Page 17 of Doubts of the Egoist (Egoist #3)

“Fine. You said there are cameras all over the mansion. Do they record audio as well?”

The familiar, stubborn glow settled in the depths of his dark eyes.

Yeah, being a cop isn’t a profession; it’s a diagnosis. Yugo snorted to himself, noticing the flicker of the former Kuon through the hardened, rough shell. It’d been a while since Kuon’s face had shown real interest, not indifference or desperation to escape the darkness and boredom. He loved it.

He rested his forearm on Kuon’s chest and turned his palm up, offering it. “As an act of good will, I’ll answer this one almost for free. Simon says, give me your hand.”

“For the record, you sound ridiculous…” the younger man grumbled but obediently slapped his wet palm over Yugo’s. “Can’t we be adults and skip this Simon says thing?”

“Is that a question?” Yugo jeered, rubbing Kuon’s knuckles with his thumb.

“No. Answer the real one.” Kuon tried to pull his hand out of Yugo’s grip as if to say, “No answer, no hand.”

Yugo grinned and interlaced their fingers. “Yes, all the cameras record sound.”

“That’s how you knew it was Mio who let me out…”

Unlike the former detective, Yugo didn’t want to dwell on the past or hand out free answers.

Still, he needed to gain Kuon’s trust and wipe the worry from his eyes, so he nodded.

“Yes, the white room also has cameras. I watched the recordings; I know what he told you. Since all the local vehicles here have GPS tracking, it wasn’t hard to find you. ”

Kuon fell silent. It took him a good minute to think of his next question. “If Mio hadn’t interfered that day, would you have ever let me go?”

“Ask something else.” Yugo winced inwardly.

“No, answer.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Never? What if you got tired of me? Would you have killed me or sold me to a brothel?” Kuon tried to pull his hand away, but Yugo held it.

“Don’t be silly.”

“Then what was the plan? Keep me isolated for the rest of my life and watch me lose my mind day by day?”

“No,” Yugo said, cheek twitching. “I hoped you’d come to like me and decide to stay.”

“Seriously?” Kuon laughed. When Yugo didn’t reply, his gaze turned inward, clouded by memories. “Jesus, Yugo… Never thought I’d feel like sending Mio a thank-you card.”

To prevent him from plunging any deeper, Yugo said, “I didn’t know how to let you go.

I wanted you to look only at me. I still do.

” Kuon didn’t reply, but he didn’t pull his hand away either, so Yugo took that as a good sign.

“Since I’ve satisfied your curiosity, pay the price.

Simon says your arm is mine for five minutes to do whatever I want. ”

He flashed his platinum Patek Philippe watch in Kuon’s face and activated the timer.

Kuon blinked and relaxed his elbow.

“What do you need my arm for?” Realization crossed the scarred face as Yugo lifted the trapped limb and took Kuon’s little finger into his mouth. “For five minutes?”

“Not a second less,” Yugo confirmed with a flat lick on the heel of his palm.

Holding Kuon’s gaze and fighting the grin tugging at the corners of his lips, Yugo dragged his tongue along the ring finger, then closed his lips around a knuckle.

The poorly trimmed, sharp nail jabbed his palate, scratching it as Yugo took the finger as deep as he could.

The black pupils shrank in pain as Yugo bit down, desperate to hold Kuon’s thoughts on him alone.

Kuon hissed as Yugo bit him, bruising his flesh to the bone before the cruel mouth withdrew. Throbbing, aching, the white teeth imprint branded the space between his palm and middle knuckle. Within seconds, the mark saturated with red.

“Fuck, what are you, hungry?” Kuon rasped, trying to distract himself from the pain and the odd thought that the bite mark resembled a ring. A small muscle on his wrist twitched with the need to tear his captured hand away as Yugo’s tongue dragged over the bruise.

“Don’t complain. It’s your fault I missed dinner and am starving.” The dubious words sent a shiver down Kuon’s spine. He tried to collect his thoughts, but couldn’t look away from the insolent mouth.

Yugo’s eyes glowed with animalistic hunger as his teeth nipped lower to leave another bloody mark on the edge of Kuon’s palm.

A wild smile revealed his canines before Yugo lavished more throbbing marks on Kuon’s forearm. With his free hand, Kuon pushed Yugo’s head away, complaining, “Seriously, who are you, Jeffrey Dahmer?”

