For The Love Of Rei

Rochelle Hayes is the proud owner of Hayes

Graphics and Animations. The company is grow-
ing wonderfully and when she gets a chance to
establish it in the international marketplace, she
reluctantly takes it. She now has to host a Japan-
ese animator in her company while sending her
best animator to Japan. When she meets Raiden
Rei, she knows for sure she's in trouble because
Raiden is unlike any Japanese man she'd ever
met.

Raiden Rei reluctantly leaves Japan for

Canada to take on an employee exchange pro-
gram. All he wants to do is go, do his job and re-
turn to Japan without having anything amputated
due to frost bite. When he turns around and sees
the sexy Rochelle Hayes, his plans change. But
no matter how much he tries, Rochelle is fighting
him with everything she can. How much will he
be able to take before dropping everything and
returning home?

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For The Love Of Rei © 2010 Tigra-Luna LeMar

All rights reserved. No part of this book may

be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information
storage and retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. Characters,

names, places and incidents either are the product
of the author’s imagination or are used ficti-
tiously, and any resemblance to any actual per-
sons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely
coincidental.

A MuseItHOT Publication

MuseItUp Publishing

http://www.museituppublishing.com

Cover Art © 2010 by Delilah K. Stephens

eBook ISBN: 978-1-926931-16-6
First eBook Edition * December 2010

Production by MuseItHOT Publishing

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Dedication

To My Readers—Thank you for everything.

To Mark Browne—You are missed.

Chapter One

When her secretary came to her with the

thought of an exchange, Rochelle detested the
idea. She didn’t want some stranger she didn’t in-
terview herself coming into her company to stay
for any period of time. She definitely didn’t like
the idea that one of her workers would have to
take this stranger home. Rochelle Hayes didn’t
want to host an exchange businessman from
Japan. Out of all the countries in the world why
did it have to be Japan? She didn’t know the lan-
guage—not even a little bit. She would have to
be overly cautious to not commit some form of
cultural taboo that could cause an international
incident. But in order to get her company in the
good graces of the international world, she didn’t
have a choice.

Her graphics company grew slowly to the

level where it was a well known name in North
America but she wanted to go global. The com-
pany had done some major work for bestselling

authors and singers alike to popular acclaim; not
to mention the children’s cartoons and the like
they created in the past few years. She would
have to participate in the exchange program in
order to move internationally. She couldn’t go to
Japan herself because she had to run the com-
pany. Instead, she sent one of her top animators
in her place. Asuka promised to send her
someone whose talents would surpass who she
sent. Rochelle didn’t see that as a possibility. Jef-
fery is a genius at what he does; when he accep-
ted her offer to work at Hayes she was stunned
but didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Shoving her feet into her heels, she stood up

to peer at herself in the mirror. Her outfit had to
be perfect. This is the day she had to meet the
Japanese worker and she didn’t want anything to
be out of place—she didn’t want a Janet Jackson
super-bowl incident. The cold weather outside
worked in her favour. She dressed in a white
turtle neck with a black suit jacket with matching
pants and stilettos. She slipped in some silver

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earrings and added the matching necklace before
tying her braids up into a tight pony tail.

Satisfied with how she looked and smelled

she walked down the hall to the guestroom. It had
to be immaculate. She could put him up at a hotel
but Jeff was not staying in one. He was getting
the real Japanese treatment and Rochelle would
be damned if they outdid her.

Lifting her chin proudly, she headed back

and grabbed her purse, some files she brought
home the night before to approve for inking, and
then she hurried out the door. She got halfway to
the car before remembering she didn’t remove
her cell phone from the charger. Continuing to
the car, she chucked her stuff onto the back seat.
She ran and skidded back toward the house to
grab her phone.

She stood in the kitchen going over a mental

checklist of her things ensuring she hadn’t for-
gotten anything else. With the list clear, she
grabbed an apple for good measures and headed
out the door again.

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She must be losing her mind wearing high

heels in the damn winter time. It didn’t snow yet,
but it rained the night before and the water in-
stead of draining away had frozen. The whole
city looked like one giant ice-cube—the exact
words the weatherman used. Making a face, she
backed out of the driveway and headed toward
the centre of town. It would be a longer and care-
ful than usual drive into work this morning with
all the ice.

Rochelle gritted her teeth. She expected

traffic, but not traffic jam hell. She kept slam-
ming on her brakes every few seconds to avoid
running into the back of the vehicle before her. A
growl left her throat and her knuckles turned
white against the wheel as people kept cutting in
front of her car and stopping without warning.
She honked at the latest person to do it and got
the middle finger for her troubles.

“Yeah! Same to you, pal! You ever seen a

car in a hospital?” she hollered, slamming her

10/313

palm against the wheel. “I cannot believe these
people!”

She glanced at her clock. Rochelle wanted to

scream as she reached forward and grabbed her
headset. Eyeing the traffic, she slipped it over her
head. She quickly scrolled through her cell phone
and hit send before placing the phone into her
lap. She waited through the rings until the secret-
ary picked up.

“Hayes Graphics and Animation!” a cheerful

female voice answered the phone. Rochelle
wondered for the millionth time why she hired
this woman. Kelly sounded too chirpy so early in
the morning—it wasn’t natural.

“Kelly, it’s Rochelle.”
“Morning, Boss! Are you on your way to get

our exchange?”

Rochelle arched a brow. “What? I thought

you called a car to pick him up?”

“Yes, but you said you would do it—you

would get him. You didn’t forget did you? Be-
cause if you didn’t you are cutting it a tad close.”

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Rochelle suddenly remembered the conver-

sation vividly and she wanted to slam her head
against the steering wheel. She had been so
caught up making things perfect that she forgot
about the most important part—picking him up at
the airport. Her eyes widened.

“What is his name again? Kaiden something-

or-other?”

Kelly chuckled. “Raiden Rei. His plane will

be landing in twenty minutes so if you hurry you
should be able to make it.”

“Ugh! Move!” Rochelle yelled at the car that

just slipped in front of her. “This traffic is hor-
rible! Everyone left the house at the same
damn—” At that moment a car slipped in front of
Rochelle without signaling, causing her to slam
on her brakes. She banged her hand into the horn.
“Thanks a lot, ass wipe!”

“Uh, Boss? You okay?”
“Can you believe these people? The road is

wet, there’s black ice everywhere and they have
the damn nerve to cut in front me, during a traffic

12/313

jam without signaling! What if my brakes wer-
en’t working? Then what?”

“Want me to send a car? It wouldn’t be that

much of a hassle.”

“No, Kelly. I’ll handle it. Sending a car is

just so— it isn’t personal. I’ll call you once I get
him.”

“All righty then. He’s coming in at terminal

two—”

“Thanks.”
Yanking the headset from her head and drop-

ping it on the passenger seat, Rochelle glanced
behind her and then into her mirrors. She slid her
signals on and poked the nose of her vehicle in
the other lane. Once the car straightened she slid
on her signals once more and pulled completely
off the highway and sped along a side street. If
the stoplights didn’t all decide to stop her she
should get there just as the plane touched down.
How in the world did she forget to pick him up?

Moaning she almost ran a red light. She

slammed on the brakes and the luxury car jerked

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to a sudden stop. She took the few minutes at the
light to check her make-up, roll on some lip-gloss
and released her hair over her shoulders. She
frowned at her reflection in the mirror and retied
her hair just as the light changed. Glancing both
ways, she shot through the intersection, all the
while eyeing the clock periodically. By the time
she made it to the airport, in the final few
minutes, traffic slowed down and Rochelle
wanted to scream. She inhaled remembering he
had to get through customs; that should take a
little while—she hoped.

By the time she slowed down before the air-

port’s exit, she was already fifteen minutes after
the plane landed. She didn’t receive any phone
calls telling her he needed to be picked up which
meant she had some time to pull into the parking
area. Someone honked at her and she frowned
before flipping on her signal and made her way
into the underground parking garage. She paid,
stashed the receipt on her dashboard before chan-
ging her shoes. The last thing she wanted to

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tackle is the ice while rushing through the snow
in heels. Now dressed in a pair of black running
shoes, she hurried up the steps and into the cold
again when her cell phone rang.

“Hayes,” she answered.
“Ms. Hayes, this is Raiden Rei—” he had an

unmistakable accent. Her heart hammered within
her chest. “Your secretary told me to give you a
call once I was through customs.”

“Yes, that is correct. Where are you now?”
“I am at—exit B.”
“All right, stay right there.” Rochelle dodged

a car as she jay-walked across and into the build-
ing. “I’m on my way.”

“Very well.”
Once he hung up, Rochelle dumped her

phone into her pocket and sped toward exit B. It
would have been easier to find the exit by walk-
ing outside but the cold weather prevented her
from that. Her face froze during her brief foray
outside, and Rochelle was glad it heated up
quickly once she stepped indoors. She didn’t

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want to look like a popsicle when she saw him
for the first time. In her rush, however, she made
a few wrong turns getting hopelessly lost. Frown-
ing, she looked around at the many overhead
signs in French and English and moaned at the
number of them. “Excuse me!” she called to a se-
curity officer. The man skidded to a halt and
faced her.

“Yes, ma’am?”
“Can you tell me where to find Exit B?”
“Sure.” The officer obviously wanted to

laugh. “Go down that escalator and to the left.
You can’t miss it.”

She didn’t even remember going up stairs.

Maybe she entered the building on the wrong
floor to begin with.

“Thanks.” She offered a shy smile and hur-

ried off again in the direction the guard gave her.
The airport seemed more enormous every time
she came. It seemed every time she was there it
was going through one set of renovations or addi-
tions after another. Finally making it to the right

16/313

door, she glanced around. She couldn’t believe
the amount of Japanese men there at this particu-
lar moment. She wanted to cry. Finally, she
called the number he called her from. Thankfully
only one man reached for a cell phone.

“Hello, Mr. Rei.” She smiled from behind

him, pretending not to be flustered.

The man turned around. When he faced her,

she didn’t expect what she saw. Raiden Rei isn’t
a pretty-boy like many of the Japanese pop-bands
she’d come to know and love over the years—not
by a long shot. His long, dark hair framed a face
that any woman would be crazy not to love. His
almond shaped, brown eyes felt like they looked
through to her soul. Rochelle wasn’t sure if she
liked that one bit. His eyes were intense. They
were carried off by a proud nose and sensuous
mouth. He had those lips that from the moment
Rochelle saw them, she wanted to brush her lips
over them. She wanted them to kiss her and roam
her body. Rochelle fought hard and bit back a

17/313

moan. The last thing she wanted was to cause a
scene when Japan Boy took off running back to
his plane because boss lady wanted his booty.

She knew he had a masterpiece of a body be-

neath his jacket—there was no hiding that. He
couldn’t hide it if he tried. His clothes hung off
his frame just perfectly. His jacket, set around
wide shoulders, draped downward over long fin-
gers. Raiden Rei looked unlike any man she’d
ever seen or met

His solid body towered over her. Raiden Rei

is all man.

I’m in serious trouble!
She expected a handshake but instead he

bowed to her.

“Oha, Ms. Hayes.”
It made her uncomfortable to have someone

bowing to her but she returned it. Bowing made
her feel like some kind of royalty—awkward.
She knew showing someone your head in bowing
meant you respected and trusted them but it still
unnerved her.

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Stunned speechless, Rochelle blinked when

his voice drew her from her daze. She managed a
small smile. “I hope your flight went well.”

“It was fine, however, very long.”
Nodding her head, she glanced around.

“Here, let me help you with that—” she reached
for his suitcase but he declined her help with the
larger bag. Instead, he handed her a smaller, red
bag.

“This is for you.” He told her with a smile.
“Mr—”
“Please, call me Zero.”
“Zero—you didn’t have to.”
“Of course. It is customary that the guest

bring a gift for the host.”

Rochelle thanked him, suddenly feeling hor-

rible. Not only did she forget to pick him up, she
also forgot to get him a welcome gift. She led
him to the door she entered and stopped him.
“You stay here. I’ll get the car so you don’t have
to walk out there. It’s really cold.”

19/313

“Thank you—” he bowed his head and

Rochelle hurried off.

Raiden Rei is definitely unlike any man I’ve

ever met before.

She knew from the moment he turned around

and laid those beautiful eyes on her, she would be
in trouble. But she had to be good—he is here to
work for her. She had to remember that. Sliding
into her vehicle, she opened the bag and peered
in—it contained beautiful, pink candles. She
wondered if anyone told him she adored candles.
She rubbed a finger tip over one and her eyes
widened. They weren’t the cheap brand
either—the ones that flaked if you touched them
too hard. When she sniffed her finger, the scent
of Japanese Cherry Blossom assaulted her senses.

Absolutely lovely.
Moaning, she hurried to stashed the bag in

the back seat, started the engine and tried to fig-
ure out how to get out of the parking lot without
running over someone who decided to rush

20/313

across the path the moment they saw the vehicle
coming.

Without incident, she made her way back to

him and once again he declined her help. He lif-
ted the suitcase into the trunk, on his own.

“I know I am your guest, Ms. Hayes, but a

gentleman always does the heavy lifting.”

She blushed and nodded. She climbed back

behind the wheel and waited for him to get in.
Soon the journey back through traffic began and
Rochelle made a decision. She would take him to
her house first and, perhaps take the day off. He
would have the weekend to get accustomed to
things before she shoved him into the office
environment.

“You aren’t very talkative, are you?” Raiden

questioned as they sat in gridlock. “I was told Ca-
nadian women were—made for pleasant conver-
sations. I hope that is true?”

“Sorry—I don’t know what to say.”
“All right, how about, are you hungry,

Zero?”

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Rochelle’s cheeks burned and she gasped.

“I’m sorry. I should have asked. Are you
hungry?”

“Starving. Know where I can get a good

slice of pizza?”

“Really?” She turned her head and stared at

him in shock. “Pizza? Are you sure? You’re go-
ing to come all this way and eat pizza?”

“Well, unless you are willing to cook for me.

I make it a point to never turn down a home
cooked meal.”

Rochelle arched a brow. The temptation to

say “I’d be willing to do far more than cook for
you,” surged strongly through her, but she bit her
lip instead. She turned to face the traffic once
more before getting an idea. “I have the perfect
suggestion. Ever had Jamaican food?”

“No. I’ve never had anything Jamaican.”
“Well, Zero, you, my friend, are in for a

treat. I cannot believe...” she glanced to check the
mirrors before pulling off the highway toward
her house. “...you’ve never had Jamaican food.”

22/313

“It’s not very plentiful in Japan.”
Rochelle made a face at him and he laughed.

The sound of his laugher rang soft yet masculine
and she felt her knees knocking together. The
light changed to red stopping them and Rochelle
whispered a silent prayer. If she didn’t stop she
could not be sure what would happen. Her legs
trembled with arousal. She somehow managed to
pull herself together again by the time the light
changed to green.

Frowning, she stopped in the parking lot of a

supermarket and inhaled deeply. She prayed he
didn’t smell the scent emanating from her body
or she’d be in big trouble. She hopped from the
vehicle quickly and slammed the door. He joined
her before walking into the store. He offered to
get the cart and after pressing a quarter into his
palm, she made her way through the turn-style
and stopped at a fruit stand. She had no idea what
kind of fruit he liked. She stood there like a mor-
on with a banana in one hand, an apple in the

23/313

other and a plastic bag to put the fruit in under
her chin.

“I am partial to apples,” he explained in a

whisper from behind her.

Gasping, she jerked around and slammed in-

to his chest.

Yep—definitely built like a brick house.
“Gomen,” he whispered to her. “I didn’t

mean to startle you.”

Rochelle lifted her chin proudly. “I wasn’t

startled.” She met his eyes like a woman with
complete certainty.

“Is that right?” A smile played about his

beautiful lips.

Rochelle wanted to lift her head the few

inches it took in order to take those lips in a kiss.

“That’s right.”
“Is that why you dropped the banana and the

apple and are clinging to the front of my shirt?”

“What?” She glanced down and moaned re-

leasing him quickly. She stepped back and turned
away from him to grab the fallen fruits. Without

24/313

saying a word she stuck the banana back and
loaded a bag with apples and placed them in the
cart. She felt like an idiot. When she looked up,
eyes stared back at her from all around the place.
At first it didn’t sink in what happened until a
woman began whispering to her companion.
Rochelle fought not to roll her eyes.

