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Book five in the White Tigers Series
A weekend of passionate sex with a master White Tiger changes the course of Hiru’s life forever…
Since an injury cut short his career as a champion martial artist, Hiru has lived a quiet dutiful life consumed mostly by his job and his ever-unsuccessful attempts to meet a woman. When his best friend and co-worker, Koji, finds love and happiness…with a man…and leaves the firm to pursue a new life, Hiru misses Koji so much he begins to suspect his difficulty with women is something other than he thought.
Maybe…just maybe…he wants men too? Well, there’s only one way to find out – stay at the White Tiger, Tokyo’s most luxurious love-hotel for gay men and be massaged, caressed and…more by Quan Chan, one of Koji’s incredibly handsome fellow White Tigers.
Quan Chan is still nursing a broken heart when he’s asked to attend to Koji’s friend Hiru. So he’s completely unprepared for his sudden intense attraction to Hiru’s boyish good looks and incredible brawny physique. Hiru is like a human supply of catnip to the White Tiger inside him. All Quan Chan wants to do is purr and rub up against the other man.
In spite of the temptation that awaits him back in Shanghai, Quan Chan spends an incredible weekend with Hiru, an encounter that launches him into ecstasy for the first time in what feels like forever.
However, when circumstances force Quan Chan back to Shanghai without the promise of return, the connection between him and Hiru proves stronger than a simple weekend of pleasurable exploration and Quan Chan finds himself suspended between Hiru and Wu Li, the most alluring and sensuous young man in Shanghai, a Golden Dragon, said to launch a man into bliss by a mere glance.
Back in Tokyo, Hiru feels Quan Chan slipping away from him. All he can do is follow his heart and hope it’s not too late…
Snippet:
Another friendly moment of quiet passed between them before Koji spoke again. “I hope you’ll like Quan Chan,” he said. “We call him Chan Chan. He’s a wonderful person, considerate, gentle and very sweet.” Koji’s cheeks coloured a bit and he leaned forward as if someone might be eavesdropping. “And he’s a master White Tiger.” The pointed tone in Koji’s voice conveyed his meaning. “That’s why he has the tiger tattoo on his front. It denotes a very high level of practice. To get the tattoo, a person must be able to meditate himself into ecstasy.” A mischievous look came into Koji’s eyes, a side of his friend Hiru had never seen. Koji put his hand to the side of his mouth, the way one does when telling a secret in someone’s ear. “That means without using his hand.” Koji winked.
Hiru felt his cheeks burn and stared at the other man. This place had brought out a more different Koji than he’d ever imagined. He and Koji had seen each other naked in the baths a million times over the years, but never, not once, had they discussed sex, beyond the occasional brief conversation about dating women.
Clearing his throat, Hiru pulled a bit at the knot of his tie, loosening it to let some air cool the sudden heat around his collar. “He seems to be all you’ve said he is.”
Koji smiled at him and the corners of his eyes crinkled. Hiru caught himself staring again, this time realising how much he’d always liked Koji’s smile, much less rare now than it had always been. Koji had hardly ever smiled over the years. “Kiku-sensei has tried to make this a place where men can come from everywhere and be together, regardless of their race or nationality,” Koji went on, as if he’d intuitively understood some of his friend’s thoughts. He looked at Hiru. “You don’t mind, right? I mean, you’re an accepting person but I know about your grandfather. It’s hard not to have certain feelings and we’ve never discussed it. I apologise for not asking you before you got here.” Koji frowned.
Hiru stared at his friend. Koji was sensitive like that, often when you least expected it. One of the qualities that had always struck him was how perceptive Koji was even when he appeared completely distracted or upset. Bowing his head, Hiru sighed. “I have felt prejudice in the past, but it’s the wrong way to live,” he said softly. “I’m nervous enough. I don’t want to have such feelings guide me.” A gentle hand on his arm made him look up.
Koji’s eyes radiated compassion and he smiled.
A strange jolt of energy went through Hiru at the look, followed by that sense of regret he’d been plagued with since Koji had left Toshio Systems as a full-time employee to consult from home. Why had it taken so damn long to realise the truth? Why couldn’t he have discovered it before it was too late and Koji was completely in love with someone else?
“It’s all right, Hiru-chan.”
There wasn’t time to say more. Just then a knock sounded on the soji screen and the door slid open at Koji’s call.
Hiru’s stomach tightened. It was Quan Chan, bearing a tray with a saké decanter and three cups. Hiru watched him kneel and set the tray down, then turn and slide the screen closed before rising again bringing the tray over to them. Quan Chan’s gaze met briefly with Hiru’s and he smiled.
Hiru felt his cheeks burn. He returned the smile but Quan Chan was already setting the cups on the low table and pouring the saké. A sense of relief filled him that Quan Chan would have a cup too.
Koji lifted his cup and Hiru followed his friend’s lead. Having Koji here helped soothe his nerves a bit, but what about when Koji left him alone with Quan Chan? Best not to think about that.
“Kampai,” Koji toasted and sipped from his cup. Again, Hiru followed, glancing at Quan Chan as if to make sure the other man would also drink. He did and Hiru couldn’t help glancing at Quan Chan’s throat as he swallowed. The man’s Adam’s apple slid up and down and other tiny muscles in his neck worked. That led Hiru to notice Quan Chan’s skin, a rich golden colour and flawlessly smooth, like Koji’s. Hiru had spent a lot of time studying Koji’s skin and so the comparison came to his mind.
