Of Cinder and Bone

by Kyoko M

  “Possibly,” Jack said breathlessly, shuddering as his pants hit the floor. “Mostly wondering if I’m actually awake or dreaming.”

  She grinned. “I could pinch you, if you like.”

  He relaxed into a wolfish smile. “Only if you’ll let me return the favor.”

  He brought her back in for another kiss, his hands sliding to the small of her back where the zipper for her dress lay. The silk folded in half down her upper body and then slipped free, exposing miles and miles of lovely skin… and no underwear. Jack shuddered again and Fujioka laughed softly, pulling him towards the bed.

  Jack landed on the mattress first and Fujioka all but pounced on top of him, settling in his lap as the kisses got deeper, more hurried, more frantic. A moment later, her brow wrinkled in a frown.

  “Jack,” she said sternly. “I can feel you thinking about this. Stop it.”

  He sent her a startled look. “How the hell…?”

  “You’re tense all over. And not the good kind of tense. You’re acting like I’m about to make you take a final exam that you haven’t studied for.”

  He laughed slightly. “Funny you should mention that.”

  Fujioka moved his hand from where it rested against her waist, sliding it upward. “Stop thinking.”

  Their mouths met again. Fujioka growled in frustration and shoved him flat beneath her, her dark eyes flashing in the dim lamplight.

  “How many?”

  “What?”

  “How many women have you been with aside from me?”

  Jack stared up at her in disbelief. “Uh. Three?”

  “Chikushō,” she muttered. “No wonder. Let me guess. You were usually the non-dominant partner in those relationships, ne?”

  He pushed up on his elbows. “Is it that obvious?”

  “Yes. You touch me like you’re worried I’ll break. I won’t.”

  Jack winced. “I’m… stronger than I look.”

  “So am I.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Try me.”

  She closed the distance between them in another kiss, her hands busying themselves between their lower bodies. Jack groaned into her mouth, his hands flexing of their own volition on her hips.

  Fujioka purred. “Good boy. Keep going.”

  He slid them higher towards the clasp of the bra, only to be met with rather stubborn opposition. Fujioka moved to his jaw, the spot where his ear met his chin, her voice mocking. “Going to let Victoria’s Secret get the better of you? I’m starting to lose interest in you, Jack.”

  He grunted and tore it in one savage jerk.

  “Mm, better.”

  “You know,” he growled, attacking her neck. “This would go a lot better without the play-by-play critique.”

  “Oh? What exactly are you going to do about it if I don’t stop?”

  “Figure out if there’s some duct tape in your suitcase.”

  Fujioka gave a little shudder, and the glint in her eyes that he’d seen a moment ago returned in startling force. “Much better.”

  He eyed her. “Do you always respond this way to threats?”

  “Only when I don’t have any pants on. Now, are you going to give me a reason to stay pantsless or am I going to have to find entertainment elsewhere?”

  Jack’s jaw twitched. “You sure? You want it all? Everything?”

  She raked her nails down his shoulders, her voice a bare whisper, but the tone electrified his skin and nerves from so close. “I didn’t drag you in here to make love to me. So, either get serious or get out.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Jack picked her up and slammed her into the wall adjacent to the bed.

  Fujioka let out a choked gasp, but didn’t have much time to recover her breath as he kissed her roughly, his hands digging into the base of her thighs hard enough to bruise. She all but clawed his back as the remaining clothing between them disappeared in an explosion of ripped seams and shredded cloth. Jack balanced on his knees and hoisted her up higher, leveling out the difference in their heights, and then went for the kill.

  The next eight minutes were a loud, hectic, mind-blowingly ecstatic blur.

  The only thing she remembered with perfect clarity was the fact that she hadn’t once reached the finish line with such enthusiasm in the last five years.

  When it was over, she did the only thing she could.

  She laughed.

  Jack’s sweaty face was buried in her neck, as he’d collapsed into the slightly dented wall with both hands keeping them propped up, so he felt the vibrations climbing up her chest first before the actual sound hit him. Fujioka’s arms were haphazardly wound about him, one hand resting in his slick hair, the other dangling over his shoulder, her rubbery legs loosely looped around his hips. It started out as hoarse giggles and then slowly progressed into hiccupping belts of laughter.

  “Sugoi,” she panted out, leaning her head back into the wall. “I knew it. I knew you were something special, koibito.”

  “You’re twisted, lady,” Jack said, but he was smiling nonetheless.

  “And you’re much more interesting than I thought,” she said, her fingertips tracing the fingernail marks she’d made down his shoulder blades. “Let me make you some coffee. We have much more to… discuss.”

