A Fox's Family (2 page)

The
question sobered him. Embarrassment gave way to solemnity. Kevin
looked down at his feet, unable to hold Kiara
’
s
gaze.
“
Because
I
’
m
tired of being weak,
”
he
confessed, his voice a soft murmur that made Kiara
’
s
ears twitch.

“
What
was that?
”
she
asked, even though Kevin was sure she
’
d
heard him.
“
Speak
up, boy!
”

“
I
said it
’
s
because I
’
m
tired of being weak,
”
Kevin
practically shouted.
“
I
’
m
tired of having to rely on Lilian for protection. I
’
m
tired of not being able to help her when she needs me. I want to be
able to stand by her side as an equal. I want to be able to help her.
I want her to be able to rely on me.
”

“
So
you
’
re
doing this for Lilian?
”
Kiara
raised an eyebrow at Kevin, who shook his head.

“
Not
just for Lilian. I
’
m
also doing this for myself. I made a choice. I chose to become
Lilian
’
s
mate, and that means I
’
m
now a part of the world you and she belong to, but I
’
m
…
I
’
m
still just a human,
”
he
choked out, as if admitting this fact physically hurt.
“
I
don
’
t
have any supernatural abilities that would let me stand up to a
yōkai
…”

Kevin
looked at his hands, clenching them both into fists, before looking
back up to present Kiara with his determined glare.

“
I
don
’
t
want to be weak anymore. I
’
m
sick of it. That
’
s
why I want you to make me stronger.
”
He
then bowed to the woman, a formal bow at the waist.
“
Please
help me get stronger.
”

Kevin
clenched his eyes shut and didn
’
t
look up, which was why he nearly squealed like a little girl when a
hand landed on his shoulder.

He
looked up to see a grinning Kiara staring down at him.

“
All
right. I
’
ll
help you get stronger,
”
she
said, causing hope to swell within Kevin
’
s
chest.
“
Come
back here tomorrow morning and we
’
ll
begin your training. Be sure to dress for the occasion. You
’
re
gonna want something that you don
’
t
mind getting ruined.
”

Kevin
would have wondered what she meant by that, but was honestly too
happy to care.
“
Okay.
I
’
ll
do that. Thanks!
”

“
You
’
re
welcome, boya.
”

As
Kevin left, he never noticed the devious grin that nearly split
Kiara
’
s
face in half, nor did he hear her diabolical chuckling.

“
Ku
ku ku
…
training
a human to fight yōkai, huh? Sounds like fun.
”

A
grunt escaped Kevin’s
lips when Kiara dug her heel into his back. “Come
on! Keep going, boya. You’re
not even close to being done yet.”

“I
don’t.”
Grunt.
“See
how.”
Whimper.
“You
can.”
Kiara
dug her left heel into his shoulder blade. Kevin nearly squealed.
“Expect
me to.”
Kevin’s
face became a deep scarlet when something hard ground into his back.
“Do
push-ups.”
Sounds
reminiscent of a dying cow escaped his mouth when his chest scraped
against the bed of nails, drawing blood. “With
you on my back!”

Even
though he couldn’t
see her, Kevin could practically feel Kiara’s
grin. “It’s
all part of your training.”

Kevin
would have cursed, but since he didn’t
swear, he settled instead of spewing insults within the confines of
his mind. Due to his mild nature, they weren’t
particularly mean insults.

Despite
the fact that his body ached like nobody’s
business, as if he’d
been chewed apart by an inu yōkai, Kevin continued doing as many
push-ups as possible. Oddly enough, his current exercise was one of
the easiest Kiara had given him thus far.

He
didn’t
know whether that should please him or not.

Kevin
still remembered some of the exercises she’d
had him do these past two weeks. Hellacious did not even begin to
describe them.

“
Um,
are you sure this is a good idea?
”
Kevin
asked as he stood outside with Kiara. His new trainer in the ways of
badassery had strapped a harness to his torso, which was attached to
a tire that she sat upon soon after. In her hands was a whip.

