Kai.
Ashley’s stomach tightened. He’d always take any book she’d dog eared or put print side down to finish later and smooth away the damage. Then he’d find something pretty to use as a place marker to encourage her to use it.
“Oh good, you’re up,” Kai said, walking into the bedroom.
Ashley shrieked and tossed the book at him. He dodged it easily. She grabbed the tea cup and flung it too. It shattered against the wall.
“Wait!” He held up his hands in surrender when she hefted the teapot. “Ashley, it’s me.”
Lowering the teapot, she noticed he was no longer in samurai armor, but blue jeans and the polo shirt he’d left in her closet the last time he visited. He also wasn’t sporting fangs anymore.
“Why am I naked?”
“It was the quickest way to get you warm.”
“You didn’t try anything funny, did you?”
Kai blanched. “No, what do you take me for?”
“That’s a damn good question, Kai. Because if I’m not mistaken you just flew here from Japan without an airplane and without a body.” She poured herself a cup of tea with trembling hands and raised an eyebrow at him.
“I’m sorry about that.” He pointed to her neck.
Her hand was shaking too much she had to put the teacup down before she spilled hot tea all over herself. “What—what happened to you?”
Walking over to her, he gently gathered her into his arms. She stiffened in his embrace, but as his warm hands glided circles over her back, she clung to him.
“I was so scared. I thought you were dead. Terasaka said you had been taken,” she said.
Now it was his turn to tense. “You spoke to Terasaka?”
“Don’t you remember? You were fighting him in the cherry blossom grotto.”
“What? Are you feeling all right?”
“Okay, maybe that part was just a dream along with some girl-on-girl action with Sada.”
“Don’t say her name,” Kai said.
“It’s not cheating if it’s a dream right?”
“What did you do?” He sounded more confused than angry.
“It doesn’t matter. I think. Anyway, I did speak to Terasaka in real life.” Ashley tilted her head back so she could look him in the eye. “He was in control of your body. I don’t get it. How can you be here and he be there?”
She looked over at the computer. A message was blinking, alerting her someone had tried to connect to her on Skype. She would have gone over to it, but Kai held her tightly. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“It’s complicated.”
“I gathered that. Why were you a ghost and why were you snacking on my neck?”
Kai hugged her. “I am so, so sorry for that. My soul was captured and ripped from my body.”
“By what? You were supposed to be finishing the line edits for the Samurai XI script. We start casting the voice actors next week.” A part of her realized talking about work right now was surreal and a bit obsessive, but it was the only reality she could cling to.
“I wanted to do some research. You know the part where Saburo goes into the mountains to find the old sensei?”
“Yes,” Ashley said slowly, trying to remember the plot.
“Well, I went on a pilgrimage to Mount Asama in Hanshu.”
“To the volcano?”
“There’s a shrine on the lava flow and I thought it would be the perfect setting for Saburo to find his master.”
“But…” Ashley prodded when he didn’t say anything else.
“There is a lava ridge there named Oni Oshi Dashi.”
“You went to a place named after exiled demons. Are you high?”
“It was only a name, or so I thought.”
“If it was only a name, they would have called it Kawaii Baka Fuzakero.”
Kai rolled his eyes. “Do you want to hear what happened or not?”
“I want to put on clothes first.”
“Are you sure about that?” Kai moved his hand lower to cup her rear. Pressing little kisses along her forehead to her ear, he whispered, “I’ve missed you.”
Ashley sighed and cuddled deeper into his arms. The fire Sada started banked up again. It’d been almost six months. Six months where all they did was watch each other over Skype and talk dirty. He was so solid and warm. Firm and real. He didn’t feel like a ghost. He felt like Kai. She risked a glance at his mouth. No fangs. He smiled and kissed her, darting his tongue inside her mouth.
She murmured her pleasure around it and slid her hands under his polo, gliding over each abdominal ridge. Ashley was reminded of the marble statue in the cherry grove and dropped her hand lower where his hard cock strained at his jeans.
