“You didn’t talk to him today?”
“No. I’ve been busy since early this morning, and I’m not teaching at the dojo tonight. So what happened?” When Amery hesitated, Shiori said, “We can discuss this in private, if you like.” She opened the limo door.
“Cool.” She slid across the gray leather seat to the other side.
Ms. Impeccably Dressed practically floated into the car. Her champagne-colored linen pants didn’t have a single wrinkle, and her soft pink silk shirt had zero static. The woman never had a hair out of place. Even the night she’d shown up at the hospital at three in the morning, she’d looked like she’d just stepped away from a fashion shoot.
Amery checked out the interior of the limo. Tinted windows, plush carpet, tons of legroom. Seats that were both firm and cushiony. Beneath the sliding window was a console with a mini fridge. Even the ceiling was upholstered in velvet.
“I’ve been in a limo only once, when my friend Alyssa got married. I suppose that seems strange to you since having a car and driver at your disposal is your life.”
“It’s not like I have a choice. I don’t know how to drive.”
“At all?”
Shiori shook her head. “I don’t need to drive in Tokyo. And other countries I do business in frown at an unlicensed driver on their roadways.”
Amery laughed. “I suppose that’s true. But I can’t imagine not being able to climb in my car and drive wherever I want to.”
“Where would you like to go now?”
“Oh. I thought we’d just sit curbside and talk. Especially since it’s rush hour.”
Shiori pushed the intercom button. “We haven’t chosen a destination yet, so we’ll just stay here for now.”
“Let me know when you’re ready to go, ma’am.”
After winding her long, black tresses into a knot at the back of her head, Shiori secured it with a pair of chopsticks. Then she slid open a door on the face of the console.
“Holy shit. This is a fully stocked limo.”
“A requirement for an Okada executive since my job drives me to drink. What’s your poison today?”
“Rum and Coke would be great.”
“A favorite of mine as well.” Shiori flipped open another compartment, which contained ice. She filled two glasses and mixed the drinks like a pro, even adding a wedge of lime.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I hate to admit I usually drink alone, so this is nice.” She kicked off her heels, five-inch leopard-print Pradas, spreading her bare toes into the carpet with a soft sigh.
Amery sipped her drink. “I appreciate you coming by last night. By the time I got to Ronin’s place, he’d worked through some of his anger.”
“Did he tell you what Naomi said to him?”
“We discussed it this morning, which brought up some issues between us that we’d both conveniently shoved aside.”
“Can you talk about those issues?”
She studied Ronin’s sister. The big bad international corporate executive with tremendous sway in Amery’s career didn’t look so scary with her shoes off and her hair twisted into a messy bun. It occurred to her that since Shiori knew Ronin’s proclivities, she’d be a good one to talk to about her fears.
“Why are you sizing me up?” Shiori asked with that haughty edge.
“Relax. I’m just wondering if we’re off the record right now. I work for you, and I want to keep things professional.”
“Technically you don’t work for me since I . . .” She stopped. “Not important. But you’re also involved with my only sibling, so we’ll have a personal crossover regardless. I’m sure I’m probably the last person you’d trust, but I’d like to prove you can trust me. Obviously my first loyalty is to Ronin, and if you do or say anything that would put him in physical or emotional jeopardy, naturally I’d tell him.”
Good to know that after all the trauma Shiori had helped create in Ronin’s life that now she looked out for her brother’s well-being. “Fair enough. Our off-the-record time is just girl talk. But if you say or do something that might hurt him, same goes. I’ll tattle on you like a six-year-old girl.”
Shiori laughed. “Deal. And off the clock, my friends call me Shi.” She held her glass up for a toast. “May our shared secrets be as juicy as the men in our lives.”
Amery clinked her glass to Shiori’s. “Oh, I got that covered.”
“Did Ronin attack a heavy bag last night to work out his frustrations?”
“He was in the pool when I got there. His knuckles weren’t scuffed up like other times when he used his fists. But he was exhausted, so I imagine he did some punishing activity in the dojo.” Amery was a little clinical when she summarized what Ronin had told her.
“That’s not all of it, Amery. Probably not the worst of it.”
Why was she surprised Shiori had picked up on what wasn’t said? “Naomi told him she’d heard at the club that I refused to be his rope model in public. She asked him how he let a student dictate lessons to the teacher, which when phrased that way . . .” She swallowed a mouthful of courage. “It puts him in a bad light. But the thing is, since we reconciled, we haven’t discussed whether he’ll continue with demos. Or whether I’d be okay if he used someone else.”
