Page 16 of Curses & Kitsune

I squirm on his cock when the wetness inside starts to trickle out around him. “Feels good,” I murmur, leaning back into his hard chest and reaching up to play with his damp hair.

He sucks a kiss into my shoulder. “I know. I wish I could stay inside you until I’m ready to go again.”

A chuckle escapes me. “I’d love that, but I do need to type out a story and send it to my editor.”

Raiden squeezes me, as if he doesn’t want me to go. “Fine. I’ll order groceries and make us dinner.”

“Sounds good.” I get up, and Raiden slips free from my body, leaving me feeling empty. I go to the bathroom and return with a wet cloth. I straddle his thick thighs and wipe him down, then he accepts the cloth and cleans me, wiping between my cheeks, then my oversensitive cock. When my breath hitches, he leans in and captures my mouth.

Bumping his forehead against mine, he says, “Everything I do, it’s for you. For us.” He kisses my fingers, then gives them a squeeze. “You’re the reason. For everything.” Soft brown eyes hold my gaze. “So wait for me. This won’t be forever, and then we can go wherever you want. No more yakuza. No kitsune. No hunters. Just us. Okay?”

Love for him blooms in my chest, filling my body with heat. Touching my lips to his, I run my fingers through his hair. “Okay,” I whisper, and it’s a promise I hope we can both keep.

Chapter 6

“I’ve been meaning to ask. Is this your father?” Jinta offers me his phone and goes back to eating my homemade Pad Thai.

Setting down my chopsticks, I accept the phone he hands me and zoom in on the picture. My stomach lurches when I recognize the face staring back at me from the screen. His black hair has gone gray, and his face is lined and weathered, but I’d recognize those murky brown eyes and stern mouth anywhere.

“Yeah,” I grunt. “Guessing he got arrested?”

Jinta nods. “That picture is a few years old. He was arrested for possessing illegal drugs, but he was released a year ago.”

Sounds like dear old Dad picked up a few new vices after he bailed on us like a coward. I hope he’s tormented by what he did, but somehow, I doubt it.

“Why the sudden curiosity?” I stir my noodles around my plate.

“I was supposed to write an article about an attack against the Horikoshi-gumi. They were in town visiting. Hunters took out some of their top men.”

I nod, recognizing the name. “They’re based in Osaka, right?”

Grabbing some pork with his chopsticks, Jinta chews, humming his approval. My wolf growls low in my chest, happy that we’ve pleased him. “Yup. Your dad escaped. He’s a wanted man.”

Something in my stomach gives a painful twist. All these years, and he was only a short plane ride away. I wonder if the woman he destroyed his mating with is still with him.

“Oh, no. You’re making that face.” Jinta’s pouting when I look up.

“So’re you,” I counter, poking his bottom lip. “What face?”

Jinta sighs. “Like a kicked puppy.”

“Not a puppy.” I pick up some of my crispy pork and feed it to him.

Swallowing, Jinta rubs my forearm. “Should I not have told you?”

A part of me wishes he hadn’t. I never wanted to see that son of a bitch’s face again. The past still has such a grip over me, and memories I’d buried down deep try to gnaw their way back to the surface. “It’s fine.”

“I mean, at least we know where he is, who he runs with. The Horikoshi-gumi will have info on him. We can track him down and find out how he cured himself of the kitsune curse.”

I scowl before I can stop myself. “We don’t need anything from him.”

Jinta furrows his brow. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”

Leaning over, I kiss his cheek. “You didn’t. I’m fine.” The lie is sour in my throat.

Jinta does the dishes and puts the leftovers away while I brush my teeth and get ready for bed. I spit in the sink, then look up and find my reflection staring back at me. He looks like me. My father. Older. Harsher. But like me.

Will I be where he is a few years from now? Evading the police, running around with the yakuza, the lines of a hard life wrinkling my face. Am I destined to be a yakuza thug for the rest of my life? Grimacing, I turn my back on the mirror and walk out.

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