“
Of
course it
’
s
a good idea,
”
Kiara
said, talking down to him like he was some kind of idiot.
“
You
wanna get stronger, don
’
t
you, boya?
”

“
Well,
yes, but
—”

“
The
fastest way to get stronger is through intense physical training,
”
Kiara
interrupted.
“
It
is only when a warrior pushes their body to the brink, when they take
themselves to the edge of their physical limits, and then shatter
those limitations, that they gain the strength they so desire.
”

“
Um,
if you say so.
”

“
I
do say so. Now
…”
Kiara
’
s
eyes gleamed as she pulled the whip back.
“
Start
running!
”

The
sound of a whip cracking, followed swiftly by a number of girlish
squeals, echoed throughout the city. Rumors would eventually spread
about a masochistic young man who let his mistress tie him to a
harness and pull her around while she whipped him. Eric would not be
happy when he learned that someone had beaten him in the masochism
department, and no amount of denial would convince him that Kevin was
only letting Kiara do this so he could become stronger.

In
the end, Kevin couldn’t
get to 200 push-ups. He couldn’t
even break past the 100 mark.

“Eighty-eight,”
Kiara
muttered, mostly to herself, though Kevin heard her all the same.
“Not
bad, boya. It’s
definitely an improvement from the twenty push-up limit you had when
you first started.”
She
looked down at the young man laying on his back, his tongue lolling
out of his mouth as he gasped for breath, and his body covered in a
thick layer of sweat. “Good
job.”

“Gu…
ugh…”

Kevin
could not answer. For obvious reasons.

***

After
taking a shower, Kevin, having donned his outfit of faded leather
jeans, a white T-shirt and sneakers, left Kiara’s
mercilessly untender hands.

He
didn’t
ride his bike back home, mainly because he couldn’t
ride his bike. His body was in too much pain for that. His arms were
sore, his legs were burning, and his chest felt like someone had
injected acid straight into his muscles.

And
yet, despite the pain, he felt good. Maybe not physically good, but
mentally, emotionally, Kevin felt incredible. Accomplished. It wasn’t
noticeable yet, but he felt like he was getting stronger.

Arriving
home and grunting his way up the stairs, Kevin entered his apartment
to find Kotohime cooking breakfast. He knew it was her before even
looking in the kitchen, as he could smell the Japanese cuisine being
prepared. Lilian rarely made Japanese food these days, preferring to
try new dishes each time she cooked. She had a predilection for
American breakfasts.

“Good
morning, Kevin-sama.”
Despite
her greeting, Kotohime did not look up from her task of setting the
table.

“Um,
good morning,”
Kevin
muttered a tad shyly. Even after two weeks, he still couldn’t
get over the new suffix she had added to his name. He remembered
asking her why she’d
decided to switch from using “-san”
to
“-sama”
once.
Her answer had been rather enlightening.

“
Because
you have officially become Lilian-sama
’
s
mate. I must afford you the respect that comes with such a position,
even if you are not quite deserving of such respect yourself.
”

Kotohime
was a very traditional woman, believing that respect must at least be
afforded to the position, if not the person who held it.

“I
hope your workout with Kiara-san was productive,”
she
continued as her tails reached into a cabinet and pulled out several
plates.

“Uh,
yeah, I like to think it was pretty productive.”
Kevin
rubbed the back of his head, and then winced. It seemed even the
simplest of movements hurt. “Kiara’s
tough, but thanks to her, I think I’m
starting to get a little stronger.”

“That
is good. You’re
going to need that strength if you plan on standing by Lilian-sama’s
side.”

“Believe
me, I am already well-aware of that,”
Kevin
said with more than just a hint of dryness.

“I’m
sure you are.”
Kotohime’s
demure smile held an amused gleam, and her eyes glimmered in ways
that still bothered Kevin. He felt like she was taking pleasure from
his predicament.

