Foxfire (Nine Tails, 1) (14 page)

“
Speak for yourself. You
know how some of your siblings feel.”

Daisuke put the candle down. “And
that’s their problem.” He nodded at Hiro. “I’ll see you soon. We’ll
throw you a welcome to the family party.” He nudged Masaki as he
passed and then waved. “Later.”

“
Bye,” Hiro said, watching
him go. He turned his gaze to Masaki, fingering the bedspread
beneath him. “Is it really okay, what I did?”

“
What?” Masaki asked,
sitting on the bed.

“
Fucking you,” Hiro
whispered. “You know, topping or whatever.”

Masaki answered by pushing Hiro onto
his back and kissing him. The younger man kept trying to free
himself, but Masaki wouldn’t let him. Eventually, he relented and
let Hiro speak. “That a yes?”

Masaki nodded. “Yes. It wasn’t ideal,
of course, but I liked it.” He stretched out beside Hiro. “But what
I loved the most was how you broke free from the spell. You knew
the difference between lust and love.”

“
Does this mean … I love
you?” Hiro’s breathing was shallow, his eyes dark with
need.

“
Only you can tell me
that.”

Hiro thought a long time, reaching out
and touching Masaki’s hair, then his face. “I’ll let you know
then.”

“
Good enough for me.”
Masaki drew Hiro close. “Now, sleep. You need your rest so you can
take me again.”

Hiro snuggled against him, sighing as
he got as close as he could. “Is my family safe? I felt Inari’s
presence. Or at least I think I did.”

“
Yes, I sent him to
them.”

Hiro kissed Masaki’s neck. “Thank
you.”

Masaki squeezed him in response and
held him until he slept. He found he couldn’t sleep at all. He lay
there and focused on the precious gift he’d almost lost.

* * * *

Hiro woke up in Masaki’s bed alone,
which surprised him. A week had passed since the witch’s attack,
and in that time Masaki had only left Hiro’s side once. Inari had
taken the sculpture away and destroyed it, and Masaki had made Hiro
stay inside while he and his yokai went out and cleansed the area
the sculpture had stood on. Just when Hiro was going to get up,
Masaki emerged from the bathroom wearing only a towel, and Hiro
smiled as he flopped onto his stomach. “You’re up
early.”

Masaki came over and kissed his
forehead. “Your party is tonight.”

Hiro tugged on Masaki’s towel and
dropped it to the floor. “Everything’s ready. We can stay in bed.”
He reached out, looking up through his eyelashes. “Can’t we?” His
fingers curled around Masaki’s cock, and he kept his touch light
and teasing, like his tone. He ran his tongue over his lower lip
and held Masaki’s gaze.

The older man moaned and wrapped his
fingers around Hiro’s, making him tighten his grip. “You’re
dangerous. You know that, don’t you?”

Hiro moved his head to lick the tip of
Masaki’s cock. He hadn’t actually said it, but he loved sucking
Masaki. He’d never imagined he would enjoy that activity, thinking
it would be something he would endure with a future lover, but he
adored Masaki’s reaction. His movements and the sounds he made left
Hiro with no doubt as to his intense pleasure. And Hiro loved
giving him as much of that as possible. Masaki had been spoiling
Hiro in every way possible for the past week, and more than
anything else, Hiro felt blown away by how lovingly the man cared
for him. Hiro believed he finally had a true understanding of what
it meant to dote on someone, and it flattered him to be the object
of Masaki’s devoted affection.

Hiro took more of the shaft into his
mouth, sucking as he fondled Masaki’s balls. He kept his pace
steady until Masaki’s breathing told him the man was about to come.
Hiro pulled away and moved to the center of the bed. Masaki slumped
down and practically crumpled onto the bed before covering Hiro’s
body with his. The searching kiss they shared told Hiro he was
going to pay for his teasing, and the very thought made him squirm
beneath Masaki.