“Oh, yes, there.” He broke the kiss to groan.
She rubbed her palm over the denim. “I want that.”
But when his lips travelled across her cheek and down to her neck, she tensed.
“Don’t.” She hated how small and frightened she sounded. This whole situation was too weird.
“Forgive me.” Kai backed off.
Ashley shivered, cold and bereft without him. Her hand itched to touch him more intimately.
“Get dressed.” He ran his hand over his face. “I’ll be in the living room. We’ve got time still.”
“Time for what?”
Kai merely bowed and left her in peace. Ashley wanted to stamp her foot. Part of her wanted to go out there and jump his bones and the other part of her wanted to run to the nearest temple and curl into a ball. Exasperated, she made short work of getting dressed, throwing on sweats and a T-shirt. Lifting her arms up though made her wince in pain and she was light headed from the rawness of the wound in her neck. Gulping one cup of tea, she poured another and headed out for more answers.
Kai was pacing, but he stopped when she entered the room. “How are you feeling?”
“Confused. What happened in Honshu?”
“The exiled demons were straining at their bindings. A group of priests were chanting to strengthen their jail. They failed.”
“Failed how?”
“They weren’t strong enough. The demons broke free and escaped. I was easy pickings. I was standing right there, not believing what I was seeing. Before I could draw my katana, one of them dove into my body, thinking to possess me. But I was already possessed.”
“By Terasaka?” Ashley frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me he came back?”
“He never left. And I never suspected. He hid himself so well I never knew he was still within me.”
“But what about Sada? He promised to take her to the afterworld with him.” Her breasts tingled. Her vision doubled. And she felt Sada push her down as if they were in a great pool of water and she was getting dunked. Suddenly, Ashley was in the background of her own mind and body.
“Stop saying the lust demon’s name.”
“Let’s stop wasting time talking. Kai, I’ve missed you.” Sada flung her T-shirt off, ignoring Ashley’s yelp of pain. She was using Ashley’s voice to talk. Ashley’s body to move.
“Just a minute ago you didn’t want me touching you. I don’t have time, Ashley. I am slowly turning back into that ghost. I’m not human. I am not flesh. I hunger. The need for sex brought me to you. Blood will keep me here.” He held up his hand. It looked solid until she looked closer and saw the faint white shadow creeping over it. “I can explain to you what happened and get you to safety. Otherwise if we—” He broke off as Sada shucked off Ashley’s sweatpants and knelt at his feet.
“We should get you knee boots at this rate,” Ashley snarled at her.
Sada unbuttoned Kai’s pants. “I can’t lose you, Kai. Stay with me.”
His hands slid into her hair and tugged so she looked up at him. “I need blood Ashley. Blood keeps me in this form. I’m afraid of hurting you.”
“Run!” Ashley shouted. “Get us out of here!”
Sada ignored her.
So this is what Kai experienced when Tera
saka took over. Ashley railed and raged, rattling invisible bars, running into invisible walls.
“I trust you,” Sada said. “You’ll only take what you need.” Sit back and enjoy yourself, she said to Ashley.
She slipped his cock into her mouth. Ashley was lost for a moment, awash in the pleasure. She reveled in the sucking sensation and feeling Kai’s muscled ass under her fingers. It was part watching a hot porn scene and spying on your lover cheating on you. Only Kai thought it was her.
“Yes, that’s right. I won’t hurt you. I’ll only take what I need,” Kai murmured and pushed her head against him.
“This is my blood we’re talking about here,” Ashley said, snapping out of her haze.
But Sada only moaned and took him deeper into her throat, much deeper than Ashley would have normally gone.
“Oh, Ashley, I’ve missed you. Missed your touch. Aisuru.”
Beloved. He just called me beloved for the first time. And it had to happen while a lust demon was blowing him.
“You have to tell him. You have to let me be in control,” Ashley said.
