Chapter 28 Fear and Steam
Chapter twenty-eight
Fear and Steam
Nyomi
Something is wrong.
The thought didn't hit me in the shower. It hit me the moment Reo and Hiro walked in wearing all black. The shower was just where I let myself feel it.
Hot water pounded against my skin. Steam rose in thick clouds around me. But my body had already made its decision before my mind caught up.
And it wasn’t just that I was good at reading people. I was a Black woman with that skill that many of us had. That instinct honed from years of walking into spaces we were not welcome in, and immediately knowing the temperature.
Knowing who was safe.
Knowing who was pretending.
Knowing when the energy shifted before a single word confirmed it.
My mother called it discernment. My grandmother called it the gift. My girls back home just called it fuck-around-and-find-out-energy.
Regardless, I knew something was wrong the second I saw Reo's clothes and boots.
Those weren't his usual shoes. Plus, they were laced tight for speed.
For running.
For kicking.
The tactical pants had reinforced knees, and one didn’t wear pants like that unless they were expecting to hit the ground. His shoulders had been pulled up near his ears, his jaw had been grinding behind closed lips, and worry sat in the corners of his eyes.
Reo was a man preparing for violence.
And Hiro had validated that by walking in and wearing the same combat gear with that black lollipop between his teeth.
Warm water beat down on my shoulders.
I pressed my palms flat against the tile and let the heat sink into my hands.
My breathing was steady but my mind was racing, sorting through everything I'd seen in those few seconds, cataloging it the way I always did — automatically, compulsively, because the alternative was being caught off guard, and so many Black women in this world didn’t survive so much by being caught off guard.
Reo had told me about the movie theater. The popcorn machine. My hairstylist waiting in the VIP section. He'd said it gently, but I'd heard what he didn't say.
We need you somewhere contained where we know exactly where you are when shit goes down.
The movie theater wasn't entertainment. It was a holding pen dressed in kindness.
I closed my eyes and tried to calm the panic clawing its way up my throat.
Was there an attack coming to the island?
Had something happened with the Fox?
Were we in danger right now?
Then huge hands wrapped around me from behind. Every nerve in my body fired at once. My weight shifted forward. My hands came off the tile.
I was half a second from swinging an elbow when the size and familiarity of those hands registered and those strong arms pulled me back against a solid muscular chest.
Kenji.
I still jumped a little.
His low chuckle rumbled against my ear, but his arms encircled me with such fierce possession that my breath caught. His muscles were coiled steel beneath hot skin, trembling with barely restrained power as if he'd tear apart anyone who dared try to separate us.
"My little scaredy cat." With his lips, he brushed the sensitive spot below my ear.
Mmmm.
As always, he was so fucking sexy. But today the playfulness was a veneer. Delicate silk wrapping over a samurai's blade.
My voice came out breathless. "I didn't even hear you come in the shower."
Kenji's mouth brushed the shell of my ear. "I wouldn't be the Dragon if you had heard me."
Slowly, I turned in his arms and looked up at him.
Oh shit. . .
Kenji’s eyes weren't human anymore. Black pupils had swallowed the warm brown irises I loved, leaving only obsidian pools that reflected nothing back.
The muscles in his jaw pulsed beneath his skin. His nostrils flared with each breath. This wasn't just anger or violence—this was bloodlust radiating from him in waves so thick I could taste metal on my tongue.
He wasn't just ready to hurt someone. He was already killing them in his mind.
And behind him, rising up through the steam, was the dragon shadow.
Holy shit.
My breath caught.
I'd seen the beastly shadow before. Felt its presence in the room when Kenji's emotions ran high. It usually looked wispy, faded, and similar to smoke.
But not now.
Today, the dragon-shadow was solid black.
Dark as ink.
It hovered over us and took up the entire back of the shower.
And its eyes. . .
They were red embers, glowing.
I'd never seen it like this.
Then the dragon-shadow moved his head and those ember eyes focused on me.
My skin prickled with heat.
It was so terrifying to have his attention.
I pulled my eyes away from the dragon-shadow and back to the man.
Water ran down Kenji's gorgeous face. Steam clung to the tattoos on his muscular chest and arms, and for a split second, I thought I saw even the inked dragons move on his skin, preparing for war.
