Shivers

by Remmy Duchene

  Kofi glanced over his shoulder and nodded. Carter disappeared up the stairs before Kofi allowed Osaki to take his hand and lead him through the house and out the back. They walked silently across the yard then the bridge and came to a stop in the gazebo where Osaki released him and turned to look over the land.

  “When I became a Shiver, I thought for sure the others wanted me dead,” Osaki began, his voice a low rumble. “I thought one of them was spearheading this campaign against me and it made me feel unwanted, unnecessary. But in the end, it just left me angry. Earlier, I found out who really wants me gone, and it has broken my heart.”

  “Osaki, who?”

  “Aoi.”

  “Who is that? Sounds like another one of Zeus manifestations.”

  Osaki shook his head, his wet hair dancing from side to side with the motion. “In 1467, I was eighteen years old. I was barely a man but I’d spent years training in the ways of the samurai and that was when a war broke out. Throughout history, it went by many names but the one you might know is the Ōnin War. I was away from home for training, but the moment I was needed, I set off for my family’s estate, here. I did not make it in time and my whole family was slaughtered.”

  “I’m sorry.” Kofi stepped forward to touch Osaki’s shoulder but he walked away.

  “Or so I thought. I had to bury my mother and my sister—my beautiful, perfect sister—and it always bothered me that I did not get to lay my brother to rest.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “His body was not there. I just assumed they had taken him and killed him somewhere else, for he was a very abrasive child. He could never hold his tongue, even if it meant saving his life. Today I found out why his body was missing.”

  Kofi tilted his head when Osaki stopped speaking and thought through the story. Then realization hit him like a bag of bricks dropped on his head. He winced and shook his head. “No. No! That can’t be right. Your brother is a Shiver? I thought only Ciro could do that.”

  “Only Ciro can.” Osaki turned and faced Kofi. “But the others can make men of their choosing into immortals. My brother has sold his soul to the Devil.”

  “Boy, please! Hades don’t want him.”

  Osaki chuckled softly at that and Kofi took a breath.

  “So your brother is this Aoi and he wants you dead. I can’t believe I’m going to ask this, but do you know why?”

  “He said it was for the power.”

  Kofi tossed his hands up as if in surrender, rolled his eyes and turned away. “Why not? Brothers have killed brothers for less, as long as there was life on this miserable planet. Sometimes I wonder why we don’t just let the rogues wipe us all out.”

  “Kofi, you must understand. My brother lost his humanity many decades ago. There is none left in him. We cannot make the earth suffer because he chooses everything else but his brother.”

  “Uh-huh.” Kofi faced him again. “So what now? What’s the end result here? What must happen now?”

  “He must die.”

  Kofi shook his head. “Nuh-uh. No. You can’t live with that. I see what it does to Ciro.”

  “This is not up for debate, Kofi. Aoi has to perish and it has to be by my hands. He is a part of my bloodline but I must end it.”

  Kofi leaned in to touch Osaki’s face but thought better of it. He wasn’t sure what to do with his hands. Dropping them by his sides felt unnatural and strange so he cradled his lover’s cheeks. “I don’t like it,” Kofi admitted. “Okay? I don’t like that you guys have to kill your brothers. Why does it always have to be a brother! Shit, I get mad at Carter—I get mad at him all the time—but I don’t want him dead. I don’t understand why anger in this family turns into death!”

  Osaki pulled Kofi into his arms. Kofi exhaled into Osaki’s body and wrapped his arms around him.

  “I am in turmoil, Kofi,” Osaki whispered. “Maybe I should just let you go.”

  “No.” Kofi clung tighter. “I’m not going anywhere, so find another solution for your turmoil.”

  Osaki kissed his neck.

  “In fact,” Kofi said, easing back. “I think I have just the thing.”

  He smiled, tangled his fingers with Osaki’s and led him back to the house. They bypassed the bedroom, where Carter was busy peering at the computer screen while scribbling on a notepad, and locked the master bedroom’s door behind them. He shoved Osaki to the bed. “Don’t move. Don’t disappear. Don’t leave. Promise me.”

  Osaki hesitated. “I promise.”

  Kofi ran back to where his brother was. “I need a favor.”

  “Are you kidding? Name it.”

