when I’ve disliked what he’s done or the parameters he’s set, but I don’t hate him. I respect him too much.”
“Do you think he respects you?”
“I know he does. That’s why he was after me to run Okada—he knew I wouldn’t run it into the ground.” Ronin kissed her knuckles. “How did we get on this topic?”
“I’m tired of talking about my fucked-up family situation.” She sighed. “In fact, I’m just plain tired. Too much booze, too much angst. Can we just crawl into bed and put this day behind us?”
“Whatever you want.”
Amery shed her clothes and slipped between the sheets naked. “It’s been a while since you stayed over here.”
Ronin spooned her. It’d be thoughtless, given the state of her emotions, to say he hoped it’d be the last time either one of them crashed here. He was damn near desperate for her to make the final leap, but she needed to do it on her own time frame.
• • •
THE next morning, Amery smelled coffee, and that enticed her to get out of bed. She saw Ronin at the breakfast bar with a baker’s box. “Am I witnessing Ronin Black holding a box of doughnuts?”
“Of course not. These are seven-nut, whole-grain pumpkin muffins sweetened with organic honey and raw sugar.”
“Is it wrong to hope one day I’ll see you with powdered sugar all over your face and frosting in your teeth?”
“Yes.” He kissed her, but not a pleasant good-morning smooch. A whole-body kiss with one hand clamped on her butt cheek, the other on the back of her head as he devoured her mouth.
Dizzy and panting from the sheer passion of Ronin’s kiss was a perfect way to start her day.
He growled against her lips, “For as poorly as the evening started out, it sure ended with a bang.”
“Mmm-hmm.” As many times as they’d had sex, made love, fucked each other raw during their relationship, the joining of their bodies had gone beyond that last night, when they’d turned to each other in the night. Clichéd for sure, but they’d reached another level of intimacy and deepened their connection.
“I love waking up with the taste of you on my tongue.” He zeroed in on the sweep of skin between her shoulder and neck. “I let you sleep in, but now I can’t think of anything but dragging you back to bed,” he murmured.
“I can’t. I’m already late. We’re interviewing office help today.” She disentangled from him and grabbed the mug he’d filled for her. “What inspired you to get breakfast?”
“I stopped by the hotel your parents are staying in and introduced myself.”
Amery choked on her coffee. “Why did you do that?”
His eyes were unreadable. “I wanted to head off another confrontation with them for you.”
“And?”
“And I also dropped off a prepaid Fed-Ex box and asked them to mail the extra set of copies they’d made because I need all of it for evidence against Naomi.”
“You’re taking her to court?”
“I don’t know what my legal options are, but I can’t ignore it.” Ronin ran his hand through his hair. “At first I was inclined to follow your suggestion and blow the whole thing off. Staying strong together is the best revenge. But what if that just pisses her off more and she uploads one of those DVDs to YouTube? Or if she sends copies to the parents of my students? I have no problem telling people about my rope expertise, but those pictures and DVDs are only about my humiliation. I can’t help but fear if that DVD did get out, she could ruin my dojo.
“So I’m taking precautions against that. The Okada tech team is scouring the Internet for anything untoward regarding me. The legal team is crafting a letter. A copy of it will go to Naomi’s family, so they understand the seriousness of the situation.” His smile was decidedly sharklike. “No one wants to cross Okada’s legal department. One of the best in Japan.”
“What did my parents say?”
“I told them they didn’t need to wait around today to hear your answer. That you’d made the choice to stay with me long before my vengeful ex-girlfriend attempted to wreak havoc with our lives.”
“That’s it?”
Ronin cornered her. “No, baby, that’s not it. I told them I loved you and I’d never hurt you. Which is the truth.”
“How did they respond?”
“I didn’t give them a chance to pull me into a pointless argument. I said if they wanted to cut you out of their lives, it was their loss. Because I would be in your life for good.”
Amery stared at the fierceness coloring his eyes.
“The only thing that matters to me is that you love me and trust in me.”
“I do. You know I do. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
He twined a section of her hair around his finger. “How did I get so lucky to have a woman like you fall in love with a man like me?”
“Ronin, I think the luck is all on my side.”
“How about if I pick you up after work and take you to dinner? We’ve haven’t done any of that couple stuff you’re so fond of.”
“I’d love that.”
“It’s a date.” He brushed his lips over hers. “Let’s eat breakfast.”
