CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: LINGERING HEAT

The room was still humming with the ghost of their kiss.

Renji leaned against the shelf, lips faintly curved, eyes sharp and unrelenting. Mayumi, by contrast, was a mess. She pressed her back to the opposite wall, her chest heaving as if she’d just finished running drills. Sweat clung to her temples. Her lips, flushed and swollen from his assault, tingled with shameful satisfaction.

She couldn’t look at him. Every time her eyes flickered up, his gaze, smoldering, wolfish, unbearably young yet frighteningly commanding made her shiver.

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. She was the coach, the adult, the one in control. She barked orders at students every day, made them push their limits, pushed herself harder than anyone.

But right now? She was the one trembling, trying not to collapse under the weight of a single kiss.

Renji finally broke the silence.

"You’re quiet, Coach." His voice dripped amusement, but beneath it was something firmer. Certain. "That kiss stole your words?"

Her head whipped toward him, and she tried to force a scowl onto her face. "Renji, don’t. We can’t... This can’t happen again."

But her voice betrayed her. Too soft, too shaky.

Renji tilted his head, studying her like a predator examining prey caught in a trap. Not to kill, but to savor.

"You say that," he murmured, pushing off the shelf, slowly closing the distance. His steps were deliberate, echoing in the small room. "But your lips... your body... already betrayed you."

She flinched, pressing her back harder against the wall. Her legs quivered, her heart thundered.

"This isn’t fair..." she whispered, but it sounded pathetic even to her own ears.

Renji stopped just before her, close enough that the heat of his body reached her skin. He didn’t touch her—yet. He didn’t need to. His presence alone pinned her there, powerless.

"Fair?" His chuckle was low, dangerous. "Life wasn’t fair to you, was it, Mayumi?"

Her breath caught. The way he said her name, her real name, not "Coach Mayumi"—sent a strange jolt through her chest. Too intimate. Too raw.

"Your husband left. He didn’t care how much you gave. Didn’t care how much you sacrificed." His voice softened, but his eyes never did. "And now, you wear that whistle, you hide behind drills and training, pretending you’re still strong... but inside, you’re starving."

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She hated him for saying it. Hated that he knew.

"Shut up," she rasped, her throat tight.

But Renji only leaned closer, his breath warm against her ear. "Starving for someone who sees you. Who won’t leave. Who won’t run when you finally let go."

Her knees buckled. She grabbed the shelf beside her just to stay upright.

He was right. Every word sliced her open, left her bleeding. And yet, it wasn’t pain that consumed her, it was need.

Renji finally drew back, just enough to meet her eyes. His grin was cruelly tender, as if mocking her and cherishing her all at once.

"I’m not going to take you here. Not yet," he said, voice low. "Not because I can’t... but because I want you begging for it when it happens."

A strangled whimper slipped from her throat before she could stop it. Her body betrayed her again, pressing subtly forward, craving his touch even as her mind screamed no.

Her fists clenched. "You... you bastard..."

Renji only smiled wider. "Say what you want. But that kiss? It wasn’t just me. You kissed me back, Mayumi."

Her entire face burned scarlet. The memory of her lips moving against his, her tongue tangling with his—it replayed mercilessly in her mind. She had kissed him back.

That was the truth she couldn’t erase.

And Renji knew it.

Renji didn’t move away.

If anything, he lingered closer, close enough that Mayumi could smell him, clean soap, faint cologne, and the heat of a boy’s body far too dangerous for her sanity. Every second felt like a test of will.

Her nails dug into the wooden shelf at her side. Don’t give in... don’t give in...

But Renji’s eyes wouldn’t let her go. Dark, steady, unwavering. He didn’t see her as a coach, as some authority figure. He looked at her as a woman.

And it broke her.

"You think you know me," she whispered, voice shaking. "You think one kiss is enough to... to unravel everything?"

Renji chuckled, low and smooth. "No. I don’t think that. I know it. Because your body answered me before your words did."

His hand lifted slowly, deliberately, until his fingers hovered just beside her cheek. Not touching. Not quite. But she leaned without meaning to, betraying herself again, and he smirked.

"See?" he whispered. "Even when I’m not touching you, you’re craving it."

Mayumi’s lips parted, but no sound came out. Her throat was dry, her chest tight.

"Stop... stop playing with me..."

Renji’s smile darkened. "Who said I’m playing?"

