Page 111 of Dangerous Deceit

A fat raindrop splatters on my arm, and a shiver runs through me. In a matter of seconds, the rain pounds into the ground. My pulse accelerates, my insides quivering. Kenzo huddles around me. He shoots out a few texts on his phone, water smearing the screen.

“Tomo and Cherry will be here soon. But this is gonna be a flash flood,” he says. “We’ve gotta get to higher ground.”

“Why can’t we go into the storage facility?”

“You need two keys to get in. It’s never a solo job.”

The rain pummels into us and paints the desert in darkness. Soon, we’re higher up, taking shelter in a little dugout in the side of a rock formation. It gives us enough space to stay semi-dry, as long as we stay flat against the wall.

My eyes backtrack to Jay’s corpse. Muddy water sloshes around him and ringing fills my mind. Lightning flashes above us, but I can’t hear the thunder clap over my anxiety. My mind is a tangle of thoughts. I don’t want to look at Kenzo when I know, so deeply now, that I was wrong, but the words come rambling out.

“If you needed two people to open the storage facility, why did you come here?” I ask. “He couldn’t have gotten inside.”

“I couldn’t let him hurt you again,” he shouts.

The ringing goes silent. Kenzo really does love me, doesn’t he?

I’m such a fool.

“I’m sorry,” I cry. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I was so stupid. You were right. I’m sorry?—”

“I’m not sorry,” he shouts over the thunderstorm.

Finally, I meet his eyes. There’s a lightness inside of him, mixing with the earth surrounding us. Like he believes me, even if I don’t believe in myself.

“You were trying to protect your family,” he says. “I would have done the same.”

“But you were right,” I cry. “I was wrong. Patrick raped me; I know that now. And Jay isn’t my family. He was using me. They only cared about?—”

“They never deserved you,” he cuts me off. “But you’re okay now.”

I blink up at him, searching for the cracks in his truth. Kenzo should hate me. The Ito-gumi is after the Endo-kai’s gun stashbecause of me.

But Kenzo’s eyes are focused, like he only cares that I’m okay.

And that’s all I need.

I kiss him, smashing our mouths together so hard, my teeth knock into his. He moans, a slight twitch rolling through him at the pain, but his arms swim around me, gripping my legs until he’s carrying me by the ass. Rain taps my back, but Kenzo spins me around until I’m inside of the alcove and he’s exposed. The rain washes away the dirt and blood on his clothes. The fabric of his button-up shirt is see-through now, and it clings to his rippled muscles. Heavy drops of water pattern the tattoos along his neck. He breaks apart from my lips, searching my eyes.

“You’re fucking crazy,” he says. “You’re a backstabbing smart ass.”

“I-I’m sorry,” I stutter. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m?—”

“I love you.”

His lips intertwine with mine before I can process what he said. Our tongues dance, fighting for warmth and comfort in one another, and everything melts away. He leans me against the rocks and peels my shirt off of my chest, letting it bunch above my breasts, and he sucks my nipples like they’re giving him life.

We should stop; as long as the weather doesn’t slow them down, Tomo and Cherry will be here soon, but neither of us can keep our hands off of each other. Maybe I want them tosee us like this; it’s a declaration of love to each other: Jay dead at our feet while Kenzo and I hump like animals on the side of a mountain. And Kenzo feels like home. Like safety. Like everything I’ve carried inside of me is shifting until he’s clutching my heart tightly between his hands, keeping it safe. Kenzo’s love is lightness and forgiveness, and it gives me hope.

He pulls out his cock, and I stumble out of my jeans until I’m naked. Kenzo scoops me up, laying me down on the sticky ground. The rain batters our bodies, but the last bit of lightning darts across the clouds, illuminating Kenzo’s face, and it’s like I’m back in the desert next to the bonfire, looking up into Kenzo’s eyes again, knowing that I’m safe. Our love started out as deceitful, a brutal combination of lust and lies, but everything is different now, real and honest, and I’ll never let it go. I wrap my legs around his back, and he thrusts harder into me.

“I love you,” he says. “I love you so fucking much, Vi. This is going to cause so much shit.” He laughs. “But I promise, I’ll never let anyone hurt you ever again.”

The sobs come out, but I hold him close.

“I love you,” I whisper into his ear. I can’t say anything else, but I know these words are the only ones that matter right now.

His hand closes around my throat right as the orgasm reaches him, and from that look alone, I come too, knowing everything he says is true. Kenzo will never lie to me, and I will never lie to him ever again.

---