Beckett said nothing for a long moment.
The SUV hummed along the road, the tinted windows hiding them from the world.
He had just challenged Beckett.
He had just agreed to something that might ruin him.
But it was too late to take it back now.
“So be it,” Beckett said.
Then he pounced.
Kota barely had time to register the movement before Beckett was on him, straddling his lap in the passenger seat, his naked body pressing against Kota’s chest.
His hands cupped Kota’s face, his fingers cold and precise, and then his mouth was on Kota’s, and everything else ceased to exist.
The kiss was nothing like Kota expected.
He had kissed Theo hundreds of times, soft and sweet and full of nervous energy.
He had kissed Sebastian, fumbling and eager like he always was.
Those kisses were romantic.
They were gentle.
They were full of love and affection and the slow build of intimacy.
This was not that.
Beckett kissed like he was trying to consume him.
His tongue was impossibly long, impossibly flexible, sliding past Kota’s lips and swirling into every corner of his mouth.
It traced the roof of his palate, curled around his teeth, flicked against the sensitive spot behind his front teeth that Kota didn’t even know existed.
It was like being kissed by something not quite human, something that had studied the anatomy of pleasure and mastered it completely.
Kota’s hands flew up, gripping the car door and the center console, trying to anchor himself.
His eyes were wide, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps through his nose.
He couldn’t move.
He couldn’t think.
He could only feel.
And what he felt was pure, unadulterated sexiness.
It radiated off Beckett in waves, a raw, primal energy that bypassed every rational thought and went straight to the most primitive part of Kota’s brain.
This wasn’t romantic.
This was the feeling of being wanted, desired, devoured by someone who knew exactly what they were doing and exactly how to make you beg for more.
From the back seat, Corey bounced up and down on the leather like an excited puppy.
“Oi!
If it’s really that good, I want a taste!
Share the wealth, cutie!
I’ve been good!
I deserve a kiss too!”
Beckett pulled back just enough to speak, his lips still brushing against Kota’s.
“Negative.
This exchange is between Kota and myself.
You are merely a witness.
Observe quietly or exit the vehicle.”
Corey pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.
“You’re so mean.
I thought we had something special.
That was hurtful.”
Beckett ignored him and turned back to Kota. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
His dark eyes were unreadable, his face still as blank as ever, but there was something different in the air between them now.
A charge.
A tension.
A promise of things to come.
Kota’s voice came out rough when he finally managed to speak.
“That was…
intense.”
“That was merely a preview,” Beckett said.
“The full experience is significantly more…
consuming.
Are you certain you wish to proceed?
There is no shame in admitting defeat before the ritual begins.
Many have tried and failed.
My previous boyfriends thought they were strong enough.
They were not.”
Kota’s jaw tightened.
“I said bring it on.
I meant it.”
Beckett inclined his head.
“Very well.
I will prepare the necessary crystals and align the monolith for maximum vibrational output.
Monday will be…
memorable.” He slid off Kota’s lap and returned to the driver’s seat, his posture perfect, his expression blank, as if nothing had happened.
The SUV continued its smooth journey through the city streets.
A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of Kota’s apartment building.
The familiar brick facade looked dull and ordinary compared to the Hawthorne mansion, but right now, it looked like heaven.
All Kota wanted was to crawl into his bed and sleep for a week.
Corey hopped out first, stretching his arms over his head with a satisfied groan.
“Well, that was fun.
We should do it again sometime.
Preferably with fewer clothes and more orgasms.”
Kota climbed out after him, his legs a little unsteady.
He turned back to Beckett, who was still sitting in the driver’s seat, his naked body visible through the open window.
“Monday,” Kota said.
“I’ll be ready.
No matter what.”
Beckett nodded once.
“I have no doubt.
Until then, rest.
You will need your strength.” The window rolled up, the SUV pulled away, and Kota was left standing on the sidewalk, the cold February air biting at his cheeks, his lips still tingling from the kiss.
(idk why I’m treating this like a duel to the death)
He walked into the building and climbed the stairs to his floor, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts.
The ritual.
The volume.
The blindfolds.
Beckett’s kiss.
It was too much to process.
He needed to forget about everything for a few hours.
What he didn’t notice was the figure watching him from the shadows of the third-floor hallway.
The peeping tom was pressed against the wall near the stairwell, his skinny frame barely visible in the dim light.
He had been waiting for Kota to come home for hours, his heart pounding, his palms sweating, knees week arms are heavy (ehehe) his mind racing with things he wanted to say and do.
He had promised himself that today would be the day.
Today, he would talk to Kota.
Today, he would finally introduce himself properly.
Today, he would stop being a creep and start being a person.
But then he saw Kota walk by, and all his courage evaporated.
Kota looked tired.
Kota looked distracted.
Kota looked like he had just been through something intense and didn’t want to be bothered.
And the peeping tom, standing there in his rumpled hoodie and his greasy hair, felt suddenly, acutely aware of how pathetic he was.
How ordinary.
How utterly unworthy of someone like Kota.
He bolted.
He ran down the hallway, his sneakers squeaking on the linoleum, and threw himself into his abandoned unit.
The door slammed shut behind him, and he leaned against it, his chest heaving, his eyes squeezed shut.
“Soon,” he whispered to himself, his voice shaking.
“Soon enough, I’ll be able to talk to him.
Just not today.
Today isn’t the day.
But soon.
I’ll find the right moment.
I’ll figure out what to say.
I’ll make him notice me.”
He slid down the door and sat on the floor, his knees pulled to his chest.
“And it’s not because I like him or anything.
That’s bullshit.
Totally not the reason.
I don’t like him.
I just…
I just want to be his friend.
Yeah.
His friend.
That’s all.
Just a friend.”
He nodded to himself, as if trying to convince his own reflection.
“A friend.
Definitely.
Nothing more.
Not ever.
Never.
Absolutely not.”