I blinked and looked back at Kenji. “What’s going on?"
Kenji's jaw tightened. "We've got my father's location."
The words slammed into me.
My chest constricted. My heart kicked into overdrive. Fear flooded my system so fast I felt dizzy. My hands started shaking against his wet skin, and I couldn't stop them.
Stay calm.
I swallowed. "How many people are you taking with you?"
"Forty."
“Can you take more?”
“More would bring too much attention.”
"I need you to take a full military." The words tumbled out of me. "Take everyone. Take all the men. Take the Fangs and the Claws and everyone else."
That mask of death cracked and he smiled. “You want me safe.”
“Of course.”
"I understand, Tora, but where we are going, too many people will bring attention. We're going to have to slip as many as we can in without being noticed."
“Okay. . .”
“You have more questions?”
“Of course but. . .I know you don’t have the time to answer—”
“Ask me anything, Tora. You’re my Heart. It needs to be calm.”
I bit my lip. "At your father’s location. . .how many do you think will be there?"
"I'm not sure at this time."
My stomach dropped. "What if this is a trap?"
"It could be, but we're ready for it. This won't be the first time we've walked into traps. We're ready. We're going to kill them."
"You're. . .confident."
"Of course I'm confident." He smiled. A real smile that reached his eyes. "I have my dragon-shadow with me."
I didn't smile back. I couldn't. Because all I could see was that shadow looming behind him.
Massive.
Dark.
Ready to devour.
Frowning, I looked up at it.
Kenji raised his eyebrows. "You can see it right now?"
"Yeah." I swallowed hard. "He's big. He's taking up the majority of the wall and the shower. And he's dark. Darker than ever. And. . .his eyes look red."
Kenji followed my gaze to the shadow. Then he looked back at me. “Red?”
“Yes. I didn’t even know he could get this dark or his eyes would look that way.”
"Then, my dragon is ready for war too."
I trembled. “Yes.”
Kenji’s smile widened, while my mind screamed at me to beg him not to go.
Yesterday had been so perfect romance with omakase, sensuality immersed within fire play.
I'd felt so close to him.
So connected.
We'd been falling deeper in love with every breath.
And now he was leaving, heading for war.
I'd known this life would be dangerous. I'd known there would be moments like this. But I never realized how terrifying it would feel to stand next to him right now. To see the dragon-shadow writhing behind him.
To know that in a few hours he could be dead.
The pain of this dread was physical. A knife twisting in my chest.
My throat closed up, and I wanted to cry.
Wanted to scream.
Wanted to tell him how much I hated this.
How much I didn't want him to go.
But I didn't say any of it.
Because he needed to focus. He needed to be sharp, ready, and unafraid. And if I broke down right now, if I cried, begged, and made this harder for him, I'd be putting him in danger.
So I swallowed the fear, the tears, and the desperate plea sitting on my tongue.
I looked up at him. "What can I do?"
Kenji's expression softened. His hands came up to frame my face, and his thumbs brushed across my cheekbones. "You're doing it right now, being here for me is everything I need to win."
I shook my head. "I want to do more."
"You’re scared.”
My bottom lip quivered.
“I can see it in your eyes, but you're standing here with me anyway. You're not running. You're not breaking. You’re not stressing me the fuck out. My Heart is steady."
My eyes watered and my vision blurred.
"Don't worry, Tora." His forehead pressed against mine. "You have shown me a love I've never known. And because of that, I will fight my way back to you. Through blood. Through death. Through impossibilities. I'm coming back to this island. . .I'm coming back to you."
Tears slipped down my cheeks.
I was still terrified. Still shaking. Still convinced that this was the worst idea in the world, but I nodded.
Kenji kissed me. His mouth claimed mine with a tenderness that made my heart ache, but within seconds that gentleness transformed into thundering possession.
I moaned.
His fingers tangled with my wet braids, gripping tight enough to send shivers down my spine as he tilted my head back. When his tongue swept against mine, the world disappeared, and I surrendered completely. Even as fear clawed at my insides, heat blazed through me, turning my blood to liquid fire.
Then, his hard cock pressed against my stomach—thick and ready.
