by KC Kean
When he finally does, he whips it from my hands and tears it open quickly, like he's ripping a band aid off. When the little slip of paper falls out, he calms a little more. Flipping it over he reads my little print out.
To Mr. Kai Fuse
I’m not sappy and shit, I’d like to prick you with my needle.
So, this entitles you to one super rare Luna Steele tattoo of your choosing.
I promise not to laugh at your choice or make a mockery of your hot as fuck body.
Your Sakura
He smiles a little wider at me as he hugs me closer to him.
“I love it, Sakura. I already know what I want you to do, and now you’ve said you won’t laugh at my choice you can’t take it back.”
“Whatever you want. I have the stuff here with us, in case you wanted me to do it today,” I say leaning in to kiss his lips.
“Deal. Let’s do it now.”
“Open the rest, then I’m all yours.” Sitting like this, I could get lost in his dark brown eyes. He could feed me any line and he'd have me agreeing.
Kai offers a nod and I reach over for the next item which is in a gift box. He’s a lot more relaxed about it this time and lifts the lid to see inside.
“Wow, Sakura. I love it,” he says pulling the item out of the box. It’s a men’s black rope bracelet that wraps around twice, with a silver pendant showing the Japanese symbol for strength.
“It’s a tracker,” I blurt out, not wanting to keep any secrets. “Sorry, I .. err… It’s a tracker. I’m having different ones made for everyone, including me. Something’s coming, I can feel it, and with The Games approaching I want to cover all the bases. If you don’t want to wear it, I understand …” His soft finger presses against my lips, stopping my blabbering speech.
“Sakura, this is perfect. I think it’s a great idea. It’s not like we’ll be looking at the locations all the time, but it’ll be there if we need it,” he says with a smile, kissing my lips before putting it straight on his wrist. Damn, it looks good on him.
Before I forget everything else and just feast on him, I lean over and get the next wrapped gift, which is in a very similar box to the previous. He raises a slight eyebrow at me as I shake the box at him. Wrapped in brown paper with a rope bow, it looks simple yet elegant.
Opening it up, there is the smallest piece inside that looks like a small cut off piece of cello-tape. He gently picks it out of the box and holds it up to the light.
“Holy shit, is this a tracker? It’s practically invisible.”
“Better than the one you had Roman stick to the bottom of my boot?” I ask, trying to keep a firm tone to my voice, but my smile gives me away.
“You knew?” He asks, his eyes bugging out a little at me, which only makes me roll my eyes.
“Please, you asked a guy with no tech knowledge to place it on me. What did you expect?” He just shakes his head and looks back to the device.
“The level of metal in it is so small it doesn’t come up detected when searched,” I murmur, staring at it with him.
“This is amazing, Sakura. We need more of these,” he says grinning at me. “I knew you purposely screwed with your assessment on the first day of Tech.”
“I did, and I do have more. It just didn’t look as cool when I started trying to put them all in the box.”
Placing it back inside, he adds it to the pile of opened gifts he’s got.
I reach over for the last item, which ruffles beneath my hands.
“So, this was a joke gift, to try and lighten the mood in case I’d made it all go to shit.”
Taking the gift from my hands I can see the confusion on his face at the feel of it. Opening it up it’s an extra large bag of cheesy Doritos. It takes him a minute, then he’s all out belly laughing uncontrollably.
I sit in awe at the sound, basking in this small moment of joy and laughter with him.
When he finally catches his breath, he says it out loud, “A Dirty Luna, huh?” I just smile in response. It brightened the mood, and that’s what I wanted. He can have a hand job for free.
“Thank you, Sakura. For all of this,” he says as he drops the chips, and wraps me in his arms.
I don’t know how long we stay sitting like that, but I could do it forever. It’s kind of crazy how much I like their touches, even the non-sexual one’s.
“Sakura, how about you get your stuff set up to tattoo me, and I’ll tell you all my issues while you work?” He whispers against my neck.