They think I am his girlfriend.
It wouldn’t be a bad thing to be Raiden’s

girlfriend—he is sexy, sounds intelligent and so
damn handsome. Shaking her head she grabbed
some vegetables before stopping at the freezers.

“You’re not a vegetarian...are you?”
Raiden shook his head. “No.”
“Good because I wouldn’t know what to

make you for dinner.”

“I am not fussy, Rochelle. You can make me

anything and I will at least try it.”

His eyes danced at her and she felt as though

she had just done something wonderfully good
and he was rewarding her. With a grin she turned
back and grabbed some chicken breasts. She dug

25/313

through the pile to the bottom for the good, fresh
ones and loaded the cart with a few packages. By
the time they paid for all the food and exited, it
started raining slightly with the sun trying to peek
from behind a cloud.

Quickly, they piled their purchase into the

back of her vehicle and stowed the cart.

When they arrived at her house, he carried

groceries into the house while she wheeled in his
suitcase.

“I knew you wouldn’t stop until you got to

carry my suitcase,” he teased.

Rochelle smirked. “I am trying to be

hospitable.”

“I see.” He smiled and exited the house once

more in the rain to grab the final bag of food.
When he returned, Rochelle frowned. She knew
even though there was no snow on the ground
outside, walking around in the rain during winter
was liable to cause hyperthermia.

“You’re soaking wet!”

26/313

Taking the bag from his arms she placed it

on the counter and took his hand. Without think-
ing she led him up the stairs and into the bath-
room. She grabbed a towel and placed it over his
head.

“You’re going to have to take a shower,”

Rochelle said, meeting his eyes. “While you do
that I’ll make you soup. I really don’t want you
catching a cold.”

“You worry too much, Rochelle. I have had

colds before. This one would be no—” he
sneezed, “—different.”

“Yes, but not on my watch. Catching a Ca-

nadian cold is unlike any you’ve ever had before.
Now, strip.”

She rested a hand against her hips while she

watched him. He didn’t move and Rochelle
arched a brow. Did he not understand her? She
didn’t know how to speak Japanese so she mo-
tioned to his wet clothes. “You have to take them
off.”

27/313

“I know what stripping means, Rochelle. If

you want to see my body so bad all you have to
do is ask.”

She realized what she said and why he hesit-

ated and it hit her like a brain freeze.

What is wrong with me?
Ever since she saw him she’s been doing one

brain-dead thing after another. Then again, in all
fairness, she had been doing brain-dead things all
morning. Asking him to strip while she stood
there was just taking her absent-mindedness to a
whole new level. The smirk he gave her after his
comment told her something she didn’t want to
believe. It spoke of a naughty streak within him.
That couldn’t be right. She didn’t know any Asi-
an men who were overly sexually liberated. They
were usually shy and quiet.

She left the bathroom without saying a word

and descended the stairs wondering why the way
he just looked at her turned her on. He had
lowered his head to meet her gaze causing his
long, wet hair to fall into his face. Ever so gently,

28/313

he used his fingers to rake the hair back and that
did it for Rochelle. That was one of the sexiest
things a man could do before her—along with
rolling up his dress shirt sleeves and tugging at
his tie. She grabbed a pot and tried to fill it with
water but her hands shook horribly. Instead,
Rochelle placed the pot on the stove, filled a
bowl partway and dumped it into the pot. She
couldn’t risk moving a full pot of water with her
trembling hands. She tried desperately to block
Raiden Rei from her mind for that moment just
so she could focus on what had to be done and
not screw up. If she did, soup would taste like
crap. She didn’t want any complaints to ruin the
business deal she had going.

Rochelle found the perfect way to keep her

mind occupied without losing a finger while
chopping onions. She would figure out where in
her office she would put him. He could fill in for
Jeff. But if he was as good as they said he was,
then perhaps he could go somewhere else.

Yes, your bed.

29/313

“Shut up brain,” she muttered. The sound of

the shower upstairs told her he took her advice.
Now if only she could keep her hands off her
sexy guest, things should work out just fine.
When the soup started to simmer she set about
seasoning the meat and finding her best frying
pot. She set the pot on the stove, dumped some
oil in and left it to heat.

“Rochelle,” Raiden called. She turned

around to look at him. With his wet hair slicked
back, he resembled every man from every wet
dream she’d ever had.

“Did you find everything?”
“Yes, I did. I didn’t want to startle you by

stepping in without saying anything.”

She laughed. “I guess I deserved that.”
“Here, let me help you,” he offered and

Rochelle shook her head.

“You said it yourself, you are the guest.”
“This means you are not to deny me any-

thing.” He removed the piece of chicken from her
hand and walked over to the stove. She watched

30/313

as he gently placed the meat into the searing oil.
To her shock, it didn’t even pop at him. No
splashes of oil—nothing.

“How’d you do that?”
“Do what?”
Rochelle pointed from the chicken bowl to

him to the pot. “Without the splashing?”

“Very gently.” He arched a brow at her. “I

figured the last thing I need is a face full of hot
oil—right?”

“Right.” Rochelle handed him the bowl with

the meat in it and turned her attention to chop-
ping carrots into tiny pieces for the blender. “Did
Jeffrey settle in yet?”

“Ah yes. He has settled in very well. He is

even fancying a girl. Nia Morimoto. The two
make a lovely couple but I think Jeffrey is scared.

Rochelle arched a brow and glanced at him.

“Why’d you say that?”

“Well, he gets flustered when she’s around,

wiping his palms against his pants and stuttering.
“

31/313

“Is she beautiful?”
Raiden smiled. “Very”.
“Well he has every right to be nervous. Not

only is he just visiting, but he is out of her cul-
ture. That is a problem.”

“How is that a problem? They are not within

the same culture but the heart wants who it
wants. There is no stopping that. You do not be-
lieve in interracial love, Rochelle?”

“Yes, but that is way beyond the spectrum of

interracial love. Jeff is black. Nia is Japanese.
Those combinations are rare.”

“Ah yes. But not impossible.” He chuckled.

“You are saying if I fancied you, you would not
be interested because of where I was born?”

Rochelle opened her mouth to say something

but quickly clamped it shut. There didn’t seem to
be an answer that wouldn’t get her in trouble. No
matter what she thought, it would only end in her
blushing and him smirking at her. She eyed him.
“It doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t. Besides, it’s
not the same thing.”

32/313

“Really? Because to me it is the same

thing—love is love.”

“All I’m saying is I’ve never met a Japanese

man who wanted a black woman. And I know my
best friend Maylee has never been in love with a
black man and she’s Japanese.”

“Perhaps she has not met the right one yet,

have you thought of that? Love, Rochelle, comes
when it wants. It does not come when you want it
to, or when your parents want it to. It has its very
own timing and yes, sometimes it sucks and
sometimes it seems to come with who we may
think is the wrong person but you just have to
learn to live with it.”

“Thought you were going to break out with

Confucius said for a minute there.”

“No.” He smiled sadly. “That one is one of

mine. Besides, Confucius was Chinese.”

Rochelle let the conversation hang in the air

and went back to blending her carrots. She
thought about what he said about love and tim-
ing. He is absolutely right—love never had good

33/313

timing for her. Love walked right around her and
picked the person behind her in line. She’d gotten
used to that a long time ago, accustomed to the
fact that she would die alone. Over the years it
had become less and less of an issue and she felt
less and less depressed about it.

She hoped eventually it wouldn’t bother her

anymore. Taking a deep breath, she poured the
blends into a bowl through a strainer. The silence
that hung around them while they worked drove
her mad. An interruption came with the sound of
hot oil soaking through meat and with the occa-
sional dropped utensil and mixings. She didn’t
know what to say to Raiden after the deep con-
versation they’d had.

“Are you sorry we just had that conversa-

tion, Rochelle?” Raiden questioned from behind
her.

“No…I just didn’t want to offend you with

injecting what I thought about Jeff and Nia’s
story

but

somehow

it

happened.

That’s

34/313

something you’ll learn about me. Most often I’ll
say things—”

“That you do not mean. We all do it,

Rochelle. Sometimes it is not that we do not
mean what we say; it’s just that we do not mean
to say what we mean.”

“I can see you’re going to be one riddle after

another.”

He shook his head. “No. No riddle. At times

we have something in our minds that we do not
want others to know. We are ashamed of what we
are thinking even if what we are thinking is cor-
rect. Then something happens and it brings this
thinking into the open. We mean it but we just
did not mean to say it.”

Rochelle nodded. No riddle in that.
The two carried on less volatile conversa-

tions through the preparation of dinner. They
spoke about the weather in Canada and Japan
amongst other less threatening things. Rochelle
was making Raiden laugh and she felt a form of
pride knowing she caused his mirth. She didn’t

35/313

mean to do it, for of all the things she could say
about herself, being funny wasn’t one of them.
While she spooned dinner into serving bowls,
Raiden busied himself setting the table.

“Where are your forks?” he asked.
Taking the vegetables from the pot, she

stopped and peered down. She noticed she was
blocking the drawer he needed to open in order to
get the forks.

“Right here.”
She tried stepping back to give him access to

the drawer but he simply walked up behind her
and reached around. She moved back slightly but
bumped against his chest. He reached to find the
forks with one hand while trapping her with the
other to take the bowl of vegetables from her
hand. Rochelle bit down against her lip and
pressed her eyes shut. She could smell his co-
logne, Winterswept. She adored that fragrance on
a man. It made them smell wild and dangerous.

Their connection lasted mere seconds but in

Rochelle’s mind it lingered longer. In her mind it

36/313

transpired in slow motion with Raiden tasting her
neck and blowing in her ear. After he released
her and left the kitchen for the table once more,
Rochelle gripped the counter for dear life. If she
hadn’t, she would have most definitely fallen to
her face. Her knees felt like jelly and her heart
slammed against her chest. She winced, hauled in
a breath and picked up the plate with the fried
chicken. She stood there for a moment, steadying
herself before walking into the dining room with
a smile plastered on her face. Raiden took the
platter from her and placed it on the table. She
stood back and looked at the meal. Her mother
would have been proud.

“Everything looks delicious.” Raiden pulled

her chair out. Shock surged through her but
Rochelle sat down.

“Thanks. I had good help.”
Raiden chuckled and sat across from her.
Rochelle watched him dig in. He knew what

fork to use and when. He laid his napkin in his
lap instead of tucking it down the front of his

37/313

shirt, which made her smile. All the guys she’d
dated thought the napkin should be used as a bib.

“Why did you choose graphics and

animation?”

Rochelle pulled herself from admiring him,

knowing full well he’d caught her staring. She
looked down at her plate and thought about his
question. “I loved to doodle as a child.” She
shrugged. “And throughout high school they put
me in charge of graphics for the year book and
anything else they might need. I figured it was
the only sensible way to go.”

He laughed softly. “That sounds logical.”
“Yeah. Logical. Only now because I’m do-

ing the business stuff I rarely, if ever, have time
to draw anything. What about you?”

“Well, I figured being in a boy band

wouldn’t work out for me—I am not smooth
enough. I have no rhythm and I have a tattoo.”

Rochelle arched a brow at the mention of the

tattoo. “Where?”

38/313

“That, Rochelle, you’d only find out if you

manage to get me naked.”

39/313

Chapter Two

Elbow deep in his monthly rifling through

submissions, Raiden Rei frowned. There were so
many people who thought they had what it took
to be a part of his company—so many that
thought they knew what would make the next
great Manga series or Anime series. But most of
them had no idea. The drawings, for the most
part, are usually all wrong or they weren’t mature
enough. Sometimes someone would send a
graphic novel and he wanted to meet the person,
whack them over the head with their own note-
pad and explain the difference between a graphic
novel and Manga or Anime. All the while it nev-
er seemed like the pile of submissions got any
smaller. True, he could hire someone to do it but
he had to be hands on in everything. He started
the company as a teenager, doodling in the back
of his notebooks in class and getting in trouble
for it. He wasn’t about to let some newbie come
in, contract their friend and ruin his life’s work.

He dropped another submission package in

the rejection slot and picked up the next. He
rubbed a tired hand over his eyes and wondered
when he’d actually had a good night’s sleep over
the past few months. He tried not carrying work
home but after the past month the work piled
up—he didn’t have a choice. He brought home
some edits for the latest Manga they would re-
lease in special edition and worked on it in bed.
He would end up spending the whole night going
through edits and by the time he realised it, the
sun would be shining through his window. Some-
times he took cat naps in this office but those
were never enough to replenish the body after a
missed night’s sleep.

A loud crash came from outside his office

and Raiden glanced up. The secretary had
dropped a coffee pot. Needless to say brown li-
quid spilled everywhere. She looked on the brink
of tears. Closing the sketch pad he’d been so
busy filing through, he exited his office and
stooped down before her.

41/313

“Here, let me,” he told her, helping her up

and leading her back to her seat.

“Arigatou,” she whispered feebly, staring at

her hands. “I don’t know what got over me. I just
feel so, jittery today.”

Raiden picked up the phone and stared at her

while waiting for maintenance to answer. “You
sure you didn’t drink too much coffee already?
You’re shaking.” He pointed to her hands just as
someone picked up on the other end of the line.
“Hi, could you send someone up to the thirtieth
floor? We have a broken coffee pot. Thank you.”

He hung up and Nia frowned at him. “No. I

haven’t had any coffee all morning. I didn’t want
the coffee breath.”

That got one of Raiden’s brows to shoot up-

ward. “Oh? You have a hot date?”

“It’s nothing really—” Nia looked up and

gasped, quickly looking down pretending to be
working all along. Raiden glanced around to see
their new exchange worker walking toward them.
He smirked.

42/313

“Watch out for the coffee!” Raiden called

and Jeffrey nodded and side stepped the mess.

“Oha!”Jeffrey greeted Raiden, leaning over

the counter to stare at Nia. Raiden couldn’t help
it. He hopped off the counter where he had been
sitting, muttered something about shampooing a
cat and escaped into his office.

It’s about time someone saw what a beautiful

creature Nia is.

Nia had a good soul; loyal, honest and

breath-taking when she smiled. Most of the time,
his brother, Daitaro would ask him why he didn’t
ask Nia out but Raiden couldn’t. Not because she
worked for him but because he wasn’t attracted
to her in that way. She was too petite and shy for
his liking. But the new worker seemed smit-
ten—he saw it in Jeffrey’s eyes—the way they
danced when he caught sight of Nia. Raiden
stood in his office and watched the way Nia
giggled and flushed while Jeffrey spoke to her.
She never did that—anyone tried hitting on her
before would have pulled back with a busted lip.

43/313

She may be shy and nice but she didn’t toler-

ate certain behaviours. All the guys that ever paid
her any attention wanted one thing and Nia
wasn’t into that. Raiden remembered the time
they all went to a luxury club while on a business
trip to Shanghai. Things hadn’t gone well for a
man who tried grinding against the little Japanese
woman without permission. Raiden’s anger
flared. He started walking toward the scene but
didn’t make it to them in time. By the time he got
to them, the man was on his knees clutching his
groin and Nia was in the process of kneeing him
in the throat. Raiden gripped her around the waist
and pulled her away kicking and screaming.

“I hope you asked permission, Jeffrey,” he

said to himself

Shaking his head, he closed the blinds. He

knew if he didn’t he would stand there all morn-
ing watching them. He had some work to do and
since no one agreed to go take Jeffrey’s place in
Canada, he figured he had no choice but to do it
himself. His brother could take care of things

44/313

while he was away. Flopping down into his over-
stuffed chair, he dumped a couple more submis-
sions in the rejection pile just because they hadn’t
followed submission policy and gave up trying to
find anything good. He instead pulled out the in-
formation he had on Hayes Graphics and Anima-
tions and read it over again for the millionth time.
Why they agreed to exchange with such a small
company compared to Emiko-San Ai perplexed
him. But then he figured it would be good to help
an up and coming company that he saw great po-
tential in. Feeling a bit better about his predica-
ment he picked up the phone and hit the blue
button.

“Shampoo a cat, eh?” Nia questioned.
Raiden laughed. “I didn’t know what else to

say.”

“And the first thing that came to your mind

is to shampoo a cat?”

“Cut me some slack, will you? I’m under

some pressure here. Could you get my brother on
the line for me?”