After
he had decided to become Lilian’s
mate, Kotohime had taken him aside and informed him of the dangers he
would face—some
of them anyway. She had not been pleasant about it either. There had
been no reassurances, no “don’t
worry, I’ll
protect you”
speeches
or anything of the sort. Just straight up, brutally honest
information given to him in a way that made the whole issue seem
almost mundane.

Kevin
was sure Kotohime had gotten a kick out of the whole thing.

“Breakfast
will be ready soon,”
Kotohime’s
voice interrupted his thoughts. “Could
you please wake up Lilian-sama for me? I believe she will enjoy being
woken up by you more than she would me.”
Her
smile as she said this was more than just a little devious. The way
her eyes sparkled with a strange sort of mischief didn’t
help.

“Don’t
I always wake Lilian up?”
Kevin
retorted, “And
of course she’d
prefer me. I’m
her mate.”

“Ufufufu,
indeed.”

Kevin
left Kotohime to her cooking and entered his bedroom. However, he
paused in the doorway when he caught sight of his mate lying on the
bed.

His
heart skipped a beat.

Lilian
lay on her back, her eyes closed. Even from a distance he could see
her thick eyelashes, which presented a stark contrast to her fair
skin. Her pink lips that looked far too kissable to resist were
slightly parted as she rhythmically breathed in and out. Her
breathing also had the added benefit of causing her bountiful chest
to jiggle enticingly within the confines of the overly large shirt
she wore, which looked far better on her than it ever had on him.

The
covers had been thrown off at some point after he left. He knew this
because he’d
made sure they were covering her before heading off to Mad Dawg
Fitness. Her left leg had fallen off the bed, and her right hand
rested on her flat stomach. Crimson locks of hair fanned across the
white sheets like an additional layer of silk, each strand shimmering
in the morning light, haloing Lilian in a curtain of fire.

Even
though Kevin had born witness to scenes like this for over two months
now, it never got old. Everything Lilian did, even something as
simple as sleeping, managed to combine astonishing sensuality with an
innocence that was nothing short of criminal. He was sure that no one
else in the entire world could pull off something like this.

***

Camellia
let out several sneezes.

“Kuchu!
Kuchu!”

It
was an oddly cute sound coming from a woman with such a killer body,
though those who knew her would not be surprised, given her childlike
personality.

Unfortunately,
she happened to be walking down the stairs when she sneezed and, as
her sense of balance was like a child just learning how to walk, she
ended up slipping. With a loud cry, Camellia tumbled down the stairs.

“HAWA!!!”

“M-My
Lady!”

Fortunately
for the poor maid who hurriedly rushed to her mistress’
side,
Camellia’s
breasts broke her fall. Again.

***

Sitting
down on the bed, Kevin’s
right hand almost absently went to Lilian’s
cheek. His fingers tingled at the feel of her smooth, unblemished
skin, so unlike his own rough and calloused hands. Lilian leaned into
his touch, her full lips opening a bit more as she released a
delicate sigh.

The
urge to kiss her right then was almost overwhelming.

His
thumb softly grazed over her lips. Her skin pursed slightly as she
kissed the digit, sending a jolt through him, which traveled from his
thumb down to his feet and then up to the crown of his head. This
sensation! How could something as simple as a kiss on the thumb feel
so electric?

As
he admired the young woman he’d
officially become, well, mated to, he guessed, he noticed something
about her that he hadn’t
several seconds ago.

It
wasn’t
the smile. She’d
been wearing that since before he left this morning.

It
was her eyes. Her left eye, to be exact. It was cracked open and
staring at him.

He
and Lilian gazed at each other for several silent seconds, after
which, she seemed to realize that he’d
noticed her staring and closed her eye again.

Kevin
nearly snorted.

“Come
on, Lilian.”
He
removed his hand from her cheek and placed it on her shoulder, where
he lightly shook her. “Time
to get up.”

“Zzzzz….”

“Fake
snores aren’t
going to work on me, you know.”

“Lilian
can’t
get up. She’s
asleep.”