Dirty Kiss (34 page)

He smelled good. The scent of my soap clung to his skin, and I leaned over, licking at the softness along his throat. Jae pulled away, laughing while he pushed me away. I liked coming home to find him wearing one of my shirts and smelling like he belonged to me. The cat mewed at me from her perch on the sill, her ears twitching as she intently watched a brown-headed sparrow pecking at the lawn. Alcohol was still off my to-do list, and I mournfully waved a hello to the lager at the back of the fridge, choosing a cold bottle of water. A pot bubbled on the stove, as fragrant and exotic as the Korean sitting in my living room.

“What are you working on?” I sipped at the water, wincing at the cold plastic on my abused mouth. Sitting sideways on the couch, I slid one leg behind Jae, resting my hurt knee against his back. He leaned forward to make room for me, absently rubbing at the inside of my thigh with his fingers.

“I shot a wedding before the accident,” he murmured, his attention more on the splashes of color displayed on the screen than me. I didn’t mind his distraction. It gave me time to relax against the couch and watch him. “I keep all of my work on a server, so I don’t lose anything. I don’t have my equipment, but I have my shots.”

Jae’s long fingers flew over the keyboard, renaming files after he inspected his photos down to the pixel. The bride wore a long robe, its red vivid against her pale skin. Its sleeves were shortened rainbows, flowing over to hide her hands. Pink and white flowers floated down the front of the robe, and her smile was mysterious, promising to keep her secrets from the moon-faced young man standing beside her.

“We can get you new equipment,” I said, stroking his leg.

“Sit over there and look pretty. I’m almost done.” I’d been around him long enough to know that almost done in Jae time meant an hour or so. It was a pleasant enough view, one that could keep me occupied, so I settled down into the couch cushions and waited.

After ten minutes, I offered what I supposed would be an ultimatum, hoping he’d see the error in his thinking. “If I don’t get a taste of you soon, I won’t be held responsible for what I’ll do.”

His dark lashes brushed his cheekbones, and he slanted a curious look at me. I was left to wonder what was going on behind his unreadable eyes. He stretched up over me and placed his hands on either side of my shoulders, dimpling the couch arm with his weight. I moved my legs together, giving him room to place his knees on either side of my thighs, and moaned when he bent his head down to kiss me, opening my mouth to take his tongue when it slithered over my lower lip.

“So that was a good threat?” I murmured into his mouth.

“You do some very stupid things, agi. I couldn’t risk it.” His hand moved under my shirt, finding the edges of the scar along my ribcage. I twitched under his touch, tender from my unexpected flight into my front lawn’s bushes. “I don’t think you’re up to doing much.”

“Baby, I can honestly tell you that I’m up enough,” I said. The itch Jae caused by looking at me now grew along the length of me, and I reached down to tug at my jeans, hoping to give myself some room. His fingers followed mine, his thumb rubbing against the swell, and I heard him literally purr, his mouth closing down on mine in a long kiss.

“Hey, wait.” I pushed at his shoulders, forcing Jae to look up at me. “I need to have something on me. I can’t risk you.”

“Do you have something down here?” His teeth were dangerous, and I wanted to bury deep inside of him, stretching him apart until I could grab onto his soul, never letting it go. “Or do I have to go upstairs?”

“Um.” When faced with the hard questions, my mind tended to scatter, picking up tendrils of thoughts I’d left behind hours ago. The only thing I could think of was that we needed wet cat food, a piece of information that would do me little good at the moment. “Shit, in that box over there, the blue one on the bookshelf. Bobby gave me some gag stuff for my birthday a couple of months ago. I think there’s some condoms in there.”

Jae slithered off me, a long curve of grace I could watch forever. I laughed when he opened the box, his eyes widening appreciatively as he dug through its contents. Pulling out a streamer of gold coin condoms, he tossed one at me, tucking the others back in. Straddling my knees, Jae settled back down, kissing at my bared belly as I struggled with the foil.

“Bobby gave you some strange things,” Jae mumbled, nudging my shirt further up my body until his tongue lapped at my nipple. I nearly choked on a piece of the condom wrapper, my teeth snapping off a corner and flicking it back into my throat. Gagging it out, I spat it into my hand, wiping the foil on my shirt, and ordered Jae to behave.

“You’re going to kill me before I get this thing open,” I warned. He ignored me, much like his cat did when I needed to open the front door and she lay in the way. Jae rounded my nipple again, leaving a hot, wet trail of spit behind, then went back to blow it cold, leaving me with a shiver down my chest. The foil ripped open and the condom plopped out, unceremoniously landing on my belly with a splat. Grinning, Jae gave me a kiss and bit my chin.

“Let me do this,” he said through his teeth. “Don’t go anywhere. I just want to do this.”

Apparently a few hours was too long for my body to go without Jae’s touch. My dick agreed. It twitched and throbbed under Jae’s light touch, hurting with every stroke. The button at my waistband popped open when Jae’s thumb worked it loose, and his teeth snagged at the tab of my zipper, pulling it down slowly. I reached for him, cupping the back of his head in my palm, and leaned my head against the cushions, breathing in deeply. My control was shaky at best, a razor-thin thread holding myself in.

