Page 47 of The Oni's Heart

“You don’t get to decide who gets what. She deserves better,” I said, the words harsh. “I’m doing this for her, not for you.”

The Oni simmered, quiet for a long moment. But when I stepped toward the door, clothes in hand, I felt him push against me, frustrated and seething.

“She’s going to be the death of us, you know that?”

“Maybe,” I muttered. “But I’m not going to let her go. Not now.”

The Oni’s growl echoed in my mind, but it wasn’t as loud as it had been before. Maybe, for now, we had some semblance of agreement. And maybe that was all I could hope for.

But as I left the store and made my way back to the apartment, my mind was already racing ahead. The Yakuza were closing in from various locations. The Oni was restless. And Momoi—she was still in danger even after what we accomplished today.

I didn’t know how long I could keep this under control. But I sure as hell wasn’t going to let the storm swallow us whole. Not without a fight.

27

Consuming Flames

MOMOI

The darkness of the night wrapped itself tightly around me as I lay in bed, my body heavy with exhaustion, but sleep didn’t offer me the escape I had hoped for. Instead, it dragged me back to the past, to the memories I never wanted to relive.

I was just a little girl again, standing in the cold of the alley, my mother’s face a blur of bruises and desperation as she told me to stay hidden. The echo of shouting voices, the rough men pulling at her, their laughter cruel and cutting—it was all there. I could feel the panic rising in my chest as the smell of alcohol and sweat filled the air. I tried to run, to escape, but my feet wouldn’t move. The darkness swallowed me whole, and then I heard it: the sharp slap of skin against skin, followed by the sickening sound of her voice breaking.

I jolted awake, gasping for breath, my heart pounding against my ribs as the nightmare clung to my mind. The room was silent, the night still, but then I felt it. The bed dipped.

For a moment, I froze, the remnants of the nightmare making my pulse race, but when I shifted slightly, the weight on the bed became clear. Someone was sitting beside me.

The scent of him was unmistakable—Tatsuya. I was aware of him immediately, his presence seemed to fill the room even though the only sound was my own shallow breathing. My eyes fluttered open, the remnants of sleep still clouding my mind, and I realized I was no longer alone in the room.

"Tatsuya?" I whispered hoarsely, my voice thick with the remnants of a nightmare I couldn’t shake. My body trembled, still trapped in the grip of those old, familiar fears.

A low, strained sound came from him, but it wasn’t just his voice. There was something else... a growl, a rumble that seemed to vibrate in the air around us.

And then, as if I were still lost in the nightmare, the dream changed. In an instant, we were no longer in the safety of the dark apartment; we were outside, under a cold sky, surrounded by the same faceless men from my past.

"No," I whispered, shaking my head, but I couldn’t stop it. The nightmare took shape, and there they were, the same men, closing in on us. They reached for me, their hands rough and cruel, but before I could move, a roar erupted from Tatsuya—no, not just Tatsuya. It was the Oni. His anger tore through the dream, violent and unrestrained.

I cried out his name, panic rising as the nightmare collided with reality. "Tatsuya!" My voice broke, desperate, as I fought to move, but my limbs wouldn’t obey. The terror from the dream felt so real, the danger closing in on us, and I couldn’t wake up from it.

The bed dipped further, and I felt him—his warmth, his presence—draw nearer. The sensation felt tangible, as if he was right next to me, yet the horror in my mind twisted the reality ofhis proximity. Was he there? Or was it just another cruel twist of the dream?

In my desperation, I reached for him, not knowing if it was the real Tatsuya or the Oni, or both tangled together in my dreams. My hands found nothing but empty air, but I felt his breath—warm, just inches from my ear, and the rumbling growl of the Oni made the hair on my neck stand on end.

"Momoi," he whispered, but it wasn’t his voice. It was deep, guttural, laced with the weight of the demon inside him. "You can’t escape this... not from me."

His mouth was hot against mine, and my body struggled to escape whatever this was between wakefulness and sleep. It was as if I was under a spell, my body instantly responding to him. My hands roamed his demonic body, pulling him against me, urging him to help me escape the nightmares that threatened to drown me.

“I need you. I need this,” I panted against him.

I wasn’t sure who responded as the Oni growled and dragged me down the bed by the legs, situating me under him. With a gasp, I gripped his hair and pulled him down for another kiss as a hard, wet, and ridged cock pulsed against my inner thigh.

Nothing about it was human, nothing about him was human, and yet, the very idea of what was about to happen made me slick with arousal.

I could hear him inhaling deeply as he nipped along my jaw, growling in a language I didn’t understand, one that wasn’t from this world.

The temperature of the room amped up as our bodies slid against each other. He thrust himself against my thigh, creating a burn on my skin that made me hiss. It was a form of torture, and I was a willing victim.

Reaching down, I grabbed his cock and twisted it, listening with satisfaction as he groaned above me, his tongue traveling along the path of my bruises.

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