Actually you know what I am in fact still thinking about this…
“Do you know what these mean?”
Shane sat on the edge of Ilya’s bed, the other man standing in front of him with his fingers laced through the hair on the back of Shane’s head. With a small push, Ilya sent Shane’s gaze downwards, towards the long, strong lines of Ilya’s bare legs. Shane’s eyes eventually settled on the eight-pointed stars tattooed on each of Ilya’s knees.
Of course Shane knew what they meant. In the weeks before he started his assignment, he had poured over every file available on bratva activity in Canada and the States, including hundreds of labeled photos of tattooed men. He knew that skulls meant a murder conviction, the Virgin Mary indicated being in prison from a young age, and stars…
“I don’t know, no,” Shane said, shaking his head. Ilya smiled, rubbing his fingers over the back of Shane’s head.
“You know Svetlana?” Ilya asked. “Her father gave these to me, a few days before my father died. The stars are for authority, and they are here…”
He tapped the skin of his knees, one after the other.
“To show I will get on my knees to no one. These will never be hidden.”
Ilya pulled on Shane’s hair again, sending his gaze back up to Ilya’s face.
“A little stupid, yes? I think they’re a little old fashioned, but it’s tradition.”
Ilya leaned in, kissing Shane quickly before he pulled back, dropping his fingers from Shane’s hair.
“I tell you this so you understand what it means, what I am about to do.”
Ilya sank to his knees, the ink on his skin suddenly hidden in the carpet. He reached forward, pulling at Shane’s waistband, flicking his eyes upwards to meet his gaze again.
“You are very important man,” Ilya grinned. “To bring a pakhan to his knees.”