Sada bobbed her head faster, sucking in his slick, hard cock and letting it rest in the back of her throat.
“Just like that,” he groaned, coming down her throat.
Sada kissed up his stomach, helping him pull the polo shirt over his head. They were both surprised when his head pulled free, his eyes were red and his fangs were bared.
“Did you think you could fool me, lust demon?”
“No, I was hoping you’d fuck me,” Sada said.
“Why not?” Kai said, grabbing her thigh high against him.
Sada snaked her other leg around his hips and helped Kai slide inside her.
“Oh,” Ashley moaned with Sada as Sada closed her eyes in ecstasy. The hard length of Kai filled her so completely Ashley didn’t remember how they’d gotten to the wall, just that his rapid thrusts made her insides quake with joy. Oh, finally, Ashley thought. It’d been too many nights with the vibrator listening to his voice telling her what he’d do to her if they weren’t oceans apart.
His bite was painful this time and the shock of it made Ashley squirm for control. But Sada fed off him as well. The sexual energy built with each draw of blood he took. The ecstatic pounding became less pleasurable and more painful as a headache throbbed with each thrust.
“Sada, stop him. He’ll drain me.”
“So?” Sada arched against Kai’s body and pressed his head deeper into her throat so his fangs bit deeper, ripping the delicate flesh of Ashley’s neck.
Ashley tried to concentrate. Kai didn’t stop feeding from her this time. Didn’t seem to feel remorse. Was it because he couldn’t sense her? Sada clenched around Kai’s cock, coaxing him into making panting snarls against her throat. Pleasure shot through her even as her eyes became heavy. Why couldn’t she just have a nice romantic night with her boyfriend like a normal couple?
Dizziness washed over her as she reached her orgasm peak. It burned with sweet fire, the pull of his mouth, the thrust of his body. Ashley crumpled and the room tilted.
Damn it, I’m going to pass out again! If I woke up in that stupid cherry blossom grove, I’m going to start smashing statues until I found a weapon. This shit ends now.
***
Ashley woke with a headache that would stagger an elephant. Her mouth tasted like she’d been gargling cotton. Her neck was raw and throbbing, and she was sore and sticky between her legs.
“This sucks,” she groaned and pulled the comforter up over her head.
She realized she was in her own bed instead of passed out on the living room floor. Pushing aside the blanket, she stormed to where her bokken had been tossed.
“I’m going to go upside your head with this, you fanged freak!” Ashley shouted.
She stormed into the living room, where Terasaka blinked sleepily from the couch. She knew it was Terasaka, not only because his eyes were dark brown instead of demon red or Kai’s amber, but because he had five o’clock shadow and looked like he spent the last thirteen hours on a plane.
“Why don’t you get dressed?” he suggested, hauling himself into a seated position. Ashley saw his katana drawn under the throw blanket.
“Because I’m pissed!” she said. “Where is Sada?”
He flinched.
“She’s already inside me. She took me over to have a little slap and tickle with the demon Kai. I feel like a freaking pin cushion.”
“You’re getting a little shrill.”
“Shrill?” Lights danced before Ashley’s eyes as she tried to gain control over the apoplexy she was experiencing.
“Here, drink this orange juice and have an anpan.”
“You can cram that juice…are those from Kimuraya’s bakery?”
“Yes.”
Ashley sat cross-legged by the coffee table and crammed the azuki bean treat into her mouth. She met Terasaka’s smoldering look with one of defiance. “You had time to go to the bakery?” she asked with her mouth half full.
“I had to wait for my flight.”
Ashley gulped the orange juice and winced at the acidity.
“It will help your blood sugar. You need to drink more water when you’re done.”
“What’s going on? Why did Sada give me back control and why can’t I sense her?”
Terasaka brooded into his tea cup and said, “When I convinced her to leave you and come with me to our judgment, I assumed we would be welcome there. I was arrogant.”
“No!” Ashley mocked.