The words struck harder than they should have. Because she could feel it, this wasn’t a boy toying with her for fun. His dominance wasn’t shallow. It was rooted in something terrifyingly real.

Her heart pounded louder, faster.

"Renji..."

"Yes, Coach?" he teased, tilting his head, waiting.

Her breath hitched at the title. He used it deliberately, knowing it twisted her inside out. Because when he said "Coach," it wasn’t respect, it was a reminder of her crumbling authority, of how easily he could make her surrender it.

"Y-You’re just a boy..." she stammered, clinging desperately to that argument, even though it sounded weaker every time she used it.

Renji’s grin sharpened. "Funny. Because that kiss didn’t feel like it came from a boy. Did it?"

Her legs trembled again. The memory of his lips, firm, commanding, unrelenting flashed through her. The way he had devoured her, leaving no space for control, no air for protest. It hadn’t been a boy’s kiss. It had been a man’s.

And she had melted for it.

She squeezed her eyes shut, whispering, "This is wrong..."

Renji leaned in, his lips brushing the shell of her ear, sending a violent shiver through her.

"Then why," he murmured, "does wrong feel this good?"

Her knees nearly gave out. She barely caught herself against the wall, one palm flat on the surface to steady her. But she couldn’t steady her heart.

"Say it," Renji whispered, his voice a low command. "Say you don’t want me."

Her lips trembled. The words hovered, ready, but they refused to leave. Because it would be a lie.

Renji waited, patient, his silence louder than any threat. His eyes burned into hers, daring her to deny him.

Seconds passed. The air grew heavier.

Finally, Mayumi let out a broken sound, half sob, half laugh. She couldn’t say it. She couldn’t lie.

Renji’s smile spread, victorious yet gentle. He lifted a single finger and traced it along her jawline, feather-light, sending shivers racing down her body.

"You don’t have to say it," he murmured. "Your silence already answered me."

Her entire body clenched with need, shame, and something terrifyingly close to surrender.

Mayumi’s breath came ragged now. Her chest rose and fell too quickly, like she had just finished a sprint. But this wasn’t exhaustion, it was the suffocating heat Renji poured into her with every word, every look, every little brush of his fingers.

She pressed her back against the wall, hoping the cold plaster would anchor her. It didn’t. If anything, the hardness behind her only heightened how trapped she felt.

Renji didn’t give her space. He stepped closer, close enough that their bodies didn’t quite touch but threatened to at any second. His hand hovered at her waist, not grabbing, not pushing but the anticipation burned worse than contact.

"See?" he murmured, eyes glinting. "You’re already trembling. And I’ve barely touched you."

Mayumi bit her lip hard, trying to suppress a sound that almost escaped. The truth was unbearable, he was right. Just his presence was dismantling her.

His hand finally moved, sliding down until the back of his knuckles grazed her hip. The tiniest contact, but her body betrayed her with a violent shiver. Her thighs pressed together instinctively, a futile attempt to fight the heat pooling between them.

Renji caught it instantly. His grin widened.

"Ah... you’re squeezing them shut," he whispered, leaning so close his breath fanned across her ear. "Trying to hide how wet you are already?"

"D-Don’t—!" Her protest cracked, breathless and weak.

"Don’t what?" he pressed, his voice dripping with deliberate cruelty. "Don’t notice? Don’t talk about it? Or don’t make it worse?"

Her nails dug into the wall. She wanted to shove him away. She wanted to scream at him, to run. But her body wouldn’t obey.

Instead, she whispered, broken: "This is too much..."

Renji’s chuckle was low, dangerous. "No, Coach. This is only the beginning."

His hand rose again, not to her breasts or hips this time but to her stomach. He pressed lightly, fingers teasing the hem of her shirt, dragging upward just an inch, exposing the soft skin beneath.

Her breath caught violently.

He didn’t rush. He didn’t claim. He simply let his fingertips brush slow, lazy circles just above her waistband, not daring to cross lower but close enough to torture.

"You’re quivering," he whispered against her temple. "Do you feel it? Your whole body begging me to keep going."

Her eyes slammed shut. "Stop..."

"Liar," he shot back instantly. His lips curved into a wolfish grin. "You want me to stop? Or you want me to slide just a little lower?"

Mayumi whimpered, clamping a hand over her mouth before the sound betrayed her. But Renji had already won, her silence said everything.

"You can’t hide from me," he murmured. His voice was velvet over steel. "Every shiver, every twitch of your thighs, every gasp you’re giving me permission without even realizing it."

