Chapter 22 The Forge of Lovers #2
"Kenji!" She was half-laughing, half-squealing as I closed the distance. "Wait—no—"
I caught her around the waist, pulling her against me as we both went under for a second.
When we surfaced, she was gasping and laughing.
Water streamed down both our faces.
"You can't escape me, Tora." I turned her in my arms so she faced me, her body pressed against mine. "Did you really think you could?"
"I had to try." Her arms came around my neck, her legs floated up to wrap around my hips. "It's the principle of the thing."
"Mmm." I slid my hands down her back, feeling the slick warmth of her skin, the curve of her spine. "And what principle is that?"
"That I don't make it easy for dragons to catch me."
"You made it very easy." I nipped at her bottom lip. "You wanted to be caught."
"Maybe." Her fingers threaded into my wet hair. "Maybe I like being your treasure."
Something in my chest cracked open at those words.
I claimed her mouth, devouring her like a starving man. The taste of salt and sunshine on her lips mingled with something darker, more primal—the taste of need and possession.
She surrendered with a desperate whimper, her mouth opening beneath the force of my hunger, her tongue meeting mine in a savage dance that sent liquid fire coursing through my veins and pooling molten steel in my core.
The water held us suspended, weightless, and I let myself drown in her.
In the taste of her mouth.
In the feel of her body pressed against mine.
In the way she made small sounds of pleasure that drove me insane.
My hands roamed over her slick skin. Down her back, tracing every vertebra. Over the curve of her ass, feeling the way the bikini bottoms hugged her. Up to her waist, my thumbs brushing the underside of her breasts.
She moaned into my mouth, her fingers tugging at my hair.
"Kenji. . ."
"I know, Tora." I kissed down her jaw, her neck, finding that spot below her ear that made her shiver. "You want this cock?"
“Y-yes.”
“Mmmm.” I bit down gently on the tender skin, marking her again, adding to the collection of bites I'd already left.
“Jesus.” She gasped and her nails dug into my shoulders. "You're obsessed with biting me."
I licked the spot I'd just bitten. "You’re mine to bite, Tora."
She blinked up at me, lips swollen, breathing hard. “Then it’s only fair for me to do the same.”
I quirked my brows.
Her hands slid up my shoulders and smoothed along the corded muscles. Seconds later, she leaned forward and pressed her mouth against the curve where neck met shoulder.
Oh fuck.
I felt the soft heat of her lips first, then the sharp sting of teeth sinking into my flesh.
A low growl tore from my throat. “Tora. . .”
Pain and pleasure fused in an electric burst that went straight to my cock.
The bite wasn’t cruel.
It was claiming.
Lusty possession written in teeth and saltwater.
She didn’t release me right away. Her jaw tightened. Her breath grew hot against my skin, and I felt her tongue flick over the mark before she finally pulled back.
“Mmm.” My pulse roared in my ears. Every nerve in my body fired at once. “We may not go back to the main island at all. We may just stay here forever, taking turns biting each other.”
She smiled. “I wouldn’t mind disappearing here with you.”
I looked down at the bite she’d made. Just above the black ink of my dragon tattoo where the scales curled over my shoulder, her bite decorated my skin. It was a perfect crescent.
Her claim.
I reached up and touched the bite with two fingers. The skin there throbbed—warm, tender, and alive.
No woman had ever dared.
They’d admired the tattoos, traced the dragons, whispered about the myths inked into my flesh. But none of them had ever left something of themselves behind.
They wouldn’t have risked it.
The Dragon wasn’t meant to be marked.
He was the one who branded others—devoured, possessed, never possessed himself.
Until her.
The ocean breeze brushed the wound and it stung, just enough to remind me it was real.
I looked back at her.
The sunlight danced off her wet skin, and she chuckled, unaware of how much that small act had undone me.
I caught her face between my hands, rougher this time. “You have no idea what that did to me.”
“Oh, I think I do.” Her voice was a whisper against my mouth. “I could feel you shivering.”
“The Dragon doesn’t shiver.”
“Bullshit.”
I kissed her again, and I swore the ocean forgot how to move.
Waves lapped around us, shallow and slow, as if even the water didn’t want to disturb what we were becoming.
I wanted her. Not just the taste of her mouth or the heat of her skin. I wanted the sound of her breath breaking against my neck, the tremor of her thighs tightening around my waist, the part of her that trusted me even when she shouldn’t.
But there were still too many eyes on us.
Even from the periphery, I could feel the gazes of my guards—professionally cold, but there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Protecting.
