Part 60 (1/2)
Twenty-Two.
Wes Wes swallowed down the j.a.panese liquor and didn't particularly listen to Bradley. He definitely didn't listen to Higa, who anyone could have seen silently fuming beside him. Anyone, it seemed, except for Bradley, who didn't seem all that panicked about any of it. He should have paid more attention, because if he'd looked, he would have already figured out exactly what had happened, and if he really wanted Wes not to fight when he was hurt, one look at Higa's face would have told him that Wes wasn't as good as he looked.
But apparently either Todd didn't mind as much as he put on, or he wasn't looking too close at Higa's expression. Nor, thankfully, was he looking too much at Wesley's.
That was definitely not her father, Wes knew. She wasn't sitting there like she'd sit there with her father. That was another date. One that she hadn't thought to mention. Something primal inside him overtook the knowledge that she was the furthest thing from exclusive. He hadn't asked her to be, and she hadn't promised, but it did little to quell the anger burning in his chest.
”Isn't that right, Wes?”
Wes grunted his agreement, not taking his eyes off Minami. She peeked over her shoulder, and clearly saw Wes watching, because she immediately looked back at her date, as if she'd seen a ghost.
Well, let her know. It wasn't exactly a secret, and he certainly wasn't going to keep it a secret. No, he wanted her to know. Wanted her to know exactly how he felt about it, too. When he was done with her, though, there wouldn't be any way that she didn't find out.
Bradley refilled Higa's cup with sake after he finished it. Wes finished his own cup in one long swallow that burned all the way down. Mr. Bradley filled it as well, then set the carafe back down in the middle of the table.
Wes didn't taste the food as it went down, and he didn't hear the words as Todd said them. His ears heard, and his mouth tasted, but between the senses and his brain was the big, towering wall of fury. He masked it almost well enough to hide it, and the more he drank, the easier it got.
Todd filled his cup again, and he drank it again. The alcohol was going straight to his head, but he wasn't about to stop drinking. Not when Minami was over there, laughing politely at some j.a.p's jokes. As if she were his woman, as if he had any right to her. The other guy was older than her, older than any of the men sitting at Wes's table. Not quite old enough to be her father, but close.
He kept himself looking polite and respectful, distant even, but Wes wasn't fooled. He wasn't going out with her because he was her very good friend. That wasn't why she'd been out with Higa, and it wasn't why she was out with this a.s.shole, either.
The urge to get up and go over, to confront her right in the restaurant, was strong. He managed to stop himself by reminding himself, every couple of minutes, that he couldn't afford to blow off Bradley and Higa. They were arranging his fight, after all. If he managed to p.i.s.s them off, then there was no money coming in, and he couldn't move on to the next part of his plan.
So he sat still and waited for the anger to dissipate, and when it didn't, he just simmered in the fury until he was practically tunnel-visioned right across the room until the only thing he could see was their quiet, secluded table in the corner.
He hadn't seen her, splayed out in that kimono-or whatever it was called-on her back, underneath him, had he? She was a Yakuza girl, who knew what sort of strange customs they had? Maybe they unwrapped their presents early in j.a.pan.
Wes's jaw was starting to hurt from his teeth clenching together. He loosened his fist by his side, forced himself to calm down. He couldn't afford to lose his cool. He took in a breath and turned toward Higa, whose cheeks had gone pink with drunkenness.
He was talking about-who knew what. Mid-sentence, it was hard to say, and his accent was far too thick to make out what he was trying to say through his drunken haze, but he said it with gusto. Bradley laughed, and so Wesley laughed as well, a cruel and barking laugh that came out too loud and filled the place. In the corner of his eye, Wes could see Minami turn for a moment before turning back sharply.
She wanted to pretend not to notice him, but anyone would have noticed that laugh. It hadn't been intentional, but knowing that he had forced her to feel uncomfortable, though not near as uncomfortable as he was angry, felt good.
Higa raised his cup significantly. Wes raised his own, Higa said 'Kanpai' a little too loudly, and swallowed down his drink. Wes and Bradley repeated it after and drank down deep. He didn't need to speak j.a.panese to know it was supposed to mean 'cheers,' and know what to do. It was easy enough to copy the man, regardless of how much he'd had to drink.
Bradley busied himself filling the cups, Higa returning the favor for Todd's own cup. Wes snorted out through his nose. It had already been a long meal, and it was only going to get longer. Minami was in for h.e.l.l when she came to see him next. She wasn't going to like it one bit, what he had planned for her.
Or maybe, he thought bitterly, maybe she would.
He took another drink and tried to listen to the men beside him, talking glibly as if nothing strange were going on. Perhaps there wasn't, but that didn't change anything for Wes. He was furious, and no amount of drinking was going to change that. It might only make it worse.
