Chapter 14 #2
Holy fuck!!!
When Kenji finally pulled back, the dragon-shadow dissolved into the air, yet its phantom heat lingered on my skin.
What was that?
My bottom lip quivered.
Kenji pressed his forehead against mine for a long moment. His breath came hard and uneven.
I lifted my hands and wiped his remaining tears with my thumbs.
One cheek.
Then the other.
My lips still tingled with the absence of his mouth, and my cheeks were wet with tears that were not mine.
He let out a long sigh. “I would walk through fire for you.”
“You don’t have to. I’m already yours.”
“And still I would do it. Let my skin burn. Hair and eyes melt. Bones crack and turn to ashes and dust.”
“Why would I want that?”
“The reason wouldn’t matter.” He tilted my chin up so I could not look anywhere but at him when he spoke the next words. “You’re my queen.”
I shivered.
He gathered me in his muscular arms and held me for an eternity within the sanctuary of his warmth.
All I could do was close my eyes and surrender to it.
Only then did I register the hollow ache in my own chest. The pain of grief. The heart-aching tremor that began at the nape of my neck and cascaded down my spine like falling dominoes.
The emotional release that finally came.
Then utter surprise at the fact that I had needed his comforting too, just as his Claws and he found release.
God. . .he is my safe space.
Tears fell from my eyes. My body shook and Kenji held me even closer.
Hiroko’s face hit my mind, and my tears shifted to sobs.
Oh fuck. . .
I’d barely known her, yet in that short time she’d become my mentor. She’d walked me through the entire architecture of how to survive in Kenji’s dark world and then taught me how to love a dragon.
How to make him kneel and still heal him.
She showed me how to be a queen too in just a sliver of time, yet. . .it felt like decades of memories and conversations. Maybe that was why I ached for her now like I had known her my whole life. What she had given me could not be measured in time.
And perhaps. . .that was why I cried too. . .because everything I had done tonight had come from her.
And she was not here to see it.
She would never be here to see it.
I shook against Kenji and cried some more, hating myself for losing control when this moment was supposed to be for them. I couldn’t stop. I cried into his chest for the friendship that had not lasted long enough. For the lessons I would never hear.
I cried until the pressure in my chest eased and I told myself that she was still here.
And when I finally lifted my head from Kenji’s chest, the space returned, and Reo approached.
Alright. Fix yourself. This is about them. Not you.
Before I could wipe my tears, Kenji did it for me.
I swallowed.
The Roar got right in front of me. I thought he was about to speak, but to my complete shock, he took me out of Kenji's hold and gently hugged me.
Oh.
I stiffened for a half-second.
He rubbed my back and whispered in my ear, "Thank you."
I could not form a sentence. I was too shocked. I just bobbed my head against his chest.
He let me go as cleanly as he had taken me from Kenji and then walked off, joining Toma, Kaede, and Daisuke as they departed too.
His waitress with the mac and cheese skewers followed.
I cleared my throat and called after them. "Head to the bar. We still have our remaining signature drinks, before we open up the ballroom for our other guests and have our sit-down dinner."
Reo lifted one hand in acknowledgment without turning around. “Yes, Heart. We’ll do anything you want.”
I blushed, turned to my right, and saw Hiro coming. He was no longer sobbing. His face was calm. His fur coat was off, and those sculpted muscles of his were rippling with his movement.
He stalked forward, and right when he got close, he took me in his arms too and held me hard. It was a full-body grip. His face went into the crook of my neck and he inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with my scent. "I love you so much, Tora."
I shivered in his hold. "I love you too."
"Thank you for this."
"You're welcome."
"I think this might have been good for me. The pressure is gone in my chest. I felt her close to me for the first time. The picture helped."
"Good."
Hiro lifted his head slowly and his eyes found Kenji, who was now frowning at him. "Can I kiss her, brother?"
Kenji sneered.
“Please.”
"Only on the cheek or forehead."
Hiro tilted his head. "Not on the lips?"
"Not unless you want your picture next to our brother's and some candles placed to honor your death."
A dark chuckle left Hiro.
Kenji did not laugh.
Hiro kissed me on my forehead.
I shivered.
Then, Hiro let me go and shrugged. "Death for a kiss with your Tiger? Not bad. Especially if her tongue is as sweet as I think it is. I might take that deal later tonight."
“And I’ll be true to my promise.” Kenji took my hand.
Hiro took the other.
And the three of us walked off together.
Hiro looked at me. "More signature drinks?"
“Yep. We still have Daisuke and the twins’ drinks.” I quirked my brows. “Do you think the twins are even still here?”
“Of course they are. They would never leave this party.”
“Do you think I pushed them too far?”
“How could you? You’re perfect and they know it.”
“They didn’t light a candle for their mother.”
“Because she didn’t deserve it.” Hiro looked forward. “But you putting her picture there was good because it acknowledged that you understood their pain and what they had gone through.”
“So you don’t think they will be angry with me?”
“No. They’ll just love you more.”
The bar glowed ahead of us. The flappers were already waiting as the bartender hurried around making the next drinks.
And just like Hiro had said, the twins stood—mirror images of each other—watching us all return to them.
But best of all. . .the twins were smiling.
Whew. Now all I have to do is finish this cocktail party, do the dinner, and we’re done.
I just prayed that the rest of the evening would go smoothly with no drama.