“Still afraid of me?” he breathed.
He let her move her head so they stared at each other. His thumb glided along the line of her jaw. “I will never strike you again.”
Leaning his head in, he kissed her. His lips parted hers and he slid his tongue inside her mouth. Ashley kissed him back, threading her fingers through his hair. Pressing against him, she gave him her mouth and he plundered it until they were breathless. The kisses were druggingly sweet and tantalizing enough that she pressed her body into him. His hand slipped down her back and cupped her ass. She obliged by slithering against him, feeling his hardness against her belly. This was going to get out of hand quickly.
“Apology accepted,” she said when he lifted his mouth from hers.
“I’m so glad you’re being reasonable about this,” he said, but when he went to kiss her again, she moved her head so he got her cheek instead. “Koneko, let me love you.”
“I want to speak to Kai.”
“There will be time after.” His hands moved to the zipper of her dress and she took a step back.
He let out an exasperated breath. “You’re serious about this.”
“Yes, I remember how carefully he locked you out when he and I made love. I don’t think he’d be as reasonable about this as you think I am.”
“I don’t know why I thought you’d be reasonable.”
“Me either.”
“I’m much better than your pretty books. Come let me show you pleasures you have only read about.” He ran the back of his hand over her hard nipples and she shivered, returning the caress over the bulge in his pants. They locked eyes, touching each other with teasing strokes. She was wet and tempted to give in. It had been a long time and she hadn’t realized she had forgiven Terasaka for the strike until she saw him again. He was volatile and dangerous, like playing with salted knives. A part of her always wanted him—even when she was afraid of him. But she knew she’d never forgive herself if Kai didn’t want her and Terasaka hooking up, strange as it may seem.
“We can revisit this at a later date. Why won’t you let me speak to Kai?”
“I was hoping to get you to agree to a few things before he took control again.”
“What kind of things?” Ashley asked, suddenly wondering if his seduction was a ruse for a more nefarious plan. “And why do I get the feeling he hasn’t been front and center in awhile?”
The twist of Terasaka’s lips proved that she was right. “We’ve had issues since you’ve been gone. He tried to banish me.”
“He told me that was impossible.”
“He got creative, went to more advanced scholars, who used more than burning sage and incantations.” Terasaka pulled open his shirt, buttons flew everywhere and Ashley saw tattooed on his chest was a kanji.
“Hokaku?” she asked. “But that means ‘captive.’”
“I took control and had that tattooed over our chi center. We are now connected. He cannot escape me and I cannot be taken from this body.”
“Why?”
“You. When you left us, he wanted me gone.”
“Don’t blame this on me. He’s wanted you gone since you possessed him all those years ago.”
“Not really, not like this.”
“Where is he now? Is he trapped?” Ashley searched his eyes, trying to find some trace of Kai.
“He’s here. He blames you for this.”
“I’m not the one who wrestled control away from him and tattooed him against his will.”
“Yet you were the reason. If you hadn’t left us, nothing would have changed.”
“If you weren’t hell bent on sleeping with half the women in Tokyo, I would have never left.”
“If he would have shared you, I wouldn’t have been so needy. Do you know what it’s like to be so close to pleasure only to have it shunted away from you? I wasn’t as locked away as you thought I was. I could watch. I watched you reach for paradise and I wanted it to be me who brought you there.” Terasaka grabbed her. “You want me. I know you do.”
Ashley couldn’t deny it. “This is wrong, though. This isn’t your body. Kai has a right to keep you out. You possessed him when he was too young to know what he was agreeing to. He was just a romantic sixteen-year-old boy who wanted to be a samurai warrior. You took advantage of his innocence and conned him into accepting you as a sensei, when all you wanted was a body for your debauchery and revenge.”
“We’ve had a mutually beneficial relationship. Don’t make me out to be a parasite. And we had our fun. He learned the ways of the sword and I have righted a few wrongs. What’s the harm in that? Then you became a complication in our lives. Suddenly, he became selfish and would hoard time with you. Now, it’s my chance to woo you.”
“So all of this was to get me back into bed?”
Terasaka’s eyes slid away.
“Out with it.”
“I need your help.”
“I knew it!” Ashley threw her hands up in the air. “What is it this time? Are we going skulking through the forest again to find another burial site of your enemies so we can plunder his grave and piss on his bones?”
Terasaka winced. “I would have been the one doing the pissing. I needed your calming center in order to bring out the mysticism.”
“Or how about the time you decided that there was a pack of Oni living under the bridge and you told me to walk in their den as bait?”
“There were Oni there. And you know you were never in danger with me there. No Oni would touch you before my blade cut him in twain.”
“They were humans. Homeless humans broken from drugs and alcohol.”
“That’s what you saw. I’m telling you they were demons in disguise.”
“You sent me away. Did you kill them?”
Terasaka tilted his head at her. “You tell me. It’s the real reason you left.”