Shiori cocked her head. “Being his rope model in public was a hard limit for you?” When Amery blinked with confusion, Shiori clarified. “Something you will not do under any circumstances, which means you’ll safe-word out.”
“We don’t use safe words. If I get panicked by a binding, I tell him and we talk through it. We don’t um . . . practice any aspects of BDSM.”
“Besides the tying-up-with-ropes and having-sex-tied-up aspects,” Shiori said dryly.
“We don’t practice any other aspects of BDSM besides bondage,” Amery clarified. “He told me this morning that he’d gone to the club during our break.”
“I’m not surprised, but at least he told you. He could’ve lied and you wouldn’t have ever known.”
“I realize that.”
“Were you pissed off, or hurt or what?”
“All of the above. But I don’t have a right to any of it. We weren’t seeing each other at the time, and he told me he didn’t fuck her.”
“And you believe him?”
Amery looked up. “Yes. Public sex after the binding became an issue between him and Naomi. I don’t have to tell you that your brother is a very private man. Sex isn’t sacred, but it is the ultimate intimacy. He and I are in agreement on that. But I have the same sense of privacy when it comes to baring all. Not to him. But to people I don’t know? That terrifies me.”
Shiori reached for her hand and squeezed. “Understandable. Maybe the reason it doesn’t seem like a big deal to him is—”
“Because he’s not the one who’s naked!”
“There is that. But Ronin has been around people in the lifestyle long enough to know they’re not judging you. I’m sure he feels that should allay your fears.” She smiled. “And as a man, he wants to show you off. He wants to demonstrate how in synch the model can be with the rope master. How beautiful you are bound in his rope designs. He wants every person in attendance to feel the sexual heat between you two, because that, more than anything, will prove to everyone that kinbaku is a sensual art.”
“It makes sense . . . Until I imagine myself wrapped wrist to ankle and exposed to the point they could see up into my tonsils.”
“There’s a visual. Look, you have to set limits. Ronin won’t know where to start unless you tell him what you won’t do. It’s give and take. I can’t imagine he wouldn’t let you wear a thong if he was focusing on chest harness techniques. It’d be different if he was teaching a class of basic rope knots rather than giving a demonstration of a full binding.”
She hadn’t considered that. Heck, she hadn’t thought beyond no, and yet she remembered her irrational jealousy when Ronin had bound that woman at the club. That brought her full circle. “The ot
her reason Ronin was so angry yesterday? Naomi offered herself as his model if I wasn’t up to the task. I think that made him wonder if I’m right for him.” Amery finished her drink. “When it’s just us . . . it’s beautiful and sensual, and I don’t know why my willingness to hand him the ropes behind closed doors isn’t enough for him. But I’d never give him an ultimatum because I’d definitely lose him.”
Shiori thoughtfully tapped her fingers on the back of the seat.
“What?”
“Wearing a mask wouldn’t solve anything either. And I would imagine, like most men, he prefers to look at your face while you’re in the scene.”
“Unless he’s directly in my face, I doubt that’s where either one of his heads is focused.”
“True. It’s just too bad you can’t wear a wig and a mask. You’d be amazed by how many people you’d fool and how freeing anonymity can be.”
“Speaking from personal experience, Shi?”
“Yes. But to get the real scoop on that secret?” She rattled her empty glass. “I’ll need several more of these.”
“Fill ’er up. It’s not like we’re driving.”
• • •
AND that’s how they ended up club hopping—after zipping through the McDonald’s drive-through for burgers and fries to soak up some of the alcohol.
Amery wished she’d invited Chaz along since he knew all the hottest clubs. Once Shiori let her hair down, she really let it down. With her exotic looks, men flocked to her. She took it all in stride, not acting like a billionaire heiress, a badass ninja, or the VP of a global corporation.
They danced and laughed and drank. Amery tried to pick a guy for Shiori, but every guy had a flaw that precluded Shiori from approaching him.
“What about him?” Amery asked. “Brown shirt.”
“The one who looks like Curly from The Three Stooges? Pass.”
“How about his friend? The tall blond?”
“Possibly. He looks European. Had enough of those types. I hate competing for the mirror the morning after a hookup.” She shuddered. “I actually had one guy get out of bed after we finished banging the headboard, so he could complete his nightly skin-care regimen before he fell asleep.”
“Bullshit.”
