#colonel king

***

Eric walked along the opposite side of the street this time. He’d purposefully put on his Aviators that morning so that his eyes were free to rove to the tattoo parlour across from him without it being too obvious. He slowed when he came parallel with the glass-fronted studio, feigning rummaging for something in his jeans pocket. There was an empty bench beside him, directly facing the studio, but that would be too obvious; he didn’t want to be that guy who sat alone staring through the glass opposite, even if he did have his shades on.

Eric stopped rummaging when he saw him through the glass. The olive-skinned tattoo artist, now running a hand along his close-cropped hair as he surveyed something on the table by the window. Then he was lost to shadow. Eric realised he had completely stopped in the middle of the street and was staring now; he cleared his throat and turned away.

‘Get it together,’ he muttered to himself.

A woman walking by frowned at him.

‘Shit,’ he said quietly, looking back to the bench. It was either sit down, hover like an idiot or leave. And Eric knew if he did the latter, he’d lose his nerve the next day, like he did every day.

He sat down on the bench, scratching the top of his nose under his sunglasses and shifting on the wood awkwardly.

His ex-wife, Rachel, had a small tattoo on her ankle; he remembered telling her that he would consider getting one, too. She’d laughed, but then seeing his expression, her face had sobered and she’d asked him what tattoo he’d get. He said he didn’t know, too embarrassed now to tell her, and they’d never mentioned it again.

‘You ever gonna come inside or you just gonna sit staring?’

Eric jumped. The tattoo artist was stood behind him, smirking slightly.

‘I – I wasn’t staring, I –’ He stopped. ‘Wait, how did you know I was thinking of coming inside?’

‘I’ve seen you pacing about here every day this past week. You think I don’t see you?’ the man replied in a deep voice. ‘You’re about as subtle as two dogs fucking in the street.’

Eric didn’t know how to reply to that, but he was saved from thinking of something by the man glancing behind him. ‘I’m about to grab some coffee,’ he said. ‘Why don’t you go inside and we’ll talk about whatever it is you’re looking for?’

Before Eric could respond, the man had walked away. Eric stared after him for a moment, and then back to the shop.

‘Shit,’ he breathed again. It was now or never.

Eric clenched his fists and pushed himself up from the bench, stepping into the street and moving across to the studio. He pushed the door open, expecting a bell tinkle, but there was nothing other than the bass thrumming through him from a sound system in the corner. There was a red curtain drawn at the far side of the room.

Eric took a deep breath and glanced around the room. He came to a stop infront of the wall of artwork, taking off his sunglasses and slipping them down the front of his shirt. He frowned at the crude drawings on the wall.

The door opened behind him. Eric turned as the man moved back inside, not looking at him and dumping some items down on the counter with a grunt.

‘What’s this?’ Eric asked, jerking his thumb at the wall where a vibrant green ‘Yo Momma’ was displayed in graffiti ink. ‘Is that supposed to be modern art or something?’

The man turned. ‘I don’t know about no modern art, but that’s Merwin art.’

‘Merwin? Is that your name?’

The man held out a hand, and Eric took it. The man’s grip was strong, but surprisingly soft. Eric had expected calluses or rough skin. Merwin’s gaze lingered on him.

‘Eric,’ he replied.

‘Well, Eric,’ Merwin said, turning to the counter. ‘I got you a doughnut. The fancy kind, with rainbow sprinkles on top and shit. You look the type.’

‘The type to eat doughnuts?’

Merwin smirked. ‘The type to like rainbow sprinkles.’

Eric found himself smiling at that. ‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘But I’m not hungry.’

‘Nerves?’

‘I guess you could say that.’

‘Ain’t got nothing to be nervous about. You know what you want?’

‘I have an idea.’

Merwin surveyed him for a long moment. Eric was surprised to find he held the man’s gaze easily, but he still felt the faint flush creep up the back of his neck.

‘Why don’t you come into the back and we’ll talk about it,’ Merwin said, and he was already striding towards the red curtain. Eric followed, and Merwin held it back for him, waiting. Eric slid by, catching a scent of the man’s cologne. The room beyond was small with no windows, comfortably lit with a large leather chair in the centre.

Watching him, Merwin said, ‘There ain’t nobody else here. I ain’t got any appointments until later this afternoon.’

‘You always leave the door unlocked when you leave for coffee?’ Eric demanded.

‘I left it unlocked for you.’

‘How’d you know I’d come inside?’

Merwin smirked and didn’t answer. He stepped towards a messy desk in the corner. ‘You wanna take a look through my portfolio? I got some bad ass ones in here – you like snakes? I got some fucking huge snakes –’

‘I’m not really a snake kind of guy.’

