Discovering Dalton (Manchester Menage Collection #2) (22 page)

“Two.”

“Shit.” Dalton sat up, head swinging and the room blurring a little. “Did she take the cat with her again?”

“No.” Danny rolled his eyes. “Dropped her off at our place. By the way, she scratched the new leather sofa. Milo won't be happy about it. Be prepared for that comeback later.” Danny shifted Dalton's feet to the floor and sat down next to him. “Got you this.” He handed over a card and a leaflet for a funeral home. “It’s who organised my mum’s a couple of years ago. They did a good job. Thought it was a start for you.” Danny pulled out a carefully wrapped package from his bag and opened the tin foil up, passing Dalton what smelled like a sage and onion stuffing, beef sandwich. “Samuel made it. He said you’d need something inside you to help settle your stomach. I laughed, he didn’t, but come on, that’s funny.”

Dalton smirked as he took the sandwich, the smell making his stomach growl in appreciation. “I love Samuel for this.”

Danny snorted, his mouth full as he nodded. “Yeah, he’s a good one. Looks after me and Milo. We’d seriously fall apart without him tugging us together constantly.”

“I don’t know how you make it work. I can't even wrap my head around two people, let alone three.”

“It’s exactly the same, just one more person to consider, and that one more person is why we all work. I doubt we’d find what we were looking for with just one of us. It just feels right, you know. When it feels right, it generally is right. It’s okay with two of us from time to time, but it never feels better than when we’re all there. And I don’t just mean the sex.” He grinned at Dalton. “Although, that does add a lot to the mix.”

It had been so long since Dalton actually had sex he struggled to recall exactly what the moment felt like. He wasn’t discussing Liam with anyone. Okay, Kelly had met him, but Liam was his trainer and that was it as far as Dalton was concerned. He didn’t need another reason for Milo to go mental at him. That would just be another nail in the coffin regarding him returning to work, and right then, Dalton needed to get his mind off what was going on in his personal life and concentrate on the job.

“You should get laid.” Danny’s statement made Dalton laugh. “You should do it. Just go out, have a few good drinks, pick someone up. Some woman who’s totally not Kelly and see how it goes. I know you're probably worried about getting back out there, but it’s not as bad as you think. Times have changed. Women do all the picking up around here now, so I hear anyway. Drinking alone isn’t good. If you want to loosen up, then do it with friends.”

“I don’t do this every night. Last night was just…” Dalton trained off.

“I get it, I do. I've been right here, mate. I'm just saying, don’t wallow in here alone. Do it with people who can either get pissed with you and carry your sorry arse home. Or let you cry on their shoulder and comfort you through the dark times.”

Dalton smiled as he bit into his sandwich. He was lucky to have friends like Danny. “I don’t mean to push you away. It’s been difficult this past month.”

“Friday, you're coming out with me and some lads from the station. It’s round all the straight places, so we can work on getting you a girl or two.” As Danny tucked into his sandwich, Dalton got the feeling there something on his mind, and he waited until they were both screwing up their empty wrappings to let him continue. “If that’s what you want, obviously. We can always go out to Canal Street again and have some fun there.”

“I really don’t mind where I go, Danny.”

“Yeah, Samuel sort of said you wouldn’t.” Danny smirked and Dalton folded his arms across his chest.

“How’s his friend doing? The one with the heels. Blue.”

“Oh, him.” Danny laughed loudly. “He’s a true piece of work. He and Samuel have become BBFs. It drives Milo nuts, but I like him. He asked about you the last time I saw him.”

“What did he say?”

“Not much, just asked how you were doing.” Danny wiggled his brows. “So—”

“Nope. Not going there.”

“Aww, Dalton.” Danny pouted before he cracked and laughed again.

“I’ll go out anywhere. Thanks for the contact details, I’ll call them now. Give me an hour to have some coffee, and then I’ll drive over to your place to collect Mog and thank Samuel for the food.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll be off then. Got a ton to do back at the station. Give them guys a call, and if you need anything else, just shout one of us. We’re close by and happy to help.” Danny hugged him tightly. “Make sure that’s a strong coffee, Officer. I wouldn’t want you drunk driving.”

“I’ll make sure I'm safe for the road, Daniel Harris.” Dalton nudged him gently to the door. “Thanks for checking up on me.”