That was how he preferred it. By the time he made it back to the apartment, thoroughly sauced, he could feel the anger still burning, hotter than ever, deep in his chest. Minami was going to get a piece of his mind, and sooner rather than later.
What the f.u.c.k did she think she was doing with some guy? Laughing, smiling-did she think that she could just go around with any guy who looked at her the right way? What was he? Some kind of fling?
He sucked in breath through his nose and blew it out like a bull about to charge, slipped down into the couch and loosened up the top b.u.t.ton on the only s.h.i.+rt he had that didn't look like he only fit in playing guitar in a roadhouse band or getting his a.s.s kicked in parking garages.
They were going to come to an understanding, Wes and her. She said she'd call him later. Well, when that happened... he closed his eyes, his heartbeat thumping in his ears, adrenaline tightening and curling in his stomach.
The knock at the door woke him from his brief reverie, and he pushed himself up from the couch. He already knew who it was before he opened the door.
Seeing Minami standing there in that black yukata, the leaf pattern printed onto it too stylish and refined for going out with someone else, was worse than he'd expected. He could already feel the anger, starting to dissipate with distance and tiredness, boiling over again, and now there was n.o.body to stop him.
Twenty-Three.
Minami Minami's questions about whether or not he had noticed her with Inafune were answered as soon as he opened the door. He grabbed her by the collar of her yukata and pulled her inside, the door shutting before he said anything.
Wesley's face was a mask of fury, and she knew exactly why. Part of her was afraid, afraid of what was thinking about doing and what he was going to do. Another part, softly, enjoyed the knowledge that she'd pulled this feeling out of him, knowing that he wouldn't be nearly so upset if he didn't think about her in ways that he would likely never admit to her directly.
Wes grabbed her under her knees and scooped her up, drawing a little 'oof' from Minami's lips as he hefted her weight in his arms and carried her over to the bed. He dropped her, but she was ready this time, even as she fell and landed on her a.s.s.
He pulled at her yukata, loosening the obi more through force of will and raw strength than with any sort of grace or forethought, until he had her breast free, and then he pulled it into his mouth, biting down an instant later and drawing a choking, pained gasp from her lips.
”Ow-don't-”
”Quiet,” Wes growled, reaching up and putting a hand on her face and twisting her off to the side, as if he just wanted to show her that he was completely in control of her body, and he was going to do whatever he wanted. She was going to let him do it, too, she knew.
He worked the fly on his pants, freeing his already-erect c.o.c.k from his pants, and maneuvered himself around to put it into her mouth. She accepted it, part of her enjoying the roughness that he was treating her with. His hand reached into the top of her yukata, pinching the nipple he hadn't managed to expose yet until it hurt.
Minami took his c.o.c.k into her mouth and he started moving almost as soon as the head touched her tongue, his body trying to impress on her how much he was in control of the situation-he was going to take his pleasure, and she was going to accept it. She did, relaxing her mouth and letting him f.u.c.k her face, his hands continuing to rub her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, teased already to sensitivity.
He pulled her off and Minami gasped for air. She could see, dimly, that he wanted to say something. He closed his mouth and forced hers back onto his c.o.c.k, f.u.c.king into her throat. Minami tried to relax her throat, tried to let him do what he wanted, but it didn't stop her from making loud, embarra.s.sing, lewd choking noises with each deep thrust.
Finally he pulled out and moved himself back between her legs, apparently deciding that it would be more satisfying to take his pleasure straight from the source. He lined himself up briefly, and then with one long, swift thrust he was all the way inside her up to the hilt, her yukata splayed out on the bed beneath her.
”Do you like that, you f.u.c.king wh.o.r.e?”
The words burned in her ears, but Minami could feel her p.u.s.s.y twitch at the thought, all the same.
”Yes.”
”Yes, what?”
”Yes, sir.”
He took a hard grip on her shoulder and used his free hand to lift one of her legs up, pus.h.i.+ng their bodies still closer together as he thrust in deep and hard. Minami failed to contain a moan, and as she groaned out the mounting pleasure that he was giving her, his hand came down in a heavy slap across her cheek.
Minami's eyes drifted closed, her body moving on its own to meet Wes's thrusts. He groaned his pleasure, then leaned down and bit her neck, hard. She knew it would leave a tender mark, and she didn't care, not any more. He was taking what he wanted from her, and she wanted nothing more than to give it to him.
Wes took hold of her ankle and placed it on his shoulder, her hips lifting off the bed and her back arching as he f.u.c.ked deeper still, finding places inside her that even after all these times she hadn't realized had ever existed. Finding pleasures she didn't realize she'd wanted until she had them, and then she knew that she couldn't live without them again.