She eyed the muffins. They looked utterly disgusting. “I’m not really hungry.”
He laughed. “As soon as I’m gone, you’ll sneak back up here and have a cookies-and-cream Pop-Tart, won’t you?”
Amery smiled. “Busted. I don’t see why every meal of the day has to be healthy.”
“What you feed the body, feeds the mind and feeds the soul.”
“Your body might be a temple, but mine isn’t,” she retorted.
“Wrong. I worship your body plenty.” He kissed her in that thoroughly mind-boggling way that left her clinging to him and cursing him. Her tingling lips made her tingling body parts very jealous.
“Are we okay?”
“I am. I really am.” She blew out a slow breath. “Maybe before you take off we should load some of my stuff into your car for you to take up to the penthouse.”
Pure satisfaction shone in his eyes. “It would be my greatest pleasure.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“WHAT was that swivel thing you did with your tongue?”
Ronin smiled against Amery’s neck. “Liked that?”
“I think my scream indicated that I did.”
“I wish I could tell you it was from the Kama Sutra or something I saw in a shunga print, but I think I saw it in porn.”
Amery pushed back and looked at him. “You watch porn?”
“Baby, every man under the age of seventy watches porn. Those who claim they don’t? Are lying.” He twisted a chunk of her hair around his finger. “It doesn’t reflect on you, that you aren’t giving me what I need in bed. I just like watching people have sex. It’s fucking hot; it turns me on, and the added bonus? I pick up new things to do for you.”
“So I shouldn’t feel threatened or like you’re imagining me with another guy? Or maybe another girl?”
Ronin tugged her hair, bringing her closer. “I don’t share. Ever. And the thought of anyone ever putting their hands on this body? I’m deciding which bone-breaking techniques I’ve learned that would bring the most pain.”
“But you don’t mind people looking at me?”
“On those sexy book covers? No.” Amery had just finished the preliminary mock-up cover for Tangled Together, the third book in Cherry Starr’s erotic series. “I’m still blown away that you reworked a still shot from the club demo video and kept the sensuality of the scene without exposing our faces. So not only are you cover-model hot, you’re very talented.”
“Thank you. So are you. Your rope work is stunning.” She paused. “It’s really a shame you’ve sworn off public demos.”
Shocked, he said, “What?”
Her eyes turned serious. “Look, I’ve wrestled with bringing this up with you, so I’m just going to say it straight out; I don’t want you to give up such an integral part
of who you are.”
Ronin stared at her silently, unsure if he’d heard her correctly.
“I’m not saying this because I’ve got some secret desire for you to bind me in front of large crowds at a sex club on a regular basis. But, sweetheart, a sex club isn’t the only place you can teach and give demos. You have plenty of space at the dojo to offer private lessons. You could hold basic beginner classes on tying techniques for couples, or offer classes to Doms and Dommes who want to learn advanced techniques. You are a master—and that comes with responsibilities. You have to teach and pass on those skills. I would feel guilty if your hesitation to continue demo teaching was solely because of me.”
“It’s not.” He brushed his knuckles across her jaw. “Haven’t you noticed that I tend to have the all-or-nothing mind-set?”
She gasped with total sarcasm. “No. Really?”
He playfully swatted her rear.
“There is a catch, however.” Amery smiled—all teeth. “I am your rope model. Your only rope model, whether we do a full demo or a simple chest harness. I’ll be whatever you need.”
“Baby, you already are what I need.” And she was. He slanted his lips over hers, starting the kiss out at a slow pace, reveling in how she unraveled him. He’d just cranked up the intensity when he heard the ping of the elevator doors.
That ripped him out of the moment. “What the hell?” No one breached his inner sanctum.
“Maybe there’s an emergency at the dojo.” Amery was looking over her shoulder, and the movement caused the gap in her robe to widen.
Momentarily distracted by the sight of her taut nipple, he glanced up when Amery stiffened. Then his gaze followed hers to the woman standing in the entrance to the living room.
“Mother? What are you doing here?”
At the word mother, Amery scooted off his lap so quickly she nearly fell.
His mother answered in Japanese and crossed the room.
Protocol demanded he stand. He met his mother halfway. After pressing his cheek to hers, he offered her a slight bow. “What a surprise.”
“Not an unpleasant surprise, I hope.”
“Never.”