“Any time you need me to break in and wake you up from an alcoholic stupor, I'm there, man.”

Dalton chuckled as Danny made his way out of the house and to his car. “I’ll sort out the leather sofa at your place too.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it, Dalton. I was just messing with you. Milo will be cool about it.”

That was a lie and both of them knew it, so they cracked into fits of laughter before Danny closed the car door and waved at him.

Dalton leaned against the doorframe and watched him drive off. At least he had food in his belly and a reason to get out of the house. His Mog needed picking up and he should drop off some chocolates for Samuel as a thank you for the food. He could call the funeral home up after he got back. That was the plan, and as long as he had one, he was happier. He wasn’t sure what needed to be done regarding a funeral, but the guys who Danny had pointed in his direction would do. He was good at delegating.

He just wanted this to be right, it was the last thing he could do for his dad, the last outward chance he would have to show how much he was loved. It had to be right, and if that meant handing over the reins to the professionals, he would happily do it. At least now his parents were reunited, together once again.

Chapter
24

T
roy was just packing up the shop when the buzzer went off, indicating someone had walked in the front door. He was alone, Sian having gone home not so long ago after her last client, leaving him to catch up on some paperwork.

Troy shot a quick look at the clock on the wall behind him and groaned. It was half an hour before closing time. He wouldn’t be inking anyone this late, but he could book them in for another day if they wanted to wait. Too many people were in a rush to get work done. Troy liked people to put time and effort into what they wanted.

“I won’t be a second. Just take a look around.”

“Okay.” The low voice of a man floated down the hallway. A Manchester accent, but more well-spoken than the usual type.

Troy was wiping his hands, trying to get the purple ink out from under his nails as he walked into the main room which housed his designs and sketches. He looked up to see the back of a man standing staring at the large poster of Troy's back hanging on the wall. It was a photograph Sian took earlier in the year. She had an eye and caught the ink work running down his back and thigh perfectly. He couldn’t help but display it. After all, it was a tattoo studio, why not?

He was about to speak when the guy slowly lifted a hand, resting his finger tip against the glass covering the poster and working its way down Troy’s back. Well, Troy corrected himself, not his back, the picture
of
his back. Nevertheless, the tall blond was someone who he wouldn’t mind touching him for real.

“Hey there.”

The blond almost jumped, but caught himself just in time, glancing over his shoulder, a look of hesitation on his face, like he’d been caught stealing sweets from his mum’s bag.

“Sorry.” Troy smiled, then stumbled over his words as the blond faced him full on. Oh, Troy remembered him. It had been a couple of weeks since he last saw him out in town, but there he was. The sexy guy who’d worn the pink Ralph Lauren top and who had an ass Troy was itching to get his hands all over. “I’m Troy. I own this place.”

“Hi, I'm Dalton.” He offered his hand, a warm smile on his face. He was even better looking up close and Troy felt his stomach spin as they shared a look.

Troy looked at his ink-stained fingers, and then showed them to him. “I'm messy. I don’t want to ruin your clothes by getting you all messed up.”

Dalton put his hands in his jean pockets and rocked on his heels. “Is that you?” He nodded back to the poster.

“Oh, yeah.” Troy ran his fingers through the mess which was his hair, suddenly feeling like he should’ve put more effort into his look before stepping out, but who knew the man he’d been thinking about for the last two weeks would be standing right in his shop. “It’s… I dunno why I put it up.” He looked at the poster then at Dalton. “How’d you know it was me? You can't see my face and my ink is covered up.” Stupid air con was now too cold and Troy had taken to wearing jeans and long sleeved tops until he sussed out how to change the setting on it.

“I have a good eye for body shapes.” Dalton paused, a cute blush running over his cheeks. “I mean, I didn’t mean it
that
way. I was just… I notice more than facial features, that’s all.” He looked everywhere but at him and Troy chuckled. “It’s very good. The ink work, I mean. Like art.” Dalton turned back to look at Troy’s naked body artistically positioned so you couldn’t see anything, just the parts of his body with his ink. “Beautiful,” Dalton said quietly.

