Under the Skin by Kannan Feng Read Free Book Online

by, and for some reason, that comforted him rather than making him nervous and tense.
    By all rights, he should have been edgy as a cat, but there was something intimately soothing about the other man's presence. It was odd; an hour ago, hell, ten minutes ago, he wouldn't have said that Minoru was someone he could relax with, but now he was letting the man treat him like a sick child. Padraic might have objected if it hadn't felt so good.
    The bed dipped when Minoru sat down on it, and that was fine, too. Having him close enough to touch was certainly a pleasant thought, but then Padraic uncomfortably realized how very pleasant his body found it. Christ, how long had it been since he had gotten laid?
    Despite Minoru's presence, his eyes drifted closed. He was exhausted... and he realized that he couldn't sleep. In his head, he counted backward from one hundred, something that usually worked, except when it didn't.
    Padraic opened his eyes again and found Minoru still sitting at his bedside, looking at him with that familiar, intense gaze. “Sorry,” Padraic said. “I'm not very entertaining..."
    Minoru laughed softly.
    "No one said you had to be,” he said reassuringly. “In any case, I find you completely engaging."
    Padraic self-consciously touched the replaced interface on his chest, and Minoru shook his head.
    "Not just because of that,” he murmured, “though it certainly does add to your appeal.” His finger hovered over the interface, not touching, but close enough that Padraic could feel the heat from his hand.
    "Is it sore?"
    "A little,” Padraic admitted. “Not much. My body doesn't like it when the gear's jostled too much."
    "May I touch?"
    Padraic stiffened, and Minoru pulled back.
    "I won't open it, I promise. I just...” Minoru looked so wistful that Padraic found himself nodding.
    Minoru ran his fingertip over the rounded corner of the silver plating. Padraic's breathing hitched, but then he held himself still, letting the other man gently trace the edge before just lightly touching the connection points.
    "I've wanted to do this since I first saw them,” Minoru admitted, almost to himself.
    "In the board room?"
    Minoru smiled, glancing up to meet Padraic's eyes.
    "Before that,” he said. “When I first saw the images that were sent to me by your cousin, I knew that I had to get my hands on it."
    "So you've been thinking about this for more than two weeks?” Padraic smiled even as he turned a little red.
    "Thinking about it... I suppose you could say that.” Minoru's fingers were so gentle that it took Padraic a moment to realize that they were no longer playing over the edge of metal. Instead, they were skating delicately over Padraic's chest, making him shiver with something between cold and fear.
    "Minoru...” The name felt strange in his mouth, and Padraic realized that it was the first time that he had said it. It was curiously intimate, and Minoru smiled almost tenderly.
    "I like the way you say my name,” Minoru said softly. “Say it again."
    “Minoru,” he said obediently, and the other man dropped his head to Padraic's chest and kissed it, leaving just a trace of wetness and a spot of heat.
    "I shouldn't,” the Inoue heir said with real regret. “If something I do causes you harm, your bodyguard will have my head."
    "Do you really think a little bit of kissing is going to hurt anything?” Padraic laughed shakily. “I mean, I was just messing with my own organics. A little bit of kissing..."
    Apparently Padraic was more convincing than he thought he was, because Minoru leaned over him and kissed him deeply. Padraic was acutely aware of the fact that Minoru's hand was situated right below the interface on his chest, and he blushed.
    "Do... do you like it?” he found himself muttering shyly.
    Minoru laughed shakily. “Oh, I more than like it...” he said. Minoru leaned closer and circled the interface with an extraordinarily gentle touch. “I can't stop looking at it."
    Padraic