Temper: Deliverance: Book Three of the TEMPER Saga, page 18
Dark circles under her eyes betrayed her continuous lack of good, uninterrupted sleep. More striking and worrying, an overall lack of intensive activity for almost a year had made her body shed a lot of muscle mass, which added to the normal weight gain caused by her pregnancy that she hadn’t gotten rid of yet.
Her lack of shape was pretty much obvious to anyone with a single working eye. Walking up two flights of stairs left her breathless these days, and her way too soft belly made her want to cry. Of course, abs were the first muscles to disappear during pregnancy, but it was a truly pitiful sight.
And who wants to bet that’s why he’s grown so distant? No stamina… no more strength… I had more resistance and energy when I was pregnant! And now look at me, as weak as a kitten. Well, at least he hasn’t given up on my aikido instruction. Yay me.
Delicious lovemaking with her wife made things even worse when it came to Honda’s attitude toward her. He wasn’t cold, dismissive or rude. He merely didn’t express any physical interest in her anymore.
Perhaps I should ask Yuki... The thought made her grimace. Her wife wasn’t the one whose primal urges had been messed with in the first place. A tingle of fear ran down her spine and she forgot how to breathe. Maybe it wasn’t about her poor physical condition, but about his own desire?
Maybe… maybe he isn’t into rough lovemaking anymore? Now that the reason why we started everything is gone, why would he want me in that way? Want me at all? Yuki is more than enough, she’s so amazing, so passionate, there’s no endless pool of dark needs anymore, of impossible urges…
Lana choke back a sob at the awful idea that whatever she’d do, it wouldn’t be enough. However hard she trained, regardless of the strength she’d get back, her tongue would never taste his skin again, his hands would never grip her hips again, his...
She shook her head. This was getting out of hand, she was letting panic rule her, once again. She had to talk with him. But how? It was maddening. It had been so easy and transparent between them on that aspect, but that had been before. Before everything had been turned upside down, and they had gone through so many upheavals that they hadn’t been able to think about it.
But now wasn’t the right time for this. He was waiting for her, and she’d give him her best, like any student was supposed to.
Inhaling deeply to clear her mind from those dark thoughts, Lana trotted to the dojo and paid her respects. Glancing up, she stifled a moan at the sight of her dashing husband busy finishing cleaning the mats.
Don’t go down that road, girl. It’s a dead end. You’re here to finally catch up with months of overdue training. That’s it.
“My apologies for taking so long and not helping you…” she said with a deep bow.
“Don’t mention it. Come now, let’s warm up,” he invited her, putting away the broom in the side room.
Half-way through the exercises, it became clear her flexibility was toast. She could no longer reach her toes when bending forward and was way above the ground when extending her legs to stretch her knees and shins. With the rainy season hammering them down, her face had turned bright red and her breath came out in short puffs by the time they were done.
Hm, this is going to be so much fun… And look at him, so composed, not even breaking a sweat.
“Today I want to review the test requirements for first kyu. Let’s not aim at speed, but precision. With appropriate training, you can sign up for the December test.”
“This December? Impossible, look at me, so out of shape!”
He graced her with his sternest instructor look. “First of all, you are in no position to evaluate yourself objectively. Of course, this means training four times a week, if not more. And did you forget that aikido doesn’t rely on physical strength? If anything, you will be able to fine tune your technique much better as you will stop attempting to overpower your uke. But we will work on your endurance and lung capacity. Understood?”
Lana gaped at him, before nodding with reluctance.
Well, maybe he is in fact in a hurry to see me able to… Stop! You’re so hopeless! Just ridiculous!
“Good. Then you may consider going for shodan some time at the end of next year.”
This time, Lana snorted. “Oh well, that’s wishful thinking, but I appreciate your attempt at lifting my spirits.”
A dangerous gleam lit in his eye. “Do you question my capacity to evaluate your abilities?”
Flustered, Lana bowed to the ground. “Of… Of course not. My apologies, but it seems so out of reach at this stage.”