45/313

“Hai Rei-San!” she joked. “Right away, Rei-

San.”

Chuckling, Raiden hung up the phone. She

knew he hated when she called him that but he
knew it was her way of retaliating for the cat
thing. Shaking his head he turned to his computer
and began working away. He sent an email to the
person in his firm in charge of the exchange
telling her he would be going. He reached for a
bottle of water just as his phone rang.

“Oha!” he greeted.
“Hey, Rei-Chan.” His brother always

seemed too happy early in the morning. But that
was Diataro for you. “You rang?”

“Can you come over tonight? I’m going to

need some help.”

“You all right?”
“Oh yeah, I’m fine.”
“Okay,” Daitaro replied. “I have some ink-

ing I need to finish but that should be done soon
anyway. I’ll be over tonight.”

46/313

With their plans set, Raiden went back to

work, dreading a seventeen hour plane ride into
the cold, white north. He spent the day finalizing
some work and sending off for printing approved
work. He didn’t want Daitaro to have to do most
of it when he came to the house. True Daitaro did
his own private thing which is quite popular
around the world but when Raiden needed
someone to watch over things, his big brother al-
ways offered to lend a hand. Grinning, he
glanced at the clock, grabbed his things, and
rushed out to see Nia packing up for the day. He
gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Have a lovely weekend,” he told her with a

smirk. “And I will see you when I get back.”

“Did you buy a winter jacket?” Nia fussed.

“I hear it gets really cold in Canada, with the
snow and all that.”

“I haven’t bought one yet but I will first

thing when I get there,” he promised. “And don’t
worry. I will be fine.”

“Call when you land?”

47/313

Raiden promised her he would.
“And don’t talk to strangers unless they have

candy.”

He laughed and with a quick hug he rushed

out the door for the parking lot.

* * * *

Raiden parked beside his brother’s car in the

driveway and hurried into the house. He called
out but Daitaro didn’t answer. Frowning, he
wondered what in the world his brother could be
doing that he didn’t hear him call. Raiden stuck
his head into the living room to see his brother
hunched over a newspaper. He shook his head
knowing what captivated his brother’s attention.
“How many times have I told you not to read
those?” Raiden chucked his keys into the bowl on
the coffee table.

“But this one is good,” Daitaro grinned.

“They loved your new serial. I thought for sure
they would have said it is too dark. I mean how
often does a Manga get released in mostly darks

48/313

and reds? It has more of a graphic novel feel to it
than Manga.”

“Shows you how much you know.” Raiden

grinned and leaned over to hug his brother. “Did
you eat?” Raiden left the living room and made
his way into the kitchen. He opened the fridge
and peered in. There wasn’t much of anything; he
hadn’t expected company. He hadn’t bothered
grocery shopping because with his upcoming
trip, it would just be a waste.

“Nah, was hoping you’d feed me.”
“I should have stopped for take-out. Here’s

the deal—” he closed the fridge and turned to see
his brother leaning against the door frame. “You
order, I pay?”

“I like that deal.” Daitaro dug into his pocket

for his cell phone while Raiden walked by him
and down the hall. In his bedroom, Raiden
changed into a pair of Hakama pants and re-
mained shirtless. By the time he returned his
brother had one of Raiden’s old serials open be-
fore him.

49/313

“You know, I never understood why you dis-

continued this.” Daitaro pushed into a sitting pos-
ition. “It’s really good.”

Raiden rolled his eyes and flopped down be-

side his brother. He took the copy of Dragon Vir-
tues from his brother’s hand and stared at it. It
was the first Manga he released from Emiko. The
first full serial he had written ever. But after a
while it got too commercialised. Everywhere he
went he saw Taru, the main character’s face. He
didn’t like it. He didn’t want Taru to be selling
foreign cars to Japan or sports drink to young
kids. That wasn’t the reason why he created the
serial.

“Yeah. But Taru was everywhere, man. It

was getting out of hand, and I got bored produ-
cing it; that is never a good sign. I figured—get
out while the going was good, right? But the best
part is, I didn’t kill Taru to bring him back down
the road. But I could if I wanted to. It’s the mir-
acle of writing “Clever.”

50/313

“Clever has nothing to do with it, at this

point. I wanted the steam to blow over. I have
been thinking of doing a return of Taru but I
won’t allow it to get to the level it had before.
Taru is my first and I aim to keep it that way.”

“I remember my first.”
“Skulls.”
“Yeah,” Daitaro nodded. “I have no idea

where that came from—didn’t even know I had it
in me. I just started creating and that’s what came
out.”

“Aren’t those the best kind of art though?

You let the pencil take you where it wants and
there you have a piece of history.”

“Zero, you are sappy, you know that? But it

is true.”

Raiden grinned and shook his head. “Any-

way, about what I wanted—I’ll be heading to
Canada for a bit to do this exchange program
with Hayes Graphics and Animations and I need
you to watch Emiko for me.”

51/313

“You know I would,” Daitaro turned to look

pensively at Raiden. “You all right? You seem a
bit more thoughtful than usual.”

“It’s Canada, Dai. What in the world am I

going to do there? I’m pretty sure it will be snow-
ing half the time I’m there—how much fun could
that be?”

“You’d be surprise. The people are nice

there. Just make sure you buy a winter jacket.
Winters there are nothing to laugh at and frost
bite is not a pleasant thing. It may sound simple
but can lead to amputation.”

Raiden arched a brow. “Amputation of

what?”

“Fingers, toes, legs, arms—man bits.” Dait-

aro chuckled. “It could happen if you are outside
too long without proper gear.”

“I don’t know if I like where this conversa-

tion is going.” Raiden arched a brow.

Daitaro burst out laughing. That earned him

a cushion to the face but he simply continued
laughing.

52/313

“Ass,” Raiden muttered. Standing up, he

turned for his bedroom when a knock sounded at
the door. He gave his brother one last look before
grabbing some money from a bowl in the hallway
and opening the door.

“Delivery.” The man bowed. Raiden re-

turned his greeting, paid and tipped before clos-
ing the door with his foot. It seemed his brother
bought enough food to feed an army. With a
frown he walked into the dining room and placed
the contents of his arms on the Maru dining table
before sticking his head into the living room.

“You know, I said I’d pay but not for enough

food to feed Osaka.” Raiden called. “What are
we going to do with all this food?”

“Hey, I’m starving.” Daitaro breezed by him.

“That Miso smells so good.”

Shaking his head, Raiden walked back, sat

across from his brother and watched Daitaro dig
into his meal. He wondered about his brother
sometime. Perhaps Daitaro had a tape worm or
something. He could eat enough food for four

53/313

people in one sitting and still looked like a model
from a magazine. Raiden on the other hand had
to work out daily to keep in shape. Shaking his
head he figured one of them got the good genes
and lifted a piece of Chicken Tatsuta to his lips.
His mind returned to his upcoming trip and what
he would need. He definitely would need a jack-
et. He should also stop and pick up a gift for his
host.

By the time his brother left, Raiden was too

full to do much of anything. He fought to stay
awake and packed a suitcase. That took him
nearly an hour and by then he felt well enough to
do a workout in his home-made gym. When he
finally finished, took a shower and crawled into
bed, exhaustion pulsated through his body. He
didn’t remember his head touching the pillow.

* * * *

Opening his eyes, Raiden knew instantly

something changed. Lifting his head, he realised
he slept in an unfamiliar, but lovely room. Light
blue walls, a four poster bed and a love seat by

54/313

the window decorated the room. Abstract paint-
ings adorned the walls. Across the room fresh
sunflowers sat in a vase filled with water. He
didn’t remember seeing any of this the night be-
fore. The bedside clock flashed eight thirty at
him. He sat up and listened. The sound of
vehicles could be heard faintly through the closed
window and the sun poured its rays into the
room. Still, he sat there in this blissful moment of
grogginess, waiting for his restful sleep to wear
off and reality to kick in. It didn’t hit him as hard
as he thought it would because the smell of
something delicious seeped beneath the door. He
sniffed and his stomach growled in appreciation.

Is that Miso?
His mind reminded him where he was and

that shocked him even more. Miso was not
something many Americans or Canadians would
know how to make properly but from the smell,
making his mouth water, Rochelle knew exactly
what she was doing.

How did she know?

55/313

Perhaps she ordered in. That had to be the

explanation. Miso wasn’t something you just
read out of a recipe book and make it smell so
good so quickly. Had she practised in anticipa-
tion of his visit? He smirked at the thought, but
quickly shrugged it off as being presumptuous.

Dinner the night before had been delicious.

He never tasted Jamaican food before and to her
promise she came through in spades. He
wondered if everything Jamaican tasted as good.

He pushed from the bed and hurried into the

bathroom. Taking a shower and brushing his
teeth, he dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a t-
shirt with the writing warau on the front. He
dumped aftershave in one hand, rubbed his hands
together and then wiped his palms against his
cheeks and under his neck. He never did that just
for breakfast—but something inside of him
wanted to look and smell extra special. He smiled
at himself in the mirror before giving his reflec-
tion a corny gun salute. Finger raking his wet hair
back out of his face, he descended the stairs and

56/313

leaned against the door frame. He watched her
work around the kitchen and couldn’t help the
smile that teased his lips. She moved with a fa-
miliarity that oozed elegance. Every move she
made seemed like a practiced dance that she did
so many times before and had learned the intric-
acy of the routine. She located everything with
ease and sometimes reached into a drawer for
what she wanted without even looking up.

This is the way a real woman should look in

the kitchen.

She hummed softly while steam billowed

from the pots and bowls around her. The scene
reminded him of a scientist at work.

A recipe book lay open on the counter and

he arched a brow. What an intriguing woman; to
make Miso just by reading a recipe book. His
heart did a dance and he shook his head.

When she stepped away from the stove, he

spoke.

“Morning.”

57/313

True to form, she jumped a foot into the air

and swung around with a gasp.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he explained.

“That is why I waited until you were away from
anything dangerous.”

“Well, you did a great job anyway. How

long have you been standing there?”

“A while. Like I said before, I wanted to

make sure you weren’t around any pots with any-
thing hot in them when I said something.”

“Well you didn’t have to do that.” She

flushed.

“Remember what happened in the supermar-

ket yesterday? I was not about to take any
chances.” Just the thought of anything marring
her beautiful skin made him want to scream in
pain but he simply tilted his head and walked into
the kitchen to peer into a bowl. Steaming hot
Miso soup filled the bowl. “May I?” he pointed.

“Yeah, sure. I made it for you. I don’t even

know if I got it right but I’m sure you will tell
me.” She picked it up and handed him the bowl.

58/313

“I’m sure you did fine.” He smiled at her

while accepting the bowl she offered. He noticed
she offered it with two hands rather than just one
and wondered if she did know a thing or two
about Japanese or Chinese customs. The chop-
sticks he used the night before were washed and
placed neatly across the top of a bowl—the pre-
cise way they were supposed to be. He smiled
and turned his attention back to the steaming
bowl of his favourite soup. He served himself
some soup and holding it up as in a toast to her,
he bowed his head, “itadakimasu,” he said. He
placed the bowl back on the surface, picked up a
spoon and shoveled some into his mouth. The
flavor exploded against his tongue and all he
could do was close his eyes and moan.

“You did that last night too.”
“Did what?”
“The holding up the bowl thing. What does

Itada-whatever you said mean?”

He smiled at her. “Gomen-sorry,” he trans-

lated quickly. “It’s similar to bon appétit. It is

59/313

also a way of giving grace, or thanks to all who
had a part in preparing this meal.”

She arched a brow at him. “I didn’t know

you are a praying man, Raiden.”

He chuckled and climbed onto a stool to

watch her intently. “You’d be surprised the
things you would find out if you get to know me
better.”

She grinned and turned away from him to

continue what she was doing. Raiden knew she
was blushed; but why? He took that moment to
look at her body. Her smooth chocolate skin
peeked out of a beautiful, light pink top. Her
body curved sensually in all the right places. She
wasn’t as skinny or petite—in fact, she had to be
what they would call a plus size woman—but
Raiden’s mouth watered for her. She had a body
that he would do anything to get next to his.
Lowering his head he tried to get his mind out of
dangerous territory. Remembering the way her
brown eyes shined at him when he turned around
at the airport and she stood there. They were so

60/313

big and lovely; it took everything in him not to
stare. While she sat across from him at dinner the
night before, laughing, and asking him questions
about his country and company he couldn’t ima-
gine anything more peaceful. The sound of her
laughter drifted through his mind.

She nudged him with her shoulder ripping

Raiden from his memory. He turned his head to
see her sitting beside him, staring at him, with a
worried expression on her face.

“You sure you’re all right? Did I make your

food right?”

He smiled. “The Miso is delicious, Rochelle.

Thank you for doing this. I know it couldn’t have
been easy for you.”

She rolled her shoulders. “I wanted you to

feel at home, Raiden. I know being this far away
from your family and friends can’t be easy for
you. Besides, you would have done the same for
me.”

He chuckled. “I would have ordered in,” he

told her truthfully. “I wouldn’t know the first

61/313

thing about making Jamaican food. I think after
burning down my house trying, I’d finally get the
picture and have someone else do it.”

She nodded and lifted the spoon to her

mouth and Raiden remained silent, watching the
way her lips held the spoon. She didn’t slurp and
no remnants of the soup fall back to her plate. He
smiled and turned his attention to his bowl once
more.

“Are you married, Rochelle?”
“No—if I did have a husband and he didn’t

come home last night I would have been angry as
hell this morning.”

He turned to see her grinning at him. He

nodded. “Fair enough.”

Raiden wasn’t sure why he asked her that

question; it just slipped out. She gave him a
good-natured reply and that took a little bit of the
weight off his shoulders.

“What are your plans for today?” he wanted

to know. “I just assumed, since it is the weekend,
you would rather be out than babysitting me.”

62/313

“I thought, maybe, we could visit the CN

Tower.” She shrugged. “It’s a bit touristy but I
haven’t been up there in years and I figured since
you are here it’s the perfect excuse. The view
alone is worth the admission.”

“Why haven’t you been up there in years?”
“Been busy.”
“You’re afraid of heights.”
She nodded shyly and he laughed before

reaching over to trail a finger briefly over her
cheek. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Lots of
people are afraid of heights. And the CN Tower
would classify. Well, if you wish to take me out
today you at least have to buy me dinner after-
ward and no going to second base on the first
date.”

He watched her eyes widen and her lips

pressed into a thin line.

“Of all the hair brained—”
Raiden couldn’t help himself. He burst out

laughing and ducked as a piece of tofu went

63/313

flying at his head. He laughed harder and looked
up to see her smiling at him and shaking her
head.

“You know, you’re gonna give me an ulcer,”

she warned him.

That isn’t what I want to give you, Rochelle,

trust me.

He arched a brow instead of voicing his

thought. He knew if he did he would be on the
first leaky anything back to Osaka. “Alright,
we’ll go to the CN Tower today.”

Raiden finished his soup and stood from his

seat. He gathered both their bowls and rinsed
them. He walked up close behind her without
touching. The urge for him to lay his hands on
those rounded hips and pull her hard into his
chest vibrated through him. Resisting became
even harder. The closer he got to her, the more
aroused he became. A part of him knew he
needed to back off. But he couldn’t. He loved to
do things to get a rise out of her because she was
so adorable when he rendered her speechless. He

64/313

moved his face over her right shoulder and in-
haled her scent before speaking. “Don’t worry
about today, Rochelle. If you get scared, I will
hold your...hand.”

With a smirk, he exited the kitchen to change

for their day out. He didn’t know what came over
him, flirting the way he did before leaving the
kitchen. Flirting with his boss could only end in
disaster but she is so damn sexy. No man could
resist.

He hadn’t pulled back with a busted nose.

That was, a miracle indeed. He really should
learn from the things Nia has done to guys who
tried anything with her.

Glancing at his reflection in the mirror, he

dragged his fingers through his hair and swore
softly. Still a bit damp, he decided to leave it
free. He shoved the hair tie into his front pocket
while praying he didn’t catch a cold from the
weather outside. Hauling on a sweater first and
then his brand, new coat, Raiden checked to see

65/313

that he had his credit cards and some cash on
him. Though she was taking him out and she was
the host, he had no intention of making her pay
for anything. It wouldn’t feel right if he had and
then he would go home feeling guilty. Shoving a
couple of traveller’s cheques into his wallet as
well, he exited his room just as she was descend-
ing the stairs dressed in a tight pair of jeans hug-
ging her hips brilliantly. Her sweater hung baggy
from the neck down but clung tightly around her
hips. He loved it when a woman wore cloths like
this and knew they had the body to carry it off.
Rochelle did it effortlessly.

