“So, what am I supposed to say when I talk to them, Kenji?” I raised a brow. “Hello, Mr. Eye One and Mr. Eye Two?”
One of them—Eye Two—smiled. Just slightly. But then his expression vanished, as if pulled back behind some invisible code of conduct.
I caught it, though.
That flicker of humor.
Kenji didn’t smile. Instead, he frowned. “You won’t be talking to them.”
I rolled my eyes. “If they’re going to see me naked, then I can at least know their names.”
The room’s temperature shifted. The calm fury that had simmered on him earlier flared bright and immediate.
That dragon-shadow reappeared, turned its head toward me, and rose behind him.
What the fuck?
I parted my lips in shock.
That massive shadowed body unfurled along the floor, slithering fast, eyes unseen but burning, as if it had smelled the wordnakedand decided it needed to remind me who I belonged to.
I couldn’t move.
I could only stare as the darkness stretched toward my feet.
What is happening right now?
Then—just as fast as it appeared—that dragon-shadow vanished, dissolving back into nothing.
Kenji’s voice didn’t rise, but I felt it hit my bones like a sound made from thunder. “They will not seeyounaked.”
His jaw locked. His eyes darkened. His fists clenched at his sides like his body had to physically hold back the violence that wanted to be let loose.
“Okay.” My voice came out quieter than I intended. “Got it.”
Behind him, the Eyes exchanged a look, and it wasn’t fear, but. . .I think it was shock.
Kenji’s shoulders remained stiff for a moment longer. Then, slowly, he exhaled and rolled his neck like he was letting go of darkness. His eyes found mine again. Still hot. Still watching. But no longer burning to kill.
I sighed. “You told me that. . .they watch. . .everything.”
“I did, but things have changed. Your body is not fortheirgaze.”
My throat tightened.
He prowled over. “If you strip down, it will be for me. No one else. Not even ghosts.”
I grinned. “Ghosts?”
“Yes.” He stopped three feet in front and towered over me. “If you moan. . .it’ll be because of something I did. No one else. A sound I ripped from your throat because you couldn’t hold it in. Because my cock earned it.”
As soon as the wordcockleft his mouth, the air changed again.
The temperature didn’t rise—it dropped.
Thickened.
Warped.
