like it had done to some of the other people he had the privilege of attending university with. He felt the energy surrounding him with a unique blend of subspace and an artist’s mind. It was striking.

Without looking up, Bradley spoke. “It feels like three pieces in a collection. The first canvas is the start of it.” Ryan wasn’t entirely sure what he was looking at, but he nodded all the same. “I need paints. Do you have paints at your house?”

“We can stop by The Brush on the way there. We pass right by it.” The Brush was the art store that supplied a lot of the university students, and it was also where Ryan got most of his at-home supplies as well.

Bradley nodded. “I need to get these out soon. I don’t want to lose the feeling.”

“What feeling?” Ryan asked, curious. Bradley’s eyes were bright, passionate. He was beautiful.

“Submission, sex, you. All of it. It’s right here.” He touched his paint-smeared chest. “I need to get it out.”

Ryan nodded. This was an interesting expression of subspace if he’d ever seen one. The euphoria was translating into creative energy. “I’ve got your things together. Put on your pants and the shirt you were wearing and we can go.”

Bradley blinked. “Oh yeah. Getting dressed is kinda necessary huh?”

He chuckled. “Yes, sweet. It is.”

“Ry?”

“Yes?”

“Did you like it?”

“Did I like what?” Ryan asked.

“Did you like the spanking and the sex?”

Ryan’s body tried to stir at the memory. “Yes, sweet. I loved it. Now get dressed.”

“Can we do it again?” Bradley asked as he gathered up his things. His shirt went on first and then he winced as he pulled up the pants. The spanking was probably still smarting.

“Which part?”

“Both. All of it. More?”

Ryan laughed. “Eager, pup. We’ll explore more. Not all of it tonight. You need to paint remember?”

“Oh. Oh yeah. That’s right.” He pushed his feet into his shoes. “I’m ready.”

I don’t know if I am, Bradley. But here we go
.

* * * *

“Get what you need,” Ryan commanded as they walked up the curb to The Brush. “I have canvases, so just get whatever else you need.”

“Big canvases?”

“They are my specialty,” Ryan said dryly. Yeah, Bradley in headspace was freaking adorable. He was wide eyed, innocent, and eager. The combination was the most alluring thing Ryan had ever seen.

The owner of the shop, a wolf a little taller than Bradley named Xander, came around the corner of one of the aisles and waved a hand in greeting. “Hey, Bradley. How’s it goin’, man?” He was a beautiful man. A thin swimmer’s build, tanned skin, dark-chocolate hair, and amethyst eyes made an alluring picture. He was also an experienced submissive who wouldn’t ask for anything in return for Ryan’s attentions. Too bad he wasn’t even remotely interested. No. His current tastes ran more in the direction of a mouthy little stalker who had been told by a metaphysical being that the two of them were mates.

Bradley looked up, looking thoroughly distracted. “Gotta get a painting out. I need reds. Lots of reds. And orange. Flecks of cadmium yellow, too.”

Xander chuckled. “Right on. You know where it’s at.” His eyes locked on Ryan. “Hello, beta. How are you?”

Ryan glanced over at Bradley, who disappeared down another aisle, to make sure he didn’t hear the purr in that tone. Xander was one of the pack submissives who had been with his brother. “I’m Ryan, Xander. Not Regan.”

“Ah,” Xander said, pouting. “Sorry. He just rarely comes around anymore. I thought maybe he was angling for a three-way.”

Ryan shook his head. “No can do. I’m training that one.” He motioned toward Bradley, who was no doubt filling his hands and the small shopping basket to capacity. “Whatever he buys, put it on my tab.”

Xander nodded. “I will. So you’re training, huh? He must be the one I’ve been hearing so much about. There are rumors that he’s your mate. Any truth to it?”

Ryan shrugged, not committing either way. “People love to gossip.”

“I see,” Xander said, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “You haven’t been in here in a while either. You still working canvas?”

“Some. Not much lately. I started working some metal art with Regan recently, and that seems to be more where the muse is at. There and in the ink of course.” They had quite a setup in the backyard. He was sure Bradley would appreciate it when he came out of headspace.

Xander tucked his hair behind one ear. “Of course. I imagine being a beta for a large pack and working the shop takes some considerable time out of your artistic schedule. Will you tell your brother that I’d like to talk to him, please?”

Ryan nodded. He would pass the message along. There was a pause in the shuffling of things in the next aisle over. “What’s the problem, Bradley?”

The mournful reply was cute. “I don’t have enough money for all this.” He couldn’t have that much stuff.

“Excuse me for a second, Xander,” he said, turning away from the pack submissive.

Xander chuckled. “No problem, beta. Take your time. Your new boy always spends an ungodly amount of time making his mind up over paints and ends up spending too much money in the process. You guys have fun. I’ll be in the back working on a piece myself.”

Ryan waved, not hearing half of what he said. “Bradley, where are you, sweet?”

“Right here.”

That was incredibly informative. He circled the aisle and didn’t spot Bradley at first, but his eyes zeroed in on the boy sitting on the floor with at least twenty tubes of paint spread out in front of him with double the number of brushes as paints. There were also several sketch pads and implements for those as well.

Bradley was glaring at his choices like they would suddenly cost less if he stared at them long enough. “Why are they so expensive?”

“To torment you apparently.” Ryan tilted his head, doing a quick calculation in his head. “You can get all of them. I’ll cover the cost since it was my stalker that wrecked your things.” Speaking of which. He needed to text Regan and get him to send a cleaning service to the apartment and contact the owner to make sure it was all right. He’d replace the windows himself if the insurance didn’t cover it.

Bradley looked up, blinked. “You sure?”