“You look lovely, Rochelle,” he admitted.

He meant every word too.

“Thank you.” She turned and looked up at

him. Something flashed through her eyes but she
looked away too quickly for him to decipher
what. With a mental shrug, he followed her on
their way into the heart of Toronto. A few flakes
began to fall and he wondered how much worse
it would get. There was no snow when he arrived

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three days after Christmas and he wondered if
he’d get a chance to experience it. Every movie
he ever watched about North America showed
snow on Christmas day. He felt a little bit
cheated when the plane lowered enough for him
to see the ground and there was none. But when
he felt the cold air slap him in the face stepping
from the warmth of the airport, he decided
against it. With this much cold who needed
snow?

The deeper they got into the city, the harder

snow tumbled from the sky. By the time they hit
the Gardiner Expressway leading toward the Sky-
dome and CN Tower everything was covered in
white flakes.. How the weather could change
from town to town surprised him greatly. It was
like his many visits to Hawaii. Sometimes he
could stand on the balcony of his hotel suite and
see the rain falling a distance away but where he
was there would be no rain. He could smell it
coming over the hills—it smelt like freshly cut
grass. The traffic slowed down something fierce.

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They went from zipping through clear streets, to
trudging through a slush covered highway.

“I thought it wouldn’t snow this year since

I’m here,” Raiden muttered staring out the win-
dow into a car beside him. The driver picked
away at his nose and Raiden laughed. No matter
how old he got, someone picking their nose in
traffic would always be hilarious.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“There’s a car beside us—the driver is pick-

ing his nose.”

“Ugh!”
Raiden laughed harder but his view was cut

when the other car switched lanes and sped off
on the other side. He chuckled softly and turned
his head to look at her. “Driving here is not
boring.”

“Speak for yourself,” Rochelle told him.

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Chapter Three

All the way into the city, Rochelle felt like

she would have a small stroke. Her fear of
heights grabbed a hold and seemed to choke her.
The last time she went she had a panic attack on
the observation deck. The elevator operator pat-
ted her on the back until he felt she wouldn’t pass
out. He then grabbed a bottle of water from a
nearby vending machine for her. After chugging
the whole bottle in one sitting, she sat on the
floor with her back against the wall hyperventil-
ating. She didn’t want that to happen again—not
in front of Raiden. Finding parking turned into
another chore. At one point she thought she
found one and as she slipped her signal on some
jerk sped up and pulled right into her spot. She’d
wanted to get out and give him a piece of her
mind, but she behaved herself with Raiden there.

Behaving—getting

increasingly

diffi-

cult—ass wipe!

It took almost one hour to find another spot

to park and even then they had a horrible walk
back to the CN Tower. The snow had melted and
turned into brown slush by foot traffic and tires.
Rochelle kept having this day-mare about a car
speeding by and showering them in the cold,
filthy liquid. She slipped a few times but Raiden
took her hand holding her up on her feet. She
blushed heatedly but felt so comfortable that
when they stepped up to the window to buy their
tickets and the ticket seller stared at them quiz-
zically she didn’t even think to pull her hand
from his.

Inside she stopped to take in a breath—to

prepare herself for the rise so high above the city
that even skyscrapers looked like ants below. If
you can see the top of a thirty-four story building
and it looked like a tiny pin’s head, there was a
problem. That meant you were too high. Human
beings are not supposed to be that high in the air.

“You’ll be fine.” Raiden rubbed her back.

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She looked into his eyes and shook her head.

“The last time I visited I had a panic attack. It
was not pretty. I had all these people staring at
me like I had just punched their babies or
something stupid like that.”

“We don’t have to do this. I mean you could

just take me somewhere and have your naughty
way with me—I wouldn’t complain.”

Rochelle eyed him and managed to laugh

when he winked at her with a smile. She knew
what he was doing—trying to take her mind off
the fact that an elevator would carry her up one
hundred and forty six storeys.

“No—” Rochelle breathed in and out deeply.

“I should do this. You are my guest and it is what
you want—not what I want. And besides, they
say the only way to overcome a phobia is to face
it.”

“That’s not always true. Facing a snake

when you’re afraid of it could get you killed. But
still, it’s not really about what I want. What if I
don’t want to go up there?”

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“Then I’d say you’re lying.” She lifted her

chin. “Come on—I can do this. I really can.”

“Gimme your hand,” Raiden whispered

close to her head. “Don’t think about it. Just
think about me.”

That’s dangerous.
The moment those words left his lips

Rochelle could see him stripping for her, flipping
his hair from his face while rising like an Adonis
out of a swimming pool. She saw herself burying
her fingers in his hair and moving his mouth to
her breasts. She could see him crawling across
the floor to her, spreading her legs and...

“You all right? Are you breathing?”
Damn it!
Rochelle nodded and when the elevator

came, she stepped in clutching his hands tightly.
Her breathing quickened when he simply pulled
her into his chest.

“Breathe,” he reminded her. “Slowly. Don’t

hyperventilate.”

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Rochelle allowed herself to be lost in his

voice trying to block out the fact that the only
thing holding her up were some wires and a piece
of metal. Raiden held her tightly against his
body. She pressed her face shamelessly into his
neck, breathing in his scent and shaking. She
didn’t know why she was putting herself through
it again. He had given her the chance to opt out
but she didn’t want to look like a fool in front of
him. She wanted to look strong and be a woman
that he could look on with admiration. But how
much admiration would he be looking at her with
as she shook like a leaf in his arms?

“It’s all right, we’re almost there,” he

whispered against her head.

She knew that to be a lie. She likened the

ride to walking the damn green-mile and seemed
longer than before. The first time she took the
ride it had been with Maylee. Finally the elevator
stopped and Raiden led her out on the Sky Deck.
He looked down into her eyes and smiled. “See?”

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he asked. “It wasn’t so bad and you did it all
without freaking out.”

“Easy for you to say.” Rochelle pouted, turn-

ing away. “You weren’t having a slight heart at-
tack every time the damn elevator shook. You do
know how high up we are, right?”

“Hey, a phobia of heights can sometimes

leave people locked in their basement apartments
for life with nothing. You are in the CN Tower,
at the highest part. Be proud of yourself. Now
let’s go look around and I promise we won’t go
on the glass floor if you don’t want to.”

Rochelle finally smiled and Raiden smirked

at her before walking toward the doors to enter
the centre of the Tower. Rochelle found herself
relaxing more and more around Raiden.

He is tender and sweet.
He took her hand, leading her around, some-

times asking her questions about the history of
the tower and how long it took to construct. To
her surprise, she remembered a lot from the last
time she visited and had watched the small

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documentary in the basement. He tried talking
her onto the glass floor but Rochelle refused. She
already tempted fate being that high up. The last
thing needed was to stand on glass she didn’t
trust. Glass broke and mistakes can be made
about the strength of it. He picked her up,
screaming and flailing and carried her onto the
glass floor.

“Don’t look down,” Rochelle told herself.
“Of course not.” He laughed.
When he said that, Rochelle couldn’t help

herself. She glanced down and screamed. People
around laughed so hard she thought they would
pop a lung.

“Zero, if you drop me!” she warned.
“Don’t you think I’m strong enough,

Rochelle?”

“That’s not the point—the point is if you

drop me I just may die and then I’d haunt you.
And trust me, I wouldn’t be the nice, moaning
ghost. Oh no! I’d be the ghost from the Ring
movie.”

75/313

Raiden laughed. “Threatening me with a

good time are you?”

She whacked him in the arm and he brought

her back to solid ground. He placed her down and
she giggled burying her face into his chest. “That
was not funny.” His arms came up about her
shoulders and caressed soothingly.

“Yes it was.”
A man walking by interrupted. “Congrats,

man.” The man eyed Rochelle knowingly and she
turned to see Raiden grinning like an idiot.

“Thanks, man,” he replied.
Rochelle eyed him sternly.
“What?” Raiden arched a brow.
“What was that all about?”
“You don’t have to be fluent in English to

understand the language of man. He saw you, and
wanted to congratulate me on catching you.”

Rochelle’s cheeks grew warm. She wanted

to tell him he did not catch her but she couldn’t
speak. She gasped and walked off with him call-
ing after her. She knew he was still laughing. She

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wasn’t angry that the man thought she was dating
Raiden. She just didn’t want him to know that.
Saying she had been impressed with the way he
picked her up without breaking a sweat would be
an understatement. Raiden Rei was strong. She
was plus size, plain and simple but Raiden
scooped her into his arms like she weighed noth-
ing. She never had a man do that. All the others
were scared she would be too heavy. For that mo-
ment, even though she could see the ground be-
low

his

feet

and

he

held

her

atop

glass—something that should shatter from that
much weight on it—she couldn’t help but feel
sexy. She felt like one of those girls in the
movies where their men picked them up and
twirled them—or carried them over the threshold.

“Would you hold on a minute?” Raiden

called after her. “I’m sorry he thought you are my
girl.”

“You didn’t even correct him!” Rochelle

tossed over her shoulders just as Raiden caught
up with her. “And for the record you didn’t catch

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me. If they are going to believe we’re…the least
you can do is tell them I did the catching.”

“Is that a bad thing? I’m not used to any of

this. I mean in Japan if a man thinks you have a
lovely

woman,

you

thank

him.

It’s

a

compliment.”

Rochelle stopped and glared at him. “You do

understand he thought we are—that we are...”

“Knocking boots?”
“Zero! What do you know about knocking

boots?”

Raiden smirked. “I am thirty-six years old,

Rochelle. When a man and woman like each oth-
er very much—”

“Stop!” She held up her hands. “I give up! I

do not want The Talk from you in the middle of a
tourist attraction.”

Raiden laughed. “What’s next?”
Rochelle didn’t know the answer to that

question. She could feel her body still radiating
from being in is arms. Inhaling deeply she said

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the first thing that came to her mind, “Let’s have
lunch at the restaurant.”

“I’m game.”
He took her hand and without even thinking

about it, she allowed him to lead her. She
watched him follow the signs to the entrance of
the restaurant. After their host introduced herself
and offered them a menu and something to drink,
Rochelle sat alone with the handsome Japanese
man across from her. She bowed her head and lif-
ted her menu to cover her eyes. She wasn’t really
reading it—she was too busy praying that she
would not leave a wet seat after getting up.

She could feel Raiden’s eyes boring through

the menu at her. When she couldn’t stand it any-
more she lowered her menu to reveal her eyes
only. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?”
“You’re staring.”
“You don’t want me to stare?”
“No.”
“All right.”

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She lifted the menu again but quickly

lowered it. He stopped looking at her. Paranoia
is the first stage to schizophrenia right?

He had a smirk on his lips and she wanted to

smack him. She didn’t have time to do it though
because their waitress showed up with their
drinks.

“Could I have a glass of XOXO?” she asked

the waitress.

The petit woman nodded and turned to look

at Raiden who returned to staring.

“Sir?”
“Um, this is fine for now.”
The waitress nodded and hurried off again.

* * * *

Raiden couldn’t help himself. When he

looked at her, he saw something he had been
looking for. He felt her happiness when he
picked her up in his arms but he could see sur-
prise in her eyes at the same time. The way she
laughed and pressed into him made him ex-
tremely aroused. He was glad he wasn’t’ wearing

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a towel for he would have tented it. When the
man complimented him on her his ego soared so
high that he could have sworn his head would
have exploded. But her reaction surprised him.
Any other woman would have been flattered but
not the ebony beauty sitting across from him.

“Would being my girlfriend be that hor-

rible?” he questioned her without warning.

“Yes! I’m your boss.”
“Not for long—”
She looked down at the table while closing

her menu and he knew a lecture would follow.
Raiden placed his menu flat against the table and
folded his arms waiting.

“Look.” Rochelle faced him. “I can’t fratern-

ize with my workers. That wouldn’t look
right—”

Raiden raised his hand and instantly their

waitress rushed over. “I’d like the bill please.”

The waitress hurried off again. “What are

you doing?” she wanted to know.

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“You can’t fraternize with the hired help,

right?” Raiden asked simply. “I am putting you
out of your misery.”

She moaned but he continued, “There are no

hard feelings, Rochelle. You’re right. I am your
employee and the sooner I remember that the
better.”

The waitress came back with their bill, and

without looking at it, he handed over his credit
card. “Raiden don’t...”

“Sir?” the waitress questioned and he nod-

ded. When she left again he stood up and left her
at the table, and followed the waitress. He accep-
ted the machine to sign, gave a tip and when it
was through he saw Rochelle standing silently at
his side. That was how they drove back home; in
silence. There he stopped to face her.

“I will have the first set of assignments fin-

ished by tonight.”

“You don’t have to do those till Monday.”
Without replying he climbed the stairs lock-

ing himself in his room and pulling out his work.

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Why’d he let himself fall for Rochelle? She is out
of his league by far. Daitaro used to always warn
him about falling for women who he had no
chance with, but he couldn’t resist Rochelle. Her
body made him pray for things he had never ima-
gined he would. He wanted to lift her legs apart
and taste her—that thought made him moan hun-
grily. He allowed himself to wonder what she
would taste like, hot and dripping over his
tongue. He bet she tasted like cinnamon and fire.

Grunting, angry at himself, he laid his mater-

ial out on the floor with half finished sketches by
Jeffrey and eyed them thoughtfully. Allowing the
characters to speak to him, Raiden stood over
them, walking around the boards without touch-
ing them. He listened, eyed them and when he fi-
nally felt motivated, he went down against the
floor and began his work. He outlined them all
with pencils before applying his inks. He worked
well into the darkness when the moon shone
through the window. He worked through hunger
and bathroom breaks. Raiden only stopped to flip

83/313

the lights on and that was almost on automation.
When he finally stood up, he had the first set of
images on the new ideas Jeffery gave him to
complete for Hayes. Holding the boards up,
Raiden went over every detail carefully. Daitaro
had often called Raiden a perfectionist when it
came to his creations. That was true and he
wouldn’t deny it. He knew they could never be
perfect but they had to be damn close.

He wondered what was happening back at

Emiko. He wanted to be seated in his office at
that moment, away from Rochelle and the arousal
throbbing between his legs. He wanted to be safe
in his own house where he didn’t have to worry
about saying something that would offend any-
one. But he wasn’t anywhere near his house—out
of his country. He moaned still glaring at the pic-
tures before him. They would be used in a new,
special edition, Manga serial that Hayes created.
Therefore he drew everything to Jeffery’s spe-
cifications with a little bit of his flair—of course.

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By the end of the exchange, he would have to
have the whole series drawn and ready to go.

Placing them down, he walked into the bath-

room and stripped from the day’s clothing. He
searched the pockets of his pants carefully before
folding them neatly in a pile on the ground. Step-
ping into the shower was almost torture. He
turned on only the cold water and when it hit him
in the chest he could have sworn his heart
stopped for a few seconds. He gasped sucking in
air but when he looked down his cock still
danced up at him—almost mocking him. He
frowned and rubbed a hand over the tender,
throbbing head and moaned. He wondered if it
would be bad to touch himself while fantasizing
about his boss. Nothing would give him greater
pleasure than to have her ease his pains—with
her hands, her mouth, her pussy. He wanted her
to sit across from him, naked with her legs wide.
He wanted to watch the liquid dripped from her
while he stroked himself. Feeling like he was do-
ing a horrible thing, he released his arousal,

85/313

finished his shower quickly and stepped from the
tub. He slipped into a new pair of pants and top
before carrying the boards down the stairs. He
found Rochelle in the living room and without
speaking, he laid the boards out on the coffee
table before her and walked from the room. He
stopped in the kitchen as his cell phone rang.

“Rei.” He answered it while digging through

his wallet.

“Hey brother,” Daitaro greeted him. “How

was your first day? And just so you know Nia
isn’t happy that you haven’t called.”

Raiden rubbed his eyes. “Tell her I’m sorry

and that I forgot. I got here and things weren’t
going as I planned.”