  “Do you have any condoms on you?”

  Carter blinked. “Say what?”

  Kofi wiggled his head from side to side, heat flowing over his cheeks. “Condoms—you know—the latex things you use when you’re—”

  “I know what you mean but I don’t need them with Ciro— Wait…” Carter dug through his wallet and found one. He peered at the expiration date then smiled and handed it over. “It hasn’t expired. It will in two years.”

  “Thanks.” Kofi snagged it and was heading out of the door when Carter called after him.

  “Are you going to top or bottom?” Carter asked.

  Though Kofi couldn’t stop blushing, he shrugged. “I don’t know. I have this urge to be…well, you know…fucked.”

  Carter smiled. “Take it slow.”

  Kofi nodded and hurried back to the bedroom. Osaki had changed into dry clothes.

  “Kofi, what are you doing?”

  “I’m easing your pain, Osaki. Work with me here.”

  Osaki smiled and caressed his face. “That’s not how it works. The first time we make love should not be because you think it will take my mind off other things. It should be because you think you are ready and you want to.”

  Kofi proceeded to peel his clothes from his body. He pressed his back to the door and dragged his hands down his chest, slowly tweaking his nipples. He moaned at the sensation it caused. “You don’t think I want to, Osaki?” Kofi asked, circling his hard dick with his fingers. Just the thought of having Osaki’s gaze on him made him hard and Kofi had no interest in fighting it or denying it anymore. “I’m ready. If you want to back away, tell me now.”

  “Back away?” Osaki smiled, floating through the air to stand directly before him. He pushed Kofi’s hands away. He stroked Kofi, his grip changing temperature as he went. “I have wanted your body from the first time I laid eyes on you. So no, I am not backing away.”

  Kofi moaned.

  Osaki slammed his lips forward, making Kofi groan with the force of the kiss. Kofi had never been kissed like that before. All Kofi could do then was grip the condom in one hand and cling to Osaki’s neck.

  Their feet lifted off the floor and Kofi jerked away from Osaki’s kiss and looked down. They were floating off the ground, so he hung tighter to Osaki. “Oh, my.”

  “I told you. I cannot control myself when you kiss me like that. Do not worry. I will not let any harm come to you.”

  Kofi met Osaki’s gaze and without a word, he kissed him again until they were lying on the bed. He dropped the condom beside him as Osaki spun them over until he was on top. But it didn’t matter. Every bit of Kofi’s being screamed for Osaki and he wanted to know what Osaki felt like inside him.

  But Osaki didn’t seem to be in any rush. He took his time licking, sucking and nibbling down Kofi’s body, which only served to stir the fire higher. Kofi arched to meet his lover’s lips—whimpering, groaning and tugging at Osaki’s hair. Then Osaki was face to face with Kofi’s dick and Kofi pushed to his elbows to watch Osaki go down on him. Kofi stared, wide-eyed, for a breath as Osaki pulled his cock to the back of his throat. Slowly, it slipped deeper until Kofi’s eyes crossed with pleasure. He slumped back on the bed, panting for air. “Oh fuck!” Kofi groaned. “Do that again.”

  Osaki obliged and Kofi’s toes curled.

  “That is how you like it, Kofi?�
�� Osaki asked then dipped forward again. “Fuck my face.”

  Hearing the polished and proper Osaki speak so filthily did something to Kofi. He gripped the back of Osaki’s head and drove down his throat repeatedly. His dick throbbed as Osaki’s throat squeezed the tender head. Kofi didn’t stop until he teetered on the brink. He released Osaki’s head and shouted his weakness to the night around him.

  “Tell me what you want, Kofi,” Osaki teased, crawling back up his body. “Tell me what you want, how you want it… How hard—soft.”

  “I want you to fuck me,” Kofi panted. “But…”

  “This is your first time.”

  “Yes.”

  “Roll over for me.”

  Kofi did and moaned when Osaki caressed up and down his back with large war-roughened hands. Osaki’s palms were gentle against his skin, trailing over his ass, stopping only to squeeze his cheeks and spread them. He relaxed into Osaki’s tender assault, whispering for more and arching upward into Osaki’s hands.

  “You are so sexy,” Osaki whispered. “So beautiful.”

