Sedonia Guillone

Damn, Ryu felt soooo good. Nat pressed down a little harder with the heels of his hands. Hard thigh muscle inked over with a million beautiful colours pushed back against the slow, firm circles he ground. Ryu’s flawless skin slid easily under Nat’s oiled palms.

Ryu groaned softly and heaved a deep breath, causing the kissing samurai on his back to shift, as if their entwined, kimono-clad bodies were alive. “Nat, you’re so good at this.”

Nat smiled even though Ryu was lying on his stomach on the massage table, hands folded under his chin and couldn’t see his lover’s face. Heat tingled through his own body, making his groin tighten. If they’d been in their room at the White Tiger and not still in the gym, he’d have bent over and given the nape of Ryu’s neck a tiny lick. In the last four months, he’d discovered one of Ryu’s favourite erogenous zones. “Thanks. I just don’t want you to get stiff.” He made a point of massaging Ryu after every training session. In spite of the fact he loved to touch Ryu everywhere, all the time, his other motive truly was Ryu’s physical welfare.

“It works. I don’t get stiff. Well, I do, but only in the good spots.”

Now, Nat chuckled. Humour. A good sign. Ryu’s humour had suffered since he’d done the nerve press on Taro Suzuki. The one that had ended the yakuza’s life. Poor Ryu.

Not even the fact that Suzuki had raped him when he was seventeen, made his adult life a living hell, had almost finished his boxing career for good and then had tried to capture him as a sex slave back in Thailand could purge Ryu’s conscience of what he’d done in self-defence. “Yes,” he agreed, “Definitely in the good spots.”

Ryu turned over then, interrupting the massage and sat up. The towel over his hips nearly fell off, leaving him naked on the massage table. Ryu’s wide shoulders slumped and his brow furrowed underneath the sheen of moisture clinging to his skin from his shower. His spiky black hair was still damp and the defeat of his first practice spar since restarting his training showed in his eyes. “I fought like shit today, Nat, and I’m sorry.” He looked down, the angle emphasizing the softly rounded contours of his face.

Ryu was so beautiful, words of admiration caught in Nat’s throat every time he looked at the man.

Nat reached out and brushed a hand over Ryu’s hair. In spite of its spiky appearance, it was brush soft and tickled Nat’s callused skin in the sweetest way. It had been clear Ryu was distracted during the match. The easy shots his opponent had gotten in were not a result of Ryu’s lack of skill or strength. Back in Phuket, he’d really held his own in the sparring match Tongmee had goaded him into, and Tongmee had been taller and stronger. The short spar had captured the attention of everyone in the training camp and they’d all ended up cheering for Ryu.

Before Nat could remind Ryu of all this, Ryu went on. “You gave up your job…you career…because of me and I’ve already let you down.”

The guilt clouding Ryu’s beautiful eyes made Nat’s heart squeeze. Ryu had been in the room when he’d written his resignation letter. He’d gone with him down to Kiku’s office to put the letter in the outgoing mail box too. ‘I’m sorry, Nat,’ he’d whispered as they’d gone through the glass front doors etched with leaping tigers.

Speak, dammit, Nat chided himself silently. Since he’d met Ryu, he had the asshole tendency to get tongue-tied, especially in crucial moments. The damnable trait had almost made him lose Ryu in the very beginning.

He wouldn’t let that happen again. “I didn’t give up my career because of you, Ryu, at least, not in the way you think.”

Ryu’s gaze lifted. It was a bit lighter now even though the look in his eyes had lost some of its innocence these past few months. Having taken Suzuki’s life had changed Ryu, tempered him in a way that Nat prayed could be reversed. Even Kiku had remarked on it, and Kiku had known Ryu since Ryu was a kid in grade school. Why this occurrence had affected his nature more deeply than more than having had the Suzuki bastard rape him, Nat couldn’t figure out. “What do you mean?”

The initial words seemed to have loosened Nat’s tongue a bit and more flowed. Without thinking, he took Ryu’s hand and squeezed it. “I know you believe it’s somehow your fault what happened with Tongmee. But I promise you, Ryu, you did nothing wrong. I saw that Tongmee wasn’t right in the head and I kept him on the job. I’m the one who fucked up big time. If anyone’s guilty, it’s me and I can’t believe you’re not pissed. I could have gotten you killed.”

In the next second, Ryu’s hands grasped his forearms and pulled him close. Ryu spread his thighs so that Nat’s hips fit between them, even though he bumped up to the edge of the massage table. The movement surprised Nat into staring at Ryu.

The other man’s eyes had darkened a bit, taken on that smouldering look of arousal. “I can’t get angry at you for having faith in a man’s higher nature,” he said softly.

“You’re a cop and yet…I don’t know, you still…” he sighed. “It’s hard to put words to.” A small grin teased his lips. “Anyway, it turns me on.” He slid his touch up Nat’s arms to his chest, rubbing him over his thin white t-shirt.

Nat pulled in a breath. Ryu had the most incredible touch, heating his skin right through the material. The pads of Ryu’s thumbs found his nipples and brushed them into tiny peaks. “Ryu.” His voice came out a throaty whisper. Not what he’d intended. Regardless of the private little massage room, they were in a training gym, not at the White Tiger where this kind of thing was completely acceptable. “Someone could walk in.”

Ryu’s grin widened. “They know about me in this place,” he said. “I have an image to uphold, you know.” He trailed the fingertips of one hand down the centre of Nat’s stomach, tracing his abdominal muscles through the t-shirt. Nat’s groin tightened and his eye fell on the way Ryu’s towel had risen in the front.

Ryu caught him looking and yanked the towel away. Ryu’s dragon stood in a jutting curve from between the tops of his tattooed thighs.

To Nat’s shame, he immediately felt his mouth water as he stared at his lover’s lightly veined shaft, silently challenging him to break his personal barriers of what he could and couldn’t do in a gym.

“Don’t wait too long, Nat,” Ryu said in a husky voice. “I think we only have ten minutes left in here.” He reached for Nat’s hand and directed Nat’s fingers to close around the hard length. A small breath escaped Ryu at the contact. “It won’t take me long,” he promised. “And then I’ll take care of you when we get home.”