Night Kiss
Page 40
Soon-joon suspected Ki-tae had planned on telling Jin-woo about the bond on Sunday, when he would have his family around to support him if the worst happened, but it had been taken out of his hands now. He would have to tell Jin-woo tonight. He would still have his family around him, though.
Soon-joon paused in his preparation of miso soup and sukiyaki to grip the counter. He snarled as his fangs descended and the need for blood made his belly clench. He did not have time to go out, not now. His family needed him, and his needs would have to wait.
“Did you think you could sneak out of the office and not feed?”
He looked up to see Hyun-jo walking toward him, clad in a traditional kimono, his hair long but still black and pulled up away from his face in a simple style, the rest hanging down behind him. He came down the two steps and around the island. Soon-joon should stop being surprised Hyun-jo appeared when he was in need. Yet every time he saw his sweet Kitsune, guilt dug its claws into his chest.
Hyun-jo turned Soon-joon to face him, and he couldn’t look away from Hyun-jo’s lavender eyes. Then he stepped close, so close Soon-joon could feel his body heat, and he dropped his eyes to Hyun-jo’s mouth, the corners curved up ever so slightly. Slowly Hyun-jo raised his arm, letting his sleeve slide down to bunch at his elbow. Soon-joon turned his head, brushing his lips across that bared skin, causing Hyun-jo to whimper softly. He sank his fangs into Hyun-jo’s wrist and drank until the need was sated. Hyun-jo cupped his face, and Soon-joon looked into his eyes as he licked his lips. They were filled with determination and the flames of his fox-fire.
“I am done waiting for you to get over your guilt. You will feed only from me, but that is the last time you will feed from my wrist,” Hyun-jo said. “Consider yourself forewarned, Wŏ de àirén.”
“Hyun-jo.”
“And I am not leaving tonight, nor am I sleeping anywhere save next to you,” Hyun-jo continued as if he hadn’t said anything. Soon-joon huffed. “I am also done hiding what I am and my relationship to you from your sons.”
“You are full of demands,” Soon-joon said, pointing at him with a spoon.
“I am out of patience. A millennium of waiting for you to pull your head out of your ass is quite enough, thank you very much,” Hyun-jo said as he set the table, moving around with easy familiarity.
“Hyun-jo.”
“No, Soon-joon, I have waited far too long, and I will wait no more,” he said as he placed the last plate on the table and turned to look at Soon-joon over the island.
Hyun-jo sighed and came to stand before him once more. When he cupped Soon-joon’s face in almost delicate hands and pulled him down for a gentle kiss, Soon-joon could not resist. Without conscious thought, he wrapped one arm around Hyun-jo’s waist and pulled him close. When they broke apart, they were both breathing heavily.
“I am yours, and you are mine. I have no regrets. I cannot return to my clan, this is true, but I don’t want to, and that is what you fail to see. It is you who makes me happy, Soon-joon, you who brightens my day with a single smile, you who turns me into a quivering mass of want when I catch your scent. It is you who means everything to me, and I am not going to stand idle anymore. I am going to pursue you until you finally give in and realize you love me just as much as I love you.”
“I already know that,” Soon-joon said softly. “I just do not feel worthy of your love.”
“If you were not, you would not have it, and you know it. Stop being so damned stubborn and accept this love between us, in all its benefits and beauty,” Hyun-jo purred as he nuzzled Soon-joon’s neck. “When we retire tonight, I’m not going to let you sleep for a very long time. We have many, many years to make up for.”
“There are more important issues we must deal with than our intimacy,” Soon-joon said after swallowing hard—twice.
“Why do you think I said ‘after’?” Hyun-jo smirked at him. “Do you recall how I prefer to wear my kimonos?”
With those teasing words, he walked out of the kitchen, leaving Soon-joon with a mental image he was hard-pressed not to react to. With a shake of his head and a very determined mental push to clear the erotic images from his mind, Soon-joon turned back to the food. He wanted it ready when everyone arrived, and he needed to think about something other than Hyun-jo in his bed once more.