  Tears stung Kofi’s eyes so he pressed his face into the bed. There was something wonderfully heartbreaking about a man caressing him the way Osaki was and telling him just how gorgeous he was.

  When Osaki parted his cheeks again, something wet and stiff slid over his crack then down to flick against his hole. Kofi glanced over his shoulder in time to see Osaki shoving his face in between them.

  “Oh, damn…” Kofi gasped, pressing his hands into the bed and pushing his ass back. It was the most amazingly hot thing to happen to him and he didn’t know if he could not allow that to happen again. Osaki’s skillful tongue penetrated his hole, flicked and licked then retreated. “Eat that.”

  Osaki slurped at him, moaned before spreading his ass cheeks wider to lick him from his balls all the way up to the end of his crack. Kofi closed his eyes as every muscle in his body stood at attention. His cock was so hard it squeezed into the bed sending even hotter sparks through Kofi. He ground against it then rolled his hips forward and back. He was rewarded when Osaki plunged his tongue deeper into his hole until he could do nothing but slam his fist into the bed.

  “Good!” Kofi sobbed. “So good.”

  “Tell me what you want, Kofi! Do not be shy now.”

  “Shove your tongue in! Lick my ass!”

  “Good boy.”

  By the time Osaki let up, Kofi was a puddle on the bed. There was no time to recover. Osaki rolled Kofi over and knelt on the bed. To Kofi’s amazement, Osaki worked two fingers into his ass. Their gazes met, which only made the whole scenario hotter. “Osaki.”

  A fire flashed in the Shiver’s eyes and it only glowed higher when Kofi reached and twisted Osaki’s nipples. Osaki tossed his head back, his beautiful dark hair spilling over his shoulder.

  “Harder,” Osaki demanded in a husky voice. “Pinch them—now twist.”

  “Are you ready to fuck me now?” Kofi questioned in a soft voice.

  “Yes—more than ready.”

  Osaki pushed upward, spreading Kofi’s legs just a little wider. He pulled close, his condom-covered cock pointing toward Kofi’s ass. For the first time since they’d started, fear rushed through Kofi. He silenced it by caressing the hardness of Osaki’s abs. His lover aimed his perfect mushroom head of his dick and slowly began pushing into Kofi.

  “I need you to relax,” Osaki whispered.

  Kofi tried relaxing but he was too nervous. With each inch Osaki slipped in, the pain became greater. He eased slightly away from Osaki, who stopped the penetration and rubbed his lower back. “We can stop,” Osaki said.

  “No. Give me a second.”

  They tried again and this time, Kofi took all of Osaki. The pain subsided a little but he remained still, wanting to move, but afraid to. Then Osaki began playing with Kofi’s hard nipples. It sent a surge of electricity crackling through Kofi’s veins. Grunting, Kofi moved his body forward then back against Osaki’s cock, drilling himself slowly. Little by little it got better and soon he was grunting and riding Osaki’s cock like a pro. He whimpered, bit into his pillow and wanted to cry with the sheer passion that stormed his every pore.

  “That is it, Kofi,” Osaki encouraged. “Ride back on me.”

  Kofi’s head didn’t know how to do what Osaki demanded but his heart and body knew precisely what was needed. When he complied, it was so good he was left speechless. Kofi didn’t think it could get any better until Osaki spun them around so he was on top. There was a brief moment of shyness that lasted until Osaki pressed against Kofi’s shoulder, driving his cock even deeper into Kofi than before.

  “Baby,” Kofi whimpered.

  Kofi braced his hands against Osaki’s muscular pecs and rolled his hips. Kofi bit his lower lip and groaned. Each thrust caused Osaki to hit the special spot that curled Kofi’s toes and made his nipples throb. Kofi met Osaki’s quick thrusts, stirring Kofi’s passions higher. Then Osaki gripped his cock and it was over. A tightening happened in the pit of Kofi’s core. Every part of him tingled then stiffened. Kofi’s cock erupted.

  Osaki fucked him harder, even as Kofi trembled and fell apart. It felt so mind-blowing, so good, Kofi shouted his release, not caring if his brother—or whoever else had managed to pop into their house—heard. Even as his hole tightened around the hard cock in it, Kofi couldn’t stop riding his lover, pulling at his nipples and whispering his name.

