“The guys have a bet going that he’ll kick Rei’s ass soon.” Takeo loved to gossip with my sister, only now that I knew everything I could finally be in on their more serious talks.
“What do you mean?” I asked, surprised that Rei’s name came up. Tatsou hadn’t shown any animosity toward him that I knew of. Takeo smiled and pointed a fried shrimp at me.
“The dude was happy to sit back and let the fighters weed themselves out and enter the fray once it came down to the end. The only reason he jumped in when he did was because Rei made you smile. Everyone saw it. Then he claims to be your guard or no one’s. That man has got something for you, Kitty Kat. Just don’t know if it’s good or not.” He spoke calmly, like he wasn’t too concerned. Meanwhile my sister stared at him with narrowed eyes, like he’d kept this secret from her and would pay later.
“It’s not like that. Purely platonic,” I offered, even though my sister shifted to narrow her eyes at me. She sensed a lie.
“Pretty sure that’s why Rei is trying hard to make his move. He feels threatened that another man could sweep you off your feet first.”
I denied Takeo’s words, but a part of me wondered if they were true. Tatsou did seem to join the fight between the others randomly. Rei did make me smile because he was acting like an idiot, and he’d been more persistent lately about there being an “us.” I didn’t know what to do about these thoughts. I knew I couldn’t ask Tatsou what his feelings were toward me, but he did seem extra curious about Rei in the hot spring. Could Tatsou have been jealous? No matter the questions racing through my head, one bothered me.
Did I want him to be jealous?
Chapter Twenty
Katsumi
I’d been fingers-deep in needles and fabric when Tatsou walked into my sewing room. He tended to avoid the area for some reason. I’d barely seen him the past few days, so I found it odd to find him standing there like he wanted to talk.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, setting my stuff down to give him my attention. He’d been quiet, grumpy, and didn’t speak to me since that morning when he wanted to kiss me again. I’d pondered over and over if he’d been jealous like Takeo suggested, but his actions lately proved I was no one to him, which sucked. I’d even thought about suggesting we do kiss, just so I could feel something from him other than the emotionless shell moving about the premises.
He stood there, an unmovable statue in silence. I wanted to console him, mostly because I was confused about my feelings toward him and my life. Instead, I chose the safe choice and remained in my seat, surrounded by a mess of French lace and crimson scraps.
“I want a deal with you, Little Flower.”
I ignored the pitter-pattering of my heart when he called me Little Flower. I don’t know why he did it sometimes, but I could tell that Little Kitten and Little Flower were different. One was an insult to annoy me, the other . . . well, I didn’t quite know yet, but it wasn’t bad.
“What deal?” I was curious what he thought I would want besides him giving up his revenge plan.
“Your spark for knowledge.” His eyes glowed, and I wondered if his fangs were down.
“What kind of knowledge?” I was a very curious person, especially when it came to the supernatural world that I’d recently been introduced to. I hate to admit that I’d probably accept his deal. I wanted to know more, and I liked touching him. Maybe this could be my passion before I died—relish in the spark between two people before moving on.
“I will tell you anything you want to know, but my plan remains the same. Your family will fall when I am ready.”
His cold face had me trembling. Could I do this? Give him more of myself even though he planned to destroy everything I loved.
“Two conditions.” A swift decision resolved in my head, and I stood. “No using your magic to force me to do anything.” I walked closer, and his gaze devoured my every step. “And we only go as far as I allow it. I will not do anything I’m uncomfortable with.” I stopped a foot away from him, waiting to see if he agreed to my conditions. I was willing, for now, to give him what we both honestly wanted and in exchange I’d get access to his head. I was going to live the rest of my days boldly, starting by making a deal with a vampire.
In what seemed like minutes, Tatsou leaned in, a smirk on his face. Oh goodness, I was really doing this.
“Deal,” he purred, then suddenly my butt was against my sewing table with Tatsou’s body and lips pressed against mine.
He wasn’t wasting anytime claiming what he wanted from our deal. I opened for him as his tongue swept against my lips. My hands gripped his arms as his wrapped around my back. He overwhelmed my senses with his unyielding need. If I wasn’t careful, I’d give this vampire whatever he wanted, even without his magic telling me to. He had a different kind of magic over me, and it made my body exponentially crave him.
Slowly, his hands explored my body and grabbed my ass in his palms. Oh yes! I was lifted up, and I naturally spread my legs for his muscular body to fit between them. Tatsou growled, and I wondered if there was anything better than hearing his need or feeling it. I never liked aggressive men touching me, but this felt different. Tatsou was stronger than anyone I had known, and he had the power to crush me. Yet, he held himself back, taking care not to hurt me while demanding I give him more. I whimpered into his mouth as his hands moved to my stomach, then up.
“Clothes stay on.” I moaned, barely holding onto the notion that I didn’t wanna sleep with him right away. But some over the clothes fondling or humping I’d be down for. That was the American baseball theory, right? Base one was over-clothes stuff.
He growled but palmed my breast, and I gripped him harder for fear of falling back. I felt his fangs descend but this time I wasn’t afraid. Instead, I licked one and his hips pushed into my core. Oh, he liked that. I didn’t know his sexual experience, but I assumed he’d been with plenty of women in his time. I didn’t have that much to compare to, but I knew what I liked, and usually the man liked it, too. I rolled my pelvis against the hardness in his slacks in slow circles. His hands gripped me harder, and my head fell back. At my lack of undulating hips, he took over. Moving against me in solid thrusts, he created the most delicious friction I never knew I needed.
“I want to bite you for pleasure.” He pressed hot kisses to my neck, and while they felt so, so amazing, I shook my head. Sadly, I did not trust him in that department. I did not want that pain associated with this bliss.
“Kat.” He wrapped one hand around my neck, bringing my lips back to his. Our labored breaths and tense, tangled bodies brought me closer and closer to a sweet release. My legs wrapped around his, bringing him extra close and that pressure against my sex was enough.
“Oh!” I cried out and Tatsou barked a language I didn’t understand as he quickly rubbed himself against me over and over. Finally, he moaned as he came and I’d never seen a sexier sight. Tatsou could easily become an addiction if I didn’t tread carefully. Once we were nothing but a mess of sated bodies and heavy pants, he kissed me a last time and pulled away. I knew I looked like a disaster of red cheeks, swollen lips, and misshapen clothes. His swirling gold eyes scanned me, and the bulge in his pants swelled. Oh, goodness. Were vampires able to go more than once in a few minutes? Maybe having a vampire lover wouldn’t be such a bad thing. However, at this moment, I needed a break. We had connected and had that spark, but I didn’t expect it to be so damn explosive together. He matched what I gave him and demanded everything I had. He consumed me already. The intensity slightly frightened me with the orgasmic high dissipating.
“How did you become a vampire?” His hungry stare disappeared, and a cold look marred his face. Shit. Now that he’d had a piece of me, would he change his mind about our deal? The silence between us was surprisingly deafening. He disappeared for a second and reappeared with clean clothes on.