Jin-woo
JIN-WOO SAT in the car next to Min-su, staring out the window. He couldn’t stop thinking about Ki-tae. It didn’t take Qīngróu long to find Ki-tae, and Soon-joon called shortly thereafter to say Ki-tae was home and asleep. Now they were on their way to Soon-joon’s house, and Jin-woo was incredibly nervous, not to mention antsy. They assured him Ki-tae was physically fine, but that didn’t stop him from worrying. He wouldn’t be satisfied until he saw Ki-tae for himself.
The car slowed and then turned. Jin-woo straightened.
“We’re here,” HanYin said quietly. He hadn’t smiled since lunchtime, hadn’t spoken much either. Jong-in sat next to him, their fingers intertwined. It was good to see, but it made Jin-woo sad. Would he have that level of comfort with Ki-tae ever again? Did the nightmares ruin all that? He didn’t know, and it was making him sick to his stomach.
Shin-bai opened the door in silence. No one had said much of anything, in fact. It was weird and disconcerting. HanYin exited first, then Jong-in. Finally Jin-woo climbed out, followed by Min-su.
“Welcome to our home,” HanYin said and then waved an arm to usher them forward.
“I thought you lived at the apartment?” Jong-in asked. Jin-woo suspected it was to break the continued silence.
“I do, but this is my true home,” HanYin said. “We have lived here for years before getting our own places. Sometimes we need to be by ourselves, and our apartments allow us to do that, but we still think of this as our home. You see, Soon-joon-nim is our father as much as he’s our sire.”
“I don’t understand.”
“He found all of us as young children. Well, HanYin and I were in our teens. We figure Ki-tae was about twelve, still a child, when Abeoji found him,” Cheongul said absently as he came up behind them and set pace with Min-su. He had ridden in a different car. “We’ll explain it all when we get inside. I really want to take these damn shoes off.”
“Me too,” HanYin grumbled. “And Abeoji’s been cooking. I can smell the sukiyaki from here.”
“Means there’s miso soup too,” Cheongul said with a small half smile.
“Your father is a very good cook,” ChenBao said. “He learned from the imperial bakers and from his Japanese grandmother. They all adored him. He was such a precocious child, always sticking his nose into every little thing to find out what it was, how it worked, such curiosity.”
“Trying to keep these relationships straight is making my head hurt.” Jin-woo sighed. “I just want to see Ki-tae.”
“You will, Jin-woo dongsaeng,” Cheongul said.
“Given the situation, can we all agree such formal speech is no longer necessary?” Jin-woo said, rubbing at the ache in his temple. “At least when we’re in private?”
Everyone nodded.
Cheongul started walking again. “Abeoji has had him sleeping since they returned from Busan. When we get inside, we’ll wake him up.”
“I don’t understand why we had to wait so long before coming here,” Jin-woo huffed.
“Ki-tae needed the rest,” HanYin said.
“I know,” Jin-woo said as they paused outside the door. “I can’t settle until I see him for myself. Does that make any sense? I mean, I trust you all, so why would I doubt you in this?”
“Because you love him,” ChenBao said with a shrug. “And until you see him with your own eyes, check him yourself, you will not feel at ease with the idea he is okay.”
“But he’s not okay, is he?” Jin-woo said as HanYin opened the door and they went inside. “Physically, maybe, but that’s it. Whoever this Sashin person is, the very thought of him terrifies Ki-tae, and he’s part of those dreams.”
“I’m going to change and get comfortable. These shoes are beautiful, but after several hours, I can’t wait to take them off,” ChenBao said as she slipped them off and carried them with her.
Jin-woo sighed once more, put his shoes in the shelf with everyone else’s and followed them into rest of the house. He couldn’t even appreciate the simplistic beauty of the décor, how it seamlessly blended three cultures. Soon-joon met them in the living room, looking so casual Jin-woo almost didn’t recognize him. While he smiled, it didn’t reach his eyes, and he looked very tired. Jin-woo felt his tension ratchet up another notch.
“We need to change too,” Cheongul said. He placed a kiss on Min-su’s temple and then followed ChenBao down the hall. HanYin followed suit, though his kiss was to Jong-in’s mouth, making him blush.
“Please, make yourselves comfortable,” Soon-joon said. “It is going to be a long and probably stressful evening.”
“Ki-tae doesn’t like to wear shoes either,” Jin-woo murmured when he looked down at Soon-joon’s bare feet. “Or socks.”
“Neither does HanYin.”