He looked up as his lips twisted. “Unable to enter the afterlife, we had little choice. I could not keep my part of the bargain, so she returned to you.”
“I never sensed her. Why now?”
“Because she can only make her presence known when her name is spoken three times.”
A cold feeling of dread filled Ashley. “How many times have I said her name since I woke up?”
“Twice.”
“You’ll know it’s not me, won’t you?”
“Her eyes will be dark brown instead of your green.”
Ashley nodded and brushed crumbs off her leg. “I want to take a shower.”
Terasaka helped her stand and walk on shaky legs to the bathroom. Now that the adrenaline from waking up in full battle mode had worn out, Ashley was strung out and weepy.
“How come Kai never noticed you were back?” she asked as Terasaka started the shower for her.
“I’ve learned to hide from him. It’s a good thing. If I hadn’t already been possessing him, the demon would have taken him over.”
“How is his current state is any better?” Ashley stepped in the shower, grateful for the hot, pulsing water. Until it hit her open wounds. She hissed in pain.
“It’s good to clean them. Use soap.”
“Why? Will I get a demon disease?”
“No, but it will stave off an infection. His current state is he’s in limbo. We kill the demon and Kai will be able to come back to this body.”
Ashley blinked tears as she held the soap. “Terasaka?”
“Yes, koneko?”
“Can you come in here?”
For a moment, Ashley thought he’d refuse, but he slid out of his clothes and she let go of the breath she didn’t know she was holding. Pushing aside the curtain, he stepped inside.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked.
“I don’t want to be alone. I want to be with you.” Ashley handed him the soap. “I don’t want to remember them.” She gestured to the marks on her neck. “I want to remember us.”
“I love you, Ashley.” Terasaka took the soap from her and lathered up his hands. “I always have.”
He gently touched the sores on her neck, gliding a soapy thumb over the marks. Ashley leaned her head back and slicked her hair off her forehead, so the water ran in trails down her long hair.
“It darkens to the color of rosewood when it’s wet.” Terasaka bent to kiss her forehead.
&nb
sp; Ashley pressed closer to him, the warmth of his body was slick and wet with the soap. Trailing his hands down her back in soft lathered strokes, Terasaka rubbed her aching muscles until she relaxed against him. His fingers tickled down the curve of her hip and around her backside, massaging her tenderly. Turning her so the beat of the shower cascaded across her breasts, Terasaka nudged his cock against her ass.
“Yes,” Ashley whispered.
His hands soaped up her chest, sliding his palms over her taut nipples. He toyed with them, circling them in sweet flicks then kneading her breasts roughly as she ground her backside into him.
“I’m trying to go slow,” he growled into her ear.
She parted her legs when his hand slithered down her stomach.
“Touch me,” Ashley moaned, rising up on her toes as his fingers probed inside of her.
She could still feel Kai’s cock and it made her wet when Terasaka’s fingers touched her intimately. Ashley pictured Kai as he fucked her furiously against the wall while Terasaka played with her clit. She’d liked everything but the blood taking and the passing out, but she loved Terasaka’s rough breathing in her ear as he pushed her closer to climax.
Ashley thought about sucking Kai while Sada had been in charge. Swallowing, she wanted to taste him in her throat again. She leaned back against Terasaka and let the shuddering orgasm take her. Clamping her legs shut to prolong the pleasure jittering through her, Ashley reached up to grab his head in a kiss.
Twisting in his arms, she pressed back against the shower wall. Her mouth devoured his. She didn’t want the sweet kisses he’d been giving her as his fingers pleasured her. She wanted to feel his tongue and his teeth. Ashley wanted him to be real, not a ghost under her mouth. Her fingers tangled in his hair as her mouth demanded more.
Terasaka lifted her legs, wrapping them around his hips. Ashley’s eyes went wide for a moment, wondering if he knew he’d mirrored how Kai had taken her. But his eyes were closed and his mouth fierce and hungry on hers. She doubted Kai was even in his thoughts at all.
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