Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 154368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 617(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 617(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
And I relished in the pain and pleasure of it.
His heartbeat hammered fast against my cheek as if his body hadn't caught up to the fact that the battle was over.
The heat of him soaked through his shirt and into my skin, and every hard ridge of muscle pressed against me.
“Fuck, Kenji. You’re back.” I buried my face in his neck and breathed him in. Under his lush smoky scent, was the faint copper of dried blood beneath the clean soap. He smelled like war and the effort to wash it off.
His voice rumbled through his chest and vibrated against my cheek. "I'm okay, Tora."
I pulled back just enough to see his face. My vision blurred. Warm tears spilled down my cheeks before I could stop it. "You’re hurt?"
“But I’m still strong, still standing.” He raised his hand and caught the tears with his thumb. His calloused skin slid warm across my cheekbone. Then, he held my face, and his gaze moved from my eyes to my hair. Those dark irises traced the goddess braids, following the pattern Deja's hands had woven. His jaw loosened. His grip on my waist tightened.
A low groan rolled out of him.
That sound went straight through me, vibrated down my spine, and pooled warm at the base of my stomach.
"Mmmm. Tora, I like your hair." His fingers found one of the braids and he traced it from root to tip.
I smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Oh yes.” Then he gathered a fistful of braids at the base of my neck and gently tugged. Testing it.
I blinked. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing, Tora.” His gaze went dark. A groan rolled out of him so low I felt it in my teeth. "We're going to have some fun tonight."
I sucked my teeth and moved his hand out of my hair. "First of all, I need to apologize."
He tilted his head. “Why?”
"I was supposed to teach you that you are never to touch a Black woman's hair, especially after she gets it done."
He quirked his brows. "Who isn't supposed to touch your hair?"
“You.”
He grinned as if I told a joke.
"It's a whole thing, Kenji."
“Not our thing.” He ran his fingers through the braids again and groaned. The sound was absolutely indecent. "Yes. I like this very much."
He tugged again, and my knees almost buckled. "Perhaps we will keep the stylist on the island until the war is done."
"Oh God."
Kaoru laughed from behind us. “I told you. Two days.”
His hand stayed in my hair as he walked me backward and deeper into the dining room. Each step pressed his body closer to mine, and I could feel his cock hardening and exactly how much he liked the braids.
Damn.
I placed my hands on his chest and stopped him. "Kenji. . .are you sure you're okay?"
He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against mine. The gauze was rough against my skin. "I am, Tora. Especially now, that I'm with you."
“Okay.” My hands found his jaw, and I made sure to be gentle around the bruises.
He's here and alive. Thank you, God.
I kissed him. My body melted into his as our lips met, and the space fell away until there was nothing but the heat between us. His mouth moved against mine with a hunger that matched my own, and when his tongue slipped between my lips, I tasted copper and salt.
Blood and sweat.
And I just knew that he had killed his way out of whatever trap he’d found himself in.
Fire ignited and blazed through my veins. A soft moan escaped me as his fingers tightened in my hair, the slight pain only heightening the desperate relief flooding through me.
I don’t know what I would have done if you had not come back.
Then someone hugged me from behind. Arms wrapped around my waist, and I felt their chest press against my back.
What?
An ocean breeze scent washed over my neck and shoulders.
Oh. Hiro.
Then this cooling sensation hit me next.
Mmmm.
I was sandwiched between fire and water, and my body didn't know which way to lean.
Hiro’s deep voice came next. “You're hogging our tiger."
Kenji groaned in annoyance. I stopped kissing Kenji and laughed. Kenji's gaze lifted to meet his brother's over my shoulder. “Hogging? How could I? I’m not sharing her.”
Hiro chuckled. “We’ve already decided that you are.”
Kenji frowned. “When?”
“On the helicopter, brother.”
I let go of Kenji and turned around in Hiro's arms. “Don’t I get some say in this?”
“No.” Hiro shook his head.
I took him in.
He looked rough too. A cut above his eyebrow that had been stitched. Purple bruises along his neck and collarbone. His knuckles were split and raw. But he was grinning at me like he’d just returned from a long vacation.
More important, his shirt was gone. Just tanned skin stretched over hard muscle.
Kenji spoke, “Where did your shirt go?”
“I took it off so our Tiger could see that I was okay.”