Page 21 of The Arrival
Haruka leans in, brushing his lips against Nino’s. “You sound like your brother.”
“I’m irritated.”
“Don’t be.” Haruka closes his eyes, placing a soft, teasing kiss on his mouth. Nino growls, channeling the annoyance he feels into hunger and pushing into his mate. When Haruka eventually lifts, Nino gasps from the loss of him.
“You gave me a child today,” Haruka whispers.
“I did.” Nino grins, his cheeks reddening once more. “Well, the beginning of one, anyway.”
Haruka draws his cool fingertips across Nino’s lips. “What should I do to express my gratitude?”
“Hm.” Nino’s eyebrow quirks up. “When you get home from dinner tonight, I want a repeat of this afternoon—except this time, I want you on your back, with your thighs gaped open to me as I push inside you. And I want your aurafullybloomed and you writhing and making those sexy little sounds from your throat that tell me I’m doing an excellent job. May I have that?”
“Yes,” Haruka breathes, sprinkling kisses against his neck. “You can have that right now.”
“You’re having dinner with Abe-san in an hour.”
“To hell with Abe-san.”
Nino laughs, draws back and kisses him on his lips. “Tonight. Trust me, I’ll make it worth the wait.” He unwraps himself from Haruka’s arms and turns to finally start the vehicle. When he hears Haruka’s voice, there’s a smile behind it.
“I have no doubt.”
* * *
After Haruka has leftfor his dinner appointment and Asao has returned from dropping him off, Nino goes looking for the manservant. He finds him cooking in the kitchen.
He steps inside, and the lighting is intimate with the setting sun beyond the patio doors. Sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, onion and radish are just a few of the scents floating through the air and teasing his nose. Tempting his tastebuds. “Where’s Sydney?” Nino asks.
“He’s at the Ito Clan’s house.”
“Again?”
“Yeah. I have a feeling Hisaki is up to something. This is the third time this month.”
“Poor Syd.” Nino stalks toward the table and pulls out a chair. “He’s so excited about us leaving for Italy next week. He’s never been.”
Asao glances over his shoulder. “I’m excited, too. Hell, I haven’t been in forever.”
“You didn’t have to cook for the two of us. I could have thrown something together.”
“I don’t mind. Today is an exciting day, with the clinic appointment and all. Let’s celebrate. Go ahead and grab a bottle from the wine rack.”
“Sure.” Nino stands and heads toward the pantry.
“Did everything go smoothly today?” Asao asks, lifting the top of a large pot and dipping a ladle inside to stir.
“It did. For the most part.”
Asao turns his head, his thick brows furrowed. “What does that mean?”
Bottle in hand, Nino goes to the counter and retrieves the opener from the designated drawer. “Can I ask you about something?”
“You can always ask, but I won’t guarantee an answer.”
Nino chuckles as he works the cork loose. “After things ended with Yuna, you and Haru traveled quite a bit, yeah?”
“We did.”
