Page 122 of Psync
Then he realized he’d been speaking in English to Haruka, and the driver might not have understood him in the first place. He smacked himself in the forehead and resisted the urge to climb inside Haruka’s jacket until the trip was over.
The driver didn’t move from his position by the car door, but there was a hint of a smile on his face.
“Can we go before I die of embarrassment?” he whispered miserably.
Haruka placed a large hand on the back of Eli’s neck. It was warm and grounding. All of the crazy energy that had been building momentum since Eli woke up settled, and his body relaxed. He resisted the urge to purr, but his limbs went all floppy without his permission.
When the elevator doors opened, he allowed himself to be led inside, letting the pressure on the back of his neck guide him. When the doors closed, he leaned into Haruka’s side and just existed, enjoying the way Haruka folded him into his warmth, still keeping his hand firmly on the back of Eli’s neck.
Fuck anxiety meds, he had Haruka.
The elevator made a soft chiming noise, and the doors started to open. Automatically, Eli sprung away from Haruka. This was his home after all. What if he wasn’t out to his family?
The loss of contact with Haruka shot his stress meter to a five. When the doors opened all the way, Eli saw an older, statuesque woman smiling at them. She had Haruka’s eyes, but her smile was nothing like his. Behind it was a hidden blade, dripping with poison.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Haruka
Haruka’s entire body tensed, and without thinking he stepped in front of Eli.
It was a mistake.
He didn’t want this woman to even look at Eli, and now she knew it. He forced himself to relax. It may have been a while, but he still knew how to play the game.
Haruka affected a bored tone. “You were supposed to be in Nagasaki this week, not in my building hijacking my elevator.” He was nothing more than a trust fund baby. A spoiled nuisance to be dealt with quickly and kept happy. He donned it like a cloak, willing her to continue to believe the lie that had kept him free all these years.
“Haru-chan, is that how you greet your aunt after all this time?”
Haruka rolled his eyes at the childish honorific she’d added to his name and sketched an indecently brief bow—the picture of a kid who wanted nothing more out of life than expensive toys and no parental supervision.
It was too soon. Eli didn’t know about the dangers of his family yet. Haruka wanted him to enjoy his first experience of Japan to the fullest, and he needed him to continue to love Haruka’s country.
He’d thought he had time, but Haruka had underestimated his aunt.
Eli poked his head out from behind Haruka.
His aunt’s eyes positively sparkled, and she clapped her hands together.
“Oh, Haru-chan, you shouldn’t have, he’s just my type. Absolutely precious. As apology gifts go, this is simply perfect.” She moved forward eagerly as if to drag Eli from the elevator.
Haruka stepped in front of her, forcing her to choose between backing down or bouncing off him. She stopped in her tracks.
“He’s mine, and he can understand you.”
His aunt’s eyes flashed in irritation. She didn’t like being denied things. Too bad. This was one thing he would never unbend on, even if he had to blow his carefully crafted cover.
“It was a joke, Haru-chan. I’m not here to steal your toys.”
Eli tried to go around him and was stopped when Haruka put out an arm to bar his way. He shot Haruka a cautious look of inquiry before saying, “I’m Eli Talosa. I am not a toy.”
“Don’t talk to this viper, I will deal with her,” Haruka said in Thai.
It was a language his aunt had refused to learn. She’d been to Thailand once and had an unpleasant experience with a monitor lizard. Afterward she’d cut off all personal ties to the place—going so far as to relegate any business dealings to someone else.
She leaned down as if speaking to a small child. “I’m Haru-chan’s aunt, little one. My name is Chiba Hitomi, but you can call me Nee-san.”
Haruka could feel the confusion coming off Eli in waves. He didn’t want to call her big sister. Eli knew there was something dangerous about her and wanted to leave, but he also wanted to be polite.
