“You’re right.”
I shrugged. “But. . .you’re also at war with your father, so maybe what I said is just a good guess in the context of the situation. Anyone would reasonably think you are stressed.”
Kenji’s eyes narrowed a fraction, the kind of shift most people wouldn’t even notice. “Let’s test this.”
“What?” My brows lifted. “Test it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I’m intrigued.”
I caught it—the smallest flare at the corner of his mouth, the briefest twitch of muscle along his jaw, like his face couldn’t quite hold the burden of a big lie. His gaze slid away from mine for half a second before snapping back, too sharp, too quick.
I leaned closer, studying him the way I’d studied a hundred men who thought they could bluff their way through an interview. “No. You’re not intrigued. You’re hiding something else. The little tells give you away—your mouth twitches, your jaw goes rigid, your eyes can’t hold mine for more than a beat without overcompensating. You’re scared to tell me the truth.”
His nostrils flared. “Careful, Tora.”
Fear coiled in me, yes, but so did fire. I wanted his secrets, his shadows, his truths. I wanted to drag every hidden thing out ofhim, claws first if I had to. I steadied my next words. “Why do I have to be careful?”
“I don’t like to be easily read.”
“We’re naked. You’ve been inside my body. You’ve bit my flesh and drank my blood like a vampire. If anyone is going to be able to easily read you. . .it will be me.”
His eyes glinted, dangerous and molten, but his voice came out low and sensual. “You already have my heart and my cock. You have my soul. You don’t need my fucking brain too.”
“Yet,” I whispered, brushing my fingers along the hard line of his jaw, “I want it all.”
A dark chuckle left him. “Greedy Tiger.”
“You’re one to talk. You’ve swallowed my life whole. Every cell within me belongs to you.”
He moved his hand up and gripped my chin. “That’s because you’re mine.”
I thought back to what he said in the shower. “Apparently I’m yours in this life and others.”
“Correct.” His mouth curved into a sneer, beautiful and cruel all at once, like he was trying to remind me who the predator was. “Who do you belong to, Tora?”
“You.”
“Say it again.”
The command throbbed between us.
My body hummed, vibrating at the edge of fear and want. My pulse stuttered, but I didn’t look away. “I’m all yours, Kenji.”
He exhaled, rough, and for a heartbeat I saw the flicker of surrender in his dangerous eyes, the momentary crack in the fortress he carried across his skin. His grip on my chin tightened, then loosened like he didn’t know if he wanted to cage me or worship me. “Yes. I have a lot on my mind. And yes, I have a reason I want to test you. And yes, I don’t want to tell you the truth.”
“What’s on your mind?”
“The test first.”
“Why are you testing me?”
“I will tell you later.”
“You will tell me now.”