“Anything you need?”
Raiden smiled and shook his head though he

knew his brother couldn’t see him. “Nah. I’ll be
fine.” He walked from the house without his
jacket to finish his conversation. It was freezing
outside. When he hung up he rushed back inside,
checking each finger and toes just to ensure they

86/313

wouldn’t need amputation. Rolling his eyes at be-
lieving his brother’s taunts, he turned for the
stairs again when Rochelle’s voice stopped him.

“Is this how it’s going to be between us

now?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.

You asked for me to act professional—that is
what I’m doing.”

“No you’re not. You’re fusing me out.”
“And just why would I do that?”
“Because I rejected you.”
Raiden laughed and shook his head before

continuing up the stairs until she grabbed his
arm. He swung to face her. “Is that what you
think I was doing? You think I was hitting on you
so you believe you rejected me?” He stopped
waiting for her to say something—anything but
she simply blinked at him and that irritated him.
He continued, “If I was hitting on you, Rochelle,
believe me you would know it. I was simply be-
ing me. But it appears that’s the wrong thing to

87/313

do. I am giving you what you want so please do
not go back on that now. Just let me be.”

With that said he left her standing on the first

step and closed himself in his room.

Rochelle stomped her foot in frustration. She

was simply trying to be a good boss; she didn’t
do anything any other person wouldn’t have done
in that situation.. She was protecting herself from
what would happen if she allowed herself to fall
for this man and then he left. It would destroy
her. It had been so long since she felt anything
for anyone and she had avoided getting her heart
trampled on. Her last boyfriend tried playing the
hide the fat girlfriend game with her and after she
punched him in the nose and kneed him in the
crotch, she went home, ate a tub of chocolate ice-
cream and sobbed all night. She didn’t want that
again. She didn’t want another man to laugh in
her face because she wanted him to get down on
his knees and eat her until she literally couldn’t

88/313

breathe. She would die if she got that from
Raiden.

“It is for the best.”
But long after she climbed down the steps to

look over his work, she still didn’t believe her
own words. When she could focus on his work
she realised they had been right. Raiden Rei
knew what he was doing when it came to draw-
ing. His lines were immaculate, his colour
choices—amazing. The pictures were so alive
she thought the warrior would jump out at her.
She sighed in frustration and placed the boards
away from her. Resting her head back against the
sofa, she closed her eyes. Her body was ex-
tremely tired and she drifted off to sleep. She felt
her body moving and wrote it off to a beautiful
dream. Her eyes opened and Raiden filled her
vision; his long, beautiful hair floating down over
his eyes as he bent forward to lift her. He had
done so in the CN Tower and Rochelle should
have enjoyed that while it lasted for she knew it

89/313

wouldn’t happen again. In her dream she could
control it.

She could have him do anything she wanted

but for the moment she would simply enjoy being
mesmerized by the way his brown eyes glowed
when he stared at her. The way he looked down
at her while carrying her as though he loved her
truly, madly. That was what she craved in real
life. Rochelle was numb to everything else
around her—the only thing that mattered was be-
ing carried in his arms. She moaned and shifted
slightly wrapping her arms around her dream lov-
er’s neck before snuggling into his chest. Her
back rested against something soft and her shoes
were removed from her feet. Suddenly, the sheets
were up to her neck and she opened her eyes to
look up into Raiden’s eyes. He had carried her to
bed.

“Zero...”The beautiful feeling in the moment

drew the pet name from her body as though she
was so accustomed to saying it. At that moment
she wanted to ask her dream lover to come to

90/313

bed. She wanted to reach out and pull him down
to her, wrapping her arms around his neck and
tasting from her lips. But he simply smoothed her
braids from her face and touched her cheek
gently.

“Shh...” he whispered with a small smile.

“You’re tired. We can talk in the morning.”

“Promise?” she questioned, her eyes heavy

with sleep.

“Yakusoku, osanago,” he replied, still staring

into her eyes. “Go to sleep.”

Though Rochelle didn’t understand what he

said, she felt suddenly at ease.

She yawned softly before drifting off to

sleep.

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Chapter Four

The next morning, bright and early as well as

rested, Rochelle got up and walked into the bath-
room. She showered, dressed and descended the
stairs to find the kitchen and living room empty
except for the second set of drawings that weren’t
due until the second week of Raiden’s exchange.
Her heart sank; she knew Raiden hadn’t slept the
night before. He couldn’t have. Putting the
boards down, she hurried into the kitchen and
while making breakfast she tried remembering
what happened the night before. She fell asleep
on the sofa and Raiden tucked her into bed. She
flushed at the thought. It had been many years
since anyone tucked her into bed, but she liked it;
especially with a handsome man like Raiden do-
ing the tucking. Smiling to herself she shook her
head and checked the Okayu—Japanese rice por-
ridge—before dumping a little cinnamon in it.

“Good morning,” Raiden greeted from be-

hind her and she spun around almost knocking
the pot from the stove. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine—those words you said to me last

night?” Rochelle asked. “What did they mean?”

“I thought you were sleeping,” he said

simply and turned to leave the room.

“Zero wait—look, I’m sorry if I offended

you yesterday at the restaurant. That wasn’t what
I meant to do. I just didn’t want us to be too fa-
miliar with each other in the office.”

“And you believe I wouldn’t know when it is

appropriate and when isn’t?” He glanced at her
over his shoulder.

“I’m sorry.”
“Those words last night—you asked me to

promise that we would talk in the morning. I
simply promised you.”

“Then keep your promise.”
“When I made that promise, I had no inten-

tions of breaking my word,” Raiden replied. “I

93/313

will speak when you are not ready to stop offend-
ing me.”

“I said I was sorry about that.” Rochelle

turned the stove off and walked to him. Taking
his hand she led him into the summer room and
sat down in one of the plush sofas before pulling
him to sit beside her. Turning, she curled a leg
beneath her bum and leaned in to face him. “The
truth?”

“Always.”
Rochelle breathed. How much would she tell

him? How much would she confess to this beau-
tiful man she barely knew? She couldn’t tell him
everything—that is her final decision.

“I’m attracted to you,” she spoke finally.

“It’s probably no secret to you by now. And I
know you’re leaving so I don’t want to start any-
thing with you and have it tossed in my face. If
you’ve noticed I don’t look anything like your
typical Japanese girls. I’m sure of that. And I
don’t want you to have to say something you
don’t want or something you will later regret. I

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just want us to keep this professional and when
you leave no hard feelings, no guilt.”

“Is that what you really want, Rochelle?”
Rochelle swallowed. Of course it wasn’t

what she really wanted. She wanted him to take
her every which way possible then make some up
afterward. She wanted to run her fingers through
his hair right before dragging her nails down his
back. But she wasn’t a woman he could
want—ever.

“Yes.”
“Very well, Rochelle. As you wish.”
“Are we cool?”
“Yes. We—are cool.”
Rochelle stared at him, making sure he

wasn’t angry but she could never tell. His brown
eyes gave nothing away and that made her para-
noid. But the way he smiled at her caused her to
nod before standing and walking away. That was
all she could do then.

While she worked on breakfast she began

wondering where she picked up this self esteem

95/313

problem. In high school she had self esteem to
spare and as an adult her self esteem had fallen
below ground level. In high school she dated
some gorgeous boys—most of them as-
sholes—but they were sexy as hell. Now, if a
cute man looked at her she wondered why. She
would wonder if he thought she was fat. It was
there, in the back of her mind, annoying, nagging
her and after a while she simple pulled within
herself. She locked all the thoughts into the back
of her mind and simply focused on growing her
business. With the business where she wanted it
and doing exactly how she wished, Rochelle had
nothing to really preoccupy herself and the
thoughts of loneliness came back. She wondered
what she could do in order to keep her brain busy
so as not to think about it for she did not want to
go back to that time where she would cry herself
to sleep at nights. Venturing into that territory
where every love song she heard broke her heart
or every sexy song she heard left her feeling

96/313

unsexy and unwanted was completely out of the
question.

That was an utterly dark and horrifying place

to be and she did not wish anyone to it—even her
worse enemy. The jangle of her phone drew her
from her thoughts and without thinking she
grabbed it.

“Hello?”
“Hey, Chelle! How are you?” Maylee asked.
Rochelle smiled sadly. “Do you want the an-

swer alphabetically, chronologically or in order
of severity?”

“That bad huh?”
“You have no idea.”
“Did you get your guest? I meant to call you

before but things were on warp speed at the store.
I took the day off and let Andrew open and Max
close because I could not face that place today.”

“It’s okay. And yes, he is here, hold on—”

she pressed her hand over the phone and tilted
her head. “Raiden! Breakfast!” she called. She
waited until he walked into the kitchen before

97/313

hooking the phone between her head and
shoulder to serve him. Once he was eating she
turned her attention back to the phone. “Hello?”
she called, walking into the living room.

“So? Is he hot?”
“May!” she called with a giggle. Then in a

whisper she added. “He is sexy as hell. Girl, you
should see this man.” She purred and Maylee
giggled. “But he is my employee and he’s leav-
ing soon. We can’t start anything.”

“Uh-huh. You sure that’s not your wall

talking?”

“It’s not my wall talking and I don’t have a

wall—look we both know when this whole thing
is over he’s going back to Japan to his little wo-
men—you know those? The women with the
shiny, long, black hair and petit little bodies and
the shy eyes. Girl, please, I am nothing like them
and I don’t think I can ever be anything like them
if I tried from now till Armageddon.”

98/313

“What if he doesn’t want you to be like

them? If he shows interest don’t be all shy and
shit and don’t sabotage it.”

“Oh boy—”
“Rochelle, you didn’t!—what did you do and

how bad is the damage?”

“I told him we can’t because of work and

that we had to keep it professional.”

Rochelle could picture her best friend

smashing her head into her desk as she muttered,
“Why—why—why? Never mind that. I don’t
know what else to say to you.”

The conversation ended with Maylee prom-

ising to visit that evening around dinner time.
Rochelle promised to wait for Maylee to show up
before setting the table. Rochelle hung up the
phone and pushed her back into the plush seat.
She inhaled deeply and held it hoping to feel any-
thing but how she felt. Her mind kept taunting
her, calling her a fool and she believed it. There
were no other words for what she had done and

99/313

what she felt. Moaning, she pressed her face into
her hands and grunted.

* * * *

Raiden sat over his breakfast staring down at

it. He normally loved Okayu but he couldn’t
make himself eat anything. He felt like his food
and his stomach were warring and if he ate any-
thing it would all make a second appearance. The
last thing he needed was to throw up in his host-
ess’s kitchen. Pushing the plate away he stood
from the stool, grabbed his jacket from behind
the door and let himself outside. He stepped
down from the front steps and instantly had snow
up to his knees. Frowning, he lifted his foot and
kicked trying to get the snow off the top of his
shoe and pant leg. Making a path with his feet, he
walked down to the driveway and took to the
street. He figured if he just walked in a straight
line he should remember his way back home.

His mind drifted to the one-sided conversa-

tion he had with Rochelle that morning. She re-
jected him and he couldn’t blame her. He

100/313

couldn’t be anything like the men she was used
to but he felt so drawn to her ever since they met.
He wanted to feel her large breasts pressed into
his chest again and her lip against his. When he
carried her to bed that night and she reached for
him, he had been tempted to allow her to pull his
body to hers. He then wanted to strip her slowly,
and lick every bit of skin she had. But with his
honour he couldn’t—she wasn’t in her right
mind. It was confirmed the next morning with
their conversation. She would have definitely re-
gretted if they made love.

Making a left turn, which was not in his

plans, he continued down the street with his
hands stuffed deeply in his pocket for warmth.
He shuddered after a while but couldn’t stop
moving. His mind would not cooperate with the
rest of his body and soon found himself standing
before a grocery store. He’d picked up a cartful
of groceries before realising he wasn’t driving.
He couldn’t walk back with all the things he
purchased.

101/313

“Excuse me,” he greeted the cashier at the

information desk. “Could you call me a taxi?”

“Sure—what’s your name?”
“Zero.”
She grinned at him and nodded before reach-

ing for her phone. After hanging up, she faced
him once more. “Alright, Mr. Zero, your taxi is
on its way.”

“Thank you.”
When she nodded, he pushed the cart out of

the store and waited outside. By the time he
loaded the groceries into the taxi and was on his
way back to Rochelle’s, he was frozen. When he
got there, Rochelle darted from the house without
her jacket, obviously in a panic.

“You didn’t tell me where you were going!”

she called, taking a bag from him and chucking it
behind her to the snow. “Forget the bag. Are you
all right?”

“I’m a grown man, Rochelle.” He frowned

handing her another bag before picking up a box
from the trunk of the taxi. When the car left he

102/313

walked ahead of her into the house and placed
the box down on the counter. “I bought some
groceries.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Rochelle said

softly.

“I know. But if I’m going to be here until the

end of my placement the least I could do is share
the financial responsibilities. I am supposed to
learn from you not eat everything you have. Now
I should go back and finish the rest of the boards
I started this morning.”

“But you already did two week’s worth.” He

heard shock in her voice but Raiden shrugged.
He couldn’t seem to keep his mind out of the gut-
ter around her and being away from her at least
he wouldn’t have to see the way her large breasts
rose and fell when she moved. Away from her he
didn’t have to see the way she licked her lips
when she’s speechless or the way her eyes shined
when she got nervous.

“I’ll be in my room.”

103/313

Smiling at her, he exited the room taking the

stairs two at a time. He walked into the bath-
room, slammed the door and locked it behind
him before sitting on the toilet seat and freeing
his throbbing cock from his pants. It sprung forth
dragging a satisfied moan from Raiden’s lips. His
head fell backward while his dick throbbed.
Looking down at it, it danced up and down be-
fore his eyes, begging for attention. He couldn’t
hold out anymore. He wrapped his fists over it
and began stroking. Squeezing and pulling while
thoughts of Rochelle flooded his mind.

“Is this what you want, Raiden?” she asked,

licking her finger before pulling a large chocol-
ate breast from her clothes. She twirled the wet
finger around the nipple and to his sweet torture,
the nipple rose without being touched. He wanted
to pull it into his mouth. When he tried she
shoved him into a sitting position. “No
touching—”

Situations like the one he was in could make

a grown man cry—having that beautiful orb

104/313

before him and not able to touch or lick. Raiden
stuck his tongue out, showing her what he
wanted.

“Want me to sit on that, Raiden?” she ques-

tioned sexily. “Want my juices flowing over your
sexy, pink tongue.”

He nodded. Raiden ached for that and so

much more—he was starving to feel her and use
her like his very own fuck toy. He wanted her to
do him rough and for a brief moment that scared
him. His heart hammering inside his chest and
his hard cock in his hand took his mind off fright
and he growled reaching for her again. She
simply swatted his hand away and continued her
strip tease for him.

She stripped slowly before him, her rounded

hips swaying gently from side to side. One by one
the buttons on her clothes came undone and soon
her shirt lay behind her on the floor. She re-
moved her skirt and panties next and when she
stood fully naked before him, Raiden fought to
remember that he had to stay away from her. She

105/313

still gyrated before him, her breasts dancing
slightly. Then she turned her back, bent her body
over the railing hiking her round, grab-able ass
in the air. She danced it before his eyes, dipping
low to the ground before rolling her body up in a
sexy, belly dancer’s roll. She glanced at him over
her shoulders, licking her lips and sticking a fin-
ger in her mouth. She danced her tongue over it
then sucked it deep. Raiden’s body jerked. He
could only imagine his cock being that finger lov-
ing the feeling deep in the back of her throat.

“Come to me, Rochelle,” he cooed at her. “I

can make you speechless, breathless—let me
make you forget.”

“My name, Raiden? Can you hurt me so

good that I don’t remember my own name?”

“How hard do you like it?”
“I like to be hammered...don’t think you can

handle that.”

Rochelle turned around and sat down. She

spread her legs and with that shy look in her
eyes, she used one hand to pinch her nipples

106/313

while the other spread the lips to her pussy. It
looked hot, wet, pink and so beautiful. Raiden
licked his lips.

“Stick a finger in,” he told her. “Do it

slowly.”

