Emperor of Lust: A Dark Mafia Enemies To Lovers Romance
Emperor of Lust: Chapter 31

My hands shake as I read Takeshi’s text again.

Of course my heart is racing, excitement to think he’s alive surging through me like pure adrenaline after the day of not knowing. Still, I don’t know what else that means.

Is he hurt? Badly hurt?

The hotel suite is too quiet and empty, even with Kai sitting by the door. The room lights cast harsh, sharp shadows against the walls. I can’t sit still. I pace back and forth, chewing on the inside of my cheek until I taste blood, my heart pounding so hard I feel it in every nerve and muscle.

Another minute passes, then another. Suddenly, the door opens with a soft beep, and I whip around, pulse spiking.

Oh fuck…

I freeze, breath caught in my throat, and then my body moves before my mind can catch up. I stumble forward, tears already blurring my vision as I rush to them.

Damian looks like hell. Bruises purple his face, blood smears down his bare chest, wounds still bleed freely. He’s barely able to stand, legs dragging as Tak and Kai haul his large frame inside.

But he’s here. Alive.

Mine.

“Oh my god…” My voice is a broken whisper as I go to take him in my arms.

Takeshi’s face is tense as he throws out a hand to stop me. “Hana, give him a little⁠—”

“No…” Damian snarls. His head lifts, his gaze locking onto me. And I see it in his eyes, that wild, desperate need. “No,” he chokes out, a rough, fractured growl. “Let her.”

Takeshi sighs but relents, moving aside so I can get closer. I slip under Damian’s arm, wrapping my hands around his waist for support as we guide him to the couch.

He looks like death. He and Takeshi reek of…something disgusting. I don’t care.

He’s here.

We reach the sofa and Damian collapses, his weight sagging into the cushions, his head falling back. His eyes shut for a moment, and fresh panic claws up my throat.

“Damian?” I whisper, smoothing back a strand of hair from his forehead. He opens his eyes, barely focusing on me, but… He’s here.

“I’m fine,” he manages, his voice strained, every inch of him battered and bruised. His hand reaches out, finding mine, and he holds on like he’s afraid to let go.

The tightness in my chest releases. Tears spill over, hot and unbidden. I lean in, pressing my forehead to his, my fingers trembling as I grip his hand. “I thought—” My voice breaks. “I thought I’d lost you.”

He squeezes my hand weakly, and I can feel the effort it takes. “You’re not…getting rid of me that easily, Kitsune…”

I choke out a laugh, even as fresh tears slip down my cheeks. His thumb brushes over the back of my hand, a small gesture, but enough to ground me and remind me that he’s here.

The door opens again, and a team of medics rush in, their presence making reality crash back down.

“Miss, you need to step back, please,” one of them says urgently.

“No, wait—” My grip tightens, but Damian’s eyes drift closed, his face paling. Panic flares in me as his hand slips from mine and goes limp.

“Damian!” I scream, shaking his shoulder. He doesn’t respond, his head lolling to the side as the medics swarm in, pushing me back.

“Miss, please. We need space to work.”

My heart pounds painfully as Tak pulls me aside. The medical team blocks any view of Damian, and I’m left standing there, feeling useless, watching as they start assessing him, checking his vitals, calling out medical jargon that makes my stomach turn. It’s like watching him slip away all over again.

Takeshi puts a hand on my shoulder, his face grim but calm. “He’s in good hands. They’ll take care of him.”

I nod, trying to pull myself together. But my hands are still shaking, my mind racing with a thousand what-ifs. He looks so broken, so vulnerable.

The thought of losing him is unbearable.

The medics work quickly, pressing on his wounds, pulling bags of blood out of a cooler, pushing IV needles into his veins. I watch, every second stretching out, a torture of waiting, not knowing.

One of the medics finally looks over at me, his face softer. “He’s stable now. But he needs rest. He’s been through a lot.”

I nod, relief washing over me, though the tension doesn’t quite leave. Damian’s still unconscious, his chest rising and falling shallowly. But he’s alive. He’s safe.

For now… That’s enough.

Consciousness seeps back as my eyes slowly open in the darkness. The digital clock next to me reads midnight as I blink, stirring in the uncomfortable chair. I must have dozed off. My neck aches from the awkward position, but it all melts away when I see him.

Damian’s eyes are open, bleary but focused, and he’s looking right at me.

“Hey,” I whisper, joy and relief filling me as I move to his bedside.

He’s still battered and bruised, looking like he went to hell and back, but his gaze is clear, and there’s that familiar spark in his eyes. He’s here…really here…and for a second, I can barely breathe from happiness.

“How long was I out?”

“Just over twenty-four hours.”

He blinks. “Fuck. Really?”

My lips twist. “Yeah.” My throat bobs. “You were in…pretty bad shape,” I whisper.

He smirks. “Well, I don’t smell like fish gunk anymore. So there’s that.”

I laugh, the sound too loud in the quiet room, but I can’t help it. I nod, reaching out to brush a hand across his arm. “I…may have given you a sponge bath.”

He groans, his face twisting in mock outrage. “And I missed it? Fuck.”

I giggle, leaning down to kiss him, pressing my lips softly to his, savoring the warmth and feel of him under me. It’s so tender and achingly perfect that I can hardly stand it. I feel his hand lift and cup the back of my head as he deepens the kiss, drawing me close, like he’s afraid I’ll disappear.

I pull back, though it kills me to do it. “Your wounds,” I whisper, heart clenching as I look at the cuts and bruises scattered across his chest.

His hand tightens on my back, his eyes darkening with that fierce intensity that’s always both scared and thrilled me. “Fuck my wounds,” he growls. “I need you.”

He pulls me down and I don’t resist. Our mouths meet again, his kiss hungry, desperate. I luxuriate in his touch, grounding me and making me dizzy all at once.