“Thanks. I'm proud of it. I designed it myself. Inked some of it too.” Troy sat on one of the bar stools by the glass display cabinet which housed all Sian’s piercings, looking up and down Dalton slowly. He was slightly bigger than him, great thighs, tiny waist, full chest, arms nice and firm. Troy tried to not let his gaze rest on his arse like last time, but if possible, the guy was even hotter than he remembered. “So…” He cleared his throat, all too aware of the hint of gruffness in it. “You're obviously looking for some ink on yourself, or is it a piercing you want?”

Dalton dragged his gaze off Troy’s poster and nodded. “It’s a tattoo I want. I’ve been thinking about it for years, but never really got around to doing it.”

“I like the thinking part. Shows you're serious about it. Any idea what you want?” Troy crossed his fingers behind his back.
Please don’t say horrible black tribal stuff or anything.

“I like the colours you have. I don’t think I want anything like this.” He pointed out a tribal design in black and Troy grinned.

“You just made my day. I love colours.”

Dalton grinned back. “I can tell.”

“What’s made you come today after years of thinking about it?”

“Well…” Dalton paused, looking out of the window, a sad look passing over him. “I lost my dad recently. A few days ago actually. I was going to have something to mark his life, not his death, that’s too sad. He lived a long life, and I wanted to celebrate it in some way. When he passed, it made me see if you put things off for too long, you end up running out of time.” He glanced over his shoulder and shrugged. “I've been putting things off all my life, and I didn’t want to keep pushing this down the line anymore.”

“I'm sorry about your dad.” Troy offered a small smile, never too sure how people react when you say sorry or talk about their loved ones passing, but it felt too soon to offer up his own personal details about death. “It’s a good way of thinking. I can design something for just you and him if you give me a few ideas. Like his hobbies, memories, places you visited. There’s nothing I can't do given enough time.”

“I was just going to pick out a design.”

“You can do that if you really want, but if you see something you like, I can always modify it for you.”

“Is it okay if I take a look through some of these and get some ideas?”

“Sure.” Troy jumped off the stool and pulled out a few of his most recent works which he’d taken pictures of. “These are more colourful, but any of the others I can add colour to. Don’t think you have to have the entire work copied onto you. Like I said, I can modify anything. I draw most of these especially for the individual so they’re unique. You see anything you like, then point them out and I can come up with something new just for you.”

Dalton sat on the sofa and flicked through a few of the books while Troy busied himself in the room, packing away for the night and counting up the cash before placing it in the safe in the back room. When he returned, he found Dalton had three of the books open and was concentrating hard on the photographs in them. “You see anything which catches your eye?” Troy leaned on the glass cabinet and took another long look up and down Dalton.

“Loads, but I have to admit it’s this which really catches my eye.” Dalton shook his head back toward the big picture behind him of Troy and he grinned. “I mean, who wouldn’t like looking at it, right?”

Troy tried to keep his smile from being too broad, and he just nodded, looking at the ink work captured on his own body displayed behind Dalton. That felt like a come on, but he wasn’t sure. The guy had to be gay, he was on Canal Street and had some blond twink all over him the last Troy saw him. He’d left for the bar not long after that, unnaturally pissed off the only bloke he’d fancied was already taken.

“What do you like about it?”

Dalton shrugged, and Troy tried really hard to not let on he noticed the blond running his gaze up and down his body. “I guess the colours, or the way it flows so naturally over your body, like it was meant to be there.”

That’s what Troy liked the most about his ink work. It looked like he was born with it. It flowed so perfectly along his natural curves and muscles. “Where you thinking of having yours?”

Dalton shrugged, standing up and carrying over one of the large, leather bound books, placing it on the cabinet and leaning on it like Troy. “I was thinking here.” He touched his shoulder, running it down to his elbow. “I wasn’t planning on anything too big, but looking at you and these in here, I think it will be better to have one, or a few which work together, in a bigger piece.”

“I like bigger.”

Dalton tried to hide his smirk, but Troy caught it.

“I meant…” Troy cleared his throat. Something about this guy threw him off centre and he felt like he was struggling to catch up all the time. “If you're planning on a few in the same place, then it’s good to plan them all together. That way they don’t look disjointed and randomly thrown together.”

“So, if I wanted something like this—” Dalton pointed out an orchid in sunny yellows and oranges. “Then have something like this mixed in—” He pointed to Koi carp, very Japanese in design and full of bright colours ranging from orange to purple. “Then they would work together?”