He grunted and stood up, raising his right arm for a slice attack to the side of her head. “Then let’s stop talking and get to work. Let’s begin with yokomen uchi, from ikkyo to gokyo, omote and ura, on both sides. Slowly.”
An hour later, Lana dropped on her knees at Honda’s feet as he twisted her wrist for the umpteenth time with the awfully painful nikyo lock. She tapped down on the mats, out of breath.
“Ah stop please! I can’t… can’t continue…” she whizzed.
Her arms were two trunks of lead, her legs, wobbling noodles. Drops of sweat ran down her face, blurring her sight and burning her eyes, before splattering on the mats. Her back was drenched and her dogi felt like a second skin.
Tomorrow is going to hurt like hell.
“Fair enough,” Honda replied, kneeling in front of her. “An hour is adequate for a first session after such a long break. I will give you full feedback after we have refreshed ourselves, but overall, your performance was more or less in line with my expectations. If you can manage to stay more focused and not let yourself get distracted by bursts of annoyance at your own failings, you will get good results quickly.”
Lana snorted between two gasps for breath. “Ah, you mean if I stop acting like a petulant brat and try to be more disciplined for once?”
Honda’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, something like that. Nothing new, in this sense.”
Her jaw worked and clenched, and she gulped down a sassy reply.
And of course, your warm and supportive behavior has nothing to do with my attitude.
True to himself, he had played the drill sergeant during the entire session and it had taken almost all her resources to not bark back or kiss him hard, as anger and painful arousal battled inside her. But neither option was viable in their deadlocked predicament. Lost in her tumultuous thoughts, she got up to start cleaning up the room, lips pinched in physical and emotional frustration, eyes brimming with tears.
“Martin san!” Honda bellowed. “Have you forgotten basic etiquette?”
Lana froze on her spot, embarrassment washing over her. She hurried to kneel again, saluted the kamidana and then faced her husband, bowing for an extra long time.
“My… my apologies, goshujin sama. Arigato gozaimashita,” she uttered in a clear voice.
Honda returned her expression of thanks but then threw her a burning glare which reminded of her first encounter with his mother. She found herself unable to move as he knee-walked up to her and invaded her personal sphere. She had to bite down a moan. His body heat pressed against her and countless memories, that seemed to be only dreams now, popped up in her mind.
“What is wrong with you? Gabriella san called you ‘moody’ but this does not even begin to describe you these days! I thought that resuming practice would help, but obviously not. Are you having nightmares? Are you going through some form of postpartum depression? Do you need professional help? What is going on?” Honda exclaimed, not bothering to contain his frustration.
“Wha… what?!” Lana jumped on her feet. Explosive indignation made her body shake. He was up in a second, and they found each other nose to nose like they hadn’t for a long while. “I can’t believe it! I’m the problem? My attitude bothers you? But you have completely changed around me ever since… ever since I came home! I… I don’t know how to be with you anymore, or even what you want from me! You call me your wife, yet you don’t touch me! You don’t even try! It’s because I’ve become so weak and pathetic, right? Ouch!”
Lana found herself slammed on her back, crushed under the oh-so-familiar body of a furious Honda. His tongue invaded her mouth in an angry, dominant move. A moan escaped her as she melted in his arms, responding in kind while sobbing in relief at the rush of sensations she had feared were gone for good. Her fingers gripped his lapel with all the remaining strength she could muster.
Bite-tear-mark-dig-own!
“Yes… please!” she urged him, sight blurred by tears. His hand unfastened her obi and fumbled with her trousers’ strings.
The vivid memories of their very first coupling flashed behind her eyes, and she grabbed his neck without restraint, digging her nails in his skin, savoring the shudder that rocked his body. To her surprise, he stopped short from slipping his hand in her panties and pushed himself up to look at her.
“Easy now, little mudansha,” he mumbled, and she groaned with wanton pleasure at his use of her pet name. “As much as I want to give you a stern lesson on the dangers of assuming anything… as well as proper attitude, there is something I have to say before I get carried away.”