Mmmm.
I needed him so bad right now.
Needed to feel him before he left me.
Needed to know that right now, in this moment, he was still here.
Still mine.
Still safe.
Still alive.
As if he heard me, he dropped his hands to my thighs and easily lifted me. “Naughty Tiger.”
My back hit the cold tile wall, and I gasped. My legs wrapped around his waist automatically, and seconds later his cock was right there.
Right at my pussy’s entrance.
Throbbing.
Demanding.
Breathless, I whispered, "Kenji, fuck me."
“You thought I wouldn’t?” He pushed inside me in one hard thrust.
“Oh.”
"You thought I would march to war without branding this pussy?"
A strangled cry escaped me as he filled me completely, stretching me to the point of exquisite pain.
He nibbled at my bottom lip and fucked me with no mercy, all I could do was hold on. "I’m going to mark you so deeply you'll feel me while I'm gone."
“Oh!”
“I want this pussy to ache the whole time.”
“Kenji!”
“Are you going to ache for me, Tora?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Fuck yes!”
“Good little Tiger.”
“Oh!”
"Fuck," Kenji groaned and slowed his pace to deep rolls of his hips that had his cock hitting my g-spot perfectly with every stroke.
The water pounded down on us, and steam filled the air, and all I could feel was him. All I could think about was the way he was holding me. The way he was moving inside me. The way his breath hitched every time my pussy clenched around him.
And so deranged with lust, I leaned forward and licked the spot on his shoulder where I'd bitten him during fire play.
He growled.
I lapped again. The skin was still slightly raised and absolutely marked.
Kenji shuddered. “Oh, Tora.”
"Bite me," I whispered against his ear.
“Careful.”
"Please."
He groaned.
But all I could think was that maybe my blood would help him. Maybe if he took a piece of me with him, it would keep him safe.
“So naughty.” His mouth dropped to my neck. His teeth sank into the soft skin where my shoulder met my throat, and then they pierced me.
“Oh fuck!” I gasped.
The pain bloomed crimson behind my eyelids before dissolving into a pleasure so forbidden it made my toes curl. My inner walls convulsed around his thickness, gripping him like I'd never let go. Kenji's answering groan vibrated against my punctured skin.
That’s right. Take it.
He sucked with savage hunger, drawing my essence into himself.
Marking me.
Claiming my soul.
Behind him, the dragon-shadow's ember eyes flared white-hot for a single second. As if it tasted what Kenji tasted.
When he pulled back, drops of my blood dotted his teeth.
The bite still ached. "I love you."
Kenji's eyes went darker. "I love you, Nyomi. So fucking much. There will never be anyone else in this lifetime or next that could ever have my heart."
He started fucking me again. Faster now. Harder. His hips brutally snapped against mine, and I felt the possessive force of it all the way through my body.
The sound of our skin meeting echoed in the shower.
Slick flesh colliding.
Wet.
Obscene.
Perfect.
I buried my face in his neck and held on. My nails dug into his shoulders. My thighs squeezed his waist. And I let myself feel everything.
The fear.
The love.
The desperate need to keep him here with me forever.
"Kenji," I gasped. "I'm going to cum."
"Fuck yes. Cum for me, Tora." His voice was rough and wrecked. "Cum hard on my cock."
I shattered.
The orgasm blazed and set me on fire. My whole body seized up, and I screamed his name. An inferno of scorching pleasure exploded behind my eyes, and I felt myself clench around him over and over. Molten flames crashed into me, burning me away and turning me into a devastating liquid mess.
Kenji groaned and thrust into me one last time.
Deep.
So deep I felt him everywhere, even in my soul.
And then he was coming too.
His cock violently pulsed inside me and the heat of him spilled into me. "Fuck. Nyomi."
We stayed like that for a long moment in the shower. Breathing hard. Clinging to each other. The water still beating down on us. The steam still rising.
Finally, Kenji set me down gently. My legs were shaking, and he held me steady until I found my balance.
Oh my God.
I looked up at him.
The dragon-shadow was still there.
Still dark.
Still massive.
But Kenji was smiling at me. And for just a second, I let myself believe that everything would be okay.
That he would come back to me.
That we would survive this.
But will we?