Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 154368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 617(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 617(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
"No." He held my gaze. "But I want you to see how much I am willing to surrender to you."
My chest ached. "I already know that, Kenji."
"But I want you to see it, Tora."
My eyes burned. I blinked hard, forcing the tears back. "What if I hurt you?"
"You won't."
"But what if I did?"
Kenji held my gaze. His expression didn't change. His voice didn't waver. "Then I'll burn for you." He said it like it was simple. Like it was so fucking obvious.
“Kenji—”
"I'm fine with burning for you."
A tear slipped down my cheek. I wiped it away fast, angry at myself.
"Tora, many men, I'm sure, have said they love you."
I went still.
"That they'll be there for you. That they won't break your heart." His voice dropped lower. More serious than I'd ever heard him. "But how many men have said you can set them on fire?"
I couldn't breathe.
"How many have said they will die for you—truly die for you—by your hands, if needed?" His eyes blazed. "I love you, Tora and I have never loved anyone this way before."
The words landed in my chest and stayed there.
Heavy.
Permanent.
A brand of their own.
I looked at Hiroko.
She stood a few feet away, watching us. Her eyes glistened. Wet and bright. She blinked once, twice, and the moisture disappeared. Her professional mask returned—smooth, composed, and unreadable.
But I had seen it. I had seen what this moment meant to her too.
Hiroko stepped forward. "Come, Nyomi. Let me show you the instruments."
Fuck. Am I really going to do this?
I followed her to the side table. My legs felt unsteady. My hands trembled at my sides.
She picked up one of the small white bundles first. It was soft, almost like cotton candy, but denser. More compressed. "This is flash cotton."
She held the cotton up to the nearest candle. The fibers were fine, almost translucent. "This will ignite instantly and burns away in less than a second. Watch."
She held a candle flame to the edge.
The cotton erupted—a bright orange burst that consumed the entire bundle in a single breath.
Then it was gone with no smoke or residue. However, a faint warmth hit the air.
"The cotton creates sensation without damage," Hiroko explained. "The heat is intense but brief. The skin feels it, but there's no time for injury."
She set it down and picked up one of the metal rods. It was about a foot long, with a wrapped end—fabric wound tight around the tip, secured with wire.
"This is a fire wand." She turned it in her hands so I could see the construction. The metal shaft was smooth and polished.
The wrapped end was thick and absorbent.
"This fabric holds alcohol, which provides the fuel. You light it, and the flame burns from the wand. You control where it goes. How long it stays. When it stops." She set it down and gestured to the glass containers. "That’s isopropyl alcohol. It serves as the fuel source."
The liquid inside was clear, almost like water.
“Okay.”
"We will use it sparingly. Too much, and the flame burns too long. Too hot." She pointed to the stack of wet towels. "If anything goes wrong, these smother the flame immediately. And the men. . ." she nodded toward the corners, “. . .they're here for emergencies. But they've never been needed when I run a scene."
I stared at the instruments. The cotton. The wands. The fuel.
This was real.
This was happening.
"There are rules," Hiroko continued. "And you will follow them exactly."
I nodded.
"Never let the flame linger. Movement is everything. The fire travels across the skin. It doesn't stay in one place."
"Okay."
"Avoid the face. The hair. The groin." She ticked them off on her fingers. "We work on the torso. The arms. The legs. Large muscle groups where the skin is thickest."
My eyes betrayed me. They dropped to Kenji's shorts. To the thick outline of his cock straining against the leather.
Hiroko caught it. "Nyomi."
I put my gaze back on her. "I heard you. No groin."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
"Again, focus on the large muscle groups where the skin is thickest."
"Yes."
"Watch his breathing. Watch his body." Her eyes held mine. "If something is wrong, you'll see it before he says it. His safeword still applies. Though. . ." she glanced at Kenji on the slab and sighed. "I doubt he will use it tonight."
Kenji's eyes were fixed on me.
"You can stop at any time," Hiroko said. "For any reason. Your comfort matters as much as his."
I exhaled slowly and tried to absorb it all.
"Now." Hiroko pushed up the sleeve of her leather kimono, exposing her forearm. The skin was pale and smooth. "I'll demonstrate. Pick something for me to test?"
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know.” I looked at the items. “I think. . .I like the wand the best because it seems like I can control it more.”
“This is true.” She picked up a fire wand and dipped the wrapped end into the alcohol. “Alright.”