Summary: Kenji and Sutton spend an evening out at The Grand and then head home together. Set sometime after a final showdown with Silas.
As Sutton gets ready for the evening, she finds her hands shaking just slightly, and grabs the cool porcelain of the sink to steady herself. The last thing she needs is to stab herself in the eye with her mascara. There’s no reason to be nervous, she reminds herself. Silas is safely locked away, somewhere even he can’t escape. Shrapnel…well. The last Sutton had heard, Caleb had Shrapnel, and that’s as much as she wants to know right now. There’s minimal risk of anyone coming after them tonight, but after the whole debacle with Silas and his not-so-merry band of supervillains, she’s still a little on edge.
But, she reminds herself, with her new powers finally under control and not draining her completely every time she tries to use them, even Silas had been at least a little afraid of her during their last encounter. Sutton slips her dress on, smiling in amusement as she shakes her nerves off and pictures Kenji’s face when he sees her. He’s always been a sucker for her wearing a little black dress, and this one just happens to show off her legs and have a low dipping back. The buzzer on her door goes off as she’s putting her heels on, and she grins as she lets Kenji in and he immediately swoops in to kiss her.
“You look stunning,” he says, holding her out and running his eyes over her.
She doesn’t miss the way he swallows hard and how his pupils dilate as he stares at her.
“You sure you don’t want to stay in?” He winks as she lightly whacks his arm with her clutch.
“Kenji!” she scolds him. “It’s the reopening of The Grand after Shrapnel and Silas nearly destroyed it. Remember? The business you manage?”
Kenji chuckles as they get on the elevator, his hand low and warm on her back, his fingers running deliciously over her exposed skin. “I remember, darling. Can you really blame me for wanting to spend the evening with you, though?”
Sutton pecks her lips to his as he hails a cab. “You do get to spend the evening with me,” she reminds him.
“And a ton of other people,” he points out as they slide into the backseat.
“Yes, but afterwards, you get me all to yourself,” she says teasingly, resting her hand on his knee and squeezing.
She smirks as she notices the faint flush that spreads up his neck as he grabs her wandering hand. “Grayson’s wrong,” he mutters.
“About what?”
“I think you’re way more dangerous as Sutton Thompson than as Luna Phoenix,” he laughs.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Grand looks beautiful, much the same feel as it had before, but with a few sleek updates and some new drinks on the menu. Sutton can’t help but laugh as Grayson orders a “Man of Bronze” and Kenji’s chest puffs out. Eva orders one too, wrinkling her nose as she tastes it and swapping her drink with Sutton’s.
“This one has number one seller written all over it,” Eva declares.
“That’s the one named after you,” Kenji points out.
“Exactly.”
Sutton’s nerves calm considerably as the evening progresses. Grayson looks surprisingly at ease as he circulates the room with Kenji and greets people. She wants to ask how he’s holding up, but after her own (admittedly much less traumatic) experience with her mother lying to her, she knows how sensitive that subject is, and that now isn’t the time to discuss it. So she settles for complimenting him on how great The Grand looks, and, when they have a quiet moment alone as he takes a breather, tells him how relieved she is that he now knows the truth about her and Kenji and Eva.
Kenji is in his element, clapping the backs of old friends, greeting new ones with friendly handshakes, and she has to admit, there’s something incredibly sexy about the confident way he moves around the room. It’s not his usual cocky swagger, or the playful arrogance that she knows he sometimes plays up to annoy her. No, this is just Kenji, proud of what he’s accomplished, what he’s worked so hard for, and she loves getting to see him like this.
Kenji’s eyes meet hers from across the room as she sits at their usual booth, sipping on a surprisingly tasty “Luna Phoenix”, and he grins at her, his eyes twinkling as he excuses himself and hurries over. He slides into the booth, wrapping his arm around her back and stealing a sip of her drink.
“I’d say this is a pretty big success,” Sutton says, leaning into him and gesturing at the crowd.
“Yeah, I’d say I did pretty well,” he boasts jokingly.
Sutton squeezes his hand and he turns to look at her, his cocky grin turning to a genuine smile as he looks at her. “What is it?” he asks.
“I’m really proud of you, you know that?” Her lips quirk up in a half smile as Kenji leans in to kiss her.
“I mean it,” she murmurs against his lips. “You worked hard for this.”
“Couldn’t have done it alone,” he says, leaning in for another kiss, this one more sensual, deeper, as he slides his hand around the back of her neck.
“Have you been here long enough to leave politely yet?” she asks, resting her hand on his thigh.
He sucks in a breath as her fingers wander higher, tracing over the zipper on his pants.
“Stop,” he pleads hoarsely. “You know I can’t do anything with all these people here.”
“Then take me home,” she sighs, kissing his neck.
“Just give me a minute,” he groans.
Kenji quickly says his goodbyes, and Sutton laughs as he nearly drags her out. She refrains from kissing him or touching him too much on the ride home, knowing with one glance at him that he’d probably tell the cab driver to stop, pull her outside, and they’d both get arrested for indecent exposure. When they’re finally inside her apartment, he presses her into the door, his lips insistent against hers while his hands grasp her hips.
“I wanted to kiss you all night,” he says against her mouth, biting her lower lip before kissing her again. “I almost pulled you into the back room,” he breathes in her ear, and Sutton shivers at the memory of the last time they’d been at The Grand alone and he’d gotten impatient and done just that.
“You looked unbelievably beautiful and sexy, and the last thing on my mind was talking to all those people who weren’t you.” His lips wander down her jawline, sucking at her neck, pushing the straps of her dress aside to kiss along her collarbones.
