Page 35 of Secrets & Sake
“Don’t get hurt on my behalf,” I say breathlessly, surprised by how painfully the idea of him being hurt twists in my chest.
His flushed lips lift in a cocky smirk that gets my blood rushing. “I won’t. Have a little faith in me.” He pats my cheek.
We microwave our convenience store katsudon and eat side by side on the sofa.
“Did the guys who attacked you take anything?” Raiden asks, plucking a pork cutlet from his bowl and offering it to me.
“No. They didn’t have time to.” I eat the food off his utensils. Surely he’ll think I’m crazy. Yet I can’t resist confiding in him. We’ve already been intimate physically. It’s hard for me not to bare myself in other ways, too. “There was this… this wolf.”
Raiden stops eating. “Really?”
“Yeah. I’m not crazy, honestly. It was a freaking wolf.” I drink some green tea, my throat dry from nerves, but the green tea makes that worse. “I think it… saved me? It attacked the guys, then chased them away.” I shiver remembering those eyes. I need to stop thinking like this. Werewolves do not exist.
“Huh. You sure it wasn’t just a helpful dog?”
I shake my head. “Definitely not. I’ve never seen a dog that looks like that.” I reach out and flick some rice off his cheek, making him jump. “Hey, want to watch a movie?”
“Sure.”
Since we both like Star Wars, I find it on a streaming service and play it. Heart racing, praying he won’t push me away, I scoot closer to him ever so slowly. Finally, I’m close enough to lean my head against his shoulder. When he tenses, breath hitching, I think he’s going to push me away. Instead, he slips an arm around me. He turns his body so he’s sprawling on the couch, and I end up lying between his thighs, my back to his chest.
My face warms pleasantly as he wraps his arms around my waist, chin coming to rest atop my head. He buries his nose in my hair with a slow inhale, arms squeezing me tight. We don’t speak. We don’t have to. I’ve always hated sitting in silence. There’s too much room for self-reflection, or in my case, self-deprecation. But with him, I’m okay with it. I don’t feel like I have to say anything interesting or try to be someone I think he’d like.
It's okay if I don’t have anything interesting to say. It’s okay if I prefer silence to wasted words. I can just be me, quiet as I am, and that’s all right. Raiden doesn’t pressure me to talk.
I wonder if this is what it’s like to finally be enough for someone.
For now. Until he decides there’s someone better for him out there. Someone more handsome. More charismatic.
Like my brother, Katsuki.
It’s happened before. What’s stopping it from happening again?
Squeezing my eyes shut, I hide my face in Raiden’s chest and try to stop anticipating the worst.
Chapter 9
Ithrow open the door to Namikawa’s office. The old man behind the desk doesn’t even jump, just regards me with cold indifference behind his glasses.
“Boss, I sincerely apologize!” his guard shouts, trying to pull me back out of the room.
I swing around and sock him in the jaw. The guard crashes into the wall.
“It’s far too early in the morning for this behavior, Noboru,” Namikawa says, as if he’s scolding a bratty kid.
Damn straight it is. I should be back at Hiro’s apartment, waking him up with my mouth around his dick. Instead, I have to speak to Namikawa.
“Takada’s guys attacked Hiro.” Fury makes my fists tremble.
“Oh?” Namikawa arches a brow, but he takes an unbothered sip of his water.
“He did it to get back at me because he’s a jealous ass. Hiro is a guest in our pack. He’s under our protection. Harming him is an attack against us.”
“Is it now?” Namikawa’s indifference makes me gnash my teeth.
“Yes!” I snap.
“I do not see it that way.”