Chapter 22 - Rurik
Clem fell asleep shortly after we were in the air on the way to Tokyo, her phone falling out of her hands to reveal she’d been studying Japanese phrases as I grabbed it to keep it from hitting the floor.
I tucked her blanket around her, studying her face, truly relaxed for the first time since I sprang the news of the trip on her.
I had never seen her so upset as when she had to admit that she didn’t have a passport.
That certainly might have thrown a wrench into my plans if I didn’t have contacts who could make a perfect forgery in no time flat, but even if we had to push back the trip, she shouldn’t have flown into such a panic.
Watching her now, so peacefully sleeping, my fists clenched as I remembered the abject terror in her eyes.
It was like she went to another place, and she no longer saw me in front of her, backing away like a tiger had been unleashed from its cage.
We’d had disagreements before where she didn’t bat an eyelash, and this wouldn’t have even turned into an argument.
She let me have it big time when she found out we were married, storming into my office while waving those papers.
This was zero to sixty in a blink, so certain what she thought was a profound mistake would somehow turn me into a raging beast.
Something was up with her, and I was determined to get to the bottom of whatever spooked her, but for now, we were going to have a well-deserved break.
A honeymoon. No high-rise suite in the heart of Tokyo was good enough, not even with breathtaking views of the city. I had found the perfect place for us.
She woke up well before we landed, prodding me for information. Were we going to meet the Koboyashis right away? Did I ever get a confirmation that we’d be touring their factory? Should we invite them to dinner, or should we wait for them to reach out? Where were we staying?
“Just wait,” I said. “And relax. This is a vacation.”
She scowled at me and went back to studying her phrases, nodding earnestly when the flight attendant gently corrected her pronunciation.
My beautiful, brilliant wife, once again going the extra mile.
I wondered what she’d think if I asked her opinion on what was really going on with my family.
After she got over the shock, would she hunker down and start brainstorming solutions?
Or would she try to disappear into the crowds at the airport, certain I was that beast she feared?
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 Koboyashis know 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.
She paused for a second, blinking at me in wonder. “I’m only wild when I’m with you.”
“Good,” I said, claiming her mouth again.
With a moan, she pressed down hard, wriggling her heat against me, driving me to grab her hips and hold her still.
She only let go of me long enough for me to get her top over her head.
Glancing around, she was assured no one could see us in this walled garden, so close to crowds of people and yet so far away.
She unhooked her bra and arched her back, drawing my fingertips to her nipples. I tweaked them, making her moan some more, then lifted her so I could draw each one between my lips and circle the taut buds with my tongue.
“Oh, hurry,” she said, pulling at my waistband when I settled her once more in my lap. Pressing her palm against my throbbing cock, she yanked the button open and jerked the zipper down. “Yes,” she sighed when I bounced free.
Slicing my fingers into her hair, I kissed her hard as she wrapped my cock in her fist. I breathed out a rough sigh against her lips as she stroked.
I needed her like I needed air, but tried to maintain my composure while she had her fun.
I let go of her hair, and she leaned back, her wild eyes intent on what she was doing.
She licked her lips and dragged her gaze up to meet mine.
“Rurik,” she said, a plea and a command.
I lifted her, standing to wrap my arms around her, groaning as she let go.
With shaking hands, she fumbled with her jeans.
I had them down around her ankles in one swift jerk.
Another one of her musical giggles vibrated against my lips as she kissed me and kicked them away at the same time.
Falling back onto the couch again, I brought her down on top of me.
Her wet heat rubbed against my pulsing cock, and she shuddered, slowing her movements with closed eyes and an intensity on her face I couldn’t get enough of.
Shaking with my own lust, I watched her face as I slipped my hand between her thighs and found her swollen clit. Her harsh gasp, the tightening of her thighs straddling mine, the way she dropped her forehead to meet mine as I stroked her were all I needed to survive.
Just Clem’s body, the way she reacted to my touch and kisses. The sounds she made as I teased her with my fingertips. That was enough for now, until I had her heart.
Pushing my fingers deep inside her, she pressed against my hand, her lower lip locked between her teeth, her eyes still closed. My cock ached to be inside that tight heat, but more than that, I wanted her to let go, here and now, in this paradise that was new to both of us.
I found her clit again and gripped her hair with my free hand, pulling her out of her concentration. Her eyes blinked slowly open, meeting mine as I brought her closer to the edge.
“Now, Clementine.”
A ragged cry tore from her throat, and her legs trembled as she rocked against my hand, dragging out the spasms I couldn’t wait to feel clamping around my cock.
Clapping her hands against the sides of my face, she kissed me, her teeth dragging against my lip as she slammed her soaking wet pussy down.
We both gasped as she took every inch, hard and deep. She shuddered again as I gripped her hips, raising and lowering her, urgent to the point I was holding my breath. Her fingernails raked down my chest, tearing open my shirt so she could press her palms against me for stability as she rode me.
“I’ve got you,” I said, holding on tight to her hips.
I watched her eyes, dark and intent, her pert and perfect tits as they bounced, the grinding fury of her hips. She was mine, all mine, and there was no way she didn’t know it now. At least while I was deep inside her, she knew the truth.
“Clem,” I said, digging my fingers tighter into her lush hips. “I need to come inside you. I can’t fucking hold on any more. Let me feel you.”
Arching her back, she slid her hands down the sides of her body, moaning as she aimed her fingertips between her thighs. “Yes,” I commanded. “Right now.”
I dragged my gaze from where she stroked her clit while I rammed into her. Crying out, she fell forward against me. I wrapped my arms around her, driving deep as I spurted inside her, some kind of feral roar mingling with her cries.
More, more, more. Never enough and too much at the same time. She consumed me.
Where the hell did reality and time go? I opened my eyes to find her collapsed against my chest, still straddling me, both of us panting for breath. Lifting her with the last of my strength, I cradled her on my lap with her head nestled in the crook of my neck.
“I thought I wanted to see the city,” she said, slowly gliding her hand to rest over my rapidly beating heart. “But maybe now I’m okay with never leaving.”
I laughed and stood up, carrying her through the garden and into the house. “That’s the plan, then.”
Her arms clasped around my neck, and her lips brushed against my cheek with a happy sigh, assuring me it was a very good plan.