  It was the best release he’d ever had in his life and Kofi knew he’d have to do it again.

  “Come here, Kofi.” Osaki’s voice was husky but so demanding, Kofi’s cock instantly stood at attention in the samurai’s hand.

  Still, he uncurled his legs, pressed in so that Osaki’s penis remained buried deeply. Osaki sat up. Kofi wrapped his arms around Osaki’s back and their lips met.

  “You wanted me to come the last time we were intimate together,” Osaki explained. “Here is your chance.”

  Kofi nipped Osaki’s ear, tugging it between his teeth then licking it gently. “Come for me, Osaki. I want to see it.”

  A low rumble sounded in the room, followed by a crackle like sticking two live wires against each other. Kofi pulled back and saw the sound was coming from Osaki’s eyes. Lightning flashed through Osaki’s gaze, charged across the bridge of his nose to connect together.

  “Oh, shit!” Osaki cried, digging his fingers into Kofi’s ass cheeks. “Baby…”

  When he wrenched his hips backward and arched his body, Kofi quickly pulled from his arms and knelt before him, watching Osaki take his magnificent dick in his hand just as it exploded. He growled loudly and shoved his head into the pillows. Kofi caressed Osaki’s shaking body.

  “Kofi—do not leave me.”

  Kofi cuddled into Osaki’s chest, pressing his body into his side. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “The last time—”

  “But this is different.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  It was hard not getting up to go into the office, but that feeling only lasted the first few minutes after Kofi opened his eyes. For the past few days, he’d woken up to Osaki beside him and soon his thoughts were no longer on his job. Osaki would blow his mind by making love to him as a way of saying good morning.

  He watched Osaki out of the window doing what could only be described as a very beautiful war dance with two swords that glistened in the sun.

  As he stared in awe, a few times Kofi’s heart would lurch as Osaki did a particularly dangerous move and the sword would pass eerily close to Osaki’s head. Kofi gasped, pressed his eyes closed and when he didn’t hear a shriek of pain, he opened one eye and looked. He chuckled, shook his head and leaned his bare shoulder against the warm window until Osaki finished and bowed as he sheathed his sword. His samurai looked toward the sun then sat in meditation.

  His ringing cell phone pulled him from admiring the way the sun flowed over Osaki’s skin. His dark hair spilled down his back in a perfect large curl. “Hello?”

>   “Hey, boss.”

  Kofi laughed. “You got your stuff from Human Resources?”

  “I’m so happy you did this for me,” Christophe said. “I told my mom and she was so excited.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “About why I’m calling… A lady—a Mrs. Sheppard—keeps phoning for you. She said you were supposed to show her a condo over on Besser Drive.”

  Kofi pressed his eyes closed and rested his forehead against the window. “Damn, I forgot about that. Okay. Here’s what I want you to do. Use my office while I’m away. In my files, look for her folder under S.”

  “Now?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Right, hold on.”

  There was some shuffling on the other side and after a bit, Christophe returned. “I have it right now. What am I looking for.”

  “Do you see the pink slip?”

  “Got it.”

  “Good. I need you to take her to the property and show her around. Her appointment isn’t until Tuesday, so you can go down there. Wait, you don’t have a car.” Kofi racked his brain and came up with a solution. He couldn’t use Osaki like some bus to take him home, so he told Christophe he’d call him back. Kofi’s next call was to his Human Resources and he told them to give Christophe one of the company’s cars.

  When he was back on the phone with Christophe, he was sitting in front of his laptop. “You’re going to have to show her the property, get her to fill out the pink form then scan it and email it to me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. You can do this. Just visit the place first, get a feel for it so you can show her the good spots.”

  “This condo is three million dollars, Kofi.”

  “Don’t sweat it. If she doesn’t like it, let her know I’ll line up others for her but only divulge that after she tells you what she thinks.”

  “Okay. I’ll let you know.”

  When he was alone again, Kofi scanned his email but didn’t see anything from Mrs. Sheppard, so he rested back against the headboard for a moment. His growling stomach caught his attention. He thought to the fridge in the house and remembered that Osaki had made him miso. With a grin, he rushed from the bed and into the kitchen in time to see Osaki entering. Osaki looked sweaty and tired.