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They drove back to his place in silence. Casting a sidelong glance at him, Angela wondered why Nobu was so tense but thought better of asking right at that moment. When they reached his condo he became noticeably more relaxed and his face eased into a smile. Opening the box, she let her kittens sniff their new surroundings and one by one, they hopped out, Yin naturally being the first to take the initiative. "Nobu, they might scratch up some of your nice things," she worried.
Examining his new occupants with amusement, Noboru shrugged carelessly. "There are only two things of mine that if damaged beyond repair would upset me."
"Those being?"
"One is my katana. The other," he said as he strolled over to her, "is you." Affectionately kissing her cheek, he put an arm around her waist and looked down at the purring balls of fluff at his feet.
Angela watched in fascination as Yin and Yang wound themselves around his legs and flopped on their sides, begging to have their bellies rubbed. Only Snotty remained disdainfully aloof, choosing to watch imperiously from Nobu's bed. "I've never seen them act so friendly with another person."
Reaching down to stroke their tummies, Noboru laughed. "That is because they know who is in charge here. Although I think Snotty-[kun] is plotting to oust me from my alpha male position," he joked, indicating him as the imperious kitten made himself comfortable on his sheets.
Thinking that this was as good a time as any, she decided to broach the subject that had been on her mind all morning. "Nobu, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" He caught her off guard when he suddenly grabbed her to him and buried his face in her neck. "Nobu, what is it?"
Sitting down on the sofa he pulled her into his lap. "I fear I may have put you in some danger."
"Eh?"
"This morning I felt something that I have not experienced in many years." He kissed the inside of her palm before continuing. "When I was twenty-seven, I accompanied my brother on a mission to scout the coastline of what was then Chosun. A storm destroyed our ship and I was washed ashore half dead and burning with fever." Touching her face, he added, "You found me and saved my life."
"What?" She shook her head. So that was why he looked like he recognized her that first time. "You mean some distant relative of mine or someone that looked like me," she corrected.
"No, it was you." His expression became sad, then was replaced by a fury so fierce she could feel it. "My brother found you and I was unable to protect you from his men. They dishonored you as I was forced to watch, and in your shame, you took your own life."
"Oh my god." His arms around her tightened.
"When I was turned over to the shogun, he was incensed by my betrayal, as I killed some of the men who tried to take you. As punishment, he ordered a fox-witch to place a curse on me. It was she who made me what I am. The logic was to use my new body's ability to heal quickly so that I could be endlessly tortured without concern of my dying."
The idea of it sickened her. "How long did that last?"
"It took me six months to learn to control my physical state. I continued to feign weakness in order to lull them into a false sense of security. One particular night, I found I could not wait any longer and I slew my tormentors, or at least I thought I had."
"What do you mean?" She glanced up at his eyes, which had darkened to a stormier shade of blue.
"My brother was the one who enjoyed my torture the most. He would accompany the witch while I was tortured and sometimes participate. To add to my ignominy, he even used my own sword to inflict pain on me. After what he did to you and how he betrayed me, I had promised myself that my need for vengeance would not be satisfied until I had killed him, and that night I did, or so I thought."
"I don't understand." Angela looked at him confused.
Noboru sighed. "Saburo was the first person I ever infected. As he survived my attempt to kill him, he developed many of the same symptoms as I did but I did not realize he was still alive until sixty years ago."
He saw the realization spread over her face. "It's him you're worried about. You're afraid that he'll come after me."
"Yes." Hugging her apologetically, he said, "I am sorry to have forced you out of your home. I did not realize he was now in the United States."
"If you had, would it have changed how you acted around me?"
Smiling wryly, he shook his head. "No, I would still be incapable of depriving myself of you." Drawing her closer, he kissed her lingeringly. "I had given up on the hope that I could find anyone who made me feel the way you did. I knew that one way or another, I would make you mine."
She closed her eyes at the hypnotic effect his voice had on her and parted her lips to give him more room to explore her. "Nobu," she moaned. She enjoyed the feel of his name on her lips almost as much as he enjoyed it in his ears. Hearing her breathe his name, his eyes dilated to the point where there was only a thin rim of blue surrounding the deep black pools. The smell of her rising desire was beginning to overpower his mind and she could feel it as he hardened against her thigh.
"You possess a dangerous power over me," he whispered, even as he gripped her neck possessively.
Pulling off his T-shirt, she ran her tongue over the smooth surface of his chest and stomach, alternately licking and biting her way down to his waist. With her cheek she stroked his stiffening cock as it strained to break free of his trousers. Undoing his zipper, she slid them off and his erection sprang forward, eager for her touch. Playfully ignoring it and laying on her back, she spread her legs and began fingering her pussy as his eyes glazed over with need while he watched her play with herself. Bringing herself right to the brink of orgasm, she purred, "Fuck me like an animal. I want you to let go of your inhibitions and be rough with me."
Amidst a cacophony of snaps and cracks, within seconds he was on her, pinning her down, snarling loudly, his fangs bared. The way she stared at him in his primal state was unashamed and she ogled his powerful body, waiting to be taken. His primitive side exulted in her permission to fuck her with abandon and he slashed her clothes to ribbons before tearing them off her body, leaving red welts where his talons met her skin. Taking her head in one clawed hand, he could easily have crushed her skull with little effort. Grasping his dripping cock in the other, he pushed it against her lips. "Open your mouth," he hissed. When she did, he stretched he jaws wide as he used her to satisfy himself. Seeing her juices pooling under her, he pushed her off and began lapping up the fluid on his couch before snaking his tongue into her waiting lips.
She ground her hips into his face, gripping the white fur of his head with both hands, attempting to drive his muzzle deeper. When she threw her head back and exposed the flesh on her neck, he clamped down with his teeth and her blood ran over his tongue. The instant he tasted the sweet, metallic flavor, the rational part of him receded into the recesses of his mind and only his primitive urges remained -- the need to eat, to fuck, and to possess. Relinquishing his grip on her, he threw her onto her stomach so hard that she cried out in protest. The new level of urgency frightened her a little. He smelled her fear, could feel her misgivings about her request and it only inflamed the predator in him to claim her more. Wrenching her legs apart, he buried his cock inside her with one savage stroke and savored her whimpers of pain at being invaded so roughly. Taking one of her breasts in his hand, he used his grip to anchor her in place as he brutally pounded into her from behind.
"Nobu, please." It was starting to hurt, he was fucking her so hard. He answered by giving her a threatening growl and snapping her neck in between his jaws. She screamed in genuine fear as she felt his teeth meet through her skin and saw her blood drip onto the leather of his sofa. With her immobilized underneath him, he relentlessly pulled in and out of her, the taste of her blood and the smell of her adrenaline bringing him to climax with dizzying speed.