She did as he commanded but withdrew to

sink two digits into herself. Her body arched up,
her hips flying forward and she began moaning.
Raiden watched the passion that passed over her
face; the absolute bliss as her fingers slammed in
and out of her. The way her long hair fell over
her face and back. Her body jerked forward,
“Raiden...” his name escaped her beautiful lips
just as she bucked wildly. He knew she was com-
ing and he was almost there as well. When she
looked at him with that, “I’ve been a bad girl,”
expression and lifted the come covered fingers to
her mouth, Raiden’s whole body shattered
around him.

“Oh damn!” Raiden groaned just as his or-

gasm tore through his body. It left him breathless
and beautifully paralyzed for a few seconds

107/313

before he convulsed sweetly against the toilet
seat. He gasped when his breath returned, his
head jerking from side to side, front and back-
ward. He brushed his fingers over the head of his
cock and instantly his body jerked as fresh spurts
of cum erupted from him. Raiden could have
sworn he went blind for a few seconds when the
secondary climax ripped through him. Everything
went dark though his eyes were wide open, but
he didn’t care—the sensations were so intense
and wonderful. He whispered the name of the
temptress that led him down the street of self
gratification while his body asked to have her
close, to cuddle and taste her until she couldn’t
remember her own name.

His hands fell away from his body while his

greedy dick sought more.

“I have—no more—” he whispered weakly.
He sat there for a while, with the evidence of

what he just did all over the floor before him, his
hand and his pants. He wanted to scream but he
didn’t want her to come running. When he felt he

108/313

could stand up without falling over, he put away
his needy arousal and went to work cleaning up
the mess. Once finished, he staggered from the
bathroom and fell face first to his bed.

* * * *

Rochelle watched him leave and though it

broke her heart, she respected his wishes and
spent the day making a big dinner for him and
Maylee. She buried the rest of her day writing
scripts. She had to erase a whole scene because
she kept writing Raiden instead of the name of
the actual character. After a while she gave up
trying to do anything that made sense and simply
sat there staring at the ceiling until Maylee
walked into the house and removed her shoes.
Rochelle stood there leaning against the
doorframe and Maylee hugged her.

“Oh baby girl.” Maylee caressed her back.

“Don’t worry. Mama’s here.”

Rochelle laughed and stepped back. “Help

me set the table.”

109/313

The two friends worked side by side while

having a careful conversation about Raiden and
what transpired so far. They were careful not to
say his name just in case he overheard them talk-
ing. They managed to set the table and carried the
food in without any sign of Raiden. Rochelle
sucked in enough courage to go up the stairs and
call him down.

“Raiden, meet my friend Maylee.” She intro-

duced them once he finally appeared. “Maylee,
Raiden Rei.”

She watched them both bow while mutter-

ing, “Ogenki desu,” to each other. With the intro-
ductions out of the way they sat down to dinner.

“What do you do, Maylee?” Raiden asked.
“I own a bookstore.” Maylee smiled and

Rochelle fought not to roll her eyes. “I’ve also
been trying to write a book too but it’s not work-
ing out well.”

“Oh?” Raiden arched a brow. “Donna suji

desu ka?”

“Ren-ai mono.”

110/313

Raiden laughed. “Sexy.” He nodded. “So da

to omoimasen.”

Rochelle felt suddenly out of place. She

pushed her food around on her plate, trying des-
perately to sit there and allow them to talk as
though the two of them were alone. They talked
in their own language and as usual, she was the
third wheel. Maylee got the guy and she was left
there like an idiot. When they went to clubs,
Maylee got all the numbers. The guys looked at
Rochelle like the fat chick the skinny chick took
pity on. She felt like crying but she sat there, pre-
tending to eat and not paying attention. When she
heard Raiden say sexy she felt sick to her stom-
ach. She hauled in a shaky breath and pushed a
piece of beef into her mouth.

“Naruhodo.” Maylee said while Rochelle

managed to calm down some.

Still their conversation continued and after a

while Rochelle couldn’t take it anymore. She
shot from her seat, flustered and dropped her fork
to her plate.

111/313

“I-I have to go.” She explained and rushed

from the room with them calling after her. She
shoved her feet into her shoes, grabbed her jacket
and car keys and hurried out the door. She
slammed the car door after her, started the igni-
tion before reversing from the driveway and
speeding off down the street. If Maylee wanted
him, she could have him.

She sped into Toronto and parked at a movie

theatre. Buying a ticket and popcorn, she didn’t
even want, she walked into the movie room and
sat down. Rochelle didn’t watch the stupid
movie. She simply sat there in the dark with the
popcorn on the seat beside her sobbing softly.

What’s wrong with me?
She cried through the whole movie and when

the credits began scrolling upward two hours
later, she dried her eyes just before the lights
came on. She waited until everyone left before
standing, leaving her popcorn where she placed it
and exited the building. For another couple of
hours she sat in the parking lot—not wanting to

112/313

go home. Her cell phone vibrated on the passen-
ger seat and she peered at the screen.

Maylee calling.
She quickly hit reject to stop its movement.

It started vibrating again and this time from an
unknown number. She knew it was either Maylee
or Raiden. Rejecting those calls too she turned
the phone off and drove to the local “make out”
point. She sat in her car alone for a bit, before
grabbing a blanket from the trunk and curling up
into the uncomfortable back seat. Her mind
screamed at her to check into a hotel but she
didn’t want to move.

* * * *

When she left the table and bolted out the

door, Raiden didn’t understand the problem. And
if Maylee saw it she said nothing. She only
pressed her face into her hands and sobbed softly.

“What’s wrong?” Raiden moved to her side.

When he touched her back the petit Japanese wo-
man jerked away from him and he backed off.
“What is wrong with you two?”

113/313

“Don’t you see it?” Maylee demanded. “I

could, quite possibly, have just lost my best
friend.”

It dawned on him then. Rochelle was jeal-

ous. But why would she be jealous? She said she
wanted nothing to do with him sexually—she
wanted a professional relationship. He rubbed his
temples as his head began throbbing.

“I don’t understand women at all!”
He searched out his cell phone where he

plugged it in and began calling Rochelle’s num-
ber wanting to see where she went so he could go
get her or send Maylee for her but she never
answered her phone. After about two hours of
trying he stopped for a few minutes and then
tried again. During that time he heard Maylee
leaving her a message so he only assumed
Maylee’s luck hadn’t been great either.

“Where could she be?” Maylee sobbed

helplessly.

Maylee fell asleep on the sofa and Raiden

continued pacing the kitchen and calling

114/313

Rochelle. He felt extremely tired but he couldn’t
get himself to go to bed. He checked on Maylee
and pulled the blanket over her. From time to
time she would kick it off, tossing and turning.
He could see from her face that she wasn’t hav-
ing a very pleasant dream; probably a nightmare
about Rochelle. Another reason he knew even if
he did manage to fall asleep he wouldn’t stay that
way for long. He couldn’t understand why she
hadn’t called. He tried to come to terms with the
fact that she was that angry at them. All he was
doing was paying attention to Maylee and
Rochelle had stormed off. Those were the kinds
of behaviour that reminded him sometimes why
he was single.

When morning came and she did not make it

home, he didn’t know what to say to Maylee
when she woke up and didn’t see Rochelle. A
part of him wanted to wake Maylee but she’d fi-
nally settled down and he didn’t want to disturb
that. The next time he looked at the time on his
cell phone, he was dialling the police. He stopped

115/313

suddenly wondering what he would tell them.
They were going to want to know who he was.
Would he lie that he was her boyfriend? It was a
work morning, what if they told him to wait until
the end of the day before reporting her? Perhaps
she went to the office. He called the office but
the woman who answered said she wasn’t there
and she wasn’t sure if Rochelle would even be in
that day. He was redialling the police again when
the door opened. He leaned against the wall
watching her. Maylee must have heard it too for
she rushed out to stand beside Raiden.

“Where have you been?” Maylee demanded

angrily. “You just storm off like someone was
chasing you and disappear all night without a
phone call. What the hell is your problem? We
didn’t know if you were dead or alive!”

“What do you care?” Rochelle fired shoving

by them.

Raiden arched a brow and followed Maylee.

He leaned against the counter between her and
Rochelle. He folded his arms over his chest.

116/313

“We were worried. You didn’t come home

last night,” Raiden explained. “You could have
called and let us you know were all right. Instead
of having us freaking out, all you had to do was
call. I was just about to call the cops.”

“So you realised I left?” Rochelle asked.

“There’s a surprise, and you’re not my father, I
don’t have to tell you shit. Now leave me alone.”

“Don’t be fucking trite!” Maylee warned. “I

am tired and my muscles hurt from sleeping on
that damn sofa all night so please don’t irritate
me anymore. All we’re saying is you could have
got in touch with us—it doesn’t take much to
pick up a damn phone.”

“Well, now you know I’m all right—so now

you can get the fuck out.”

“You know, sometime I don’t even know

why I bother with you,” Maylee snapped, gather-
ing her keys and her purse. “Sometime it’s like
banging my head into a brick wall. You’re so
damn hard-headed that nothing anyone says will
ever get through to you.”

117/313

Raiden didn’t have to be a mind reader to

know none of this could end well. He eyed both
women trying to wrap it all around his head.

“I don’t have to put up with this bull. It was

nice meeting you, Raiden. As for you, Rochelle,
you are one miserable bitch and you deserve to
be alone!” Maylee ended and turned for the door.

A loud shriek shattered the silence following

Maylee’s last words and a sound of wood against
granite as Rochelle was breezing by Raiden with
a knife. He didn’t know where she got the knife
but he did know she couldn’t get by him with it.
He grabbed her arm with the knife, squeezing her
wrist until her fingers opened on their own and
the knife clattered to the ground.

“Shuushi!” Raiden thundered. “Stop!”
“Let me go!” she ordered. He could see fire

in her eyes. She tried kicking him but he spread
her legs causing her feet to fly before landing
back against the ground.

“Don’t even think about it,” Raiden snapped.

118/313

“That’s right, Raiden, let her go!” Maylee

pushed. “What’re you going to do? Cut me? I’d
just like to see you try because I would make you
live to regret it!”

“Keep pushing me!” Rochelle screamed

back. “You know I don’t play these games!”

“Shuushi! Stop it!” Raiden called. “Both of

you, just stop it!”

He looked over at Maylee. “You. Leave.

Now!”

“Demo...”
“No buts, Maylee—just go.” Raiden’s voice

held a warning. “And you, stop acting like a
fucking teenager!”

Without a word, Maylee exited slamming the

door so hard Raiden literally flinched. He still
held on to Rochelle’s wrist. She took a swing at
him and he ducked, grabbing her other wrist and
turning her around so her back pushed against his
chest trapping her in his arms. He looked over
her shoulder to speak to her. “Stop struggling,

119/313

Rochelle, because all you’re doing is turning me
on and infuriating me.”

“Get off me! I’m not going to warn you

again.”

“Or what? You’ll fire me? I have news for

you, Rochelle. You can’t fire me because I don’t
work for you—I’m just visiting, remember?
Look, you’re acting like a spoiled little child.
You said you weren’t interested in a sexual rela-
tionship with me so you have no right to be jeal-
ous if I’m showing another woman some interest.
I was merely being a pleasant guest.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,”

she lied, shoving backward into him trying to get
free. “Let me go.”

“No. Not until you understand. You started

this, Rochelle, I’m only ending it.”

“I didn’t start shit. We are not in grade

school, Raiden.”

Trapping both her fists in one large hand,

Raiden lowered his free hand, down her stomach,
stopping at her abdomen and pushed. That sent

120/313

her ass into his groin, crushing his hard cock.
“See what you did? This didn’t happen last
night—”

“So you had performance issues with my ex-

best friend, what does that have to do with
me?”She breathed hard, jerking her chest up and
down against his arm.

He used the free hand to push her braids

from her face. Raiden smiled. “Trust me,
Rochelle. If I wanted your best friend, I wouldn’t
have had performance issues. If I wanted her bent
over this counter, you would come back to a
whole heap of broken plates because I would
have made it worth her while and there would be
nothing in hell you could have done about it. But,
who I want is you and you don’t seem to see that.
I want to make you scream for things you don’t
even understand.”

“You wouldn’t know what to do with a wo-

man like me, Raiden, so stop frontin’. And for
the record, I don’t scream for anyone.”

121/313

“That’s because you’ve never had anyone

like me.”

“And I aim to keep it that way.”
“Really... You know what I find funny? You

say I wouldn’t know what to do with you, but I
hope you know you have to give me a chance to
prove you wrong. You may have never screamed
for anyone but I think that is because they wer-
en’t doing it right. They don’t know how to
handle a woman like you.”

“And if I do give you this chance—then

what?”

“Well if you agree to give me this opportun-

ity and I prove you wrong, you have to give me a
chance to take you to dinner again.”

“That’s it? That’s all you want if you win?”
Raiden smiled against the side of her face,

licking it. “That’s it. No penetration, simply
pleasure.”

“And if I win?”

122/313

Raiden laughed softly. “I highly doubt it. But

if you win, Rochelle, you get anything you
want.”

“Anything? All right—let’s see what you

got.”

“I’m going to release your arms. If you take

a swing at me again, I won’t be as nice.”

Slowly, he released her arms but trailed the

palm up her front, over her breasts and caught her
throat gently. He splayed his fingers over the soft
flesh adding just a bit of pressure. She moaned
and he smirked. His free hand moved down her
front, undoing her buttons to free her breasts.
When the first one popped forth, he pinched the
nipple and she gasped. With the same hand he
pushed downward and slid his hand between her
legs. When a finger made its way into her
panties, he pushed it past her pussy lips. She
drained over his finger and dripped into his palm.

“You nasty girl,” Raiden teased. “I was

roughing you up and instead of getting angry you
were leaking like a fountain.”

123/313

“Stop—”
“Stop touching you? Say the words,

Rochelle, and it’s over.”

“Stop talking like that.”
“Like what? Calling you a dirty little girl?

But you like it rough—do you like it from behind
or are you more of an eye contact girl?” When he
asked that he felt her drip against his fingers and
smiled. “You love it don’t you? I am behind you,
dominating you and you are gushing into my
hand.”

He sank two fingers into her and they went

in without any resistance. She was so wet when
he withdrew them, the sucking sound that came
caused Raiden to moan. “Oh tight pussy. Want
me to fuck it for you?”

“You said—” she panted against his chest.

He tightened his fingers around her neck. “Oh
yes...No penetration.”

“There are more than one way to fuck a wo-

man, Rochelle.”

124/313

He quickly began driving the fingers in and

out of her.

She gasped. “Rai...”

Rochelle

couldn’t

believe

what

was

happening.

Why is it that all the silent types know ex-

actly how to make a girl purr?

He dominated her, whispered dirty things to

her, calling her names and she wanted it. She
loved every syllable. The smoky hinge his voice
took on as he demanded from her, called her a
dirty girl and asked if she wanted to be fucked
was so hot. Her mouth opened to scream when
his fingers invaded her but no sound came. Her
head fell backward against his shoulders. His fin-
gers tightened against her throat. She licked her
lips and moaned his name. Since when did she
want her man to choke her? His hand moved
faster and faster and soon she screamed and
slipped to the ground. He caught her around the
waist with one hand and continued his assault.

125/313

Who knew that Raiden Rei knew how to do any-
thing so well—he used her like a well-tuned pen-
cil and she wanted every stroke.

“Oh God, Raiden!” she shouted in utter bliss.

“Harder! Harder! Harder! Oh damn!”

He did as she wanted and soon she bent over

at the waist with him behind her. Her hips
slammed forward and backward not because she
wanted them to but because he made them do
what he wanted when he wanted. Her knees
could no longer hold her up. His strong arms
wrapped around her keeping her off the ground.
“Oh damn! Oh shit!”

Her breath caught in her throat as she gushed

over his fingers. Her knees locked together and
her body lifted suddenly, frozen in time with her
eyes wide open and a gut wrenching shout of
pleasure escaped her. She latched on behind his
neck while she rode the waves and his fingers.
He turned her into a convulsing, smiling mess by
the time he carried her into the living room and
lay her gently on the sofa. He kneeled down

126/313

beside her, licking his fingers and smiling down
at her. She was still tender and jerking periodic-
ally as he leaned in and whispered, “When you
wake up, okanbō, call your friend. You are what I
want. And next time, Rochelle, I aim to drink
from the source. I won’t stop until I’m thor-
oughly satisfied.”

Her body reacted instantly to those words

and Rochelle moaned before drifting off to sleep.

