20. Ryuji
RYUJI
“So, did you get it all out of your system?” Cas asked while we hopped out of our armored SUV.
Wynn, Obi, Cas, and I were checking in with Giulio and our men. They’d spent all day cataloguing and testing the supply of guns we’d stolen from Greco. Now, we were meeting up to distribute our newfound resources among our men and allies.
“What?” I opened the trunk while Obi and Wynn greeted Giulio. Leona and Ciel had stayed home to work on our computer systems, and I was already missing her. God, I was so fucking in love with her. Once all of this was over, I wouldn’t let her leave our bed for weeks.
Max had stayed behind as well, but I didn’t fucking care what he was doing. He could go die and I’d sleep a happier man.
“When you fucked Leona in the hallway?” He leaned against the side of the vehicle, tilting his head to the side to appraise me. “You’ve been grumpy ever since we left the penthouse. Understandable, don’t get me wrong, but unusual for you.”
A smile split my face as I imagined the sweet taste of her. The feel of her. The jealous look on Max’s face as she came. “Yeah, I feel a lot better now.”
He snorted. “Of course you do.”
“You know what else would make me feel better?”
“Probably murder,” he mused.
I flicked a knife around my knuckles. “Yes, definitely. That always makes me feel better. But I was thinking about something else specifically.”
“And what is that?”
“You, me, Leona.” I stepped toward him. “Or even just you and me.”
“You’re full of shit.”
I barked a laugh. “You’re just scared. You never know if you like it until you try it.”
“Sure,” he said with a head nod and a sideways glance to where Giulio showed Wynn and Obi some of the wooden crates. They were saying something about booby traps, but I wasn’t paying attention. My full focus was on Cas and his teasing smile. “Except I’m not into guys.”
“Being not into guys doesn’t mean you can’t be into me,” I said. “It’s pretty clear you’re into me.”
“Ryu, I think it’s pretty clear that you’re into me.”
“Hell yeah, I am, bodyguard,” I responded, watching the way he bit his bottom lip and pretended like he didn’t feel the same way.
Every time we sparred, even at the new house, the tension between us crackled.
He was interested, even if he continued to deny it.
“What? You thought I was just teasing you this whole time? No, I genuinely want to fuck you.”
He suddenly choked and started coughing. I burst out laughing while I smacked his back a few times. Obi gave us a slightly annoyed yet knowing look over his shoulder, and I grinned.
“What? It’s not that strange,” I said. “You’ve seen Wynn and Ciel.”
“Yeah, but Wynn and Ciel are perfect for each other. It’s you and me that’s the weird part.”
“You don’t think we’re perfect for each other?” My palm clutched my heart. “I’m wounded, Cas.”
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”
“Just think about it.”
“I do—” he blurted before he immediately cut himself off.
I grinned even wider. “I knew it.”
“No, that’s not what I meant!”
“It is exactly what you meant.” I leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to his scruffy cheek. He flinched back, eyes wide, but his cheeks went an adorable pink. It made me want to bite him. “Stop fighting it so hard.”
He tilted his head to the side and stared at me without speaking. His eyes flicked all over my face, long enough that it made my own cheeks heat. What was going through his head?
He leaned closer, for just a moment, before he pulled back. “We should talk about this at home.”
“Oh? Where there’s a bed—multiple beds actually—readily available?”
“No,” he said. “Because Wynn and Obi are coming back, and we’re ready to load up.”
“Fine,” I responded. “Keep thinking about it, though. Imagining all the…things we could do with each other. To each other.”
He stared at the night sky. “Lord, give me strength.”
“I’ll give you this d—”
“Ryu,” Obi interrupted. “The booby traps Greco left behind are cleared and dismantled. Thankfully, none of our men got hurt. Let’s take some of these crates to Makarov. Can you let him know we’re on our way?”
Fucking booby traps. He had to know we were coming for those guns, just like Obi and Max said. Greco was a nasty fucker, and I couldn’t wait to relish in his painful death.
I pulled out my phone and typed a message to Kostya. “You got it. He told me earlier that he’s at a bodega in the Bronx. We can meet him there.”
Giulio and Cas started talking about the placement of our men, our efforts to recruit, and where to put their focus for our protection efforts and drug sales.
Cas was an incredible leader—even though I’d never tell that shit to his face.
He just knew how the mafia worked, and he knew how to keep the men on track. He and Leona both did.
But the shop-talk still bored me, so I turned to Wynn as he started loading up the SUV with boxes of extra guns for Kostya. I followed Wynn back to the stack Giulio left outside in the back bay of this business we were using as a front.
“What do you think of me and Cas?” Wynn and I had been getting along a lot better since we worked our shit out after the Vokshis. I trusted his opinion.
He raised an eyebrow while he pushed a lock of his hair out of his face. “What’s that thing you always say to Leona when you’re teasing her?”
I frowned. I said a lot of shit. “I don’t know?”
He laughed while picking up another crate. “Inevitable, I think it is.”
I snorted as I hefted up another box. “So you agree with me. We should get together.”
“I think you’d be good together, yes,” he said. “But if he’s not interested, he’s not interested. You should back off. See if he comes to you instead.”
“Is that what happened between you and Ciel?” All of the sudden, the two of them seemed to click, even if it was obvious how they were attracted to one another from the start.
He shook his head. “Ciel persisted in showing me he cared until I couldn’t ignore it anymore, but I’m different from Cas and you’re way different from Ciel. If Cas wants anything, he’ll make it happen. But the more you tease, the harder it is for him to see if you’re being real.”
“I am being real,” I insisted. “I don’t know how much clearer I can make it.”
“If it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen, Ryu. Be patient.”
I pursed my lips and readjusted the crate in my arms. Being patient went against my fucking DNA. If I wanted to fuck, I fucked. If I wanted to kill, I killed. If I wanted to eat, I ate. Patience had nothing to do with it.
I eyed Cas while I placed the crate in the back of our SUV.
He and Obi picked up the last two boxes.
I caught his stare out of the corner of my eye before he glanced away.
I couldn’t be the only one feeling this heat, right?
I mean, he’d been hard when we sparred. He watched me the same way I watched him.
He flirted back whenever I flirted with him.
The two of them packed up the remaining boxes. I leaned my back against the SUV while Obi and Cas got a few last updates from Giulio.
Maybe Wynn had a point.
But backing off entirely?
That wasn’t me.