“He’s the fucking one—”
“Kenji.” She shook her head.
I sighed and looked forward. Tonight, I apparently wasn’t the Dragon. I was the Tiger’s plus one.
Guards in tuxedos came over and stepped to either side of the large curtain in front of us. They each gripped a handful of heavy black silk.
She nodded.
They pulled.
The curtains swept apart in one fluid motion and slipped along the floor.
I spotted a raised stage with a polished black floor. A single microphone stood at center, lit from below.
A large screen was behind the stage.
Along the back, thousands of tiny lights had been woven into hanging black fabric to create a starlit backdrop that slowly twinkled on and off.
Several plush velvet benches were in front of the stage for the audience.
Toma shouted so loud that the violin player across the room flinched. "Is that a fucking karaoke machine?!"
"Oh, we are going to destroy that stage tonight." Hiro raised his cane like a sword. "All of it. Every song. We will sing until someone physically removes us."
Kaede nodded. “We’ll beat Kaoru this time.”
The twins began to climb up onto the stage.
Nyomi laughed. "Not yet, guys. We still have dinner, the Fangs, and more drinks to come. But it's there. When the time is right."
I let my hand slide from the small of her back up her spine to rest between her shoulder blades. I could feel her breath move under my palm. The laugh hadn't quite left her body yet. It was still vibrating through her bones.
I leaned down.
My lips brushed the shell of her ear.
"You built my men a stage."
"I built us all a stage."
"You gave them permission to make fools of themselves."
"I gave them permission to be seen, Kenji."
“I’m going to fuck you hard tonight.” I kissed the spot just below her earlobe.
She let out a soft moan.
“You’re going to be pregnant by the morning.”
“I have protection from your craziness.”
“We’ll deal with that later too.”
“We won’t.” She stepped out of my hold as the flapper women arrived with trays of small crystal glasses that were the size of the Dragon's Flame shots.
I frowned, yearning to have my hands all over her.
