Chapter 19
Chapter nineteen
Cocoon
Nyomi
Naked, I woke up in the Dragon's muscular arms, and his body was closed around me in a way that left no space untouched. One arm was heavy across my waist. The other curled beneath my neck. His bicep was a thick pillow under my head, and his hand rested open against my shoulder.
Warmth radiated from his body.
His skin was tattooed-satin over hard muscle.
Sometime in the night, my body molded to his, deciding it fit too well to ever leave.
And I understood exactly why. It felt so perfect to be cocooned within him.
Every place our bodies touched was luxuriously intimate and possessive.
My back to his ribs. My hip to his thigh.
My foot hooked over his ankle. My ass to his cock.
With my eyes still closed, I breathed him in until my chest hurt—smoked sandalwood and burning ginger.
I matched my breath to his without thinking.
In and out.
In and out.
Outside, birds chirped. I could hear the rolling ocean underneath their melodies.
I would have given anything to freeze the morning at this exact frame—to press my hands against time itself and refuse its forward pull.
To remain caught in the Dragon’s heated hold before the fire reached us both.
To keep us here, suspended in this fragile pocket where the world paused and there was no oncoming battle in a deadly war.
But even as the desire formed, the seconds were already slipping away. Moments like this didn’t last. Maybe, they were never meant to, so that we could savor this sensation when it came. Truly appreciate it.
I can’t wake up any other way. . .anymore. I would die if I lost this.
The thought arrived without warning and lodged itself behind my ribs, pushing at my heart.
Relax. You’re not going to lose him. Not today. Not tomorrow. He will win this war.
I shivered and let out a long sigh.
His hand twitched in his sleep. The fingers at my waist flexed once and curled tighter.
Did you hear me in your dream? Are you on guard?
Smiling, I opened my eyes and slowly turned around.
His arms loosened a little to allow the movement. Once my head lay against his chest, those arms tightened around me again. A low murmur rumbled in his throat.
Deep.
Possessive.
The sound of a dragon settling back into his nest of gold.
I closed my eyes and sank deeper into his warmth.
I’m still changing.
It was an odd thought to have, yet it hit me just like that.
Inside the curve of him, my mind, heart, and soul were softening into a new shape.
I could feel it in my bones. In the way my body felt heavier and stronger at the same time. In the way my skin buzzed with more energy. In the way my pussy still ached from last night.
His strength was making me stronger. His love was making me bigger.
I was becoming something more than I had ever been, and it was terrifying and exciting all at once.
Kenji shifted with a slow expansion of his chest, much like a man surfacing from deep water. The muscles on his arms flexed around me and then settled heavier.
A soft groan left him.
I looked up at him.
His eyes remained closed.
Then his cock stirred against me.
Mmm. Good morning, Dragon.
I bit my lip and kept still. I wanted to feel every inch of him surface.
The way his breath deepened. The way one of his thighs slid further between mine, parting me just slightly.
The way his hand at my hip dragged downward in a slow, possessive sweep before settling against the curve of my ass and resting there like it had never belonged anywhere else.
His chest rose under my cheek.
Fell.
Rose again.
A low, slurred sound rumbled out of him. "Tora. . ."
Yet. . .his eyes were still closed.
I went still.
Are you dreaming?
He looked too peaceful to be awake. His lashes were heavy and dark against his skin. The hard line that lived between his brows softened. His mouth was relaxed.
"Tora, don’t. . ." he murmured, deeper this time. “I’m. . .sorry. . .”
A shiver climbed my spine.
Then his lashes lifted.
Slow.
Unhurried.
Sleep-heavy.
Next, those eyes found mine. He breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Tora. . .” He pulled me closer and then slid his muscular thigh up between mine until the heat of his hardening cock pressed firm against my belly.
He studied me. “You’re up.”
“I am.” I smiled against his chest. "Were you dreaming about me?"
He stared at me. The softness in his face did not crack, but the peace underneath did.
Silent seconds stretched.
My smile started to fade.
Why was he looking at me like this? Why wouldn't he answer? The silence kept extending and his eyes kept holding mine and my chest started to tighten.
"Kenji?"
He raised his hand to my face and stroked my lower lip slowly. "Yes. I was dreaming of you."
"What did you dream about?"
His thumb kept tracing my lip. His eyes searched mine like he was deciding whether to let me in to wherever he had just been. Then he spoke, and his voice was lower than usual. "There were white chrysanthemums around you."
"Flowers?"
"Endless." His thumb stilled against my mouth. "They stretched farther than I could see."
I saw it the way he must have seen it—a sea of white blossoms moving in the wind.
"And you were naked and on your knees. This dark lake was right in front of you.”
The image arrived in my mind before I could stop it. Me, naked and kneeling in a sea of white flowers that bent and swayed around my body while a lake rippled in front.
He frowned. "You were crying. No. Sobbing. So loud and so hard it looked like it hurt for you to breathe through it."
My heart ached as I saw myself sobbing in the field. Shoulders shaking. Mouth open. The kind of crying that wrecked the lungs.
I placed my hand on his chest. “And where were you?”
“Heading your way, but. . .I wasn’t a man. I was a huge dragon. Black and gold. And when I got close to you, I realized this horrible fact.”
“What?”
“You made that ocean with the steady stream of your tears. I got close and they were pouring into the water and expanding it along the flowers.” He moved his hand from my face and lowered to my hip. “And I began to call your name.”
“Tora.”
“Yes. Over and over, but you would not turn around.”
“You said sorry.”
He blinked. “How do you know that?”