Intruding.
Nyomi didn’t notice them. Not yet. She was too lost in the water, the sunlight, the illusion of peace, and the sensuality of us.
But I felt every shadow.
I turned my head slightly toward the shoreline. One of my best—Iori—stood at the far end of the beach, black suit rolled to his elbows, dark sunglasses cutting the glare.
I met his gaze and gave the smallest nod.
He straightened, and one hand went to the mic clipped at his collar. Then, he whispered a command.
In seconds, everything changed.
The other guards began to move—not abruptly, but in a carefully choreographed withdrawal. Two shifted toward the edge of the palm grove, several more on the other side. Near the pavilion, several guards ushered the staff quietly away.
Nyomi blinked and turned, sensing the sudden stillness. "What's going on?"
"They're giving us privacy."
Her brows lifted. "Just from your nod?"
"They're repositioning—far enough for discretion, close enough to respond if needed." I traced her collarbone. "My best guards know what I want."
Her mouth parted in disbelief, then curved into a smirk. "So basically, your guards know you're horny?"
I couldn't help the low laugh that escaped me. "Naughty Tiger."
Her laughter bubbled in response, soft and dangerous. “You’re ridiculous.”
“How?”
“You didn’t have to send the guards away. They can totally watch us.”
Her words hit somewhere low in my gut, where want lived beside madness. “Watch us, Tora?”
“Yes.”
“You love to tempt danger.”
“Actually, what I would like you to do is take me over to the beach while the guards are watching. I’ll take off my bikini bottoms and get on all fours, and you can eat me from behind.
Let’s give them all a show.” Nyomi grinned, the kind of smile that told me she was testing me, pressing into the edges of control just to see what would happen.
A tremor of anticipation shook through me at her boldness.
Her words painted explicit images in my mind, and as the heat of desire pulsed in my veins, I could almost taste the sweetness that awaited me. The thought of her bare ass up in the air, her pussy exposed from the back.
It all sent a delicious ache through my spine.
My vision darkened.
I’d eat her ass good too, make her hands claw into the sand while the warm breeze whistled past us.
I could already taste her wetness on my tongue.
The thought of the guards watching me lapping at that sweet pussy from behind, placed an edge to the intoxicating scenario playing in my mind. A wicked thrill twisted around my spine, a coil winding tighter with each beat of my heart.
It was a perverse feeling that I would have welcomed with any other women, but she was my Tiger.
No one could see her naked body.
And definitely no one could hear her moan.
I frowned. “They can watch, Tora, but afterwards, you will watch them die one by one.”
She blinked. “You just straight up splashed cold water on the dirty talk.”
“I’m just telling you the facts of the situation.”
“That is not sexy. I’m giving you dirty talk. You’re giving me homicidal maniac talk.”
“It is what it is, Tora. Now back to me licking your pussy as you balance on all fours.”
“Well. . .I like the sound of that.”
“You do, Tora?”
“Yes. Plus, if you lick it good, I just might give you some pussy.”
A dark chuckle left me. “I’m taking that pussy whether you give it to me or not.”
“Oh really?”
“It’s mine.” I kissed her again—harder this time, no hesitation, no pretense of civility. Her lips parted on a moan, and I swallowed the sound, tasting salt and heat.
My hands slid up her sides, over wet skin, her ribs expanding against my palms with every breath. The water rippled around us as she pressed closer, her thighs brushing mine beneath the surface.
When we finally broke apart, her lips were swollen, her eyes wild. “Kenji. . .”
I checked the island.
Everyone had dispersed far to the back. I could still see the guards and staff, yet they had their backs to us.
Only the sea birds and the wind remained.
We were as alone as we could ever be in this chaotic world.
I turned back to her and without another word, I carried her to the shore. “Let’s see how loud I can make my Tiger moan today.”
A shiver ran through her.
Soon, water receded from our bodies, replaced by the warm sun's rays, and sand smoothed beneath my feet. Every step I took brought us closer to the blanket spread out invitingly on the shoreline.
When we got there, I laid her down, and the light fabric of the blanket billowed up with the breeze.
Some of her braids fanned out beneath her, and they were a dark halo setting off her radiance.
"Comfortable?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Very.” Chuckling, she pulled me down until we were chest to chest, the thin barrier of her bikini top was the only thing separating our bare skin.
I captured her lips in a searing kiss. Our tongues tangled together in a dance as old as time, and her hands clung to my shoulders. When I pulled back to catch my breath, the sight of her beneath me made me pause.