“Are you even having any fun?” I asked.
She blinked rapidly, shaking her head. “We’re scheduled to go to the opera with Shin and Erina tomorrow night.”
“That wasn’t what I asked.” I shrugged, watching her carefully. “We’ve got the game system, we’re almost assured first right of refusal on all new products. Let’s make up an excuse and dip.”
Did she actually look like she was afraid of going home? I had to be conflating how badly I wanted to get her all to myself again with her sudden jumpiness. Why would she be scared to return to LA?
“I have a better idea,” she said, reaching for my hand. “Let’s think of an excuse to get out of lunch today and go somewhere on our own. That’ll be fun.”
That was more like it. The light was back in her eyes. Maybe a little dimmed, but her smile was sincere when she made the suggestion. My paranoia was revved up from Konstantin’s problems and the reports from back in LA, with everything escalating there. I had been careful, and Clem couldn’t know how bad things were, so she couldn’t possibly be scared to go home.
While she got ready, I quickly searched for the perfect place where we could go to relax and be ourselves. It wasn’t too far to get to the Meiji-Jingu shrine, and when she saw where we were pulling up, her shoulders relaxed, and she let out a long breath.
“It’s perfect,” she said, tugging on my hand as I got out of the taxi.
Once we were in the urban forest, her dark hair dappled with sunlight streaming through the trees, she gave me the first real smile I had seen from her since she came home from her shopping trip with Erina.
“I thought it would be,” I said.
There was no way we could ever be considered similar with our different upbringings, but we both had quiet souls underneath it all, soothed by nature. Here, we could let go of our problems, the secrets we couldn’t tell each other. As much as I wanted to know what was bothering her, I couldn’t press her for answers I wasn’t also prepared to give when she pressed me back. Yet. Time would tell if something was giving her trouble, and whatever it was, I would eradicate it.
We waited to have our fortunes told, and when the old man told us we’d be happy if we worked hard, I didn’t laugh at the diplomatic fortune. I turned to Clem and said, “Then we’ll be happy for sure. No one works harder than we do.”
She blushed, and turned even redder when I asked the man how many children we’d have.
“Four,” he said instantly, and I paid him double.
After checking everything out and taking hundreds of pictures, we meandered away from the crowds and onto the trails leading into the acres of wooded area. Within a few minutes, it was impossible to believe we were only steps from the bustling city. Clem held onto my hand, looking up into the trees, her eyes filling with tears as she finally turned to me.
“It really is so perfect,” she said, laughing ruefully at getting emotional.
“I know what you need,” I told her, pulling her close. “I know you through and through.”
I tugged her long, loose hair and dipped my head to kiss her. It was only meant to be a quick peck, but her hands slid up my chest, and she rose onto her toes to meet me halfway. She sighed my name against my lips, weakening my resolve and making me forget we were out in public in a place that didn’t favor tourists making out at their shrines.
As always, Clem made me forget everything but her. There wasn’t a business deal, a turf war, or a crazy uncle who could put a dent in the way she so totally consumed me. Words bubbled up in my throat, the need to tell her strong enough to make me grip her hard and yank her closer.
This wasn’t just physical; this was my soul calling out to hers.
“Clem,” I murmured, silenced by her eager, questing tongue.
A loud cough made us jump apart, like school kids caught by an angry principal. The elderly couple who tried to make theirway past us on the path shook their heads as we scrambled to get out of their way, half disgruntled and half amused.
“Oh my gosh, we’re being so disrespectful,” Clem said, cheeks flaming bright red.
I waited until the old folks were a little further away, then playfully slapped her perfect ass, grabbed her hand, and hurried her back toward the street. “We'd better get back to the house then, before we get deported.”
Her happy, relaxed laughter was the sweetest sound as we raced to find a taxi.
Chapter 29 - Clem
Rurik made a point of dialing back meetings with Shin, and we visited more shrines and temples to marvel at the architecture and wandered the brightly lit streets at night to people-watch. We lazed around in bed each morning, poring over tourist sites for the best places to go each day, sometimes only making it out into the back courtyard to feed the koi fish before heading back to bed.
If I thought I could ever learn Japanese, I would have been happy to stay there with Rurik for the rest of my days. It was both vibrant and peaceful, with the exact kind of dull moments I longed for.
I even liked Konstantin now, despite chaos seeming to follow him and my worries that he’d bring his problems down onto Rurik, who had so much family loyalty he’d jump into anything for any of them. In the two weeks since we’d been in Tokyo, he had been dragged away from me a few more times to meet Konstantin and didn’t come home until the early morning. I worried a lot less, knowing by now that Rurik could take care of himself.
And me. Rurik had managed to make me feel untouchable. He may have been a quiet man who focused on books and business, but his commanding presence was like a warm blanket and a suit of armor at the same time.