Ashley breathed carefully in and out, trying not to let her expression show. Had she been pissed about Miyo? Yes, and she still was. She was jealous, but it was the increasing violence that had made her run. And when he hit her, all she could think of was would he use his sword on her next? “I have no proof you murdered those men.”
“Demons. Not men. What did you find when you went back there?”
“How did you know I went back there?”
“I have eyes on you always.”
“You’re really creepy.”
He waggled his fingers at her. “I’m a ghost. It comes with the territory.”
“I found no trace of them.”
“They could have moved on.”
“You killed them,” Ashley whispered. “Those poor men.”
“Those poor men were stealing children and eating them,” Terasaka snapped.
Ashley shook her head. “You don’t know that.”
“I saw the bones.”
She put a fist over her mouth as her stomach threatened to empty.
He moved in and gathered her into his arms. “I would have spared you that information, but you are too curious for your own good.” He rubbed his hands down her back and she hated that it felt really good. It felt like she was coming home. It would be so easy to undo his pants and fall into bed with him. When he was sated, Kai would be able to take control and then maybe he would make love to her too. Ashley buried her face into his chest to get control of her fantasies.
“Why are you really here?” she asked, her voice muffled. It was all she could do not to turn her face and lick his flat nipple. Control, you haz it. Ashley tried to channel her inner LOLcat to defuse her hormones.
“Your life is in danger.”
“Is this some kind of joke?”
His hands clenched into her hair and he forced her to look at him. “If you hadn’t gone back that day, she wouldn’t have gotten your scent.”
“Who?”
“To speak her name would be to attract her attention and she’s too close to you as it is.”
“You’re saying one of the Oni followed me f
rom Tokyo?”
“Tell me the truth. Have you another lover? A new boyfriend you met after you left us?”
“No,” Ashley said. “And stop looking so damned pleased with yourself. I decided my books and my vibrator were a lot less complicated.”
“We have been celibate as well.”
She felt ridiculously pleased by that. “So what do you think is after me?”
“A kami who wishes to possess you as I inhabit Kai.”
“Do you know this spirit?”
“I’ve sensed her energy many times.”
“You want me to allow her inside me for a supernatural foursome?” Ashley shoved him away and was about to rail on him for his hentai thoughts when she noted the horrified look in his eyes. “What?”
“At one time, when I was younger and stupid, I would have liked to try my hand at the exotic coupling you described. But this kami is not one who would share your body. She would break your mind and suck your soul and then abuse your body until it broke apart. Then she would move on to the next host. She is a spirit of lust and excess.”
“So what makes you think she’s after me?”
“When you left us, I was able to go into your apartment in Meguro.”
“You broke in!”
“Your land lady is a tigress.” He shuddered. “I found your pallet broken into kindling, the futon shredded all over the floor. Mirrors were smashed and the room was cold and smelled of blood. If I hadn’t known you were on an airplane, I would have taken the building down brick by brick to find a clue to where you had gone.”
“Some punks trash my place and you think it was this lust demon?”
“I do. And I think it’s tracking and hunting you.”
“And you’re basing this on what?”
“We searched the Internet for your local news. At first, it seemed that the kami had gotten sidetracked, but instead, she found another host. Or hosts, I should say. Over the last six months, patterns emerged. A young socialite with more breasts than brains overdosed on meth in Manhattan. A few more O.D. deaths later, and then it was some college students busted for being drunk and disorderly during a public orgy—twenty minutes from here.”
“All of that can be ratcheted up to normal behavior.”
“And finally a group of exchange Japanese students set up an altar and began to worship her, three blocks from your office. They were caught when one of their kidnapping victims escaped and called the police. Their victims all had red hair and green eyes, like you.”
“Why me?”
“You have a good soul.”
“So do lots of people.”
“You’re strong and healthy.”
“I’m not seeing why I’m so special.”
“And I’m in love with you.”
Ashley sat down. It was a good thing the bed was right there because she would have ended up on the floor.
“Forgive me, I would have liked to have done that with candlelight, wine and roses, but since you’ve frozen us out. I couldn’t pick my moments.”
Breathing normally was a struggle and when Terasaka sat down next to her, she leaned into him. “How does Kai feel about this?”
“Kai is angry. That’s why I don’t want to let him talk to you.”
“If he gets angry enough, he can take control. I’ve seen it.”
“The kanji puts us on a more even keel. We wasted a good fortnight yanking control back and forth.”
“I would have liked to have seen that.” Ashley smiled.
Terasaka played with her hair. “No, you wouldn’t have.”
“So you’re here now to kill this lust kami before she takes control over me?”
“Yes.”
“And then what?”
Terasaka leaned in to kiss her again. “I’ve thought about you a thousand times. If Kai allowed it, I would have cut off my hand for the insult I gave you.”
“I would have cut off a different body part for you.” Ashley turned into him and laid her hand on his belt.
“Yes, you would have, wouldn’t you, my koneko?” He removed her hand, kissing it. “I would not have you teasing me. If I can’t have you now, I will not accept your touches.”
