I'd commanded hundreds of men. Ended lives with a nod. Run an empire. I'd held power so heavy it should have crushed me.
And none of it—none of it—had ever made me feel the way I did right now. Pinned to a stone slab, forbidden to speak, with the woman I loved holding fire above my chest.
I was free.
That was the thing I couldn't explain.
The restraints. The rules. The surrender. Her voice stripping away every title, every responsibility, every mask I'd ever worn.
I was free.
My eyes stung.
I blinked hard and then swallowed.
She must have seen it. The shift. The crack. Whatever my face was doing that I couldn't control.
Her expression shifted. Just for a second. The dominance held, the Tiger stayed, but underneath—her eyes went soft. Wet.Like she understood what she'd just done to me even though I didn't understand it myself.
Then the softness was gone.
She raised the wand. "Good Dragon."
And I would have died for her right there. On that slab. In that fire. Without a second thought.
I shivered.
Hiroko got to her side and her gaze was only on Nyomi. “Perfect. Never lose control, especially with a scene that is this dangerous. Let him swim in subspace, but do not give him the reins.”
Nyomi nodded and raised the fire wand in her hand. The flame crackled, swayed, and twirled at the tip. The smell of alcohol and smoke filled the air. The soft crackle of the flame was the only sound in the room.
Hiroko leaned her head to the side. "Are you ready?”
Nyomi looked down at me. “Yes.”
“We'll start with his arm," Hiroko gestured. "It's safer. Big muscle. Less risk."
It’s about to begin.
And although I’d set this up and damn sure asked for it.
Now I was. . .getting scared.
And my cock got harder.
That made no sense. My pulse spiked. My skin prickled across my chest, my stomach, and the insides of my thighs. Every nerve ending woke up and screamed.
The fear was feeding the arousal. Pouring into it. Mixing until I couldn't tell which was which.
I was afraid and I was harder than I'd been all night and those two things happening at the same time scared me more than the fire.
Fuck.
Chapter twenty-two
Playing with Fire
Kenji
