Chapter Nine #3
I can’t help it. I hook a leg around his waist and then grab his face and force it down.
His lips are as soft and greedy as I remember, like he’s desperate all over again for me.
But I’m the one letting moans slip out of my mouth every time he sucks on my tongue.
And I’m the one hanging tightly to his shoulders, sinking my nails into his flesh.
All of my senses are focused on him. His breath, his growls, his mouth.
I love all of it. Even the sweat that slicks our bodies. I love…him.
Did I just realize I’m falling for him? I pull back, looking at that familiar face. He’s mine. Fuck, yeah, he is.
“Can I please put a fresh bite mark on you before I fucking explode?”
“Since when do you ask?” He looks at me, confused.
I grab his hand and suck his pinky inside my mouth, biting hard on the base until I’m sure I’ve left an imprint. “I was tied up like a piece of ham and used like a rag doll.”
“A piece of rabbit, and you loved it,” he counters, sliding his arm under my head as he lies down on his side on the bed.
“Fuck you!”
“Already did.” His sated dick resting against my lower thigh is proof enough.
“We are going to fuck till your cock falls off,” I let him know.
“Thank you for the heads-up.” He is this playful only when in a good mood. I feel proud of myself since I must be the reason why. Not Joel. Me.
“Ramen first, I’m starving. Then we can go back to the dick dropping.”
I hear him snort as I grab my phone from the nightstand to order takeout. After I do, I start researching Shibari. If I want to be the one tied but dominant, I need to study a little.
“How about the snail tie? It looks interesting.” I tilt my head to the left to better take in the position. “It says here that it is an easier-to-hold sex position when the ropes are supporting you.”
“Maybe next time.”
“So there’ll be a next time.” I start caressing his chest as I keep scrolling down the pictures.
“Wooo! How about this? Tie the right wrist to the right thigh, and the left wrist to the left thigh. If the receiving partner is a bit more flexible, try wrists to ankles. I’m super flexible, bunny.
We could do role-play. I could be the ravished one.
” I wink at him. He doesn’t respond, but his warm hand lands on my belly; the weight feels reassuring.
“I created a monster. We can do whatever you want,” he yields.
That’s what I like to hear. I’m forming a couple of erotic fantasies just by looking at these pictures.
“You’re all muscles, how is your skin so soft?” I ask him, mindlessly moving my palm over his abs.
“You never offered me plastic surgery,” he suddenly says, taking me completely by surprise. “For my face.”
I lower my phone to look at him. “Did you want it?”
He shakes his head. “Not even when people recoil at the sight.”
“Well point me to them, and I’ll maul them,” I hiss.
“You were never disgusted by my scars. You actually seem to like them.”
“I fucking do.” I prop my upper body on my elbows and give his left pec a long lick before biting it.
“Why?” His hand grabs the hair on my nape but doesn’t pull me away.
“I read somewhere that wounds are the passage where light shines through. If that’s the case, you are the most luminous person I know, River.” My fingers feel the scars. “You are…radiant.”
His eyes slightly widen. Lips part. His messy eyebrows frown slightly as our eyes lock, as if he’s trying to look for my motives. Then his mouth crushes down on mine. His whole body rolls over mine. Big, hot, and hungry for me.
This feeling of being with him, together like this, I don’t want to give it up for anything.
If someone had found him before me, would I still have been with him?
The thought makes me feel sick and turns me feral at the same time.
Because I’ve just discovered how deep my feelings are, I’ve just thrown myself into this pool of compli-fucking-cated emotions, and I’ll probably drown in it for him, as well.
Because I want us to become us. I don’t care how we get there. I don’t care if it’ll wreck me.
River
I’m waiting outside Kumicho’s hotel suite. She called me early this morning, ordering me to come see her. I left Aki still sleeping in his bed.
We’ve been trying new positions with Shibari; Aki is really fucking flexible and eager. The same guy that in uni asked me once if sex was overrated. He didn’t elaborate on it, but I discerned and later realized that he wasn’t a very carnal person.
Fuck, was I wrong.
In the last week, he’s become an expert at driving me insane. He is the most sensual tempter. Provocative, ingenious, and shameless. So damn shameless. A dangerous mix for my libido. And my heart.
He didn’t go on any dates in the last few days.
I didn’t ask him about it, not wanting to break the glass bubble I created around us.
