Me versus them.
Their composure against my instinct.
Kenji’s pride against my wit.
Well. . .this is interesting as hell.
I steadied myself, hoping I got this right.
Bring it on then. This test could be fun.
“I have another question.” I studied Kenji, pulse fluttering like a moth too close to fire. “Can I touch them?”
The room shifted.
Reo’s pen paused mid-scratch. From the corner of my eye I saw his mouth twitch, like he was fighting not to grin.
Meanwhile, Kenji’s eyes widened, and the temperature dropped like a window had blown open to winter. Violence blazed through his gaze—molten, merciless.
He didn’t answer right away. He only stared, every line of his body pulled taut, like he was weighing whether to cage me or let me burn myself alive.
“Tora. . .” His voice was a growl that crawled under my skin. “Be careful.”
I blinked. “I don’t mean sexually touch them. Skin carries truths mouths can hide. A hand on their pulse could—”
Fast, Kenji’s hand locked around my waist as if to chain me in place. “If their pulse touches your hand, Tora, I’ll rip their hearts from their chests myself.”
My bottom lip quivered. “Kenji. . .sometimes you can get the truth faster if you touch the person.”
Kenji’s nostrils flared. Then, he leaned down until his mouth was at my ear, his voice was a growl decorated with knives. “If you touch them, I will kill them. Not after. Not later. I’ll kill them the moment your hand leaves their skin.”
My breath caught. “But they’re your Fangs. You trust them. You know it won’t be anything sexual.”
He blinked and leaned back, studying me again. “Why do you think they are my Fangs? I never said they were. Is it because Kaoru is with them?”
“No.” I shrugged out of his hold. “It’s just. I have this feeling that they’re not just soldiers. They’re your Fangs.”
The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut.
Kenji’s head tilted. “Well. . .you’re wrong. They’re just two guards that I grabbed on the way to getting Reo. Kaoru just happened to be talking to Reo when I found him, so I brought him along too.”
Lies.
But, I wouldn’t boldly call the Dragon a liar in front of his men. I would need to. . .politely infer it.
“That’s interesting. . .” I gestured to the three men. “I guess I was. . .fooled.”
“You were.”
“It’s just. . .the way they stand. The way they breathe. Plus, you brought them into your bedroom with your Tiger who is. . .naked under a silk robe. That makes them trusted, intimate men from your inner circle. It makes me think that. . .these men would die for you, not because you order them to, but because they couldn’t stand to see you bleed.”
The man in the middle shifted slightly, and there was the barest tightening at his jaw.
He loves Kenji a lot. I definitely have to get his name. He’ll always keep Kenji safe.
“But. . .” I nodded. “If you say they’re not your Fangs. . .who am I to question that?”
Kenji’s lips curved—not into a smile, but into that dangerous sneer that was half denial, half pride. “They’re just Scales, Tora.”