Ryan nodded. “Of course. Just get them all and let’s go. I want to get home.” It had been a long day, and he had plans for his beautiful submissive for the night if he could drag him away from his paintings long enough.

“Okay. Okay. Sorry. I just…this feeling is so big, you know?”

He nodded. He did know but not in the same way Bradley did. New subs were always so fascinated with the world from the perspective of the submissive. As a Dom, his high was a little different, but it was still just as powerful. He felt a bit like God, actually. The control made him buzzed in a way that made him overprotective and very much “mine” about his sub. Maybe that was why the word repeated itself in regular intervals since he’d taken Bradley.

They gathered his things off the floor, and Ryan carried it over to the register. “So are you still sore?” he asked, his voice low to not alert the other wolf to their conversation.

Bradley actually blushed. “A little. Not too bad. Just a dull ache. Is that good?”

“Very good.” It meant they could play more later.

Regan’s voice came into his mind suddenly. “
He isn’t the type of submissive you let walk out of your life, bro
.”

“
Xander is looking for you
,” Ryan said, ignoring the words and their implications. “
Can you contact the cleaning company Mustang uses and get them to do Bradley’s place? I’ll text you the address
.”

Regan snorted. “
Yeah. Fine. No problem. Speaking of the Alpha, he’s looking for you. Has some information about your boy and his wolf
.”

Ryan winced at the reminder. He’d almost forgotten what Dean had said about his submissive being a wolf.

“You know, it’s rude to have a conversation when someone is talking to you,” Bradley cut in, annoyance thick in his voice. “I was asking you a question.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ignore you. Regan just—” He frowned. “How the hell did you know I was talking to someone?”

Bradley shrugged. “I felt it. It’s like he’s a part of you, and when he is in your head I can feel him, too.”

“
Told you I felt him through our bond. That is some freaky shit right there
.”

“Shut up,” Ryan snapped. “You’re not helping.” Bradley looked like he’d been slapped, and he immediately regretted his words. “I wasn’t talking to you, sweet. I was talking to my smartass brother. Shh, I didn’t mean to yell.” He pulled his submissive into his arms and stroked down his back in soothing motions. He kissed the top of his head. He never wanted to put that look of hurt on Bradley’s face again. That nearly tore his heart out.

“
He’s your mate, Ry. Claim him
.”

He was about to growl something appropriately Fuck-off-ish, but the connection went blank as Regan drew away from him. He sighed.

Xander came out of the back room with a bag. “Sorry I made you wait, guys. I had my agent on the phone.” He rang them up, and Ryan handed his credit card over without hearing the total.

Claim him? How can I do that when he’s so fucking perfect and I’m so fucking not?
“Ryan?” Bradley asked as he signed the receipt.

“What is it, sweet?”

“Thank you for my things. I really appreciate it.” He smiled warmly at Ryan, and Ryan was lost once more. Walking away was going to be almost impossible, but staying seemed infinitely as difficult. He wasn’t even sure if he could walk away with the way his wolf was acting. He just didn’t know what to do anymore.

* * * *

Bradley paid zero attention to the house they pulled up to. His mind was already swimming in paintings of rich reds, bright oranges, and flecks of yellow to draw the mind and eye into it all. He was an erotic artist at heart who focused almost solely on the beauty of the male form, but he was feeling something like Munch’s
The Scream
, where his paintings would express more than what was on the canvas, a sound, an emotion that went beyond the physical. He had a feeling that the first canvas would be all raw emotion, sex, something as bright as he imagined. The second would be his surreal piece where everything was spelled out for those who didn’t understand the first, and the final piece would be something else entirely. Blues, greens, shades and highlights of movement in bed sheets, implied passion. Yes. That would be what he would put on canvas.

Ryan led up to a room of windows at the far end of the gray split-level with wood paneling in the inside. It would have wonderful natural light first thing in the morning. The space had to be Ryan’s studio. It was perfect. Stretched canvases were stacked in the closet, and Ryan showed him where all the supplies were and the small half bath attached where he could get some water.

“I’ll be down the hall in the living room. Come when you’re finished,” Ryan said, looking at him strangely, like he’d never seen him before.

“Will you model for me later?” Bradley asked, dragging his mind off the paint and to his lover.

Ryan paused. “If you want. I can do that. Are you okay?”

“Fine. You inspire me.” Ryan inspired everything. How was he blind to it? Their connection had only strengthened when they’d made love.

The wolf chuckled. “All right, sweet. Come find me when you’re done. Try not to be too long. I need to feed you and discuss some things with you before we crash.”

Uh-oh. They always had to talk when Ryan was about to avoid something. No matter. Bradley would find a way to convince him and assuage his doubts. His lips twitched at the thought. Wasn’t he supposed to be the one in need of convincing?

“Okay.”

Ryan left, and Bradley was left alone with his canvases.

Hours later, Bradley was pretty satisfied with the progress he’d made so far. The first painting needed a few more brush strokes to be perfect. The second one would take longer, but he’d gotten the sketches out of his head and onto paper, and that was all that mattered. He now had them nailed down and could rest. He wiped his forehead and wasn’t surprised that it was dotted with sweat. Despite the openness of the windows, the room was well insulated and warm. Combined with his rigorous paint strokes, it wasn’t a surprise he was damp. It was why he’d stripped down to nothing while he painted. That and the idea that Ryan could walk in any moment was a motivation for him to get naked.

He stroked the edge of his painting lovingly. Ryan was here. The way he felt about him anyway.
Mine
. There was that voice again. He sighed. The voice was right. Ryan was most definitely his.

“You are beautiful when you work,” Ryan rumbled from the doorway.

Bradley turned, smiled. “Thank you. I was about to come find you. Did you enjoy your time without me bugging you?”