He fit the tip of the rubber sleeve over me, stroking down to my root and back up over my head. The muskiness of my body mingled with his, a rich loam of masculine lust that excited me. His fingers rolled the condom down slowly, stretching out the membrane over my heft. Strange things popped up in my head, worrisome, stupid thoughts that I couldn’t shake loose.

“You didn’t choose one that was lubricated, right?” I yelped when Jae’s sharp teeth bit down on the tender inside of my thigh. “What? Hey, let go.”

“You let go,” he said softly, looking up at me through his lashes. “Stop thinking, Cole. Just feel.”

He was too beautiful for me. I wanted to drag him upstairs and fill his world with anything he needed, as long as it included me in it. I wanted the living room to be the only place in the world, a sanctuary where I didn’t have to share Jae with his culture or the close-mindedness of his family.

I fell hard and fast into the promise of pleasure he offered. I wasn’t going to think anymore… not of anything beyond the man stretched over me and the small bit of heaven he was giving me. When he enveloped me, I lost reason, closing my eyes to the sweet velvet darkness of his mouth. The air was tight, sharp-edged stabs in my chest, and I struggled to breathe, unable to hold on to the width of his shoulders with my palms. I explored the jut of his shoulder blades and the line of his back, wanting to remember Jae on my hands before I had to let him go.

“Jae,” I said before lightning rode my body. He nuzzled and licked, drawing out every ounce of strength I had in me. Reaching for him, I tried to pull him up, wanting to be inside of him, but his teeth closed down on the ridge of my sex, dipping dangerously into the soft skin. “Baby, I need you.”

“Lie down.” Growling playfully, he nipped and tugged at me, his hands spread over my stomach. With a groan, I lay back, willing the spasms on my ribs to subside. An ache had begun to crawl up my skin, the tenderized flesh beneath a sea of bruises twisting as I moved. “Don’t move.”

I couldn’t breathe anymore. There wasn’t space in my lungs for my cries and air both, and I gave up, wanting to die from the pleasure Jae was giving me or the pain that was beginning to curl my belly into a tight knot. Every dip of Jae’s tongue made me clench, and the damage from the bombing began to hurt anew, throbbing nearly in time with the ache along my shaft.

The storm in me broke, and I cried out, spilling into Jae’s warmth. The condom stopped me from filling his mouth, splashing back onto my head and puffing out the receptacle at the end. I was pretty sure I screamed his name, pushing up into the tightness of his throat, needing to bury myself into any part of his body.

He lay gasping against my stomach, laughing softly into the nest of hair below my belly button. I fought to speak, lost in the waves of white noise flowing over me. Languid, I reached for him, nudging him up to lie on me, wanting the curve of his body tucked against mine.

“Wait,” Jae whispered. “Let me clean you up.”

I tried to protest, too weak to do anything more than mumble nonsensically when he stripped off the condom and wiped at me with a water-damp napkin.

“Aish you for complaining.” His words were rounded, that soft burr of Korean that made me smile. It felt like he was sharing the deepest part of himself when he grew English-lazy. We’d spoken of it, lying against one another in the darkness when he slurred a few words, and his embarrassment made me laugh harder, cuddling him closer. Inspecting his handiwork, he cocked his head to one side and nodded. “There. All better.”

“Come here,” I said, patting my stomach. He lay down carefully, watching my face intently as I tried to hide the wince jerking at my face when my ribs twisted painfully.

“I am here.” He sighed, stretching out with his body half on me. I was going to have to send a thank-you note to whoever made my couch wide enough for us to spoon on. It was a good, firm piece of furniture, comfortable enough to cuddle on. I tried remembering if it was one I liked or one Madeline had picked out, but Jae’s fingers on my lips drew my attention back.

“Stop thinking.” He sighed. “You’re always thinking.”

“I’m thinking about you.”

“Now you’re just lying.” Jae snorted when I grimaced. “You’re a horrible liar. How were you a cop?”

“I was a decent cop.” I defended myself. “Most of my work was about talking to people. That’s most of the job, really. Getting people to trust you. Sometimes that’s hard.”

“I trust you,” he said, resting against my shoulder. “Mostly.”

“Mostly?” I debated feeling hurt but forgave him, considering the laziness creeping through my body. “Did you know Brian Park worked at the club?”

“I’m beginning to think everyone Hyun-Shik knew worked there.” Jae sighed.

“Someone killed Park,” I said softly, stroking his hair. “There are too many people Hyun-Shik knew that are dying. I’m afraid you’re going to be one of them.”

“You wouldn’t let that happen to me.” He shifted, and my cock stirred, hardening when he rubbed at my stomach. “I am sorry about Park. I wish I knew something that could help you.”

“Knowing you’re safe helps me,” I teased, then frowned as he sat up.

“Make sure the door is locked, and we can continue this discussion upstairs.” He slid from the couch and gave me a sultry look. “Too much death around us. Maybe we should concentrate on living?”

When
I woke, the morning sky was grey, and thin watery streams of light were coming through the bedroom curtains. Nudging the cat from my ankle, I let myself have the luxury of snuggling against Jae’s long, warm body. He smelled of sex and spice. Between the bruising from being blown up and a long night spent deep in Jae’s body, I ached in places, but it was worth it. My dick stirred half-heartedly as I rubbed against Jae’s hip, but I told it no. If I was going to pay a visit to Victoria Kim and catch her unawares, I needed to start moving.