Bill’s Body Shop appeared cleaner than some in Slade’s experience. He brought in the plain white helmet and his laptop with high hopes.
“I’ll be here a few more hours if you need anything,” the owner said.
Slade set up his laptop and webcam and filmed himself asking the owner a few questions, neatly inserting a plug for the body shop. Then he turned the camera and jokingly introduced himself since he’d changed his signature look. “I’m starting a very special piece for a friend,” he said. “You’ll remember from previous videos about priming and sanding, so I’m saving time by having this helmet sanded, primed, taped, and ready to paint.”
He turned the camera off, organized the space Bill designated, and turned the camera back on. Next, Slade put on a mask and picked up the sprayer, explaining the paint application, leaving out ideas for the finished image, then turned the camera off after completing the first few steps.
After a brief search, he found Bill locking up. “The paint needs to dry for twenty-four hours. Will this be in the way?”
“Nah. I’ll make sure no one bothers your things. Most of the guys in the shop subscribe to your channel, and I do appreciate the shout-out.”
Slade made sure he wasn’t wearing any paint, though no hiding the chemical smell from a sensitive nose. He brought home burgers.
Noah rose from the couch, placing a book on the coffee table. “Oh, fuck! What have you done?”
The look of horror on his face wasn’t what Slade intended. “You don’t like it.”
“No, I do. It’s…” Noah circled Slade like Brad’s earlier assessment. “You look different.”
“Good different?”
After a moment, the furrow between Noah’s eyebrows eased. “Yeah. Good different.”
“Well, the beard got in the way.” Slade also no longer felt the need to hide. At some point in his punishment, he’d begun feeling shamed.
“To tell the truth, you were gone so long I started to worry.”
Damn. So many things Slade forgot. “I need to get you a cell phone, so you can call or text.”
“I’ve never had a cell phone and don’t know how to use one.”
“I’ll teach you. Now, come on, let’s eat.”
Noah sniffed Slade in passing, a puzzled frown on his face.
Chapter Twenty-Two
WhereelsehadSladegone besides to get a haircut? A chemical smell clung to his skin. A tattoo shop? He painted helmets. Paint, maybe? But why so secretive?
Noah spent his idle time reading, though thoughts of Slade kept the words from sinking in. He wanted more of what they’d had earlier. A-ha! “You’ve got loose hair all over you from your haircut. How about a shower?”
Slade’s chin nearly touched his chest when he looked down, brushing hair clippings off his shirt. “Yeah, good idea.”
Noah gave Slade five minutes of warm water before joining him under the spray.
“Wha…” Slade shifted his gaze up and down Noah’s naked body, then stepped back to make room.
Promising. “Want me to wash your back?”
Judging by Slade’s erection, he might’ve been jacking off. Or thinking of sex. Slade thinking of sex with Noah? Perfect.
Noah didn’t hide the effect of their nakedness on himself, either, engorged cock brushing Slade’s ass when reaching around him for a bar of soap. Noah lathered his hands, working them into the firm muscles of Slade’s shoulders, returning the massage Slade once gave him.
“Oh, damn.” Slade moaned. “Feels so good. I don’t know a single tattooist whose back doesn’t ache.”
A dragon stared out from Slade’s back in a swirl of black, blue, red, and gold, mouth open and ready to strike. Ah, but one predator could appreciate another. The dragon’s tail wound down Slade’s lower back, over an ass cheek, and down to a thigh. Beautiful and somehow fitting for such a rugged body.
Tall, powerfully made, but not bulky, Slade had a body created for a photo shoot. Noah worked his way down every enticing plane, pausing to knead rigid glutes. While Slade might have gone gray at forty-five, his body stayed solid.