“Or Cheongul.” Min-su tried to smile. “That’s your fault, isn’t it?”
“Guilty as charged, I’m afraid.” Soon-joon did smile. “Occasionally we might don some house slippers, depending on how cold it is, but for the most part, we walk around like this. Would you like something to drink?”
“I….”
“Jin-woo.” Soon-joon stopped him. “Ki-tae is waking up naturally as we speak. I know you’re anxious to see him, but we need to give him that time. This is going to be incredibly difficult for him.”
“Everyone keeps saying that as if I don’t know it already,” Jin-woo said. “I saw his face. I saw how terrified he was, and it’s killing me to not see him. Please, Soon-joon-nim, please let me see him.”
He could see Soon-joon wavering and resisted the urge to push.
“Of the people in this house, Jin-woo dongsaeng is in the least danger of being hurt,” Hyun-jo said as he walked into the living room from the garden. “Let him see Ki-tae dongsaeng. It can only help them both.”
“Hyun-jo seonbae,” Jin-woo whispered, staring at the man in confusion. Robes, long black hair, and a warm smile were not what he was used to seeing from him.
“It is a night for truths,” Hyun-jo said before turning to Soon-joon. “Take him to Ki-tae dongsaeng, xīn’ái.”
Soon-joon stared at Hyun-jo for a few more moments before he sighed and inclined his head toward the hall. Eagerly Jin-woo followed him, leaving his friends in Hyun-jo’s capable hands. He had only one thought in his mind. The hallway was long and seemed to go on forever, even though that wasn’t possible. Soon-joon turned right at the crossing hall and paused at a door on the left. He looked back at Jin-woo.
“I know you and Ki-tae have spent the night together. I can only assume he woke up easily with you.”
“He did.”
“However, he was not in the same mental state as he is now, so I ask you to move slowly and carefully when you wake him. If he reacts aggressively, do not move at all. Let him scent you first. Call his name softly and let him come to you.”
“You act as if he’s an animal,” Jin-woo said stiffly.
“That is a very accurate comparison,” Soon-joon said. “You see, he will be acting on pure animal instinct if he startles. He will be defensive and aggressive at the same time. He won’t be fully awake when he starts to move. That’s why you stand still. The first thing Ki-tae does is scent the room. Since he spent so much time in the dark, unable to see, his other senses were heightened by that experience, even as a human child. It is why they are so much stronger now that he is a Vampire. Once he scents you, he can process it and identify you. Since your scent is intimately known to him, it may only take a few seconds, which is a good thing, but you must give him that time.”
“How did he function with his other lovers?”
“Easily. Neither he nor they ever spent the night,” Soon-joon said. “And he has never brought any of them here. Now go.”
Soon-joon opened the door, and Jin-woo stepped inside. He walked the tiny hallway past Ki-tae’s closets on the left. He paused at the end and stared at the bed. When he saw the steady rise and fall of Ki-tae’s chest, Jin-woo felt a weight lift from him. He took a few steps closer.
“Ki-tae?” he called. “Ki-tae, wake up.”
Glancing over his shoulder, Jin-woo moved closer and sat on the edge of the bed. He reached out and brushed Ki-tae’s bangs from his forehead. He found himself pinned to the bed, a snarling, growling, silver-eyed Ki-tae on top of him with his wrists pinned next to his head. Jin-woo froze immediately, silently cursing himself for his need to touch.
“Ki-tae, it’s me, Jin-woo,” he said softly, surprised his voice wasn’t shaking. Dammit, why hadn’t he listened?
Ki-tae buried his head in his neck, and Jin-woo braced himself for the bite that never came. Instead he heard a very loud inhale, and then Ki-tae completely relaxed on top of him. He wrapped the arms that had just pinned him to the bed around him tightly, and hot tears splashed against his neck. He put his arms around Ki-tae and held him close, stroking his hair soothingly.
“Shhh, it’s okay, Ki-tae. I have you,” he whispered, placing kisses on his hair. “I’m here, and I’m not leaving, ever.”