“Why does it have to be all or nothing?”
“Because it does.”
“Then let me speak with Kai.”
Terasaka swallowed hard. “He is very angry. I fear for what he would do or say to you. I will not let him harm you physically, but his strength lies in his words as my strength lies in my sword.”
Ashley got up from the bed and slipped on her shoes. “Then let’s go to the reception. He wouldn’t dare yell at me in front of all those people and his honor would require him to stay to speak to his hosts. I need to hear his side and see what he thinks about us—all of us. I’ve had a lot of time to think while we were apart. I’m still not onboard with the demon slaying side of it, but I think we can work it out so you don’t have to bang Miyo to feel complete.”
“You are as beautiful as you are devious.” Terasaka kissed her breathless again.
“I thought you said no fondling?”
“I am but a man,” he said and laid his hand on his heart.
It took them a good hour to sew the buttons back on Terasaka’s shirt and make them both look presentable. He kept his word and didn’t touch her, but the heat coming from his dark eyes made Ashley warm and almost dizzy. She wanted Kai with an ache that she hadn’t realized she was carrying around with her. Being this close to his body made her behave wantonly. She slipped out of her panties and kicked them in the corner, not taking her eyes from Terasaka’s burning gaze.
“I don’t think I’ll be needing these, do you?”
“Temptress,” he said and nuzzled her ear.
They took a taxi back to the office building and headed into the party. The lobby had been transformed into a scene from Kurosawa’s Dreams. It was enchanting. She twirled around, taking in the eye candy. It was like stepping through the looking glass. Ashley felt a frisson of awareness creep up her spine. When her arm was wrenched behind her back, she was force marched on the edges of the crowd, into the stairwell. No one noticed them. He pushed her up a few stairs and then pressed her against the wall. Ashley felt his erection through the thin silk of her dress.
“The question is, who am I?”
One hand still held her arm immobile. His knee nudged her legs apart as his other hand slid under her dress to caress her hip.
“Kai.” Ashley gasped as his fingers made little circles on her pelvis as they stretched towards the juncture of her thighs.
“Are you sure?” He dipped his fingers inside her and began to stroke her fast. “Or is that why you’re so wet, because you’re not sure?”
“Kai,” she gurgled out and widened her stance to give him better access. He ground his hips into her. He was hot and hard and she yearned to rub against him like a cat. She heard how excited she was when his eager fingers dipped deeper and the slick sound of him pleasuring her drove her over the edge. She moaned when he let her go. Both of his hands slammed down next her head when Ashley would have turned around.
He pressed her into the wall, his hips hitching her dress up so that she felt exposed and open. “I should take you now, like one of your manga heroes. With you not knowing who is fucking you.”
“Kai, please,” Ashley whispered.
“So trusting. So sure that bastard wouldn’t put you in this position. Did you believe him when he said he loved you?”
Ashley nodded.
“So did the girl who committed suicide when he left her pregnant and unmarried.”
She flinched.
“The same kami who is now loose in Connecticut trying to find peace and justice so she can rest.”
Ashley turned around and he let her. She looked into Kai’s tawny eyes and smiled. “I knew it was you.”
“You’re a fool,” he told her. He wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t half dreamy with pleasure or need. He was angry. “Yo
u left me without hearing my side of the story.”
“I was furious.”
“Then you refused to take my calls.”
“I thought it was for the best.”
“Was it?”
Ashley trembled at his tone. “I don’t know. Look, I was a little freaked out. I knew about his violent tendencies, but toward the end, it seemed like he was more in control than you.”
Kai looked away. “I was writing. I was in the zone. You know I get distracted.” He pinned her with a gaze. “And he took advantage. But I didn’t think he’d go so far to involve you in his centuries long quest for redemption.”
“I believed in the ghosts. I didn’t believe in demons acting like homeless people to eat children.”
“They exist.”
“And this kami—this girl—what’s her name?”
“Sada,” he said, and wind picked up in the stairwell and came rushing towards them.
Kai’s face grimaced and his eyes flickered from gold to brown in a rapid motion. Clenching his teeth in a fierce grin, gold prevailed. “We’re going back to Japan.”
“You and I? I’m not sure they’ll let me telecommute again.”
“No,” Kai said. “You were right to leave me. You will never see us again.”
When he went to move away, Ashley clutched his arm. “Wait, I was wrong. I should have let you explain.”
“You discarded me. Cast me aside without another thought.”
“That’s not true.”
“Yes, it is,” he barked. “You hid from me. Ran from me when I would have liked to have spoken with you this afternoon.”
“That wasn’t you. That was Terasaka.”
“I would have taken control to talk to you.”
“I’m here now. I’m listening.”
“And I find I have nothing to say to you except goodbye.”
“You can’t do this,” Ashley said.
“If I hadn’t shown up on your doorstep tonight, would you have ever contacted me again?”
Ashley nodded. “I think so.”
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