Page 12 of Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox
Tsumiko touched her lips and nodded.
If what Michael said about her background was true, this girl’s ignorance was to be expected. While Argent was obligated to protect his mistress, it wasn’t his job to correct her misconceptions. He could leave her tutelage to the reavers.
Or perhaps he could use her naiveté to some advantage.
“The kiss was for the bond,” he said. “It is customary to offer a taste of what I cannot have in order to make me more pliant to the whims of my captor.”
Tsumiko’s eyes widened. “That’s terrible.”
“Quite.” He sat forward and surveyed the crumpled state of his shirt. He would need to change.
“I won’t neglect you.” She touched his arm. “No one should have to go hungry.”
Argent snorted. “You arenotfood.”
“Oh. What do you eat normally?”
“Our diets are similar. Sampling power like yours is purely recreational.”
She shook her head. “Michael said youneededme.”
“There was a time when I took what I liked when I liked. But with you, I cannot help myself. My mistress alone can yield what I crave.”
“How do I do that?”
Her attitude baffled Argent, but he wasn’t about to complain. “Eimi held my hand. Michael prefers an embrace.”
Tsumiko relaxed noticeably. “That makes more sense than kisses, since they hold a different meaning for humans.”
“Meaning varies, but a kiss is still a kiss for my kind.”
“But that means …” she began, her lips turning down. “Did it bother you to have to kiss someone you hate?”
Argent smoothly sidestepped the question. “Did it bother you to be kissed?”
“At first.”
He wasn’t accustomed to such transparency. Argent wondered how far he could push before she resorted to a lie. “What changed?”
“When I stopped thinking of it as a kiss.”
“What did it become?”
“I’m … not sure.” Tsumiko began fiddling with her necklace. “Are you truly mine?”
“Irrevocably.”
“How can you tell the bond is in place?”
“I have been through this many times; it is always the same.”
Tsumiko sighed. “Can’t I simply set you free?”
Argent stared at her in stunned silence.
“Wouldn’t you prefer that?” she pressed.
Every fiber of Argent’s being screamedyes. But reality wasn’t about wishes or preferences. The bond was well-made, and he couldn’t escape its thrall. Hiding behind an injured tone, he asked, “You do not want me?”
