What was I doing, worrying about anything on our honeymoon when I told her not to do just that? I shoved the thoughts aside and waited impatiently as a driver took us to the place I’d carefully chosen and paid a small fortune to acquire on a moment’s notice.
It was all worth it when I punched in the code at the gate on the walled exterior. One moment, we were on a busy, residential street in the heart of the city, and as soon as we crossed to the other side of the gate, we were enveloped in a tranquil garden. Trees dripped their branches over the red tiled roof, its broad eaves further shading the wraparound veranda raised up over pebbled walkways. Flowering shrubs and potted plants lined the path that led to the front of the house, and veered off to a seating area with a bubbling fountain. The sound of the gently flowing water mingled with the muted rush of traffic outside, and a windchime tinkled somewhere in the trees.
I turned to Clem, whose mouth was hanging open as she turned in a circle, trying to take it all in. It was beyond what the booking website had shown, and beyond my own hopes for seclusion and tranquility, so I was pleased that she was impressed.
“Our home away from home,” I said, dropping our bags on the raised wooden outdoor hallway. Sweeping glass windows reflected the garden back at me, and showed Clem leaning down to sniff a pink flower before turning to the fountain.
“I wish…” she trailed off. Her spoken thought was so quiet I was sure I wasn’t supposed to hear, and her cheeks turned as vibrant as the flowers as she caught herself. I hurried to her side and swept her into my arms.
“Tell me all your wishes,” I demanded.
She shook her head. “It’s silly.”
“Let’s explore inside,” I suggested. “And don’t tell me it’s silly.”
We made our way up the wooden steps and crossed through a sliding door. The first room was high and wide, completely paneled in unpainted wood with big pillows scattered around for seating on the straw mat floor, and a low table with a tea setting off to one side. The place smelled of fresh air, and the late afternoon sunlight spilled through all the windows, bouncing off of Clem’s shiny black hair as she lifted it into a ponytail.
She sighed, hurrying through the rooms as I followed, eventually ending up outside again, where there was a koi pond in the back and a tiny pergola with a curved tile roof to match the house. A couch sat underneath it with a view of the pond and a sundial.
“How is something like this possible?” she asked, pointing over the wall where there was another view of a skyscraper in the near distance. “It’s like a hidden oasis.”
Anything for you. The thought remained unspoken because she wouldn’t have believed me and only rolled her eyes the way she always did when I tried to express how real my feelings were for her.
“I’m glad you approve,” I said instead.
“It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever stayed.”
“And still not as beautiful as you,” I told her.
She wrinkled up her nose and shrugged off the compliment. She sat down on the couch and sighed, rearranging her face from a wistful look to one I recognized from the office when she was preparing for a meeting.
“I know why we’re here,” she said. “I’m going to make sure we get the contract in order and seal the deal on exclusivity, as well. In fact, I should let Erina know we arrived. I think we should be the ones who invite them out first, don’t you?”
Sitting beside her, I plucked her phone out of her hand. “The only thing I’m thinking about is what we’re going to do first,” I told her. “The Koboyashis are the furthest thing from my mind.”
“But—”
“But, nothing. We’re here for a vacation, remember?”
“Sure,” she said. “We can probably work in some sightseeing too, but I know you want—”
“The only thing I want is you.” She flushed when I cut her off again, shaking her head. “I’ll keep you in this walled sanctuary the whole time and never even let the Koboyashisknow we’re on their home soil if that’s what it takes to prove it to you.”
Her eyes met mine, and she searched them, seeking the truth. It was all there, and yet she refused to fully believe it. Did that have something to do with whatever spooked her so badly? If something in her past kept her from accepting everything I wanted to give her, it would have to be eradicated. But first I had to find out what it was.
Right now, all I wanted to do was make her believe she truly was the most important thing to me, more than any contract. Words wouldn’t do it, but there was one thing she couldn’t deny.
Sliding my palm up the smooth column of her throat, I wrapped my hand around her ponytail. Her head tilted as I gently tugged, her mouth falling open as her eyes closed. I looked at her for a moment, taking in the delicate lines of her jaw, hungry for her plump lips. The moment our mouths touched, the kiss became urgent.
As always, whatever troubled me scattered to the winds as she reached for me, her hands moving beneath my jacket to tug on my shirt. I tightened my grip on her hair, sliding the elastic band down the shiny length to free it.
With a gasp, she pulled herself onto my lap, knocking me back into the cushions on the outdoor couch. A bird that must have been resting on the pergola roof took off, shocked by our sudden frenzy. Her tongue swept against mine as she straddled me and ground her heat against my rock-hard cock.
“You don’t know how much I wanted to wake you to join the mile-high club,” I growled as I dragged my lips to the side of her neck.
She tilted her head for the tickling kisses she loved so much, giggling with abandon. A sound I had never heard before but couldn’t wait to hear again and again. “You should have,” she said.
“Who is this wild woman on my lap?” I asked, pushing her shirt up so I could get my hands on her hot flesh.