2
A smart man, Mr. Sendoh didn't speak a word as they exited the police station. The spring air cooled Rukawa's heated face, and he glanced at his client, noting the workout clothing that he hadn't expected to see.
Maki's client came from money, Rukawa had read in his file before heading to the station. He also had plenty of his own and was known around town as a ruthless business- and playboy.
Rukawa had expected a suit and tie, considering it was a workday, or nice casual jeans and button-down at the least. But no. Sendoh Akira paraded around in a form-fitting T-shirt that outlined bulging shoulders and prominent pecs. And his mesh gym shorts left nothing to the imagination.
Queer as a four-dollar bill, Rukawa couldn't help his body's reaction to all of Sendoh's splendid...lusciousness. Black spiky hair and dark blue eyes, one showing the beginnings of a black bruise. Broad shoulders, big enough to pin him down and take whatever he wanted.
'Not my type,' Rukawa lied to himself, hating the memory of how his dick had sprung to life from a mere handshake. The man had noticed his reaction too, much to Rukawa's annoyance.
Rukawa swallowed thickly against the desire rippling down his spine while fully stepping out into the Japan spring day.
Not having heard the story of why Mr. Sendoh had been detained for questioning, why he wasn't dressed in the threads the media always showed him in, Rukawa didn't know what to think.
But his body still did, and in front of the station was no place for a conversation about business- or otherwise.
"I'm assuming you caught a ride in a cruiser?" Rukawa asked, stopping on the sidewalk.
"Yep." Sendoh hunched against the cool breeze, the skin of his muscular forearms pebbling beneath Rukawa's gaze.
Rukawa ripped his focus off Sendoh's hairy arms- strong enough to break a man- and pulled his keys from his suit coat pocket. "I can take you wherever you need to go." He managed to keep his tone level rather than squeaking at the idea of being wrapped up against Sendoh's chest, those wide hands of his grasping his ass.
"Appreciate it." Sendoh followed along behind Rukawa, but awareness of the larger man's presence heated Rukawa's backside, causing his skin to cover in goosebumps.
No gaydar had pinged while Rukawa had quickly taken in Mr. Sendoh upon arriving at the interrogation room, but the man hadn't bothered hiding the interest in his eyes- or the slow smirk that suggested he wouldn't mind a little taste.
While the thought of being spread out for Sendoh Akira's pleasure pushed every single one of his buttons-
No, Rukawa lied.
Rukawa held himself to a high standard. No messing with clients. And he sure as hell wouldn't mess around with a known player who had the type of body he'd never be able to escape.
A shiver slid down Rukawa's spine, tempting him to relax just a little, but he lifted his chin, his footsteps steady as always even though his legs trembled.
It wasn't until the two sat enclosed in his cluttered BMW that Rukawa's outward confidence wavered.
Best to keep focused on the task at hand although the heat of the sexy man's stare sent all Rukawa's blood rushing south. His dick stiffened enough he shifted to adjust himself before starting up his car.
Sendoh Akira didn't flirt with men like Rukawa after learning the possible outcomes the hard way back in high school. And although Sendoh turned his body on like the flip of a switch, Rukawa refused to be anything but professional.
"Would you like to fill me in, Mr. Sendoh," he asked, "or do you prefer to wait to make an appointment with Maki? You're under no obligation to speak with me, but anything you state in this car is also covered by our confidentiality policy seeing as how I'm sure I'll be helping if needed."
"Akira, please."
Rukawa nodded without looking at his passenger and pulled out of his parking spot, fighting to steady his pulse when everything about Sendoh made him want to climb the man like a damn tree.
"And I'll gladly give you whatever you want." His tone, his insinuation, clenched Rukawa's asshole and left him lightheaded.
"Just honesty," Rukawa rasped, hating he revealed how Mr. Sendoh affected him.
His passenger let out a quiet chuckle, and Rukawa silently cursed himself while turning right onto Kanagawa Street.
Mr. Sendoh stated the facts, offering Rukawa a quick run-down of the break-in, fight, and subsequent death of the intruder. While the story sounded cut and dry as self-defense, Rukawa knew there were three sides to every story. The two involved- and the truth.
Fortunately for Sendoh, the deceased wasn't able to tell his point of view.