Her hands glide up his back, burying themselves in his dark hair as he moves back up to her mouth, their kisses growing more desperate. Kenji wedges one of his thighs between hers and she moans at the friction as she presses against him. His tongue slips into her mouth, his hands roaming under the hem of her dress before impatiently trying to find the tiny zipper.
“How mad will you be if I rip this off?” he asks, pulling at the material in frustration.
“Very. It was expensive,” she gasps as he brings his mouth to her neck again.
He finally manages to find and undo her zipper, sliding it down until it pools at her feet. Kenji groans at the sight of her. He unhooks her bra, tossing it somewhere to the side. His mouth is warm against her skin as he kisses across her chest, taking one of her nipples into his mouth, his thumb brushing over the other one, until she’s squirming and pulling at his hair. She can tell he’s fighting to take this slow, can feel his impatience. When he goes to kneel, Sutton grabs his shirt, keeping him in place.
“You’re still fully dressed,” she murmurs, pushing his jacket off and undoing the buttons on his shirt.
Kenji chuckles as she hurriedly pushes the shirt over his shoulders, the noise dying on his lips as she kisses across his bare chest and reaches down to undo his pants. She grins as she slowly, teasingly, undoes his zipper and button, and he makes an impatient sound. Sutton kneels, pulling his pants over his feet and brushing her lips and fingers up his thighs.
“Sutton,” he groans as she pulls his boxer-briefs down, cupping him in her hand.
His hands fist in her dark hair when she presses her lips along his length before sliding her mouth over him, moving back and forth. When she looks up, he’s staring at her, cursing loudly when she sucks harder. He hauls her to her feet, saying, “You keep that up, and I’ll never last,” before she can protest.
Kenji shoves her underwear down, pressing her back into the door as he drops to his knees, kissing along her stomach and hips before brushing his lips over her inner thighs. His tongue teases over her center and she moans his name, pushing her hips forward impatiently. Lifting one of her legs up, Kenji rests it on his shoulder, further opening her up to him, and she whimpers at the way his eyes darken when he glances up at her.
He plunges his tongue into her suddenly, and she’s pretty sure she would have collapsed to the floor if Kenji hadn’t been holding onto her. Her eyes close, her hips rocking against him as his mouth and his hand work her into a near sobbing frenzy, until he brushes his tongue over her clit and she comes apart. She’s aware of Kenji setting her leg down, his arms banding around her waist to keep her upright, his mouth gentle against her neck. When she opens her eyes slowly, Kenji grins smugly at her before leaning in to kiss her, and she groans at the taste of herself on his lips.
He lifts her up after a minute, and she starts laughing as he bumps into the end of her bed, swearing and grumbling about how her “damn bed is always in the way”.
“You’ve been here how many times and always run into my ‘damn bed’?” she asks, kissing him through her laughter.
“It’s always in the way. And it’s not funny,” he says sternly, but he’s laughing too as they kiss.
She keeps her arms wrapped around his neck as he lays her down, sighing when he settles between her thighs, his weight pressing her into the mattress. Kenji looks strangely nervous all of a sudden, and her brow furrows as she runs her hand into his hair.
“What’s wrong?” she asks.
Kenji leans down, kissing her sweetly. “Not a thing, darling,” he assures her.
He kisses her again before moving his hips down and pushing into her, setting a pace that surprises her with its gentleness. He’s usually so eager and impatient for her, that it throws her off when he’s slow and gentle like this. Not that she’s complaining. He feels incredible moving against her, one of his hands tangling with her fingers, the other propping himself up over her. Her legs wrap around his back, her lips seeking his in the darkness of the room.
Sutton sighs as Kenji gradually speeds up, can feel his thrusts becoming shallow and sloppy as they move together. She glides her free hand down his back and he groans, his muscles twitching under her touch.
“You feel incredible,” he gasps as she clenches her muscles around him and he slams into her.
“So do you,” she moans. “You always do.”
Kenji releases her hand, moving it between her legs, circling his thumb around her until she cries out his name, her legs tightening around him as she comes. “That’s it, Sutton,” he groans, his hips thrusting against hers until he stills, spilling inside her before he collapses against her.
She loves him like this, relaxed and vulnerable as he lays on her, the lazy way he closes his eyes as she runs her hands through his hair until his breathing slows. He rolls to his side and pulls her back against his chest, his hand warm and gentle as he runs it over her hip, his lips pressing kisses along her shoulder. She sighs in satisfaction, closing her eyes and snuggling back against him.
“Sutton?” he says, and she can hear the nervousness in his voice.
She rolls onto her back, looking up at him. He swallows hard, then takes a deep breath and says, “I love you.”
It takes her by surprise for a minute, before a smile spreads across her face. She cups his cheek in her hand and whispers, “I love you too”.
He grins, that genuine smile of his she loves so much, his lips hovering over hers before he kisses her deeply.
“Say it again?” he requests.
“I love you, Kenji Katsaros.”
His whole face lights up and she laughs as he climbs back over her. “Again.”
“I love you.”
“Again,” he says, tickling her side and laughing when she squirms underneath him.
“Kenji!” she laughs, gasping for breath. “I love you.”
He stops tickling her, pinning her hands above her head as he leans down and kisses her deeply. “I love you too, Sutton.”
The raw emotion in his voice is her undoing, and she sighs as he kisses his way down her neck. She frowns in confusion as he stops suddenly, glancing down at him.
“Again?” he says with a smirk, yelping “Hey!” as she whacks him harmlessly with a pillow.
“Kenji Katsaros,” she says in a low voice. “I love you. Now either keep going, or I’m going to sleep.”
Desire pools in her belly as he leans in, kissing her lightly, and murmurs, “Oh,
darling. You’re not going to get to sleep for a long time tonight.”