They no longer needed words as Masaki
looked down into Hiro’s eyes. Masaki’s lips traced a sweet trail
all over his body, which made Hiro tremble. Those soft lips tickled
in just the right way, and his tongue found all the right places to
explore. Hiro’s limbs had gone limp by the time Masaki brushed his
lips to Hiro’s balls and then moved up to trace his tongue over
Hiro’s hip. The younger man moaned as the warm mouth lowered once
more and sucked at his balls. It made him ache. He could feel the
seed built up there, and he longed to come. Hiro arched as best he
could in his relaxed state, and soon Masaki’s mouth moved lower.
Hiro’s hips jerked when first Masaki’s tongue speared him and then
one finger joined it. His lover knew exactly how to find his sweet
spot, and fast. Hiro cried out, ready to come, but Masaki gripped
his balls and stopped his orgasm.

Then Masaki teased his tongue over
Hiro’s cock, not yet releasing his balls. This torture had Hiro
writhing, and he tried to get away. Masaki chuckled and flipped him
to his stomach and then pinned him there, his cock resting against
Hiro’s crack and his mouth pressed to Hiro’s ear.

“
Had to get you back. I
was in heaven and then you pulled away,” Masaki said.

Hiro sighed, but he smiled. “Better
than a spanking, I guess,” he murmured.

Masaki moaned above him. “Could do
that, if you wanted.”

Hiro stiffened at those words, just as
Masaki shifted and rubbed a hand over his ass. The man gave him a
playful pop and then rolled him over again. Masaki spread Hiro’s
legs and got between them, lube in hand, and began preparing
Hiro.

Hiro smiled, knowing the small tube
had probably been tucked under the pillows of the bed. He relaxed
and admired his handsome lover as he worked. Even in his passion,
Masaki showed great care for Hiro. Three fingers now filled his
ass, and Hiro moved his hips to feel more. Masaki bent to lick up a
drop of pre-cum, and as he did so, he slowly withdrew his fingers,
curling them just a bit. Hiro let loose a whimper when he was
empty, and Masaki moved into place, filling him in one stroke. Hiro
gasped and wrapped his arms and legs around Masaki. They rocked
together gently, which surprised Hiro, who’d been expecting a hard,
fast fucking. The heat and friction built slowly as Masaki
increased the length of his strokes, almost coming out of Hiro each
time.

“
Will you be my mate? Let
Inari bless our joining?” Masaki asked.

Hiro nodded, not able to speak in that
moment. He wanted to tell the other man he loved him, but he didn’t
want it to be in bed. He never wanted Masaki to doubt he meant it
with every part of himself, not just his body.

Masaki smiled, eyeing him as if he
knew something was being held back, but then he brought their lips
together and began to pound Hiro into the mattress. The sudden
tempo change took Hiro’s breath away, but he didn’t object. He
wouldn’t dare. Hiro came first, his seed splashing between them.
Masaki deepened the kiss as he found his release as
well.

Hiro looked up as he caught his
breath, and they rolled to their sides. Legs and arms tangling,
Hiro pressed his forehead to Masaki’s. “Tonight?”

Masaki traced Hiro’s lips with one
finger. “If you wish.”

Hiro nodded. “Tonight, then, with my
brother here.”

“
You see he truly accepts
you?”

With another nod, Hiro said, “Yeah.
Seeing you with Daisuke has made me appreciate what I have in
Akira. Of all my siblings, he’s the one I can be sure of. The one
who truly loves me.”

Masaki kissed Hiro’s forehead and then
his cheek. “Tonight, you’ll meet all of my brothers. Don’t let them
overwhelm you.”

“
I let a beast like you in
my bed,” Hiro said, grinning, “I can handle some small
talk.”

Masaki shifted and brought Hiro on top
of him. “You subdue me well enough at times. You’ll be
fine.”

Hiro wiggled and pushed his way
between Masaki’s legs. “That an invitation?” He reached down to
caress Masaki’s half-mast erection and then inched lower to touch
his pucker.

“
You never need one.”
Masaki brought their lips together once more.

Hiro needed no further encouragement
to make love to the amazing man beneath him.

* * * *

Masaki watched Hiro mingling with his
brothers. He stood with Hatori, Kazuma, and Shigure, talking as
they all listened. Masaki noticed Daisuke keeping an eye on the
group as well. Daisuke smiled and sipped his drink, moving toward
Masaki.