His finger dragged up, this time higher, grazing beneath the swell of her breast through the thin fabric of her shirt. Not a full touch, not enough to cross—but enough to make her knees buckle.

"Renji..." she gasped, clutching his wrist, half to stop him, half to keep him there.

"Yes, Coach?" His grin widened as he deliberately repeated the title, savoring how it melted her authority.

Her eyes were glassy now, torn between denial and surrender. Her lips parted, trembling on words she couldn’t form.

Renji leaned in, brushing the faintest kiss against her jaw. Not her lips just close enough to make her ache for it.

"Say the word," he whispered. "Say you want me... and I’ll ruin you."

Her entire body quaked, trapped between terror and longing.

But she couldn’t say it. Not yet.

Instead, she broke into a trembling whisper: "If you don’t stop now... I won’t be able to."

Renji’s grin turned feral.

"That’s exactly what I want."

Mayumi’s heart slammed against her ribs like it was trying to escape. Her entire body felt like a live wire, every nerve screaming at her to give in.

Renji didn’t stop. He pressed closer, their bodies brushing now, the heat of him bleeding into her through her thin clothes. Her breath stuttered as her breasts grazed his chest, her hardened nipples betraying how far gone she was.

"Feel that?" Renji murmured, his lips dragging against the shell of her ear. "How hard you’re breathing? How badly you’re shaking? You think it’s because of fear?"

His hand slid lower again, resting just at the top of her thigh, fingers ghosting the line where her shorts ended. Her body jolted violently.

"No... it’s need." His voice dropped, deep and certain. "You need me, Mayumi. Right here. Right now."

Her nails clawed at his shirt, wrinkling the fabric, half-pulling him in, half-pushing him away. Her voice cracked like breaking glass.

"Renji... please..."

He chuckled darkly. "Please what? Please stop? Or please fuck you until you can’t stand?"

Her thighs rubbed together, desperate friction against the ache building between them. She hated herself for it, hated that her body had completely betrayed her discipline.

Renji noticed instantly. His grin widened like a predator watching prey stumble.

"Ahh... so you do want friction," he teased. "Don’t worry, Coach. I’ll give you just enough to remember me by."

Before she could react, he shifted his thigh between her legs, pressing up firmly against her core.

The shock of contact ripped a sharp gasp from her throat. Her hips bucked forward involuntarily, grinding against the solid muscle of his leg.

"God—!" The sound escaped before she could bite it back. Her face went crimson, humiliated beyond reason, but her body kept moving, rubbing against him like she was possessed.

Renji caught her wrists and pinned them against the wall above her head, forcing her to arch against him. His voice was a growl against her neck.

"Look at you," he whispered. "Grinding yourself on me like a bitch in heat."

She shook her head wildly, tears pricking her eyes. "N-No—I’m not—I can’t—"

But her hips betrayed her, rolling harder against his thigh, chasing something she couldn’t stop now. The heat between her legs was unbearable, slick spreading through the thin fabric of her shorts.

Renji pressed harder, lifting his leg just enough to angle against her clit. The sudden pressure made her cry out, loud and broken.

"Renji!"

"Say it," he demanded. His voice was low and ruthless. "Say you want it. Say you want me to make you cum."

Her lips trembled, caught between denial and the crushing truth. Her pride was cracking, her discipline in shambles.

She didn’t answer fast enough.

Renji smirked, and then he pulled his thigh away.

The sudden loss of friction was devastating. Mayumi gasped like she’d been suffocated, her hips jerking forward desperately, trying to find what he had just stolen.

Her whole body sagged against him, trembling, drenched, and utterly ruined.

"W-Why...?" Her voice was ragged, a broken whisper.

Renji tilted her chin up, forcing her teary, desperate eyes to meet his. His grin was sharp enough to cut.

"Because you don’t deserve release yet," he said. His tone was cold, merciless. "Not until you admit it. Not until you beg me for it."

Her breath hitched violently. Her body was screaming for relief, but her pride, her stubborn heart—still clung to denial.

Renji kissed her then, finally, but cruelly just a deep, hungry press of lips before pulling back and leaving her gasping.

"You’ll break soon, Mayumi," he promised darkly. "And when you do... you’ll be mine."

He stepped back at last, leaving her slumped against the wall, legs trembling, soaked and ruined, her hands trembling as if reaching for him.

But he was already gone.