Merwin turned to survey him. His eyes roved down Eric slowly and then back up.

‘Na, I don’t suppose you would be, would you? Why don’t you lie back here and we’ll talk it out? You’re making me on edge just stood there like a fucking deer in headlights.’

‘I’m making you on edge?’ Eric asked, glancing around the room, at the vulgar art which – he had to admit – was extremely impressive, before his eyes rested on the needle on the table.

‘This ain’t no fucking torture chamber,’ Merwin said, sitting on the wheeled stool at the base of the leather recliner.

Eric moved uncertainly over to the leather chair and slid onto it. He led back, propped up slightly by the adjusted seat, and immediately felt ridiculous. Merwin surveyed him from the bottom of the chair at his feet.

‘Comfortable?’

‘Highly uncomfortable, actually.’

Merwin smirked. ‘Good.’

‘Good? You think it’s good that I’m uncomfortable?’

‘Na, it’s good that you’re telling me the truth. Don’t want you passing out on me now, do I, Colonel?’

‘Colonel?’

Merwin shrugged. ‘You look like the bossy type.’ He turned and grabbed a pack of cigarettes from the table behind him and lit one. Eric frowned at him.

‘Should you be doing that in here?

‘I ain’t ever been much good at following the rules,’ said Merwin.

‘Won’t that… I don’t know… compromise the space?’ Eric asked uncertainly.

Merwin stared at him. ‘The fuck you talking about? You’re getting a tattoo, not cleansing your fucking aura.’

Eric surveyed him steadily. ‘You don’t look like the type to know about auras.’

‘Ex-girlfriend,’ Merwin said, pulling a long drag on the cigarette. ‘She was into all that shit. She made me meditate once, and fuck me was that a waste of time.’

Eric laughed at that. Merwin surveyed him with interest.

‘You don’t look like the type either,’ he said.

‘I don’t believe in any of that,’ Eric confirmed. ‘But I don’t have to believe in it to be aware of it.’

Merwin nodded, and then shuffled closer to Eric’s boots.

‘So what we thinking here, Colonel? You got any idea where you want it?’

Eric hesitated. ‘I always thought about my leg, but –’

Merwin had already moved across and reached for the hem of Eric’s jeans, but Eric jumped and straightened up. Merwin looked at him in surprise, the cigarette hanging from his mouth.

‘No, not – not that leg, the other leg,’ Eric said quickly.

Merwin frowned at him. ‘The fuck’s wrong with your other leg? You insecure about something?’

Eric breathed steadily and held his gaze. When Merwin continued to look at him expectantly, Eric found himself reaching down to pull up the hem of his jeans slightly. Merwin’s gaze fell on the prosthetic.

‘Shit,’ he said quietly. ‘That’s gotta be rough.’ He raised his eyes to Eric. ‘How’d it happen?’

‘Car crash.’

‘You driving?’

‘No. My ex-wife.’

‘Fuck.’

Merwin watched closely as Eric pulled the hem back down and sat back.

‘Why the fuck you worried about people seeing it?’ he suddenly demanded.

Eric looked at him in surprise.

‘Well it’s not something I walk around showing to everyone.’

‘You telling me in summer you still walk around in these tight little jeans instead of short-shorts?’ Merwin asked.

Eric said nothing, and Merwin let out a gruff laugh. ‘Fuck that,’ he said. ‘You ain’t got nothing to be ashamed of.’

Eric felt something warm his chest. He hesitated, before saying, ‘That’s… that’s where I always thought I might want a tattoo, on that leg, but…’ He trailed off.

‘Well, fuck, that’s where you’ll get it then,’ said Merwin, his voice constricted as he spoke while clutching the cigarette between his lips. Eric watched the man closely as he reached up to claim the cigarette, at the soft fingers that came to wrap around it and the tongue that darted out to wet his lips. ‘We’ll just do it higher up, yeah? How about on your thigh?’

Eric considered. ‘I… I guess that would be all right. I’d prefer it to be out of sight.’

‘Out of sight?’ said Merwin. ‘You gonna be embarrassed to show off my ink, Colonel?’

‘It’s Eric, and no, not embarrassed, I just… I like the idea that it’s more private. Just for me, you know? Not always on display –’

‘Your dirty little secret, huh?’ Merwin smirked up at him. ‘I hear ya. But if I do it there… it’s not just for you, it’s for me, too.’

‘What do you mean?’ Eric said quickly.

‘Because I’m the one doing it,’ Merwin said. ‘The fuck you think I mean?’

He glanced down at Eric’s jeans and tugged on them again.