"As long as they don't find any evidence to suggest otherwise-"
"They won't," Sendoh interrupted, his tone firm, cocky almost.
Rukawa glanced over him, taking a quick study of his strong profile, the thin blade of nose, and the five-o'clock shadow that would feel luscious scraping across his skin. A shudder rippled through him, and Rukawa turned his attention back on the road.
"You seem quite sure of yourself," Rukawa state quietly.
"Easily done when you've got nothing to hide."
Another glance didn't reveal anything more than certainly on Sendoh's face. Assuming he hadn't lied, there wasn't a thing to fear. Lucky for him.
"So, who was the intruder?" Rukawa asked, hanging a left at the next intersection.
"No fucking clue."
"Any idea why he'd target your sister?"
"Could have been random," Sendoh suggested, his tone bored.
Too controlled for a man who'd just stabbed another to death.
"Guys are always after my sister's ass- she's gorgeous- and that gun suggested he didn't plan on leaving without getting whatever he wanted from her."
"You appear unaffected," Rukawa observed, hoping to slide beneath Sendoh's skin and encourage a reaction. "Odd, considering you took a man's life this morning."
"Fucker deserved it." A hint of spite inflected Sendoh's tone, raising the hackles on Rukawa's neck.
"You love your sister."
"She's all I have."
Rukawa hung a right onto Ryonan while considering Sendoh's claim. "You own a multi-billion-dollar company. A penthouse in Tokyo, a house on Kanagawa. One in Ryonan and one in Shohoku."
"Did you take a few minutes to Google me before coming to the station, Kaede?"
"I scanned your life."
"And what else did you learn?"
"Only facts, but I know who you are," Rukawa stated, having already put Sendoh Akira into a tidy box inside his head as he did with all men.
"And what am I?"
Someone who would do whatever necessary to bed Sendoh then discard him.
Rukawa slowed as he approached the address Sendoh had provided. "An overindulgent playboy who thinks he can get anything and any woman he wants."
"You don't mince words." A hint of admiration laced Sendoh's statement.
"Honesty is the best policy."
The heat of Sendoh's stare warmed Rukawa's face. "Always?"
He pulled up alongside Sendoh's Mercedes parked on the street in front of his sister's place and hit the four-ways. "Always," Rukawa replied firmly.
Even when your words weren't believed.
Yellow caution tape blocked off Avana's property, one cruiser, another unmarked car, and the forensics van still onsite.
The sexy as hell man shifted, angling toward him, and Rukawa steeled himself before giving Sendoh his attention.
"How's this for honesty, assistant attorney Rukawa Kaede?" Sendoh leaned forward, his lowered tone and the lust in his dark blue eyes causing Rukawa's dick to swell back to full thickness again. "I thought I was straight as fuck and had never met a man I wanted to strip down to nothing but neediness until you walked through that door. Your pristine suit rumpled on the floor, every inch of your pale, pretty skin marked by my mouth and fingertips, and your hair mussed from being thoroughly fucked."
Rukawa barely managed to keep his shiver internal, and he forced a frown to furrow his brow. "I have zero interest in sating curiosity, and quite frankly, your confidence is off-putting, Mr. Sendoh."
"The pink on your cheeks says otherwise, Mr. Rukawa."
Rukawa needed to swallow- hard- but refrained. "I will not fraternize with a client."
Sendoh flashed a grin at the breathless tone Rukawa hadn't been able to help, and hell if the man's smile wasn't the sexiest thing he'd ever seen. "Care to make a wager?"
Straightening in the driver's seat, Rukawa lifted his chin and glanced down over the muscles bulging beneath Sendoh's T-shirt. Luscious, tempting man- but off- limits. "Unlike you, I don't gamble unless it's a sure thing."
"But you are a sure thing," Sendoh assured him, his eyes hooded as he reached for the door handle. "You just don't know it yet."
His wink caused Rukawa's belly to flutter, keeping anger over Sendoh's assumptions from rising.
Sendoh Akira might not need apps to find a hook-up every night of the week with his money and his looks, but Rukawa wouldn't be swayed by Sendoh's smooth words or wicked hot body.
No matter how much his dick disagreed with his mind.
He'd given in to a similar man once before who ended up damn near ruining his life.
tbc
Thank you for reading