He cupped her jaw in a surprisingly soft move. “Lana san… My body has ached for you all these months, but I would never have dared asking you anything after you came back to us. You had more pressing priorities. This was not what you needed, and don’t tell me you wanted it back then, hm?” Lana briefly closed her eyes in concession. “And then, you got better, you welcomed Yuki back in your bed. I was happy for both of you, but how could I know… how could I be sure that…” His voice broke off, and he looked away, eyes too bright.
She frowned at such an unusual and emotional demonstration, and caressed his cheek to encourage him. “Sure of what?”
“That your… fiery desire for me, for this, for us, had always been you, only you, and not the result of his evil influence? I did not dare assume that freed from him, you would still be interested in me, even less in our specific dynamics.”
Lana’s eyes widened in shock, and she hissed, incredulous. All those months, they had shared the same fear, the same anxiety, and proud, stubborn and downright idiots as they were, they had let it fester. She choked down a sob and buried her face in his naked chest, relishing in the smell, taste and texture of his burning and damp skin, the rapid drum of his heartbeat. Home.
“Oh no, no, amore mio, this, this has always been me. Certainly, like you, my deepest and most destructive drives were aggravated by that monster. But I swear,” she added, looking at him in the eye once again. “I am here for you, on my own, motivated by my passion, duty and love for you. I’ve missed you so much!”
With a strangled groan, Honda bit her neck harshly and pulled down her white trousers and panties in one move. She arched against his broad frame, hissing with mounting arousal. He peeled away his dogi before laying on his back and pulling her until she straddled him.
“Then show me, my fierce fighter,” he growled, eyes as black as night, two bottomless pools of desire. “Ride me, and remind me how much you want me, want us!”
19 - Sweet and Alluring Revenge
Lana grunted and raked her nails on his chest, marking him once again with her own bloody style of branding. Never breaking eye contact, she licked the angry traces from his flank to his nipples, before catching one, then the other with her teeth, alternating harsh bites with languorous tongue laving. Gone was the blinding, raw need that she experienced before, but her arousal and desire for her beloved husband burnt strong.
Breath hitching, chuckling with pleasure, Honda kept her neck in place, while deft fingers fondled her generous breasts. His shaft throbbed hard against her moist inner thigh, and her hand grabbed it without hesitation to bring him at her entrance. To her surprise, he seized her hips to stop her move, brow furrowed with concern.
“Wait… don’t you need additional preparation after…”
A hard, grateful kiss was her reply. “It’s going to be just fine… Our wife took care of reminding my body of a few things… and our training session has left me in various states of hot and bothered. Trust me, I am ready.”
And with that, she slowly but surely lowered herself on his rock-hard shaft, only to realize that no amount of physical training and recovery could have prepared her for this. Her eyes rolled back, and a long and throaty moan escaped her as his full length and girth stretched her, reclaimed her. Her mind went blank, sweat broke all over her body once more, and she started to shake even though she hadn’t even begun to move.
She gasped, struggling to catch her breath. “Goshujin sama… ohhh… Dio mio…” Their fingers entwined as their bodies fully re-acquainted themselves with each other.
“Lana… beloved… oh my beautiful…” His voice was a wondrous murmur that made her heart miss a beat.
His tender words, the hint of vulnerability he dared show her undid her. A toe-curling orgasm seized her frame, and her scream of passion resonated in the dojo. Out of breath, she pushed back sticky strands of hair from her face, before licking Honda’s throat, from nape to jaw. Not even waiting for a full recovery, she started her grinding marathon, determined to bring him to release. Given the state of her legs, his chest became leverage and once again, her nails broke his skin.
The sight of his mounting bliss, eyes closed, mouth gaping; the crunching strength of his fingers clawing at her hips to keep her in place; his rapid and short breath combined with his low moans of pleasure; all of this fueled her energy and reignited her own arousal. But just when the telltale signs of his upcoming climax were gathering, the sound of voices coming from the hallway froze them in place.