‘Only problem is, these jeans ain’t gonna roll all the way up. You’re gonna have to take them off.’

Eric blanched. ‘Take them off?’

‘Yeah. Unless you want me to cut them. Depends how many fancy pairs of tight little jeans you got at home. Or whether you wanna walk down the street with everyone able to see your dirty little secret.’

Eric hesitated. Shit. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

Because he hadn’t seriously thought about coming in here at all, that’s why.

Abruptly, Merwin stood. He moved to pull back the curtain and Eric twisted in the seat to watch Merwin return to the door and lock it, turning the sign on the door to display CLOSED. He walked back and pulled the curtain across before sinking back into his stool. ‘That better?’ he asked gruffly. ‘Ain’t nobody gonna come in. Just you and me, so you can take your pretty little jeans off.’ When Eric hesitated again, Merwin smirked and added, ‘Unless you’re going commando. Is that what this is? Or you wearing a thong, or some little tighty whities?’

‘No,’ said Eric in a strained voice. ‘Just normal briefs –’

‘Well fuck, what’s your problem, then?’ said Merwin. ‘They’re just like shorts.’

Eric surveyed Merwin for a long moment. He remembered Rachel laughing when he’d said he wanted a tattoo. He thought about how much god damn time he’d wasted walking up and down the street this past week like an idiot. So he nodded.

‘Fine,’ he said in a strained voice. He slipped down from the chair, as Merwin clapped his hands on his knees and said, ‘Atta boy.’

Eric turned his back to him and removed his boots. He reached for his leather belt, undoing the buckle and then unzipping his fly slowly. He glanced back to see Merwin watching him. The flush returned to the back of Eric’s neck, and he pushed on the waistline of his jeans and pulled them down, stepping out of them to reveal tight black briefs. He turned to see Merwin glance down, just once, but he said nothing.

‘Ain’t that better?’ Merwin mused, his voice low, his eyes flashing. ‘Hop back up, then.’

Eric did as he was instructed and settled back on the reclined chair. Merwin turned to stub out his cigarette, and then stood next to Eric to look down at his thigh. As Eric watched his eyes, he was grateful that Merwin was focusing on his thigh and not the prosthesis.

‘So. You said you always wanted one on your leg. That means you must have had some idea of what you’d want. Even a vague idea, like shit – I don’t know – ponies or flowers, or something –’

‘Is that the first thing that comes to mind when you look at me?’ Eric demanded. ‘Rainbow sprinkles, ponies and flowers?’

Merwin laughed at that. ‘I do a lot of ponies,’ he said. ‘I ain’t judging. And that definitely ain’t the first thing that comes to mind when I look at you.’

Eric met his eye. ‘Care to share?’

Merwin’s eyes roved ever so quickly back to Eric’s crotch again, and then he turned back to study his thigh. ‘So come on – anything you’ve thought about?’

Eric glanced down at his bare legs now outstretched before him on the recliner.

‘Caelus,’ he said.

‘The fuck is that?’

Eric raised his eyes to him. ‘He was my dog,’ Eric explained. ‘I raised him from a puppy.’

‘Your baby then, huh?’

Eric nodded.

Merwin brandished his tattooed forearm. ‘I have a thing for dog’s myself,’ he smirked. ‘What kind was he?’

‘A golden retriever.’

Merwin laughed. ‘Of course he was.’

Eric frowned. ‘Why do you say that?’

‘Well, look at you.’

Eric shook his head, nonplussed. Merwin rolled his eyes. ‘You know what I mean. Puppy dog eyes and soft blonde hair you wanna run your fingers through.’

Eric tilted his head slightly. ‘You want to run your fingers through my hair?’ He caught Merwin’s cologne again as the man stood close.

The side of Merwin’s mouth twitched. ‘It looks fucking good to grab, is all I’m saying, Colonel.’

Eric felt himself heat. Beneath the briefs, his cock twitched and his face flushed as he suddenly realised Merwin might see it. But the man’s eyes were back on his thigh.

‘Fuck it,’ he said. ‘Caelus it is. You ain’t got a picture in your wallet or anything?’

‘No,’ said Eric.

‘We can just do some fancy ass text for his name if you want?’

Eric nodded.

Merwin moved closer to Eric’s side, and he put his hand on his thigh now. Eric swallowed.

‘So what you thinking for positioning?’ Merwin mused in a low voice, his finger trailing over the skin on Eric’s thigh. ‘We can put it closer to the knee, down here,’ he said, caressing the skin to demonstrate where he meant, ‘or we can go inside the thigh up here –’ He moved his finger slowly. Eric felt his cock twitch again, and he quickly said, ‘Further down is fine.’