“Oh, God, yeah. They would look awesome. They’re both Japanese, and they would look great on your arm. I have some other flowers though which may work better.” Troy flicked through a book until he found what he was looking for. “These are lotus flowers and they’re more water based, so they would go with the Koi. You could have both though. I could mix them in, use a ton of different colours and bring them all together with a bit of shading and waves. Can you take this jacket off so I can get a better look at you? I mean, your skin, and size, that’s all.” Troy turned away and shook himself.
Stop it, Troy.

“Here?” Dalton looked at the glass door and windows beside them, then back to Troy.

“Ha! No, sorry. Of course not. It’s been… a long day. Let me just get this.” Troy locked the door and slid the closed sign across the window.

“Am I keeping you?”

“No-no. I close in a few minutes, but no worries. Come back here. It’s more private and this is where all the magic happens.” Troy grinned as he showed Dalton through to the private room which housed all his little paint pots and equipment.

There were a few different seating options, one being a black leather chair which had arm and leg supports. The second being a long black leather padded bench, like the sort you’d find in massage parlours. Some of the work Troy did took hours and it helped if the client was comfy.

“Take a seat.” Troy pointed to the chair and watched Dalton settle. “Slip this off and let me take a look at what I've got to work with.”

Dalton pulled his t-shirt off, laying it on his thighs. Troy rolled his stool over to him, sitting with one of his legs in between Dalton’s opened thighs and feeling a little overheated because of it. He couldn’t blame the lack of air con because the room was now comfortably cool with the new unit. Troy attempted to get his mind back on the job in hand and turned Dalton's arm around, feeling his skin, and looking for any blemishes like scars or moles he would have to work around, but the guy was perfect.

He had muscles to be proud of, but not heavy or overly big, just very natural. He had hardly any fatty tissue, which would mean he would feel the needle more.

“This is gonna hurt, you know.”

“I'm aware of that.” Dalton laughed and Troy smirked back at him.

“You’ve never had one before. People either come in here thinking it won't hurt or assume it will be torture. It’s not either, it’s somewhere in between. It’s actually quite repetitive after a while and your skin goes numb. It’s just you have good muscle definition and people who have feel it a bit more.”

“I should’ve come here three months ago then. I had a lot less muscle and more fat to work with.”

Troy shook his head. “Either way, mate, it’s not going to be painless. I'm good though, and I know how to read someone’s reactions well. If it gets too much, then we take a break. It’s not a race. I don’t have to do it all in one go, and those two designs, they’ll take a good few sessions. Especially the Koi. Those tiny scales take some inking. The outline…” Troy grabbed a picture from behind him which he’d drawn out for another guy earlier, pointing out what he meant, following the lines around the design. “These are all what I’d do first. Get the actual design onto your skin and let it settle. It will take around four hours for the Koi you liked.”

Troy wheeled himself to the PC on the other side of the room, printing off a similar Koi onto tracing paper and bringing it over to Dalton. “Let’s see how it fits. I can make changes to it so it flows like mine down your arm.” He held the paper over his arm and smiled when Dalton made some pleasant sounding moans. “You like?”

“Yeah.”

The Koi fit almost perfectly from his shoulder to just above his elbow. Troy tried a few different positions, finding one which suited the design and Dalton's body, then held it over his skin a little tighter. “Okay, I would change how this one is slightly by bending him a little higher and tilting his head over to the left a bit. You okay with that?”

“I love it. My dad used to have this big pond full of Koi Carp. He would spend hours looking after them. He got too old a few years ago and gave them to the local park. They’re in the pond there now.”

“Nice. I like it means something to you. It suits you.” Troy looked up and stared right into those stunning blue eyes. They were so bright, cerulean blue with a darker rim round the edges. He realised he’d been looking too intensely at them and smiled. “Great colour eyes.”

Dalton laughed. “Thanks.”

Troy spun back to his PC and flicked through a few designs of orchids before he found something similar to the one Dalton chose earlier and printed it off. “Okay, this will need adjusting to make it work with the Koi, but what I’ll do is just size it up and then I can draw a template for you to look at. I can have it ready in a couple of days and then we can make the final design.”