“I’d like that. No matter what it is Kai, I want to be there for you.” I feel him nod against my neck before he releases me so I can begin setting up.
“I already know what I want. After I saw Parker’s, I drew it and put it in my wallet ready for when the moment was right.” His words catch me off guard but make me smile.
I wheel my case out from the storage box behind the gazebo and bring it over to the daybed so I can get comfortable. I methodically set everything up, organizing my copper tattoo guns and foot switch, making sure everything has been sterilized. Happy with my layout I look at Kai, who has sat quietly watching my every move.
“You want to show me your drawing?” I ask, slightly intrigued as to what it may be.
He places the small slip of paper between us, slightly crumpled from being in his wallet, and waits for my reaction. Before me are three moons, all at different stages. The fullest moon in the middle, with two crescent moons on either side. I desperately want to ask what it represents, but I can feel the heaviness behind it.
“Where do you want it?”
“On my chest,” he says, lifting his t-shirt and pointing to his pec over his heart.
I simply nod for him to move closer, as I make quick work of sketching it out while he takes his top off fully.
I prefer freehand usually, but I want to get the sizing right because I can feel that it’s important. Using a bottle of water and a sponge, I transfer the carbon paper on to his skin.
“Are you going to ask what it represents?” He asks, making me peer up at him for a moment.
“I didn’t want to overstep,” I answer honestly.
“Nothing would ever be overstepping, Sakura. I want to know everything about you, and I want to reciprocate that level of trust.” The truth in his words doesn’t scare me like I expect it to, so I shake the worry away and ask him.
“What does it mean?”
“They are the moons of people’s birthdates,” he says leaning closer to point at the original drawing he did. “The largest in the middle is mine, the smaller one to the left is yours and the most crescent moon to the right … is my sister's.”
I process his words. My brain should probably focus on the fact one of the moons represents me, but I’m stuck on the fact he said his sister. He’s not mentioned her before. Is that why today is hard? I’m trying to bring myself to ask, I just can’t find the words. Seeing the question in my eyes he gives a slight nod in answer.
This is him opening the door to this conversation, his way of sharing a part of himself with me. I move nearer to him, and bring my equipment a little closer. As soon as the buzzing starts, I bring the needle to his skin and he begins to talk.
“She was taken, on my birthday.” My heart jolts at his words, and I take a moment to wipe his skin, so I don’t ruin the ink. I don’t say anything in response, wanting him to tell me at his own pace.
“It was my seventh birthday, and we were having a party. My mother had set the back garden up like any child’s dream. There were candy stands, bouncy castles, like a mini fairground really.” He takes a breather for a minute, watching me work. “Looking back now, I remember my mother and father arguing a lot, but for the life of me I can’t remember why. All I do remember was that it involved my sister and wanting to protect her.” He sighs deeply.
I lean back a minute and squeeze his leg with my other hand, trying to offer any support I can give. He offers a soft smile, encouraging me to continue with the needle.
/> “So, halfway through the birthday party my father comes storming outside with at least eight of his men, yelling at my mother and snatches my sister up. She was nine at the time and she just wanted to be let down so she could come back to playing with me.” He shakes his head at the memory floating to the surface of it all. “She was crying non-stop, kicking and screaming as they carried her out of the house all together. I’ve never seen her since.”
“Kai, I don’t even know what to say. Has nothing been mentioned since? I’m guessing she’s untraceable otherwise you’d have her by now.” I worry my words are harsh, but I don’t want to sugarcoat the grief he’s dealing with. If he could have found her by now I know he would have.
“No. My father refuses to discuss it, except to say it was for the best. He literally took my sister away and returned as though nothing had ever happened. My parents were never the same from then, my mother is a shell of the woman she once was. So I was left to wander our giant home alone.”
Kai offers me a soft smile, encouraging me to finish the ink on his chest as he watches me for a moment.