‘You sure?’ Merwin asked, lifting his eyes now. He’d moved closer and there was something else there, now. A glisten. He smirked, and his tongue came out again slowly to wet his lips. ‘Depends how close you want Caelus to your cock, I guess.’ He laughed.

Eric shifted on the table a little, maintaining Merwin’s gaze as he inwardly begged for Merwin not to glance down.

But he’s gonna be tattooing right next to it in a second, his head – oh fuck, his head is gonna be so close –

Eric abruptly straightened on the seat.

‘You know what,’ said Eric quickly. ‘I think – I think I’ll have it on my arm instead –’

‘Sit the fuck down, Colonel,’ said Merwin firmly. ‘Tattoos are for life. There ain’t no compromise. You said you wanted leg, so we’re doing leg. The fuck is wrong with you?’

Eric lay back down. He risked a glance to see that his black briefs still lay undisturbed.

‘Just give me a sec to get the design sorted,’ Merwin said, turning away from him now. ‘Then we can get going.’

‘Can I use your bathroom?’ said Eric suddenly.

‘Sure. This door here.’

Eric looked by him to the black door he gestured to. He reached behind him for his jeans, but Merwin said, ‘There ain’t no windows, it’s further down the hall. No need to put your pants back on.’ He smirked.

Eric was too flustered to disagree, so he moved swiftly by Merwin before quickly pulling open the door and moving hurriedly down the dimly lit corridor. The door for the bathroom soon came up, and Eric hastily shoved it open and fell inside, locking it behind him.

‘Shit,’ he breathed.

He turned. The room was just one stall with a small sink and a grimy mirror above. Eric moved over to the stall, knowing that he had to do something – and quickly – for a release.

His cock was now hard, straining at his briefs, and Eric hurriedly tugged at the front of the cotton to release it. He grabbed it in his hand and feverishly began pumping, remembering Merwin’s soft fingers in his as he shook his hand, imagining those fingers now doing what Eric was doing to his cock, and he moved faster, letting out a soft groan as he remembered Merwin’s tongue glistening along his lip, imagining what else that tongue could do –

Eric came with a soft cry. He leaned against the wall of the stall, panting heavily, and quickly grabbed some of the toilet paper to clean up the mess he’d made. When he was finished, Eric straightened his shorts and glanced quickly in the mirror, his swept-back hair now falling a little into his face. Eric pushed it back.

Soft blonde hair you wanna run your fingers through…

Eric shook his head and tried to dispel the image of Merwin’s fingers, before unlocking the door and heaving it open. When Eric emerged back in the room, Merwin was back on his stool by the recliner holding the design in his hand. He didn’t turn when Eric came back in, messing with the slip of paper, and Eric settled back onto the recliner. Merwin didn’t say anything, his eyes fixed again on Eric’s thigh, frowning slightly now as though contemplating.

‘How you like this?’ Merwin asked. ‘I never asked what kinda script you were looking for, so I thought I’d do my own thing.’

Eric was instantly concerned it would be the same ‘Yo Momma’ graffiti script he’d seen out in reception, but he was surprised to see the flowing black arrangement Merwin had made. It was delicate, pleasant. Eric suddenly felt more confident.

‘That’s – really great,’ Eric admitted.

‘You surprised, Colonel?’

‘No, it’s just –’

But Merwin was smirking. He leaned forward again and Eric felt his fingers graze his skin once more as Merwin positioned the template on his thigh above the knee. He peeled it away, surveying it. He pushed the stool back and said, ‘You wanna take a look in the mirror?’

‘No, it’s fine,’ said Eric quickly.

‘You should stand up and take a proper look –’

Eric looked down at the tattoo, upside down from where he surveyed, but he liked it. The flowing script moved across the top of his thigh centrally. Not too big, not too much.

‘It looks great,’ Eric said.

Shit. You’re really doing this.

‘All right,’ said Merwin slowly, ‘if you don’t wanna stand up…’ He turned to pull the small table closer to him. ‘Now, you gotta tell me if you don’t feel right or you gonna pass out. All right? This is your first time, so I don’t know how this is gonna go –’

‘Just do it,’ ordered Eric, placing his head back against the seat cushion and staring up at the ceiling fan.

The tattoo gun began buzzing and Eric clenched.

‘All good?’

‘All good.’

Eric gasped as the needle made contact with his skin. His thigh immediately felt painfully sensitive – ticklish even – as Merwin drew the needle across his skin. It felt sharp, it felt like a deep, penetrating scratch, it felt – painful but… nice?

