Page 88 of Emperor of Lust

Just then, Annika swings by, touching my arm. “Dinner’s ready. You coming?”

Mal materializes out of the shadows—the fucker’s good at that—and slips his arm wordlessly around Freya. He nods silently at me before scooping a squealing Freya into his arms and carrying her off to the dinner table.

I take my seat beside Hana, who’s sitting with a mix of elegance and ease, as though she belongs nowhere else but here.

Next to me.

Around us, Sota’s old Yakuza buddies share loud, raucous jokes and sake, and the air fills with warm laughter.

Takeshi makes some joke across the table, and Hana laughs, a musical sound that does strange things to my chest. Before I realize it, her hand is slipping into mine under the table and squeezing.

I’m done hiding. I’m done pretending this is anything but the most real thing I’ve ever felt, with anyone.

I lift our hands up and set them firmly on the table, still holding hers for everyone to see. A grin spreads over my face when her cheeks flush, but she doesn’t pull away. Takeshi glares at our hands for a second, but then gives a slight nod. Annika and Freya are beaming ear to ear. Kenzo initially looks confused, but then reads the room pretty fast and tilts his head in my direction. Mal shrugs and giving a silent nod right after.

Sota is the last one. But when I lock eyes with the man who was essentially a father to Hana for years, and he slowly dips his chin and grins at me…

Pretty sure that means I just passed some sort of test.

Sitting here, her hand in mine, a strange feeling settles over me. Like I’ve found my place. Like there’s nothing I’d rather do than hold her hand, for as long as she’ll let me.

The evening passes with a blur of voices and clinking glasses, one constant presence steadying me—Hana.

After dinner winds down we make our way upstairs, her arm looped tightly through mine as if she’s afraid to let go. She’s flushed and grinning from all the sake Sota’s friends kept pouring, and when looks at me mischievously, my blood runs a little hotter.

We’re barely inside her room before she pounces. I groan as she pushes me against the door, kissing me deeply. Fire roars through my veins, my cock turning to steel against her stomach as I grip her ass tightly.

“How aboutyou,” she half-slurs, “go shower.” She grins a tipsy, sultry smile as she brings her lips to my ear. “And then come back and tie me up.”

Okay, she’s drunk. But whatever reservations I have slip away when she cups my swollen dick through my pants and leans close again.

“Don’t you dare say no because I’ve been drinking,” she purrs. Her teeth nip my earlobe. “Iwantyou to take advantage of me…”

Fuck.

My cock surges against the front of my pants.

Hana giggles, slips away from me, and nods to the bathroom. “Off you go. Don’t be long.”

It’s possible I set a new land speed record for quickest rinse-off. Still, when I step out of the bathroom,sanstowel, my hunger abates.

Hana’s curled up in bed, fast asleep.

It’s not a “wake me up with your cock” kind of sleep. Not a “take advantage of me” sleep.

It’s a true “the ship has sailed” passed out.

Her breaths are deep and even, her lashes casting faint shadows across her cheeks. She looks so peaceful and vulnerable, in a way I rarely see.

I reach for the covers, pulling them over her, tucking her in. She stirs, murmuring something, her lips pouting slightly.

“I fell asleep,” she mumbles, barely awake, her tone both regretful and apologetic. “I’m sorry.”

I run a hand through her hair, kissing her cheek. “Don’t be.”

Slowly she peels her eyes halfway open. She glances at the space beside her. The sad look in her eyes tightens my chest.

We’re still not sharing a bed. No matter how close we’ve gotten, how many barriers we’ve smashed, there’s still one she can’t cross. But I understand. It isn’t the kind of thing she can just undo, like untying a knot. It’s buried deep in her brain, beyond words, beyond reason.

---