  A couple of minutes later, they both sat cross-legged on the bed facing each other, unapologetically and happily naked, drinking coffee.

  “Oh, my God,” Jack said, pulling a face as he stared into the Styrofoam cup after the first sip. “It’s like a monkey jerked off into a tar pit.”

  Fujioka sprayed some over the bedspread. It took her a moment to get her laughter under control. “I told you it was bad.”

  “Bad is an understatement. I’ve tasted vomit that was better than this. And you have a nice suite, so what gives?”

  Fujioka shrugged. “I suppose they had to cut corners somewhere.” She set hers aside on the nightstand. “Now then. What on earth is wrong with you?”

  Jack pursed his lips. “Says the woman whose jimmies are rustled when a man she barely knows threatens to duct tape her.”

  “Point taken, but…” She ran a hand through her thoroughly mussed hair. “A man who can screw like that definitely has something rotten in Denmark in his past. Why haven’t any of your lovers let you off the leash before?”

  “Jesus. This is some kind of pillow talk.”

  “I’m serious, Jack.”

  He squirmed, staring into the cup. “Does it really matter why?”

  “It does if we’re going to continue with our arrangement. I offered because I find you compelling. You have untapped potential. However, I didn’t imagine I’d be reopening old wounds by inviting you into my bed. You don’t have to tell me everything. I won’t tell you everything either, but I like to be upfront about potential problems.”

  Jack drained the putrid coffee in one long pull. He coughed and then tossed it into the wastebasket across the room. “First girlfriend was in high school. Junior year. Gina. Tall, gorgeous, and smart as a whip. Lost my virginity to her. I don’t know if it’s the same where you grew up, but for guys, we tend to get very single-minded about the first girl. I did anything and everything she asked me to without question. It took me until graduation to figure out she was using me to get back at her parents.”

  “How so?”

  “Gina was black. Her parents didn’t approve of interracial dating. She dumped me not long after she was admitted to Columbia.”

  “And after that?”

  “Irene. Sophomore year at MIT. We met in one of my science classes, and it turns out she was a Georgia peach, as the cliché goes. We had a lot in common and so the relationship was easy. We got complacent. We got used to each other. We got bored. Finally, I caught her messing around with my best friend at the time and we ended things there.”

  Fujioka le
aned her head on her hand. “And then?”

  “Sam. Senior year. We only went out for a couple weeks. She thought I was too clingy, too much of a Southern gentleman. She was probably right. Of the three, we ended things the most amicably.”

  “And now there’s me,” Fujioka finished for him. “Number four.”

  “Yeah. You. I’m apparently halfway to the average number of lovers a human being has in their lifetime.”

  “Eight?”

  “Bingo.”

  “Is that in America or in general?”

  Jack grinned. “Well, we don’t use the metric system, so maybe you have a point there.”

  She sent him a challenging smirk. “Aren’t you going to ask my number?”

  “Nope,” he said cheerfully, standing and crossing the room to the wet bar. “Doesn’t have an effect on our, uh, relationship anyhow. A woman’s body is her own. My only concern is keeping it happy.”

  She stretched out on her side. “Oh, it’s very happy with you right now.”

  He glanced back over his shoulder. “Enjoying the view?”

  “Very much so, koibito.”

  He came back with two whiskey glasses, each filled with a finger-width of fine scotch. “What does that mean?”

  She accepted it and clinked hers with his. “Impress me again and I’ll tell you tomorrow night.”

  The following night, Fujioka found herself with a pillow over her face to stifle some rather undignified, loud noises. She had a good excuse, with Jack’s head below her waist level.

  Once he was done, Jack licked his lips clean and spared her an infinitely smug smile.

  “Impressed yet?”

  “Congratulations,” Fujioka gasped out, shaking all over as she removed the pillow. “You are the valedictorian of cunnilingus.”

  Jack chuckled. “I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

  She gripped his shoulders and tugged him down next to her, pressing light, grateful kisses along his jawline. “You might have bad luck with women, but you definitely pay attention to them. I didn’t have to instruct you on a single thing. That’s extremely rare.”

  He shrugged. “Guess that’s one benefit of not being… open with my past partners. I learned to focus on them instead.”

  “Their loss,” she murmured, ruffling his hair and kissing his lips this time. “You are extraordinary at this. I’m tempted to keep you as my pet for all eternity.”

  “I can’t tell if that’s flattering or awful.”

  “Both. Now be a lamb and fetch me a drink.”

  “Yes ma’am.” He slipped out of bed and made his way to the wet bar again. “Mind if I ask you a question?”