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Chapter Five

Rochelle finally opened her eyes late in the

evening. She could feel the after effects of what
Raiden did to her and, Lord help her, she wanted
more. Could she pretend it never happened after
something like that? She didn’t want to for-
get—she wanted more. She wanted to know what
it would be like to have him staring at her while
sliding his cock between her legs. That thought
made her moan. She pressed a hand beneath the
blanket to her swollen lips and whimpered. Her
finger brushed her clit. The seat of her panties
felt soaked from their little game of dare and her
dreams afterward. She smelled food. Shoving the
blanket off her legs she exited the living room.
She looked in the kitchen to see Raiden hunched
over the counter, stove going, peering pensively
at his cell phone.

“Zero?” she whispered.
“You’re awake.” He smiled softly at her.

“Don’t worry. I made dinner.”

“I wasn’t worried,” Rochelle told him before

walking in to peek into the different pots. She
didn’t recognize anything there but the fried rice,
but everything smelled marvellous. Her stomach
growled and she chuckled. “I guess I’m hungrier
than I thought.”

“Why don’t you sit down and let me take

care of you for dinner tonight?”

Rochelle blushed but nodded. She sat down

at the island and watched him work his way
around her kitchen as though he lived there. He
seemed familiar with things in the kitchen. She
wondered how long she had been asleep. She felt
extremely rested—unlike anything she ever felt
since she started Hayes.

“I guess I owe you a date?”
He stopped and faced her slowly. “I

suppose.”

“Aren’t you going to hold me to it?”
“I shouldn’t have to, Rochelle. You gave

your word I never thought of you not honouring
it.”

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She nodded. “Right. I should have known

that. I will honour my promise.”

“I guess it’s safe to say we will not talk

about what happened.”

Rochelle flushed before she bowed her head,

“Can we wait until a later time? I’m still shiver-
ing and it’s still fresh.”

He nodded before turning to place food onto

a plate. He walked over to her and set the plate in
front of her, along with chopsticks. Rochelle
sniffed the food and moaned. “This smells good.
What is it?”

She shivered when Raiden took her hand, set

the chopsticks between her fingers and helped
her to pick a piece. “This is Chicken Tatsuta.” He
dunked it into a sauce and lifted it to her lips.
Rochelle opened her lips taking the food in and
when she crunched into it the flavours exploded
in her mouth. She smiled while chewing and nod-
ded. He released her hand.

“This is delicious.”
He grinned. “Of course, I made it.”

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Shaking her head, she tried picking up an-

other piece of chicken but it kept flying between
the sticks. She groaned. Why hadn’t she learned
to use those dang things when Maylee tried
teaching her? “How exactly do you use these
things? Where did you get chopsticks?”

“I ran out while you were sleeping.” He

picked up two of his own and tried teaching her
but she just couldn’t get it. Eventually he took the
sticks from her. “It’s all right. Use your fingers.”

“But that’s disrespectful to you—”
“I don’t mind.”
She smiled shyly and placed chopsticks

across the top of a cup. If she had to break the
rules by using her fingers the least she could do is
show respect to the chopsticks.

Who knew there is such a thing as chopstick

etiquette?

“I hate to be a stick in the mud.” Raiden

brought a glass of juice to her before sitting down
across from her with his meal. “But I think you
will have to apologize to Maylee.”

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Rochelle moaned. She almost forgot what

had happened. She hoped it was only a horrible
nightmare. She hurt her best friend and she knew
how Maylee got when angry. She sighed.
“You’re right and it’s not going to be easy,” she
told him while chewing. “Maylee may be petite
but the girl’s got a temper and she knows how to
hold a grudge.”

“I’ve seen friendship overcome worse things

than a knife wielding friend.”

Rochelle shook her head when he smiled at

her, “I just—I don’t know what got into me.”

He sat silently staring at her. She nodded

without speaking trying to find the perfect words
to say to her ex-best friend. What do you say to
someone after you charge at them with a knife?

Sorry I turned into a knife wielding maniac?
Sorry I turned into Choppy McChoppy?
There was nothing to say after that. She sud-

denly didn’t feel hungry but still she tried to eat.
Everything looked so delicious.

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Finally she felt like she needed his opinion.

Perhaps he could tell her the answer to the ques-
tion that has been plaguing her, “What do I say to
someone after that?”

“You start by saying you’re sorry,” Raiden

explained softly. “You tell her that you didn’t
know what came over you and you didn’t mean
what you said. Tell her you said it all in anger
and it wasn’t meant to come out the way it did.
Tell her the truth—do not yell, do not lie and do
not hide within yourself.”

“I don’t think she’ll want to hear it.”
Raiden chuckled. “Do not say anything you

think she will not want to hear. Go see her, tell
her the truth and then see what happens. Then
you will know you’ve tried mending the fences.
I’m sorry to say it but trying is all you can do
right now.”

Rochelle nodded sadly and lifted her glass to

her lips. She doubted Maylee would want t hear it
but she had to try. With her fingers, Rochelle fin-
ished her meal and thanked Raiden. She was too

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lazy to grab a fork. She got up to take the dishes
away but he simply took them from her hand and
placed them into the sink. “Go see Maylee.”

“I thought I could do it tomorrow.” Rochelle

pouted.

“No, it is eating away at you. I do not like

seeing your eyes the way they are—so full of
hurt. The sooner you can get it off your shoulders
the better.”

Without saying a word, Rochelle walked

over and pressed a kiss to Raiden’s cheek as a
way of thanking him and exited the room.
Without him she probably would have locked
herself in her bedroom, never to see the light of
day again.

Now who’s being dramatic?
She was in no hurry to get to Maylee’s place

so when it began snowing and cars cut her off,
she didn’t mind in the least. She spent the ride
going over what Raiden suggested she say to
Maylee. When the house finally came into view,
Rochelle felt her heart lurch. She parked her car

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and shut off the ignition. She looked at the house,
but no matter how long she sat there, Rochelle
still could not think of the right words to start the
conversation. She ached to turn around and go
back home but knew this had to be done. She
couldn’t just let a friendship fall apart without
trying to fix it.

Inhaling deeply, she grabbed her keys and

stepped from the car, straightened her spine and
hurried up to the door. When Maylee opened the
door and saw her, the Asian woman slammed the
door in her face and Rochelle knocked again,
“May, can we talk? Please?”

Silence reigned from the other side of the

door and Rochelle sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m not go-
ing anywhere until we talk so you can either let
me in or I can disturb your neighbours.”

Maylee didn’t answer.
Rochelle knocked. “Maylee. Maylee?”
Still no reply came and Rochelle sat down

with her back against the door. Suddenly she fell
backward. Maylee opened the door. Falling to

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her back Rochelle grunted in pain. She looked up
into her friend’s face and smiled sadly, “Hi.”

“Hi,” Maylee whispered.
Silence.
“Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
Rochelle stood up and walked into the

house. She removed her shoes and set them
neatly to the side before taking off her coat and
hanging it in the closet. She followed Maylee in-
to the kitchen. “I’m sorry, Maylee. I didn’t mean
what I said to you—I shouldn’t have said it be-
cause you’ve been a great friend to me. I just—”

“Have a seat.”
Offering a small smile, Rochelle sat. “I’m

not in love with Raiden. It’s too early. But
he—he showed some interest in me when no oth-
er man would and I didn’t want to lose that.”

“I told you to talk to him, didn’t I? But you

are the one that refused to do it because you
wanted to keep things professional between the
two of you. Those were your words, not mine or

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his. So you had no right to get all huffy when it
seemed like he’s showing interest in someone
else.”

“I know. And I actually believed that really,

I did. But I started thinking maybe after he is no
longer working at Hayes, we could try
something. I saw the way he looked at you and
you two were talking in your language and I felt
left out. I started seeing that Raiden and I had
nothing in common. I had nothing to give him,
but you do. You speak his language and he obvi-
ously finds you sexy—he said so himself while
you guys were talking. What was I supposed to
do then?”

“We were talking about the bookstore,

Rochelle.” Maylee explained. “We were talking
about how I want to write a book. He didn’t say I
was sexy; he said the idea of me writing a ro-
mance novel was sexy. We weren’t conspiring
against you.”

“But I couldn’t understand you. And you

two were talking as if I didn’t even exist. I had to

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get out of there. I know I said I’m only interested
in a professional relationship, but the thought of
him falling for someone else broke my heart.
Look, I didn’t come over here to argue. I just
wanted to say that I’m really sorry for pulling a
knife on you—I should’ve handled it better. You
know that it hasn’t been easy for me the last few
years when it comes to dating. Men usually don’t
want anything to do with me and I started believ-
ing that it had to be my fault. So after a while, I
just locked it all deep inside and stopped even
trying. The first thing I thought of when my body
reacted to Raiden was he wouldn’t be interested
in me. But when he did show interest—I had no
idea how to handle it.”

“So you ran.”
Rochelle nodded. “I didn’t know what else

to do. Running protected me. Then it looked like
he was no longer interested and I just felt
betrayed—”

“See, that’s just it, Rochelle. You should

know me by now. You should know that I

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wouldn’t go after your man. I know you better. I
know you have this wall around your heart that
won’t just fall down in a matter of days. I knew
sooner or later you would come to your
senses—so it hurts me to think that you would
think I would betray my girl like that.”

“I’m sorry. That’s all I can say. What else do

you want me to say?”

Maylee shrugged. “I don’t want you to say

anything you think will make me feel better. I
want you to do something to make you feel bet-
ter. You’re a beautiful woman. I’ve been trying
to tell you this for years. These men who told you
otherwise aren’t worth the crap on the bottom of
your shoe but you never listen to me.”

Rochelle flushed and looked away. “You’re

my best friend. You’re supposed to say that.”

“No—that’s not how it works. I’m supposed

to tell you the truth and then let you pick sense
from nonsense and make up your own mind.
That’s how it works.”

“I’m sorry,” Rochelle whispered.

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Silence flowed between the two. The pain

was so bad that Rochelle stood up and walked to
the door. She knew their friendship was over and
there was nothing she could say or do that would
change anything at this point. All she wanted was
a good man—she never intended for it to get in
the way of her friendship with Maylee. The in-
cident only confirmed she would never be happy
with a lover. At the door she shoved her feet into
her boots and reached into the closet for her
jacket.

“Chelle,” Maylee called.
Rochelle didn’t stop. She couldn’t because

tears streamed down her face. She shoved her
arms into her jacket and tugged it into place
around her. Maylee hugged her from behind.
Maylee’s head rested against Rochelle’s back.

“I know you’re sorry,” Maylee whispered.

“But if you ever pull a knife on me again, we’re
over.”

Rochelle remained silent.

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“I don’t want Raiden. He’s not my type. I

thought you knew me long enough that I don’t
dig Asian boys.”

Rochelle chuckled. “I know but I couldn’t

help myself.”

Maylee turned her around and Rochelle

closed her eyes. Softly, Maylee wiped her tears
away and Rochelle looked at her friend. “Are we
cool?” Rochelle wanted to know.

Maylee laughed softly. “Yeah. We’re cool.

Now if you would like to join me, I have wine
chilling and some dinner that needs eating.”

Rochelle wasn’t really hungry since she’d

had dinner with Raiden, but she was grateful her
friend accepted her apology. She smiled, nodded

* * * *

Raiden finished the dishes and a third set of

sketches. He hadn’t been to the office yet but
already ahead of schedule. He just wished he
knew what to do for Rochelle. He glanced at the
clock and wondered fleetingly if he should call
her to ensure her and Maylee hadn’t killed each

141/313

other. He’d never had two women fight over him.
Some men would revel in it, but he felt awkward.
Perhaps the fact that the fight split two friends
apart was the reason he didn’t enjoy it. He prized
friendship so dearly. He was developing feelings
for Rochelle and to see her hurt so deeply pained
him. He pushed some hair from his face and
looked at the clock again—five seconds since he
last checked. Setting the boards from him, he
walked to the window and stood with his arms
folded over his chest and watched the street. Out-
side was dark and the snow was falling harder.
He worried she might be in trouble. His heart
hammered against his chest. When her car finally
pulled into the driveway, he hauled on a shirt and
darted down the stairs. He met her at the door,
pulling her into his arms without thinking.

“Raiden?” she questioned, her voice full of

worry. He squeezed her to him, cradling her head
for a bit longer before stepping back to look at
her.

“So? Are you all right?”

142/313

“Yes.” She nodded with a smile. He

searched her eyes. They twinkled at him and he
smiled. “Everything worked out. But she said if I
did it again we are done.”

“That’s understandable.” He took her coat

and while she entered the living room he hung it
up before following. He flopped down beside her
and stared at her until she looked at him. Her
dark lips were moist from her tongue flowing
over them. He wanted so desperately to kiss
her—but that wasn’t their deal. He bowed his
head and pushed away from the sofa.

“Don’t go,” she called.
He stopped but didn’t face her. “I should, be-

cause if not this night will not end the way you
want it to.”

“How do you know what I want?”
“You told me.”
He heard the sofa creak as her weight lifted

from it. He jerked slightly when she flattened her
palm against the small of his back. Turning his

143/313

head to the side, he glanced at her over his
shoulder.

“I was scared,” she whispered. “I’m still ter-

rified. But I know one thing.”

“What’s that?”
“I crave you.”
“And how do you know that, Koibito?” he

questioned.

“I know from the way you look at my lips. It

makes me shiver. I know from the way I wonder
about what you would taste like exploding
against my tongue. Please don’t make me say it.”

“See? That’s the problem. I cannot give you

what you want unless you ask me—no tell me.”

She sighed, walked around him, her hand

still where she left it. She moved in close, press-
ing her forehead against his chin and Raiden’s
eyes shut. Her scent took his control from him.
He watched his restraint float away, almost
mocking him. He swallowed hard, his fists tight-
ening at his sides. Her free hand found its way

144/313

beneath his shirt and she dragged her nails over
his abs.

He growled at her, opening his eyes.
She moved her forehead from side to side

slowly, pressing her body even closer into him.
He elevated his left hand and buried the fingers
in her braids. Raiden gritted his teeth, fighting
desperately to simply walk away. But he
couldn’t. Her curves wrapped around him. Her
scent wreaked havoc on his senses and her
breasts now pressed into his chest. Tightening his
fingers, he pulled her head backward tugging a
gasp from her lips.

To his sweet torture, the fiery vixen stuck

her tongue out at him and winked.

That did it.
His lips descended on hers with such force

that shocked even him. Her mouth opened and
without warning he shoved his tongue in, seeking
hers. His cock jumped in his pants and began
pulsing. Yanking his lips from hers, he searched
her eyes before bowing his head to lick her. He

145/313

dragged his tongue from where her breasts
peeked out, and slowly made his way up to her
chin. There he sucked on her chin then moved his
mouth to her right ear. He suckled on her earlobe
before whispering, “You can’t be shy now,
Rochelle. I will not let you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s supposed to mean whatever you want.

But I feel it is fair that I give you the chance to
run away now.”

“Why is that? You being a chicken?”
He laughed huskily against her ear. “I’m a

freak, Koibito.” He chuckled sexily. “I can make
you do things you haven’t even thought of
before.”

“Like—”
“Something I’ve wanted to do since the day I

saw you.”

He released her and stepped back to fall into

the couch. He watched while she bit against her
right index finger and looked at him from

146/313

beneath her lashes. He spread his legs and
smiled, “strip, Rochelle. Slow—I want to enjoy
it.”

Thinking she would tell him to go to hell he

prepared himself for it. To his surprise, she
slowly undid each button to her top but crossed
her hands over her large breasts. He felt tortured.
His mouth watered at the thought of seeing them
bounce free of their confines and she denied him
that pleasure

“Move your hands.”
“Only if you ask me nicely.”
“Move your hands—please.”
She laughed and only let one hand fall. He

growled but she started removing her pants.
When she wore nothing but her panties she
walked close to him and climbed into his lap. Sit-
ting astride his knees, she lowered her hands and
Raiden sat speechless. Her breasts were large,
with great areoles and hardened nipples. In his
excitement he leaned forward to take one in his
mouth. She pulled back and swatted his arm. She

147/313

shimmied against his lips while holding him
back.

