Page 34 of Doubts of the Egoist
“What do you think?” Yugo tossed his hair back from his face and glanced at the screen to check the time. “It’s not even six.”
He sighed, glanced to the other side of the bed to check if the call had roused Kuon, but frowned at the empty space. His palm automatically brushed the sheets, finding them cold. He glanced at the bathroom door, but no light leaked from beneath.
“Sorry, I thought you were up since Kuon…” Greg stumbled, then cleared his throat. “Anyway—”
“Where is he?” Acute annoyance turned Yugo’s question into a growl. Despite their conversation the other day, Yugo couldn’t stand Kuon wandering his house unsupervised. He hated not knowing what Kuon did without him or who he talked to. It was irrational, but somewhere deep inside, he couldn’t relax without knowing his whereabouts, as if the younger man might disappear as soon as he took his eyes off him.
“Outside, I guess. He left about an hour ago.”
Yugo clenched his phone so tightly the plastic crackled in his fist. “Why are you calling me now?”
“Mio has left the Eurozone. He crossed the Turkish border nineteen hours ago.”
This just gets better and better.Yugo snorted. “I’ll be in the office in half an hour.”
He terminated the call, put the phone back on the nightstand, and went to take a shower, hoping the water would wash away his growing irritation.
CHAPTER 11
Yugo wrapped atie around his neck and narrowed his eyes when the door behind him creaked open and Kuon sneaked into the room. Standing in front of the tall mirrors, Yugo didn’t turn to greet him, but a single glance at Kuon’s reflection further darkened his mood.
Kuon froze, caught off guard, then gave him a hesitant smile. “You’re up.”
“Not what you expected?” Yugo drawled, focusing on Kuon’s fingers tightening around his crumpled T-shirt and muddy tennis shoes. Sweat coated Kuon’s skin as he panted through his nose, messy hair spiked in all directions.
Anger surged as Yugo realized that the entire mansion had enjoyed the view of Kuon’s half-naked body, covered in scars and passion marks. The former police detective looked depraved, wanton, and oh-so-fuckable. He drew attention like a painting, begging to be explored under a magnifying glass.
The view made a vein throb in Yugo’s temple. He pulled too hard on the tie, causing the silk noose to sink into his throat and cut off his air. He growled, tore it from his neck, and threw it aside as if the piece of silk caused all his problems.
“Why are you angry?” Kuon’s eyebrows furrowed in alertness.
An mean remark rattled behind Yugo’s clenched teeth, desperate to escape, as he tried to figure out why Kuon’s appearance triggered him. Until now, he’d never cared if people saw his lovers naked. Kuon wasn’t even fully undressed; ontop of that, he had Yugo’s claiming marks all over his body. Yugo should be happy, even proud, but he hated the thought of anyone seeing Kuon like that. It was even more ironic because his desire to show the single mark Kuon had left on his own neck was nearly overwhelming.
Ridiculous…He grimaced, unable to leash his ruffled emotions.
Confusion and something akin to fear bled into Kuon’s expression when he didn’t receive an answer. “Yugo, what’s going on?”
Rage annihilated self-control. Yugo whipped around, seized Kuon’s elbow, and pushed the younger man toward the mirrors. “You tell me.”
Kuon’s face paled, and then his cheeks flushed bright red. He stared at his own neck and chest, covered in purple hickeys and bite marks; his reflection’s eyes held a billion expressions. It took him a long second to croak, “Why aren’t you happy? You left them.”
“I did,” Yugo hissed. “So that the flies who get too close to you see that you already have a master. Certainly not for you to display yourself like a third-rate whore after an orgy.”
“Excuse me?” Kuon said slowly, as if giving Yugo’s mind time to catch up with his tongue. He turned to face him, knuckles whitening as he gripped his muddy shirt. A deepening crease between his brows accentuated the fire of indignation blazing in his eyes. “I must have misheard. Repeat if you dare.”
“I’m serious.” Yugo grimaced at the hellish flames dancing in Kuon’s eyes, then raised his palm in surrender. He grabbed another tie from the tie rack and faced the mirror. “I don’t have time for this argument right now, so just listen. Don’tstroll around undressed. This is not a request. I don’t want people to get the wrong idea.”
“Wrong idea?” With a challenging but incredulous smirk, Kuon folded his arms over his chest. The muddy tennis shoes left a dirty smudge on his wiry flank. “What would that be? Enlighten me, because when I look at myself, I think all the right things.”
Yugo’s fingers seemed to have forgotten how to tie a tie. He crumpled the black silk in his fist, then snapped, “I don’t want anyone to think you’re approachable. Am I being clear?”
Kuon blinked, opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and started laughing. His body shook, mud from his tennis shoes rubbing off onto his stomach, painting it gray and brown. “Are you for real? Look at me. You are the only person in the world who still finds me attractive.”
“That’s all I do. Look at you. Want to know what I see?” Yugo whispered, then scooped Kuon into his arms and hauled him back to the mirror. A dirty shoe brushed his cuff, leaving an earthy stain on his crisp white shirt. With one hand, he secured Kuon’s chin while the other ghosted over the purple marks on his chest down to the scars on his flank. Kuon gulped, following the ministrations with blown pupils. “You have never been more alluring. Whenever I look at you, I can’t help wondering what it would take to break you if all these scars only made you stronger.”
“I really hope you don’t think that.” Kuon’s smirk faded. He tried to wrench his chin out of his grip, but Yugo only held on tighter, causing the skin under his fingers to blanch.
“I do.”