Eric lifted his head to look at Merwin work. The man was hunched over, his eyes fixed on the needle as it moved along the elegant script. He stopped and wiped, drew the needle over some more, stopped and wiped. Merwin’s other hand moved up to the higher point on Eric’s thigh to rest there, steady his leg, as he worked. Eric felt a warmth around his crotch again. Did he… did he like the feeling of the needle? It hurt – shit, did it hurt, it was so sensitive – but… watching Merwin move the needle, feeling Merwin move the needle and his soft, almost intimate wiping of the blood and excess ink away as he worked… Eric felt his cock twitch again as he surveyed the man, felt his hands on his skin. And now there was nothing he could do about it, he couldn’t risk jumping up in the middle of the design, couldn’t risk leaving with half a design done. He felt his cock grow hard as he watched Merwin’s hands closely, once again imagining them running through his hair, running just a little bit further up his thigh –

Merwin stopped and looked up at Eric. His eyes focused only on his face.

‘You feeling good?’

‘Yeah,’ said Eric, rather breathlessly. Then he cleared his throat. ‘Yeah.’

‘You want me to stop?’

Eric shook his head. ‘Don’t stop.’

Merwin nodded and then when his eyes moved to turn back to the tattoo, they halted at Eric’s crotch. His gaze lingered there a moment, and Eric felt himself grow even more hard under Merwin’s gaze. A small smirk perked up at the corner of Merwin’s mouth as he drew his eyes slowly back to the tattoo. The needle began buzzing again, but now, Merwin’s free hand resting on Eric’s thigh clutched a little tighter and moved an inch further up. Eric let out a soft breath that he was relieved couldn’t be heard over the buzzing of the needle.

They said nothing more as Eric watched Merwin continue the tattoo. Merwin didn’t raise his eyes from his work, didn’t say another word or even look at Eric again the whole time he worked. But that other hand… it clenched a little tighter, drifted a little higher, and Eric couldn’t even hope to hide it now. His groin ached with the weight of it, and he even let out a soft moan of desperation as Merwin’s hand stopped at the top point of his thigh. Eric threw his head back and closed his eyes.

Shit.

After what seemed like an eternity – an aching eternity of Merwin’s damn hand resting on his thigh – the needle stopped buzzing and Eric felt Merwin wipe gently across his skin. Eric dared to raise his head again to watch Merwin study the finished tattoo. He said nothing about the hard cock now tenting Eric’s briefs as he reached across to the table beside him and collected some wrapping.

‘What do you think, Colonel?’ he said, his voice low and husky, his eyes still not looking at Eric as he began picking at the corner of the wrapping.

Eric moved his eyes down to the black script on his skin. ‘It’s – it’s just what I wanted,’ he said in a tight voice.

Merwin leaned forward and lifted Eric’s leg slightly to wrap the film around, his fingers deft.

‘You sure?’ Merwin said quietly. ‘Because by the look of the hard on you got going on, I’d say there’s something else you want.’

Eric stared at him. Merwin continued to wrap the tattoo slowly, painfully slowly, until eventually his eyes came back up to Eric’s.

‘You want me to wrap my lips around that hard cock of yours, Colonel?’

‘Fuck yes,’ Eric breathed.

Merwin smirked slightly again. ‘Just be careful you don’t move your leg,’ he said with a wink. ‘Let it settle, you know?’

He pulled the stool closer to the chair. Merwin reached across and pulled down the briefs, releasing Eric’s cock.

‘Fuck,’ Merwin muttered, his eyes trailing over it. ‘You’re fucking big, Colonel.’

Eric closed his eyes at the growl in Merwin’s voice, and titled his head back, feeling ecstasy even just at his words. And then he felt Merwin grab his cock and he let out a gasp, as the man stroked his fingers along the shaft and then drifted his tongue across it.

‘Oh shit,’ Eric moaned.

And then Merwin took Eric’s cock full in his mouth, pumping it with his hand while he licked the tip of it, sucking, stroking. Eric’s groin heated, ached, as he let out a desperate groan as Merwin worked his cock faster, Eric feeling the tip stroke the inside of Merwin’s mouth, reach the back of his throat, his tongue cradling the hard shaft.

‘You behave like this with all your clients, Merwin?’ Eric managed to demand breathlessly.

In response, Merwin took a longer drag on Eric’s cock, sucking tight, as Eric gripped the sides of the leather chair and cried out as he came in Merwin’s mouth. He lay there desperately for a long moment, as both his cock and his tattooed thigh throbbed at the movement, until he lifted his head and looked down at Merwin leaning smugly across his crotch.