“... otoh sama, I am almost certain that I saw you taking it back with you last time you came to train.”
“Well it doesn’t hurt to check again, does it? Maybe you put it away on your weapon rack.”
Stark naked, the horrified couple scrambled to their feet, picking up all their scattered clothes. Honda seized Lana’s elbow and more or less pushed her in the side room, then pointed at the small table nested in the angle against the wall, under the windows that opened on one side on the garden and on the dojo itself on the other side.
They crawled under it and found themselves in a heap of limbs, backs and necks bent in two. The space under the table was so tiny that there was no way anyone stepping inside the room would miss them. They could only hope that he would not feel like checking there.
Overcome with stress, her body still reeling with arousal and excitement, Lana struggled to catch her breath.
What the…? What time is it? How come the old man’s already here? If he catches us like that… oh well, maybe it would kill him once and for all?
Her frayed nerves blew the irreverent thought out of proportion and a dangerous fit of giggles began to build in her throat. Shaking with repressed laughter, she buried her face in Honda’s shoulder. Oh, he’s going to kill me for that!
Sure enough, with a low growl of displeasure, thick fingers dug in her thigh to quiet her down. She groaned in pain, but the giggles wouldn’t go away.
“You see? Your shinai isn’t here. I would have seen it, if not immediately, at least the day after.”
“How about in the side room? You’ve got some gear stocked there, don’t you?”
Honda and Lana froze again; bile rose up in her throat, her glee forgotten. She braced for the imminent and inescapable uproar. Honda’s body was a pack of tense muscles against her; he positioned himself to hide her from view as much as possible.
“Hm, unlikely, but I’ll check.”
Their wife stepped inside the room and stopped in her tracks, eyes wide. Her mouth twisted into a huge smile before she managed to regain her composure; Lana wasn’t the only one finding the situation horrifyingly funny. She quirked a sassy eyebrow, telegraphing an obvious “Come on, here, of all places?” before pivoting on her heels, blocking the entrance to her nosy father.
“No, there is nothing here either, I am sorry. Maybe you left it in the trunk of your car?”
“Ah… that’s a possibility,” came the defeated reply.
“Anyway, given that you came in so early, why don’t you take this time to enjoy a nice moment with Isao kun while I prepare dinner?” Yuki hinted as she went back inside the main room. “Maybe you can go for a walk with him and Gabriella san, and buy some dessert at the bakery near the station? He loves being in the baby stroller, with any chance he will fall asleep.”
“Oh! That’s a good idea!” The old man sounded suddenly much too happy.
“Otoh sama, it’s a stroll with a baby, please refrain from bothering Gabriella san with your unwelcome demonstrations! I’m warning you: she will stomp your feet and smash your mouth if you do.”
Lana couldn’t hear Nakazawa’s answer, but she could bet his defense was weak. Honda and Lana let out long breaths, waiting for a while to make sure the danger had passed. Finally, Honda grunted and extracted himself with a groan of pain from under the table.
Lana followed suit and winced when her muscles protested. “That was too close for comfort! What is he even doing here? Did he not tell you he would come for dinner?”
Honda rolled his eyes. “Never expect him to make things easy for you. Well, at least Yuki had a good idea,” he pointed out, putting on his white dogi pants.
Lana grabbed hers as well. “Yes, but poor Gabriella…” Honda quirked an eyebrow and nodded thoughtfully. Nakazawa’s crush on her friend had yet to calm down. Gabriella joked about it, but Lana wondered at the depth of his affections for her. “You know, despite all of his… lady friends’ attention, otoh sama is lonely, and it doesn’t help his character. We need to find him someone, don’t you think?”
Her husband threw her a scandalized and horrified look. “I will have nothing to do with that! This is none of my concern, and I advise you stay away from such schemes.”
Lana chuckled and batted her eyelashes, the picture of innocence. “Well, given his… open appreciation for a certain type of women these days, you are not in the right circles anyway. I need to ask Gabriella if she has any single aunts or cousins coming here for her wedding… or maybe we should bring him to more networking events.”