“I’ve searched everywhere, Sakura. My bloodline is actually more business orientated, running business fronts, organizing mergers that kind of thing, with a small side of tech. I trained myself to learn every inch of the tech world, in hopes it would help find me my sister.”
I can feel his pain, and it hurts so bad. I lean back and swipe his skin for the last time, looking at the now marked skin. His eyes follow mine and look down to his new tattoo, a soft smile playing on his lips.
My phone vibrates from the picnic bench, but I don’t want to interrupt this moment between us. I automatically start the process of aftercare for him, as I consider my next words.
“Kai,” I murmur, waiting for his eyes to meet mine before I continue. “We’ll find her together, handsome. No matter what it takes, okay? I’m all in.” His eyes close as he nods his head.
“She would love you, Sakura. Full of fire and always pushing back, she hated wimps,” he chuckles lightly under his breath. My phone vibrates again. “I think you better get that,” he says nodding towards the bench.
“It can wait, this is important.”
“I know, but someone’s called a few times now, what if it’s urgent?” Sighing at the reality of his words, I stand to grab my phone from the picnic table when it vibrates again. Rafe’s name flashing across the screen.
“Hey Rafe, what’s up? I’m a little busy right …” He cuts me off in an instant.
“Luna, where are you? The security system in your room is going off, I’ve got an unauthorized person in your room. Plus the detectors are going crazy with other devices active in there.” The panic in his voice clear through the phone. My head whips round to Kai who nods, able to hear Rafe without the phone even being on speaker phone.
“I’m on campus with Kai, just not at Ace,” I respond, running a hand through my hair. One day, I’d like just one drama-free day. I knew something was brewing though.
“How do you want to play this?” Rafe asks through the phone. Kai raises an eyebrow at me, waiting for me to call the shots. Always wanting to support me, knowing not to overtake the situation and go all caveman on me.
“We play it out, I’ll head back to my room. I can enter alone, acting as though I don’t know they’re there, and Kai can stop at Roman’s across the hall.” I shut my eyes focusing on what needs to be done. “Kai, get Roman on the phone and make sure his laptop is set up and ready. Can you send access to Kai, Rafe?” Throwing my shoes on I crack my neck, trying to relieve the tension building.
“Yes, I’ve got his details. I'll send the links over now. Whoever it is, they are stopping the feed from reaching me. I think it’s because I’m too out of range, so if Kai is close enough he should be able to see what’s going on while you’re in there. Have Kai call me when you get in, I want to be in the know, and be safe, Luna.”
“I will,” I murmur back, before ending the call.
“Let’s go see who’s got big enough balls to break into my room,” I say to Kai who nods in agreement, as we start to rush back. He speaks with Roman on the phone, but I’m not listening. I’m too focused on the rage pumping through my veins.
Whoever it is. They’re going to fucking regret it.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
(Kai)
Who the fuck is so deluded they would step into my Sakura’s space without her permission? It’s clearly an attack and my gut tells me it links back to Dietrichson.
Walking into Ace nothing seems out of the ordinary. We’re both in a hurry as we head for the stairs. I called Roman on the way over telling him as little as possible to at least prepare them for us showing up. I just couldn’t tell him too much, otherwise he’d spiral into a fit of rage and charge over there without care.
I made sure he got the others, including Jess, up to his room to wait for us. Since that call no words have been spoken between Luna and I, both anticipating what’s to come. Reaching the top floor, we stop and stare at her door, as though it will magically open and reveal what’s happening inside.
Giving her shoulder a squeeze, she lifts her gaze to mine and I nod towards Roman’s door. I need her to plan a little more with us before she goes in there guns blazing. I know Luna’s right, that she needs to act as though they have the upper hand, but it still has me on edge.
As quietly as possible, we step up to Roman’s door, and I use my key to let us in. As we step into the lounge Parker and Oscar are playing a video game completely oblivious to what’s going on. Jess sits on the other sofa, questions in her eyes as to why she’s here, but I can hear movement in the kitchen, so that’s where I head.