“Why? Want to arrest me? Put handcuffs on me?” Yugo purred as he pressed the captive hand to his own cheek, then dragged it down his throat, demanding Kuon touch him. Entranced, Kuon watched his fingers slide over the notch of Yugo’s throat, then down the silky shirt to the defined pecs.

Yugo distracting him from his goals seemed illegal. He nodded, floundering in a sinking haze of thoughtless lust. “I do.”

Kuon’s hand glided over Yugo’s chest without being prompted. The back of his finger outlined Yugo’s erect nipple, then drew a line down to his stomach. Kuon swallowed hard.

“Ah, I missed watching you watch me,” Yugo whispered.

Watching me? Kuon blinked as an old thought took on new colors. There were cameras in the white room. What exactly did he see?

His eyes narrowed, and Yugo’s face fell into perfect focus. “Wait… Were you watching me all that time?”

Kuon’s eyes must have deceived him, because the grin of a Cheshire cat graced Yugo’s face. “Simon says—”

“Forget it,” Kuon blurted, realizing that his questions had only made him miserable so far, while Yugo glowed with satisfaction. He wanted to break the distracting physical contact, but the stupid time refused to run faster.

Itching with nerves, Kuon stared at his trapped arm, wanting to chop it off to free himself. But since it was already covered with purple bite marks, it looked pathetic enough. He sighed.

I must be an idiot if I thought it was a good idea to play a game I can’t win with him.

I look like a victim of a zombie apocalypse, and yet I haven’t even asked him anything important.

Concentrate, damn it! The surge of righteous anger helpfully summoned the memories from the white room.

His mouth opened and closed. A searing wave of shame hit his face.

“Did you watch me jerk off?” Kuon asked, instantly regretting his question.

A black brow arched, and Yugo’s face lit up with joy. “Simon says—”

“Shut up! It was a rhetorical question. Damn it, don’t you know what privacy is?

” Kuon’s voice pitched with indignation as he recalled all the times when Yugo had forced him to have one dry orgasm after another on the same days he’d touched himself.

He tried to wriggle his hand out of the grip as the places where Yugo’s tongue had so generously lavished kisses only moments ago now cooled beneath the echo of his deep laughter.

“My five minutes aren’t up yet.” Yugo clawed at Kuon’s hand, refusing to let go of his prey.

His hot tongue dragged across the thin skin on the inner side of Kuon’s wrist once again, slicking the web of blue veins with wet heat.

He lifted his shameless, shimmering gaze.

“I loved watching you pleasure yourself. The more I looked at you, the more I wanted you for myself. All of you.”

Not sure how to respond to this confession, Kuon turned away. Water licked his bent knees as it filled the tub, rolling off in shallow, shimmering ripples. Everything felt surreal—his restoring vision, Yugo’s house, the secret room, a bite mark on his ring finger, and Yugo’s hand groping his pecs.

Kuon glanced down and realized it was his own hand.

Submitting to Yugo’s will, it shamelessly roamed over his chest. Somehow, being forced to touch himself under Yugo’s watch felt more depraved than having sex.

He didn’t want to admit that a part of him enjoyed this game and was curious to see where it would lead them. And didn’t that play into Yugo’s hands?

Kuon’s hand shook, resisting.

A whisper stirred the damp hair above his ear as Yugo leaned closer. “Don’t fight me. Show me everything. I miss watching you touch yourself.”

Kuon huffed when Yugo seized his elbow, prompting his hand to sneak under his boxers.

Kuon’s fingers wound around his hard length.

Lust replaced reason, making tiny muscles all over his body contract with sweet anticipation.

He gazed at his tormenter, once again feeling the unpleasantly familiar combination of being cheated and stupid.

Only ten minutes ago, his mind had swarmed with questions that seemed more important than almost anything else in the world.

Now he couldn’t produce a more or less sensible thought. “You’re distracting me; I can’t think.”

“If something like this distracts you from something that kept you from having sex with me earlier, maybe your questions aren’t important. Give up,” Yugo said with such a smug smile that Kuon itched to punch it back behind his perfect teeth.

Bastard . He closed his eyes, hoping the lack of sight would stir determination and cease this searing haze. His head rested on top of Yugo’s thigh once more, and Kuon couldn’t suppress the desire to rub the back of his head against it.