We’ve been working as usual, dividing our time between the construction company and the more active family tasks.
Ling Wang has gone underground, but Masa is on it, and he’s confident he’ll find the fucker soon.
I hear from Joel every day; I even went to see him again—Aki invited himself too—and we met Focaccia, the cat he rescued, and then ate pizza together with Marco.
I felt the urge to punch the rude mobster a couple of times.
He’s a little too dominating with Joel, but my brother looks happy, and it could be good for the two organizations to more than tolerate each other.
So for now, I’ll just keep watching him.
Strangely, Aki behaved slightly less cheekily than usual. Having his body thoroughly satisfied thanks to all the fucking might have mellowed him a bit. Whenever we get alone behind closed doors, my dick finds its way inside that tight hole of his.
Since the off-limits veil has been removed and I’m allowed to touch him, just being in the same room together is hard on my control.
When I see him, I want to fix his thick messy locks, feel the smoothness of his skin on my lips, hook my thumb into the collar of his designer shirt, and pull him against me.
My need and desire for him are escalating.
Kumicho’s phone call this morning was the first crack in our bubble.
The door to her suite opens.
“River-san, dozo ohairi kudasai,” one of Kumicho’s men invites me in.
“Arigatou gozaimas,” I thank him.
The uneasiness I feel as I make my way inside the room is quite familiar. Kumicho welcomed me into the family, but never fully accepted me as part of her family. She took care of my education and daily expenses until I became a made man, but the skepticism in her eyes has never faded.
I head toward the sofa area where she’s sitting, wearing a blue kimono with the snake family pattern. She’s reading some documents while smoking a cigarette. The emblem of Hebikawa on her pinky ring reminds me of Aki’s.
“Kumicho.” I give her a deep bow.
“Gaijin,” she greets me without lifting her eyes from the papers.
I remain standing until she slowly lowers the documents—which one of her men in a suit take—flicks her cigarette into the ashtray—lifted in the air by another man—and then waves her hand at the other white sofa.
I sit, refusing anything to drink when another guy in a suit comes to ask me.
“Feel free to smoke if you want,” she tells me. She’s trying to make me feel comfortable before striking. I observed her in the past. I know her methods well.
“Thank you,” I reply, not making a move to get my pack out.
“You must be wondering why I called upon you alone.”
“Yes, Kumicho.” A phone call is her usual preference.
“I always liked your straightforwardness, so let me reciprocate.”
She never gives direct compliments. This must be serious.
“What have you been up to with my nephew?” Her brown eyes, the shape so similar to Aki’s, narrow on me.
“Work, mostly.” I learned from Aki about telling only half truths.
“Is that why my nephew hasn’t fixed a date with the next candidate yet?” She takes a puff from her cigarette while studying my face. I try to keep it blank, but her words are another crack in our bubble. I knew there was something fishy about the absence of suitors.
She doesn’t wait for my reply and keeps going. “The first suitor is the most logical option for now. She’s agreed to produce an heir and support Akira’s public image and work. She’ll benefit from it, and the family will as well. It’s a win-win. The perfect deal, don’t you agree?”
I grit my teeth. The words I force down taste bitter, like leaving a pill on the tip of my tongue.
My muscles shake from how hard I’m trying to control myself.
My scars are whispering to me to rip into pieces whoever tries to take Aki away from me.
He said my wounds let the light through but all I feel now seeping out is darkness and despair.
“My nephew doesn’t have the required emotional maturity to hold a relationship. A contract marriage will fit him well. You know how flakey he is. He gets fed up easily. Too easily, such a spoiled brat.”
“He can change,” I hazard. The need to defend him too strong. Even though I know she is partly right, I also know that Aki is capable of self-introspection and profound feelings.
“How do you know? Is he seeing someone?” She stubs her cig and turns her scrutinizing gaze on me again. “He told me he wasn’t last time I saw him.”
“No, he isn’t.” My own words stab my chest, shattering the bubble completely.
She huffs. “He needs stability. His impulsive behavior will kill him one of these days. The fear he instilled in the other bosses is good, but there should be some respect as well. He needs to prove himself.” She pauses, staring at me for a moment too long.
“Creating his own empire and bringing money to the organization is the first step, but he also needs solid foundations, connections, and people he can trust around him.”