Releasing Luna’s hand, I step into the kitchen to find Roman pacing the floor.
“Roman, we only have a minute. Get out here.” I can’t hide the urgency from my voice, which only makes his eyes a little more frantic.
“What the fuck's going on, man?” He asks, but we need to address it as a group, we haven’t got time for one-on-one talks. I nod for him to follow me into the other room, which he does reluctantly. Luna is still standing in the same spot I left her in, except Jess is leaning in and whispering with her. Neither of them acknowledging our presence in the room.
“Roman, did you set up your laptop like I asked?”
“Yeah, I’ll go and grab it from my desk in my room,” he mutters in response. He slows when he sees Luna, and the determined look in her eyes, but pushes on to get what we needed.
Not wasting time with the other two guys, I just head for the socket and pull the plug out, disconnecting the whole thing. It’s silent for a beat before the protests come.
“What the fuck, Kai? We were midway through a game that we were winning,” Oscar moans, throwing his controller to the side. He looks me over from head to toe, as though his mind is just catching up. “Wait, why are you here? Why aren’t you at your secret little sex spot with Luna?”
“Because someone has broken into my room and planted surveillance devices while trying to jam mine. Plus there’s a high chance someone is in there waiting for me, and we’re going to play it out. I want these motherfuckers to think they’re winning, before I tear them down,” Luna says, so matter of fact. Her hands are clenched at her side, and her jaw is working overtime as she tries to stay calm. “Any objections or questions?” She looks around the group, and they’re all staring at her like she gained a second head.
Roman is standing in the doorway from his bedroom, laptop in hand, and I can see the rage starting to unfold.
“You are not going in there alone, princess,” he growls, striding over to me and shoving his laptop into my hands. The others stand from the sofa and move over to us which just has Luna rolling her eyes.
“You know I’m right, Rome. This isn’t me being irrational and hot headed, even Rafe agrees it’s the best plan. Let’s set everything up so Kai can have as much visibility as possible from here, okay?” The tone of her voice is relax
ed, but makes it clear this is the plan. It does nothing to pacify Roman though. Stepping into her space he grabs her under her chin and forces her to look up at him.
My body tenses at the roughness to his touch, he better be damn careful with my Sakura. She continues to challenge him, her eyes not wavering at all. Glancing around the room I see both Oscar and Parker are tense too, while Jess is shaking her head in amusement.
“Princess, don’t fuck with me. I only just got you back and you keep ending up in harm's way,” Roman pleads, but Luna doesn’t bat an eyelid. He takes a deep breath and curses up at the ceiling. “Kai, I want everything in that room, do you understand? And you princess, if anything happens to you in there I’ll kill you myself. Agreed?”
Did he just threaten her? I don’t know who I’m more worried for.
“Fuck, Rome. Can you save all this pent-up tension for when I get back? You have me hot and it’s kind of a distraction right now. Now, I know what I’m fucking doing, can we remember that?” He drops his hands from her and turns wide-eyed to look at us all. His arms out wide and a ‘what the fuck’ look on his face.
“You see what I’m dealing with?”
“Our girl. You’re dealing with our girl. Who we like exactly as she is, right Roman?” Oscar says, breaking the tension and stepping up to Luna. “I trust you to get shit done and get back here, okay?” He murmurs to her, dotting little kisses all over her face, while Parker steps up behind her and trails kisses down her neck.
“Stop distracting her guys. We need her on high alert, not distracted by sexual tension,” I snap, which makes them step back. Although, Luna needs a moment to focus again. Her cheeks are a little flush and it’s got my dick perking up. Fuck. Now is not the time. I need to get this moving along.
I place the laptop on the coffee table and start typing away. Everyone comes to stand around me, but no one says anything so I can focus.
“Roman, the suitcase I keep in your wardrobe? I’m going to need it.” Without a word he runs to grab it for me.