Hiru tipped his head back and gulped the saké. As large as he was, the tiny cup was a mere sip. The clear liquid burned pleasantly in his throat and he instantly felt the relaxing tingle it brought to his limbs and brain. Carefully he set the cup down, politely refusing the offer of a refill.
Koji, too, set his cup down and smiled at Hiru. “I must go for now, Hiru-chan,” he said. “I’ll see you a little later, okay?”
Tension clenched Hiru’s back and shoulders and his heart immediately pounded. Not wanting to be impolite, he nodded, standing to offer a handshake to Koji.
Koji took his hand warmly but then used it to pull him into an embrace. “I’m so glad you’re here,” he said again.
“Me too.” Hiru hugged him as closely as he dared, unable to ignore the warm press of Koji’s bare chest against his front. Koji smelled really good too. Hiru hadn’t ever really gotten this close to him before and hadn’t known his friend smelled like clean laundry hanging to dry in fresh air. He was both relieved and disappointed when Koji pulled gently away. “See you at supper.”
Koji nodded. “Definitely.” He waved to Quan Chan and slipped out of the room.
Hiru cleared his throat. Heat flared again around his neck, wherever his collar touched his skin, and more heat made his armpits feel like small infernos. He looked at Quan Chan who had also stood when Koji was leaving. As Hiru had noticed before, Quan Chan had a very attractive face, finely arched brows, high cheekbones and beautifully-shaped eyes, like very large almonds with long lashes. His lips, too, were really nice, full and soft-looking. Hiru caught himself starting to look lower but then stopped, remembering suddenly what Koji had said about the tiger tattoo. He cleared his throat again and found his hand once more on the knot of his tie.
“Here, allow me.” Before he realised what was happening, Quan Chan had stepped up to him and put a hand over his.
Hiru froze. Suddenly, Quan Chan’s nationality wasn’t even remotely an issue. Quan Chan was a man and was about to help him…undress. Among other things. For one brief moment, Hiru almost backed away, claiming he’d made a mistake. But then what would he do? Leave and go home to his lonely apartment? Go to a hostess club and upset another woman with his ineptitude? Or maybe, spend another night in front of the television set with a beer in his hand, missing Koji.
No. As frightened as he was, the alternative was nightmarish. He’d lived so long in fearful seclusion. It had already cost him an opportunity with the first person in over a decade he’d felt he could love since Megumi. At thirty-three, he wasn’t getting any younger. Simply getting older wasn’t going to make his life better.
“Yes,” he said, nearly in a whisper, “thank you.” He allowed Quan Chan to draw his hand back down to his side and then begin to work the knot open with both hands. The gentle tugging on his neck as the tie loosened turned out to be quite pleasant, as was the brush of the other man’s fingertips against his chest, even through the material of his shirt.
“I’ll do everything I can to make your stay pleasant for you, Hiru-san.” Quan Chan’s low tone echoed the soothing movement of his fingertips. His expression looked sincere as he slid the tie out from under Hiru’s collar and hung it over his own shoulder before reaching out again, his fingertips landing on the top button of Hiru’s shirt. He paused and peered into Hiru’s eyes, a concerned look on his face. “You don’t mind my touching you, do you? If you feel at all uncomfortable, you’re under no obligation to me.” He smiled gently. Like his face and mannerisms, Quan Chan’s voice was also agreeable, a smooth tenor that was as refined as his appearance.
Hiru stared a moment, sensing a hidden message in Quan Chan’s words. Was the other man so sensitive he picked up on the Chinese issue? Shit, that would simply be the worst. He’d never truly, deep down believed his father and realised with a flash that whatever prejudice he’d harboured had been inherited, not organic to his nature. Quickly he shook his head. “No, not at all. You’re…I mean, I don’t mind at all. You’re a good…toucher.” Toucher? What the hell kind of word was that he’d just made up? What the hell was happening to his tongue, getting so loose all of a sudden? His cheeks flared again with heat and he watched Quan Chan for a response.
The other man’s smile widened. “Thank you very much, Hiru-san.” He worked open the top button then pulled away, bowing politely to him and gesturing to the bed. “Please make yourself comfortable,” he said kindly. “I need a moment to prepare the room for your relaxation.”
With his stomach flopping like a landed fish, Hiru obeyed, going to the edge of the bed and sitting. He watched Quan Chan drape the tie over the back of a chair, light a stick of incense which he set delicately on the bedside table then turn a knob in the wall. The gentle sound of traditional bamboo flute and shamisen music floated into the air. The elegant room, already inviting and warm in its traditional Japanese simplicity, became even more peaceful and soothing.
Which was good, because Hiru felt a trembling inside him, a tremor that emanated from his bones and made him feel shaken deep down in a place he was usually unaware of. His awareness now, however, was sharp, as sharp as when he’d been on the judo mat, facing an opponent. He heard every footfall loud and clear as Quan Chan approached the bed and knelt down before him.
“Are you all right, Hiru-san?” he asked. “May I call you that?”
Hiru nodded without hesitation. He didn’t think he could bear having Quan Chan address him by his last name, especially if they were going to be doing…well, the things they were probably about to do.