All the exhaustion of the past day and the terror I felt when I thought I might have lost him surge to the surface at once and melt away now that he’s here, alive, beneath my hands.

He tilts his head, his lips grazing my neck, setting every nerve on fire. I forget about his cuts and bruises, lost in the feeling of his mouth against my skin, his hands steady and firm.

My breath catches as he pulls me on top of him, sliding my leg over his body.

“Damian…”

“I don’t need more rest, Kitsune,” he whispers. “Or to lie here in this bed waiting to feel better.”

I gasp as his hand slides between us, diving into the waist of my cotton sleep shorts and slipping under the elastic of my panties. His fingers slip deeper, and when he finds me wet and my clit swollen, he growls against my mouth.

“I just need you.”

He sinks two fingers into me, curling them deep against my g-spot. I moan eagerly, kissing him hungrily as he shifts his body under me, sliding me fully on top of him. I can feel his swollen cock, heavy, hot and hard against my thigh through his boxers.

My tongue dances with his as I reach between us as well, my fingers inching into the waist of his shorts to curl around his thickness.

Fuck. Just touching him, feeling how hard and ready he is for me, gets me even wetter. I whimper as I stroke him, feeling my pussy drip all over his fingers.

Damian groans when I pull away. But then I slide down between his legs and his eyes blaze, hungry and wild. I pull his boxers down, my eyes widening when his fat cock springs free, swollen and pulsing. I wrap my hand around him, stroking softly as I bring my lips to the head, kissing the underside.

“Fuck, Hana…” he groans, sliding his fingers into my hair and twisting it around his fist.

I whimper as I tongue the slit at the tip, tasting the salty sweetness beaded there before my lips part. I moan as I swallow him, taking him deep as he hisses in pleasure. His hands tangle roughly in my hair, giving me the thrill of feeling his control as I drool all over his cock.

I reach between my legs, pushing my shorts and panties down and kicking them off. I pull away from him just enough to get my t-shirt off over my head before he’s yanking me up his body.

Our eyes lock as he fists his cock and grips my hip, centering me before he groans and pulls me down onto him. I cry out, moaning deeply, bending down to crush my mouth to his as I slide down on every thick inch of him until his balls are against my ass and my clit is grinding into him.

“Every inch, Kitsune,” he grunts, thrusting up into me. I squeal as feel him grind so fucking deep, hitting places inside me that I never knew were there before him. “Every. Fucking. Inch.”

“So fucking big…” I whimper, moaning and shuddering as I feel my walls clench around him, my body trembling with both the effort and the raw lust of feeling him so deep.

“Such a good little fuck-toy for taking that big cock, Kitsune,” he groans. “Such a greedy little cumslut.”

My mouth falls open, my eyes rolling back as I start to ride him. The raw sensation of sliding up every inch of his fat cock drives me insane, and when I sink back down and feel him ram up into me again, it’s like I lose control of reality.

My hips roll, ass bouncing up and down on him. His powerful fingers dig into me, bruising my skin deliciously as he guides me up and down, lifting me up to the crown and then sending me all the way down to his heavy balls with every thrust.

He sits up, his mouth wrapping around one of my nipples and sucking hard. I cry out, whimpering in pain and pleasure as he bites down, twisting it mercilessly in his mouth as my back arches and my body shudders.

Damian’s mouth slides up to my neck, biting and sucking over my jaw and my chin before his mouth sears to mine. Our tongues dance, lips battling as I bounce harder and faster on him, rocking and grinding as the raw heat inside of me begins to swell and send me into oblivion.

I cry out when he grabs a fistful of my hair and yanks my head back, pulling my mouth from his, raking his teeth over my bottom lip. His mouth slips to my ear just as I feel myself begin to shatter.

“I’m going to fill this pretty pussy with every fucking drop of my cum, Kitsune,” he hisses into my ear. “I’m going to mark you with it until not a day or even a fucking hour goes by where you don’t feel me leaking out of you.”

Fucking hell. It’s so dirty and hot that I lose all control instantly. My body spasms and writhes as I clench around him. My back arches violently as I choke on a silent scream of pleasure, grinding down hard on him.

And suddenly, I’m coming like a fucking hurricane.

Damian slams his mouth to mine, swallowing my moans as he rocks up into me. His swollen cock pulses and throbs, pumping rope after thick rope of his hot cum into me as my pussy clenches around him.

He collapses back with me on top of him, shivering and whimpering as I kiss his mouth, his jaw, his neck…wanting to taste every inch of his skin as I feel myself squeeze around him. Slowly, eventually, I slide off his thickness, gasping quietly when I feel the head slip out.

I roll off and curl up beside him, my head on his shoulder, just listening to his heartbeat under my ear. It’s steady, grounding, a reassurance that he’s here with me, that he’s safe.

That’s when I realize that I’m completely in love with this man.

Head over heels.

Hopelessly.

Embarrassingly.

I shift, looking up at him. He meets my gaze, his expression softening, and I can tell he knows.

He always knows.

“Mind if I sleep in the bed?” I ask softly, biting my lip.

His brows knit as he nods, starting to get up. “Sure, I’ll grab the floor⁠—”

I reach out, stopping him with a gentle hand on his arm. “I meant…” My cheeks flush as I search for the words. “I meant, can I sleep in the bed with you?”

His expression changes, a soft and almost vulnerable mix of surprise and warmth flickering in his eyes that I rarely see. He pulls me closer, his arm wrapping around me as he presses a kiss to my forehead.

“You’re sure?” he murmurs quietly.

I nod, my hand finding his under the covers, our fingers intertwining. “I’m sure.”

It feels like the final piece falling into place, the last barrier between us crumbling away.