  “Yes.”

  He glanced at her. “Seriously? You don’t even know what it is.”

  Fujioka flopped onto her side and narrowed her eyes at him. “In my experience, questions and sex don’t go together. It implies an intimacy that is not present with our current situation.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Having done what I just did to you, we don’t have any level of intimacy in your book?”

  She remained silent for a long moment and heaved a sigh. “What’s your question?”

  “Relax,” he said as he returned with her scotch. “I just wanted to ask where you grew up, since you said you’d never been to Cambridge before.”

  She took a couple sips. “I was born in San Jose, California. Grew up in the States until after high school when I joined the military and returned to Japan. After my service, I set up shop in Shinjuku. As my reputation grew, I began traveling internationally. Satisfied?”

  “You don’t have to be mean about it,” he said. “I’m a scientist. We’re a curious bunch.”

  She trailed her nails down his bicep, watching him drink his scotch. “Curiosity killed the cat.”

  He smiled over the rim of the glass. “Satisfaction brought it back.”

  She snuck her hand into his lap, her own smile quite lascivious. “Let’s get to work on that, shall we?”

  The third night, oddly enough, began with an argument.

  “No.”

  “Yes.”

  “Hell, no.”

  “Yes, koibito.”

  “You are absolutely out of your mind if you think I’m letting you handcuff me.”

  Fujioka pouted. “I can get the duct tape instead if you like.”

  Jack crossed his arms. “Not funny. I’m not doing it.”

  “Why? Have I injured that fragile male ego of yours?”

  He snorted. “Not hardly. This has nothing to do with ego. It has to do with the fact that I’ve only known you for three days and I’m still calling you by your last name. Rough sex is one thing. This is something completely different.”

  She scowled. “You were in relationships with two different women for months. Are you telling me this subject never came up?”

  Jack flushed pink. “That’s not relevant. It was with someone I trust.”

  “And you don’t trust me? I’m hurt.”

  “That’s the pot calling the kettle black. You don’t trust me either.”

  She sighed and set the cuffs down on the nightstand. “And what could I possibly do to get you to trust me? Put on a white wedding dress and recite the Pledge of Allegiance?”

  “Don’t be condescending, alright? You said you didn’t want to dig up old wounds. This just happens to be a big one of mine. If you don’t like it, then we’re done for the night.”

  He turned and headed for the door. She called out to him when his hand was on the doorknob. “Do you intend to go through your whole life as a coward, then?”

  Jack gritted his teeth. “I’m not a coward.”

  “This frightens you for some reason. I read people for a living. You don’t like being restrained. Why?”

  “I thought you said questions and sex don’t go together.”

  “No, they don’t,” she said, walking over until she was facing him. “I’m breaking my own protocol because this isn’t just a sexual preference. Look at your posture. You look like you’re about to snap me in half.” She rested her hand over his on the doorknob, her voice softer now. “What’s wrong?”

  He pulled his hand away. “Given our ‘current situation,’ it’s none of your business.”

  He left without another word.

  The following night, Jack walked out of the bathroom of his apartment in just a towel, only to find Fujioka sitting on his bed.

  “Honey, I’m home,” she purred.

  Jack couldn’t talk for a few seconds. “What the hell, Fujioka? How did you get in here? And how long have you been here to begin with?”

  “Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I didn’t break in. You forgot to lock the bedroom window, baka. I just slipped in after you hopped in the shower.”

  “That is not at all creepy and a complete violation of trust.”

  “You didn’t answer my text message.”

  “Well, you’re a smart woman. What did that tell you?”

  She crossed her arms. “Really, Jack, this defensiveness is childish. I came here to apologize.”

  “Great. Apology accepted. Now, can I go to bed?”

  She stood and stalked over to him, not breaking his gaze along the way. “I’m not scared of you.”

  “Is this the part where I say, you should be?”

  She ignored the comment. “You can throw all the insults and sarcasm at me that you like, but I’m not going to back off like the soft little women you’ve had in your bed before. I don’t just offer an apology to anyone, Jack. I also don’t go out on a limb for just anyone. And so you will treat me as an adult and tell me what’s bothering you. If you still decide to be stubborn, then I’ll simply have to beat the truth out of you.”

  He threw down the small towel from around his neck. “Y’know what? I’m n
ot scared of you either. Kick my ass if it makes you feel better, but that doesn’t mean I owe you any answers. Do you expect every guy you screw for a week to spill his guts or is it just me?”

  She stepped closer still, until she was only inches away, her eyes like mahogany fire.

  “It is just you.”