Ki-tae
KI-TAE BREATHED in Jin-woo’s scent, letting it soothe him. Jin-woo was here. He hadn’t run away. He was in Ki-tae’s arms, and he wasn’t struggling to get free. Ki-tae sighed and let the tears fall. He couldn’t make out the words now, but the tone was what mattered, the quality of it. He rolled onto his back, taking Jin-woo with him. When Jin-woo made a move to leave, Ki-tae opened his eyes to see his smile.
“You awake now?” Jin-woo said, his tone teasing.
“Yes.” Ki-tae’s voice was rough, as if it hadn’t been used in a long time. “You’re here.”
“Where else would I be?”
“Running far away from me,” Ki-tae whispered.
“Never,” Jin-woo said, placing a kiss on his nose. “I’m sorry I startled you. I couldn’t help it. I had to touch you, to make sure you weren’t my imagination, and that you were truly okay.”
“I’m sorry I pinned you to the bed,” Ki-tae said.
“Well, I didn’t mind that so much.” Jin-woo blushed, ducking his head against Ki-tae’s chest.
“We have things we need to talk about,” Ki-tae breathed. “And I’m starving. Otherwise I wouldn’t let you out of this bed.”
“Ki-tae, if you’re not ready….”
“No, you’re having nightmares. That’s my fault, and you deserve to know why,” Ki-tae said as he shifted Jin-woo off him and sat up. “Are the others here?”
Jin-woo nodded. “Cheongul-a, HanYin-a, Soon-joon-nim, ChenBao-nim Min-su-ya, and Jong-in-a. And oddly Hyun-jo seonbae, who looks completely different from what I’m used to seeing. His hair is long, for one thing. Why in the world would he wear a wig? And he’s dressed in a kimono.”
“That’s not a wig.” Ki-tae managed to chuckle. “That’s his actual hair. Unlike the rest of us, he refuses to cut it, so he casts a glamour to hide it when he is out in public.”
“So he’s a Vampire too? I really am surrounded,” Jin-woo groaned. “Did you know ChenBao-nim is a freaking Dragon? Well, Vampiric Dragon, which really just seems wrong, but damn, that woman has power to spare!”
“I didn’t know the Dragon part, but it makes sense, with the aura she gives off,” Ki-tae said. “C’mon, I need to change out of these clothes.”
Jin-woo scooted up to lean against the headboard of Ki-tae’s bed, crossed his ankles, and put his hands behind his head, grinning wickedly. “Okay, go ahead.”
“Oh, you’re going to enjoy the show, are you?” Ki-tae said, feeling his mood lighten with Jin-woo’s teasing.
“Hell yeah,” Jin-woo said.
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br /> Ki-tae smiled as he turned and walked toward his closet. He pulled out a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt and then tossed them to the storage trunk at the foot of his bed. He slowly drew his shirt over his head as he walked back toward Jin-woo. He pitched it in the general direction of his hamper before reaching for the button at his pants. Jin-woo’s eyes were riveted to his hands, and he peeked out that devious little tongue to sweep it over his lips. It made Ki-tae feel hot and desirable. He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his pants and his underwear, drawing them down at the same time. Ki-tae chuckled as Jin-woo adjusted himself with a soft whimper. His pupils were blown, and he kept biting his lip. When Jin-woo crawled down the bed and reached for him, Ki-tae stepped back.
“If you touch me right now, I will not let you out of my bed for the rest of the night and probably into tomorrow morning, possibly not until Monday,” Ki-tae growled. “I want you badly.”
“I can see that,” Jin-woo said, eyeing his erection. “You’re hard and leaking for me.”
“Jin-woo.”
“Do you really want to go out to talk with your family like this?” Jin-woo purred, advancing once more.
Ki-tae continued to back up until his back hit the wall. Jin-woo dropped to his knees and took him deep in one swallow. Ki-tae cried out as he buried his fingers in Jin-woo’s hair. He gripped the shelf above his head, bucking his hips involuntarily as Jin-woo worked him expertly. All too soon Ki-tae spilled down his throat, shaking with the strength of his orgasm. When he opened his eyes again, Jin-woo sat back on his heels, licking his lips. Ki-tae groaned. Jin-woo was going to be the death of him.
“You are….”
“I am… what?” Jin-woo grinned.
“Amazing, wonderful, evil, sexy as hell, beautiful, pick one,” Ki-tae chuckled breathlessly. “You realize everyone knows exactly what was going on, right?”