“I heard you apologize.”
He studied me. “I blamed myself for your tears.”
“Why do you think you did that?”
“I don’t know.”
“I bet it wasn’t you that made me cry.”
He pursed his lips together.
“Do you know how I know?”
“How?”
“Because if you made me cry, I would not be making a lake of tears. I would be kicking your ass.”
He blinked and then he chuckled.
I winked.
He chuckled some more, low in his chest, and I felt it travel through his body and into mine.
Then second after second. . .his laugh quieted and his thumb brushed along my hip and stayed there. But his eyes had drifted past my shoulder, off to where the dream still lived.
Come back to me, Dragon.
I pressed my palm flat against his chest and relished in the rhythm of his heart. “It was just a dream. I’m here and I’m not crying. I’m happy.”
His gaze returned to me, and the shadow behind his eyes lifted a little.
"Besides," I caressed the dragon’s head tattooed on his chest. "I had a front row seat to the Dragon sleeping."
The corner of his mouth lifted. "You did."
"It was a fabulous show."
“A dangerous show too, Tora. I would not buy a future ticket.”
“It wasn’t a dangerous show.”
“It was.” A sleepy grin spread across his face. “Watching me in a state of rest. . .you learn too much. Knowledge is power, and you have quite enough over me already.”
“No. It’s not enough. I want full domination down to every cell.”
He licked his lips.
“Do you want to know what I learned this morning about the Dragon?”
“Tell me.”
“Even in your sleep. . .you hold me possessively.”
“You’re mine.”
Heat rose in my core. “You hold me tighter too. . .like you’re afraid something or someone might take me.”
The line of his jaw twitched, telling me that he didn’t like that I’d learned that. “But, that’s not fear.”
“Then, what is it?”
“Instinct.”
“Hmmm.” I smirked. “Or it is instinctual fear?”
“A dragon doesn’t fear, and a dragon doesn’t sleep without guarding what’s his.”
“Aww. What’s his.”
“Yes.” On my hip, his thumb drew a circle. “Even in a deep state of unconsciousness, my body. . .my arms. . .my hands. . .my heart. . .none of those will ever loosen their grip on what matters.”
A feeling of overwhelming delight rushed through me, and I fucking felt weightless from his love.
I rose up over him and slid my body along his. My thighs bracketed his hips as my hands came up to frame his face.
His eyes sharpened instantly and locked onto mine.
“Promise me something, Kenji.”
“Yes, Tora.”
I brushed my lip against his. “Don’t ever loosen that grip.”
“Promise.”
And I kissed him, pressing my mouth to his and drowning in the heat and hunger of us.
His lips parted beneath mine with a low, approving sound of yearning, and then his tongue was inside of my mouth.
Hot.
Wet.
Claiming.
Slipping.
Sliding.
I gasped into him.
God.
Groaning, he gripped my ass with both hands and squeezed.
And I rocked on him, letting out helpless moans.
He groaned into my mouth. “Tora. . .”
I lifted my mouth and watched him.
We stared at each other for a minute. Maybe two or even more. We were so in love, did time even matter? Did words even matter?
The bedroom held still around us.
Sunlight filled the space as the birds’ chirping rose. The world was waking up outside the window and we didn’t care.
In fact, we probably could have stayed just like that for days and not needed anything else.
Not food.
Not water.
Not anything, but us gazing into each other’s eyes and enjoying the warm silence between us.
I shivered.
He raised his eyebrows and I knew he was wondering what made me scared.
So I told him. “I’m fucking in love with you.”
Shock filled those eyes. Then, a silly grin hit his face. “We already knew this. Why did you tremble?”
“Because I’ve got it real bad for you. Real bad. Like. . .I might cut somebody over you. . .”
He shrugged. “I would definitely cut someone over you.”
“That’s different. You’re gangster. Like. . .the real deal. Prime grade bad ass motherfucker.”
The silly grin widened and I swore the Dragon may have blushed. If the Fangs and Claws saw him now, they might have laughed.
“Me.” I shook my head. “I am not gangster. But now that I’m with you. . .and with how much in love I am. . .I would cut someone and that’s new. It makes me uncomfortable.”
“You would never need to cut anyone over me.”
“I wouldn’t say that. You’ve got a whole baby mama with twins.”
Instantly, the grin left his face. “We don’t know if those are my twins.”
“But. . .they could be. . .”
“Tora. . .” He studied me. “Be careful with the rest of this conversation.”
“What do you mean be careful?”
“You say you know who I am and what I am, but do you truly?”
“I do.”
“You sound displeased about Kiko.”
“I’m not happy about it, and the more. . .I fall in love. . .the more I. . .I don’t know. . .”
“What?”
I sighed.
“Tell me, Tora.”
“I don’t know. I feel a little threatened? Or maybe a better way to say that is. . .I feel like our future is threatened or more like the peace of our future is threatened.”
“And this is what I mean about your needing to be careful with this conversation.”
Before I could respond, he rolled us over in one smooth, controlled movement.
My back hit the bed.
The cool silk sheet smoothed against my warm skin, grounding me as he hovered over. . .so close that I could feel the heat pouring off him and his breath caressing my lips and chin.
His arms shifted, planting on either side of my head.
I looked up at him.
Any softness from his waking up and even our kiss had disappeared. There was no trace of the sleepy man who had just been holding me and whispering my name.
This wasn’t Kenji.
This was the Dragon.
Control.
Power.
Deadly possession.
His presence pressed down on me. The line of his jaw tightened. “Do you want me to kill Kiko?”