The man chuckled. Kuon almost groaned as a cool palm brushed the damp hair away from his forehead. His fingers slithered up and down his blood-pumped cock, tugging at the strings of his body. The sticky-sweet euphoria filled his every cell, informing him of the building orgasm.

I’m like a cat in heat. I really want to suck him off. Why the hell am I so horny, and he’s so… calm? The thought displeased him. Kuon wanted Yugo hot and bothered, shaking with the need to touch and be touched. It felt unfair that he was the only one disintegrating in lust.

Kuon glanced over his shoulder. Yugo sat with arms crossed over his chest, watching him with a smug smile and hellish flames dancing in his bottomless pupils. A suspicion touched Kuon’s mind. “How much longer?”

“None. Actually, it’s more than two minutes of overtime.”

“Fucker.” Kuon breathed out the word, but his hand didn’t stop moving. “You cheated.”

“I did not.” Yugo’s pupils dilated, pushing away the steely rings of his irises. “I released your hand as soon as the time ran out; you did the rest yourself. Why don’t you admit that you want me here and now, and we’ll end this stupid interrogation?”

Kuon lowered his chin, offended that Yugo could still think clearly after such a performance.

His pride reared up, as did his insecurities.

He pulled his hand out of his boxers and pushed away from the tub’s edge, moving closer to the faucet, his face burning, blood roaring in his ears.

To cool himself, he cut off the hot water.

The icy jet licked the side of his body, sobering him up.

Liquid flames splashed inside. His thin silk shirt suffocated like a straitjacket. His voice, charred with lust, sounded like it belonged to someone else when Yugo asked, “Why don’t you do it again?”

“Do what?” With a nonchalant smile, Kuon draped his arms over the edge of the tub, showing off his broad chest. Crystal droplets trembled on his fingernails, unwilling to part with them.

Yugo wanted to lick them off, to feast on them, just like he wanted to gorge on Kuon’s dick.

Glossed with water, Kuon’s muscles rolled with each breath.

Even his usual self-consciousness about his scars seemed to disappear, because now Kuon looked into Yugo’s eyes, challenging, testing, provoking him.

“Please yourself while calling my name?”

To Yugo’s surprise, Kuon’s hand slipped into the water. His black boxers stretched over his fist as he gave himself a few lazy strokes. “Is this what you want?”

“Go on,” Yugo whispered with a nod. “Take off your underwear; I want to see.”

“For that, you must answer a worthy question.” Kuon grinned, his smile both mischievous and seductive. His cheeks flushed as he tilted his head to the side, revealing the beautiful curve of his neck marked with purple passion marks.

Yugo’s lips burned with the need to renew those hickeys so they would never fade from Kuon’s skin. He got up and slowly circled the tub, cornering his prey. Once behind Kuon, he reached out to touch Kuon’s chest, but his hand was swatted away.

“I didn’t ask any questions for you to do as you please,” Kuon pointed out.

Annoyed yet excited, the Black Duke shook his hand in exaggerated frustration. “Getting a taste for the game, aren’t you?”

“Won’t lie, it’s addictive.” Kuon pulled the waistband of his boxers away with his thumb to give Yugo a glimpse. Beneath the layer of water, in the shadow of the tenting boxers, his cock rubbed against the wet cloth.

“Kuon?” Yugo lowered his voice to convey the thought. “Take off your underwear, or I’ll tear it to pieces.”

“Why don’t you ask Simon to wish for it?” The waistband of Kuon’s boxers slapped against his lower belly, hiding his cock. “Besides, why am I the only one naked? Undress.”

“Why should I please you? I’m not the one with questions,” Yugo purred.

“Then you leave me no choice.” Kuon’s hand zapped forward, seized Yugo’s shirt, and yanked.

Water hit the edge of the bathtub, spilled onto the floor, and Yugo’s shoe slipped.

Losing his balance, he flailed and tumbled into the tub.

Water filled his mouth and eyes as his knee hit the hard surface.

Kuon shifted, and Yugo’s chest slid against his stomach.

The slick body beneath him felt hot in the lukewarm water.

Pushing away, he broke the surface, wiped his face with his palm, and glared at Kuon.

The dark brown eyes shone with laughter, but Kuon’s voice was breathy. “See? Much better now.”