My eyes widened.
Very smart, Tora.
She'd read the combat gear and Hiro's presence and she'd put it together without anyone telling her a damn thing.
"You’ll be the first to know, Tora."
She nodded once, turned, and walked toward the door.
When she opened it, two of Reo’s men appeared and fell into step behind her.
She left without looking back.
The door closed.
Silence settled over the room.
I glanced at Hiro. The smirk was gone. He pulled the lollipop from his mouth and rolled the stick between his fingers. He wasn't looking at me. He was looking at the door Nyomi had just walked through, and he wasn't smiling anymore.
Reo extended the second bathrobe toward me.
I pulled the blanket off me and stood. Hiro and Reo had seen me naked a hundred times—there was no need to hide my nudity.
But something made Reo's eyes widen. His gaze locked onto a spot near my neck and shoulder, and for the first time since he'd entered the room, his professional mask cracked completely. His lips parted. No sound came out. He blinked twice, rapidly, like his brain was trying to reject what his eyes were showing him.
I frowned and glanced down.
Oh.
My Tiger’s teeth marks. Deep ones. A perfect crescent bitten into the skin, bruised dark around the edges, the impression of each individual tooth still visible.
Heat crawled up my neck and spread across my face before I could stop it.
Fuck, Tora.
I swallowed and lifted my view back to them.
“Hmm.” Hiro tilted his head slowly and his eyes found the mark, traced its shape, and then a grin split across his face—wicked, delighted, and utterly without shame.
I frowned.
He pulled the lollipop from his mouth and pointed it at the bite. "The Tiger has fangs too."
My face burned hotter. I could feel the blush reaching my ears now and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. I was the Dragon. I ran an empire. I had killed men with my bare hands. And I was standing here blushing because my woman had bitten me hard enough to leave a bruise.
Reo closed his mouth. Opened it. Closed it again. Then he handed the bathrobe toward me with a stiff arm, deciding to not make a comment.
Meanwhile, Hiro was still grinning. "She marked you."
I took the robe and shrugged it on, tying the belt with more force than necessary.
"I like her more every day.” Hiro chuckled and put the lollipop back in his mouth.
I cracked the side of my neck and rolled my shoulder. "What's going on?"
Reo's jaw tightened. His eyes moved around the room for a second. Taking in the stone slab, the remnants of fire play equipment still visible in the corner, as well as the scent of smoke and sex that clung to the air.
He didn't speak about it. But I saw the anger there, simmering beneath his professional mask.