“
They seem fascinated,”
Daisuke said as he reached his brother. “Stunned into silence
practically.”

Masaki kept watching. Hatori tended to
be quiet, but Kazuma and Shigure both liked being the center of
attention, so it was amazing they were not only standing together
at a party but also intently listening to someone else speak. “He
certainly has their attention.”

“
He’s come out of his
shell even more than I expected him to,” a voice said
close-by.

Masaki and Daisuke turned to see Akira
standing beside them. “He did seem lonely before,” Masaki said.
“Did he really have so few friends?”

Akira nodded. “All his life. And it
grew worse when he was older. But I think being true to himself has
made the most difference.” He accepted a drink as one of the yokai
passed with a tray. After taking a sip, he added, “Would you like
to meet the rest of our siblings sometime?”

Masaki let out a deep breath, one he
hadn’t realized he’d been holding as he watched his lover talking.
“Yes, if he wants that. He says he does, so I’m all for
it.”

“
I don’t see why the whole
family can’t know about us. I mean, really know about
us.”

Masaki eyed Daisuke. “You’ve always
been naïve about humans. They’d constantly be asking for things.
It’s best this way. Hiro was only told because of my request.” He
turned to face his brother more fully. “And how are things going
with your human?”

Daisuke cleared his thrown and gave a
faux cheerful smile. “Straight and married. Takes his ring off for
work. Just happened to go in on his day off, and the assistant told
me. Seems I was fishing in the wrong pond the whole
time.”

“
What?” Masaki
asked.

Daisuke laughed, a more genuine smile
spreading over his face now. “The assistant’s gay. And he seemed
pretty excited to be alone so he could actually talk to me.
Probably why he spilled personal info about his boss.”

“
So not a total loss?”
Akira said.

Daisuke shrugged. “He’s twenty-five,
but honestly, he’s so young looking I thought he was a girl the
first few times I saw him.”

“
Could still be fate,”
Akira said.

Masaki kept silent, listening with
interest.

“
You think?”

“
I was close-minded once,”
Akira explained, “before all of this was revealed to me. And your
brother is right. The members of our family would constantly be
asking for things if they knew of our supernatural connections.
It’s best our benefactors are not known about.” He moved his glass
to swirl the one ice cube left in it. “The woman I wished to marry
died. If I’d known about the kitsune, I’d have offered anything to
save her.”

Masaki already knew of this tragedy,
but still he kept quiet.

“
I’m so sorry. When was
this?” Daisuke asked.

“
Almost twenty years ago.
Learning of our family’s legacy gave me an odd sort of hope. I
believe fate has many surprises in store for us, so don’t dismiss
this guy’s attention. Who knows. Maybe the other guy was a decoy to
keep you coming back, since you said yourself the assistant made no
impression on you at first.”

“
Hmmm.” Daisuke glanced
around the room. “Has Inari been whispering in your
ear?”

“
No, but if she did, I
wouldn’t ignore her.” Akira bowed and excused himself.

“
Are you going to tell me
to ask this guy out too? Seems to be a popular opinion.”

Masaki laughed. “I have my own love
life, thank you.” He smiled as Hiro approached. “And right now, we
need to prepare to receive our kami’s blessing.”

Daisuke only smiled in response,
nodding at him and Hiro before walking away.

“
I think your brothers are
all suspicious of me, like I cast a spell on you or something,”
Hiro said.

Masaki blinked. “What?”

Hiro linked their arms. “I’ve never
been asked so many questions in my life. Is it really a big deal,
committing to one lover?”

“
Yes, to us it is.
Folklore would tell you otherwise. Creatures like us are
tricksters, seducers, and that’s not untrue. But our father’s
actions, somehow, gave us all a keen sense of honor. If I say
you’re my mate, it’s a lifetime commitment on my part.”

“
Which is why I’m so happy
to bless this joining,” Inari said, coming up to them and taking
both of their hands. Today, her hair was snowy white and flowing
down her back in one giant ringlet, red flowers ornamenting it.
Delicate white blossoms dotted her red kimono. “So, come join me on
the dais. Everyone’s waiting for your announcement.”