She laid her hand on his cheek, and her eyes scrutinized every inch of his face. “Ronin-san. You look wonderful.”
“As do you, Okasan.” At age sixty-three, his mother was still an attractive woman.
“Who let you up here?”
“Your sister. Her greeting was less . . . enthusiastic than yours.”
“Is everything okay? You never—”
“Everything is fine with me and your grandfather.”
“So would you like to sit?” And tell me why the hell you’re here?
“In a bit. I’d like a tour of your home first.”
Amery secured the robe. “I’ll just ah, go . . . get dressed.”
Ronin tugged her to his side. “Amery, this is my mother, Tamara Okada. Okasan, this is my”—everything—“Amery.”
Amery acted unsure on whether she should offer her hand, but she clasped his mother’s when she offered it. “It’s a pleasure.”
“For me as well.”
Before Amery fled, Ronin kissed her temple.
He led his mother to the elevator and eyed her outfit. Some flowing silk thing and a pair of ankle-breaking heels. “We’ll start on the roof. Should I get you a jacket? It’s chilly up here.”
“I will be fine.”
They ducked inside the bubble, and she wandered from poolside to garden side. “I imagine this is lovely in the summer months.”
“The view is great too.”
She perched on the end of a chaise and gestured for him to sit across from her.
“So why the impromptu visit?” In the fourteen years he’d lived in the United States, his mother hadn’t visited. It hadn’t seemed like a big deal because he saw her at least once a year in Japan, and she was so busy traveling with his grandfather, she preferred to stay home in her down time.
“Both of my children are here. Plus I was worried.” She remained perfectly still, her hands clasped in her lap. “I’ll get right to it. You never talk about this kind of thing with me, but Shiori indicated that you went back into the ring after Amery ended your relationship and you ended up injured? On multiple occasions?”
Rather than confess the extent of his injuries because his mother would have a mini meltdown that he hadn’t told her, he countered with, “Did she tell you why Amery broke it off? It was Shiori’s fault.” He sounded like a petulant kid.
“Yes, she summarized the situation, but I do agree with your sister on this. You should’ve told Amery about your family connection.”
Ronin opened his mouth, and she did the one-finger silencing action he remembered from his childhood.
“You’ve chosen a different path. Your grandfather never believed you’d stay on it. I knew you wouldn’t deviate. That’s what defines a family—accepting those divergent paths in those we care about. Your grandfather and I both worried when we hadn’t heard from you personally in weeks . . . I came to check on you.”
He thought back to the ugly scene with Amery’s parents. Their accusations, ultimatums, and embarrassment about the path Amery had taken. He’d watched her crumble after swearing it didn’t matter. But that kind of rejection is hard, no matter how old you get.
Then he had a pang of awareness—had he done the same thing to his family? Rejected them because he believed they wouldn’t understand his life choices?
Sobering thought.
“Ronin-san?”
He smiled at her and the only term of endearment she ever used. “How is Grandfather?”
“Old.” She ran her hand through her hair. “I’ve never said that about him because he’s always seemed so invincible. But he’s had some health issues in the last year. Which doesn’t sit well with him.”
“And you are bearing the brunt of that?”
She shrugged. “It’s what I do.”
“Why didn’t you ever remarry? Then you wouldn’t have to be at your father’s command.”
“He doesn’t command me.” She sounded affronted. Then she sighed. “I wondered if you’d ever ask me about this.”
Ronin waited.
“None of the men in my social circle hold a candle to your father. He was an electric charge; other men were dim bulbs. My father kept trying to fix me up because he didn’t want me to spend my life without a companion like he had.”
“But I thought Grandfather was mad that you eloped.”
She frowned. “He was upset because he couldn’t give me a proper society wedding. I eloped because I couldn’t imagine my life without your father. And after he died, your grandfather understood what I was going through and he begged me to return to Japan.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“How could you have? You were eight. I grieved. I grieved to the point I couldn’t care for you or your sister. He had to step in.” She squinted at him. “Don’t you remember him working with you on your Japanese language issues?”
An image jumped into Ronin’s head of sitting at the table with paper and pens, Shiori curled up in their grandfather’s lap while he patiently drilled Ronin on reading and writing. “I’d forgotten that.”
“I’m not trying to paint Nureki Okada as a saint. But he’s not a villain either.” She smiled softly. “Well, not all days.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
She stood. “Because you, your sister, and I need to discuss some family things.”