Shiori held up her hand. “True story. As soon as he slipped on the cooling eye mask? I was gone.”
“I definitely have to introduce you to Chaz. You two can try to one-up each other on bizarre hookup stories.” Amery’s phone buzzed on the table again.
“Is that my brother?”
“Yes.”
“How many times has he called tonight?”
“A few.” She squinted at the recent calls list. “Wow. He’s called eight times before the last two times.”
“Why didn’t you answer it?”
“Been having fun with you. If I tell him I’m hanging with you, he’d try to horn in.”
Shiori leaned closer. “You’re really having fun with me?”
“Of course. Why? Am I holding you back from hitting something like that?” She angled her chin to a guy with long hair decked out in biker gear who’d been hovering near their table.
“You suck at trying to nail my type,” Shiori said. Then she laughed. “But I suck worse at nailing my type.” She squeezed Amery’s forearm. “It’s been a very long time since I’ve had a girls’ night out. Thank you.”
“You start in with the ‘I love you, man’ stuff and I’m decking you. Wait. You’re a ninja badass like your brother. You’d whale on my sorry butt.”
“He’d shudder to hear you say that.”
Amery picked up her phone. “How do you say ‘I love you’ in Japanese?”
“Aishiteru wa.” Shiori took a sip of her drink. “One thing to remember. Japanese people don’t feel comfortable verbally expressing their feelings like Americans do. So that’s said only on rare occasions. Telling Ronin you love him in English would probably mean more to him.”
“If it’s rarely said, then they’re definitely words I need to know. So say it one more time. Slowly. Phonetically.”
“Eye-she-teh-rue wah.”
Amery repeated it four times.
“You want another round?” Shiori asked.
The music had dropped a decibel, allowing Amery to call Ronin. “Probably not. But I’d take a Coke straight up.”
A devilish look entered Shiori’s eyes. “Did you say a cock straight up?”
“No, I did not say I wanted a cock straight up. You do need to get laid.”
“Amery? What the fuck?”
“Oh, hey, ah . . . hi, baby. I was just . . . you know . . . talking.” She flipped Shiori off. “What’s up? I see you called a few times.”
“A few? Try ten times. And where are you that you can’t answer your fucking phone?”
“A club.”
“What club?”
“Not the kind of club you prefer.”
Shiori choked on her drink.
“Where. Are. You?”
Ooh, that was his not amused tone. “Shi, what’s the name of this place?”
“Shi?” Ronin repeated. “Who are you with?”
“Your sister.”
“Since when are you and Shi drinking buddies?”
“Since today. And we’re not only drinking buddies; we’re club-hopping buddies.”
“Where are you?”
“A strip club,” Shiori shouted into the phone.
“Shi! He’s making that pissed-off sound, so knock it off.”
“Amery. Focus. For the last fucking time. Where. Are. You?”
“We’re at this sixties-themed club. It’s on—”
“I know where it is. I’m on my way. Be ready.”
“For what? Let’s get ready to . . . rumble!” She snickered at her lousy cage announcer impression. “Oh, come on, Ronin, that was a funny MMA joke!”
No response.
She squinted at her screen. He’d hung up.
“So how pissed off is my big brother?”
“Some.” She smirked. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Or submit to,” Shiori said with a grin.
“Shut. Up.”
“You blink at him with those big blue eyes and you get pretty much whatever you want?”
She shook her head. “Sadly, I never learned to use the whole ‘feminine wiles thing.’ What about you?”
“I’d claim to be a rebel, but everyone knows I follow the rules.”
“I hardly think that you being a—”
“Look at you two, hitting all the classy clubs in town. Or is it just the limo that makes you think you’re classy?”
Amery turned toward the voice to see if the woman’s face matched her sneering tone. Yep. The ugly twist to her lips marred the slender Asian woman’s beauty. A niggling warning started at the back of her neck. She scrutinized her. Could this be Naomi?
Nah. What were the odds that out of all the clubs in Denver, they’d end up at the same one? She glanced at Shiori. But her angry eyes confirmed Amery’s suspicions, and her pulse quickened.
“Quite the little adventure you two have had tonight.”
“And how would you know that?” Amery asked. She didn’t try to keep the loathing out of her voice.
“Because I’ve been following your trail of empty lowball glasses since you left Lodo. I’d hoped to have a word with you alone, Amery, but you closed up shop early today. When I saw you and Ronin’s traitor sister partaking of the Denver nightlife, I