Raiden would not be denied. The feelings

dancing through him was too strong. He caught
her hands and stood up, her legs locked around
him. Laying her on the sofa, he pinned her hands
over her head and took his pleasure from her
breasts. Her nipples rolled over his tongue per-
fectly, growing even larger with each pull of his
mouth. She whimpered and arched into him.
Raiden smiled and crawled up her body. He
lowered his mouth to her ears and smiled. “Re-
member I promised to feed from the source next
time?”

She jerked against him and he chuckled.

Without warning, he wrapped an arm around her
back and lifted. He tugged at her panties and the
sheer material fell apart in his large hand. Toss-
ing the pieces over his shoulder, he carried her
from the room and into the dining room. He
placed her against the table, took a seat and
spread her legs. He hesitated long enough for her

148/313

to meet his eyes before lifting her bum, high-
er—higher, until he could feast from her wetness.

Licking his fingers afterward could not com-

pare to actually feasting from her pussy. He
licked at her before plunging his tongue into her
sopping wetness. She cried out to him, tugging at
his hair but he didn’t let up. He wanted satisfac-
tion. Rochelle gyrated so hard causing him to
stand up in order to hold her up to his mouth.
When he looked down, her eyes were closed.

“Oh no you don’t,” he called. “I want you to

watch me enjoying you. I need you to look at
me.”

“I can’t.”
“Koibito, that wasn’t a request.”
Her eyes flew open and he smiled. Sticking

his tongue out, he smirked at her before attaching
his mouth to her pussy once more. She dripped
down his chin but he didn’t care. He ravished her
feasting greedily from her; fighting frantically
trying to quench the rabid thirst he had for her.
From somewhere in the back of his mind he

149/313

knew once he had this from her he would want it
again. How could he only eat her once and no
more? Using his tongue, he tickled her clit. He
licked at it then used only the tip of his tongue to
dance over it.

Her nails reached for his hair but she

couldn’t reach. He smiled to himself before stick-
ing the length of his tongue into her channel.

“I’m gonna cum!” she warned.
Instead of lifting his mouth away, though,

Raiden continued licking, sucking until she ex-
ploded. She bucked, heaved, writhed threatening
to slip from his hands. But he gripped her ass
cheeks tightly and took his fill. When she
whimpered and moaned, he lowered her slowly
to the table and smiled down at her. He pulled
her by the legs so that her center moistened the
front of his pants. With his fingers searching out
her intimate folds he leaned over and met her
gaze.

“Oishii—” he whispered, licking his lips. Re-

cognition lit her eyes and he knew she didn’t

150/313

have to speak fluent Japanese to know exactly
what he meant. “I want you to do something for
me, Rochelle.”

She nodded.
“I want you to sit up, spread these thick,

beautiful thighs for me, and I want you to make
yourself cum.”

“That’s not—”
“Are you scared, Rochelle? I’ll give you an

incentive. You’ve felt what my tongue can do to
you. Do this for me, and I’ll let you ride the wave
again.”

In order to stress his point, Raiden stuck his

very long, sexy tongue out and licked at her chin.
When he met her eyes again he knew she under-
stood him for her eyes darkened. He smiled be-
fore stepping back, taking the chair with him.
Putting it against the far wall, he lounged back,
waiting.

* * * *

Rochelle felt exposed and suddenly nervous.

It dawned on her that Raiden wanted to see her

151/313

pleasure herself. That scared her. She had always
toyed with the idea of touching herself while her
man watched but never actually thought a man
would want to see her do it. Now that the oppor-
tunity presented itself it terrified her. However,
the thought of riding Raiden’s tongue again over-
powered that fear and soon her legs spread wide.
She looked over at Raiden to see him watching
her closely—like he waited to attack his next
meal. She fondled her breasts, watching the way
his eyes darkened and his body squirmed. She
pinched her nipples and groaned. She could still
remember Raiden’s mouth on them and at that
moment she knew she had to let him do that
again. Licking a finger, she slid it down her body
to her clit. Her gaze still fused to his and when
she inserted the finger into herself and gasped,
Raiden licked his lips.

“Slowly, Rochelle.” His voice seduced her.

“In—out—in—”

“Do you like what you see?”
He nodded.

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“No, Zero. I want to hear your voice.”
“Yes.”
Her chest heaved. Her free hand fell back-

ward to hold her up in a sitting position. She
fought hard to keep her head up so their gaze
could stay together. Breaking eye contact may
destroy what surged through her that very mo-
ment. She whimpered, her lips fell apart and her
finger began working within her faster. The idea
that he watched turned her on more. Soon she fell
to her back, her body arched upward while she
drove two fingers in and out of her wet heat. She
didn’t hear Raiden move but his mouth captured
her nipples again. He licked, sucked, bit at
them—just the way she liked it. He grabbed her
hand and lifted it away from her wetness and
Rochelle felt like crying. But that did not last for
long. He replaced the finger with his tongue and
she felt like flying once again.

“Couldn’t stay away could you?” she

clutched the back of his neck pushing downward.

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He didn’t reply verbally—he simply released

his tongue and passed it over her clit.

“Damn!”
He used his mouth to pull her pussy lips to-

gether and sucked them into his mouth. They es-
caped with a slight slapping sound and she
groaned. He released her then, licking his lips
and moving back to his chair. Rochelle sat up
with her chest heaving.

“Use your fingers,” he ordered.
Sliding to her back once more, she did as he

wanted without question.

So close.
She felt her muscles clench the finger and a

wail left her lips before liquid gushed around her
finger. Her eyes widened, her mouth fell open but
no sound came for a few seconds. Finally she
could shout and only one word left her lips,
“Raiden!”

She slipped to the table, panting and twisting

in sweet after shocks.

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“Sit up, Rochelle.” Raiden called to her.

Weak and delirious, she did as he demanded. “On
your knees.”

With any other man she would have told him

to find her black ass and kiss it, but Raiden had a
certain control over her. She found herself rising
and slipping to her knees.

“Now crawl to me.”
Looking up at him, she moved on all fours

toward him. Slowly, sexily her body swayed up
to him and she shoved his knees apart. Licking
the crotch of his pants, she dragged her teeth over
his large bulge. His eyes rolled shut briefly but
they returned to stare at her while she unzipped
him and pulled his large cock free. It flashed
through her mind that anyone who thought Asian
males were small needed to take a look at
Raiden. Nothing about him spelled small and for
a moment she felt almost scared to put that thing
anywhere in her body. But loving a challenge she
wouldn’t back down from one when it has the
promises of a damn good time written all over it.

155/313

She licked her lips slowly, and looking into his
eyes, daring him to stop her, she pulled him
down her throat as far as it could go.

“Ugh!” he moaned. His head fell forward

and his dark hair fell over his eyes. She sucked
harder, pulling him deeper, while fondling his
balls. “Yoi.”

She lifted her mouth to give him one order.

“Take off your shirt.”

A smile crossed his lips when she said this

before returning to drive him mad. He did as she
asked and when his sculpted abs caught her eyes,
Rochelle made a sound and sucked him harder.
She could feel her wetness flowing down her legs
now. Unable to stop, she dragged her nails down
his stomach and when his abs twitched beneath
her hands she whimpered.

* * * *

Raiden knew she loved the muscles of his

body. She kept caressing his abs, his thighs, his
arms and each time she did she pulled him a little
deeper in her throat. It felt so good that his eyes

156/313

rolled back and his head fell backward against
the wall. He reached down and gripped the chair
beneath him, fighting desperately to keep his hips
still. She knew how to use her mouth, he couldn’t
deny her. He had never felt so good with anyone
else mostly because they didn’t know what they
were doing.

“Motto.” he sighed, trying to hold on to what

sanity he had left. “More.”

She gave him much more. Her tongue

swirled over the tender head of his dick and
Raiden’s body jerked. She busied herself undoing
the button on his pants. He lifted his ass and she
released his dick long enough to pull the pants
off him and hurled them away. She pulled him
down her throat again, this time forcing the
muscles to squeeze him. His eyes widened and he
watched whatever was left of his sanity and con-
trol evaporated. It was a good thing—she took
that moment to move slowly up his body, licking
at his abs and sucking against his nipples. Having
the tender buds sucked sent shards of electricity

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through his core, shocking his heart into over
drive. He wrapped his arms around her waist and
pulled her into his lap. He gripped her neck
pulling her down to his kiss with one hand while
using the other to guide himself to her entrance.
Greedily he sucked on her tongue and released
her neck. He took her hips in both hands and
slammed her body down while surging his hips
upward—hard.

* * * *

It was a wonderful feeling for he filled her

completely, hard and fast. She yanked her mouth
from him and screamed. The man made her want
to scream things that she wouldn’t have with any
other man. She bit her lips and rode him fast. Her
breasts

shook

before

his

face.

Rochelle

shuddered each time her nipple trailed over his
tongue. In absolute heaven the world could be
damned.

“Oh fuck!” she swore. He sucked against her

nipples, bit them, lashed his tongue over them be-
fore sucking away the pain. She stiffened as her

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orgasm slammed through her body. She thought
he would let her rest but Raiden wasn’t finished.
He stood up with her in his arms and lowered her
to the ground. He bent her over so she her hands
rested against the chair only to enter her from be-
hind. She wanted to feel his abs while he used
her from behind but she couldn’t. She moaned,
whimpered, swore but nothing she did made the
sweet torture go away. Her knees buckled as she
came again. He didn’t let her fall. He caught her
around the waist and laid her on the ground on
her side. He lifted and moved between her legs
entering her again. This time her leg rested
against his chest. He reached for one of her
nipples and pinched.

“Raiden! Yes!”
“You’re so damn tight,” Raiden announced

through gritted teeth. “Pirittokuru.”

She reached forward, unashamed, and began

rubbing her own clit. She wouldn’t have dreamed
of doing something like this before. Raiden just
seemed to bring the slut out of her. She had to

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admit she loved it! Rubbing her clit sent double
the pleasure through her and she fluttered against
the ground with her orgasm. She heard him groan
and felt the moment he pulled from her. She
couldn’t do much of anything but lay there, on
her back shaking. He erupted hot against her
thigh. Rochelle felt her body go through another
round of smaller tremors. With each spurt from
his engorged cock, she felt as if he licked her
again. He slumped beside her with his head
against her breast. She moaned his name, but
didn’t have enough mind power to actually say
anything else. Each time she thought of saying
his name a tremor of bliss went through her.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he as-

sured her.

“That was...” was all she managed. He had

completely turned her out, made her scream. He
had bossed her around like a slave, made her do
things she never thought she would ever have the
courage to do and she loved every breath-taking
second of it.

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“That was...” He chuckled softly while nuzz-

ling her neck and pulling her into his arms
against the ground. “You’ll inflate my ego.”

“I’d rather inflate something else.”
“Bad girl.”He caressed her arm.
She rested her head against his chest, kissed

it then snuggled her head under his chin. He had
her seeing stars even after they finished. Raiden
was right. He had her doing things she would
never have done before but so help her she had
every intention of doing them again.

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Chapter Six

With the sun shining through his window

and his alarm clock blaring Raiden woke up in
his own room. He lay there for a moment think-
ing about how warm his room was in the winter.
At some point during the night he threw the
sheets off his bed and got up to turn up the heat.
His mind took him back to what happened
between Rochelle and him the night before and
he couldn’t help the smile that crossed his lips.
He passed his tongue over them, hoping to taste
her but toothpaste and mouthwash from the night
before had cleared that all up. He frowned.

He had carried Rochelle to her bedroom and

covered her in bed alone. Though it pained him
to leave her he did. It tugged at him that he would
have loved to have crawled in with her and licked
her to a few more orgasms but he just couldn’t
change it. He didn’t want her to wake up and
freak out because he thought more of their love
making than she did. She told him she was

ready—that she wasn’t scared anymore but he
wanted to make sure. He could hear her moving
around so he pushed out of bed and stripped his
way to the private bathroom attached to his room.

Raiden stopped to stare at his face in the mir-

ror. He looked different somehow—perhaps it
was the goofy grin he wore. A beard grew on his
face. Since he knew he looked like a prepubes-
cent boy with facial hair, he rummaged through
his little bag and pulled out a razor.

By the time he finished his shower and got

dressed he descended the stairs with his jacket in
one hand. She stood in the kitchen making break-
fast, fully dressed for work. That shocked him.
The woman moved fast. Smiling, he hauled on
his business suit jacket. “Morning,” he said, but-
toning his suit. He wanted to walk over and kiss
her but wasn’t sure what would happen. She said
she wanted to try dating him but did she mean it
or was that her horny side speaking? He watched
as she placed a plate on the island and turned to
smile at him. His breath caught in his throat.

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“Migoto,” he whispered.
She chuckled, motioning for him to sit.

“What does that mean? Sorry, didn’t have much
time to make you a proper Japanese breakfast.”

“It means—” Raiden climbed onto the stool

and rested against the back, “beautiful.”

She glanced around the kitchen. “Where?”
Raiden laughed shaking his head. “You are,

Koibito.”

She blushed and her gaze immediately

dropped to the floor. After gathering a plate for
herself she sat down across from him and Raiden
instantly forgot about his meal. He chewed ab-
sentmindedly staring at her, wanting desperately
to talk about what happened between them the
night before. Still he remained silent about that
subject. “I don’t expect you to make me anything
from home. It’s just a nice bonus.”

“I will, on the weekend. You still need some

reminders of home, right? So, about today,”
Rochelle began without looking up. “We have
your own office set up—well it’s not really your

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own. It’s off my office in my private meeting
room. We set it up with a laptop and everything
you might need. There’s enough space to set up
your work station so you don’t need to continue
working on the ground in your room.”

“Good because it’s been hell on my back.”
She nodded. “I bet. You have your own

phone. Our secretary is Kelly but she leaves work
every evening at four sharp. She has night classes
and if she leaves any later she will not make them
on time. After then the automated system picks
up and disperses the calls as needed.”

“That’s nice of you.”
She shrugged. “She is a good person and as

much as I love her dearly I don’t see her answer-
ing my phones forever. I assume she has dreams
of her own. But, once we get there I shall give
you the grand tour.”

“What about us?”
She stopped chewing and looked at him

quizzically. Raiden thought for sure she would

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answer him until she smirked and bowed her
head to press a piece of egg into her mouth.

“Well, if you can avoid jumping my bones

while everyone is looking, we’ll be fine.”

He arched a brow. “So...no regrets about last

night?”

“None on this end.” She met his eyes. “Do

you?”

Raiden laughed while shaking his head.

“None on this end.”

“Good. Now be good and eat up so we can

get going.”

“Or what? You’ll spank me?”
She burst out laughing and Raiden watched

the way her body shook with her mirth. Her
breasts jerked sexily and he groaned pressing his
eyes shut. This is a bad thing to be thinking be-
fore they headed out the door. He inhaled and ex-
haled deeply. That helped some.

“Oh I almost forgot,” she said. “I will have

to get you an I.D. tag once we get there. Certain
areas of the building are closed to regular folks

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so without the pass you won’t be able to access
our floor without me.”

Raiden nodded.
She leaned over the counter and pressed a

kiss to his lips. “Morning.”

The kiss was too brief for his liking so he

reached and held her behind the neck. He held
her in place, enjoying her luscious lips against
his—her tongue dancing over his. He enjoyed
having his breath taking away by this beautiful
woman. Finally he released her with a reluctant
sigh and smiled.

“Good morning indeed.”
She giggled and they finished breakfast, chit

chatting about everything. Mostly she asked him
about Japan and his family.

“I have one pain in the neck—I mean older

brother, Daitaro,” he explained. “Both our par-
ents died a few years ago. It’s been me and him
since then.”

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“I’m sorry. My mother died last winter. My

father—well he wasn’t around long enough to be
considered much of one.”

“No siblings?”
“No—after my father left my mother de-

cided to raise her baby by herself. Maylee is the
only sister I have.”

“I’m sorry about your parents, Koibito.”
“Why do you always call me that?”
“Koibito?”
She nodded and Raiden smiled. “It means

two things. One is a form for sweetheart.”

“And?”
“And what?”
“You said it means two things.”
“The second meaning is lover.”
He saw her grinning. Her chin jutted upward

proudly and Raiden laughed. “I take it you like
it?”

“A lady never tells.”
She picked up her empty plate and he rose as

well. He wasn’t finished eating but now that they

168/313

finished their conversation, his mind went back
to what he had to do that day. Nerves set in and
he could no longer eat. He placed the plate
against the counter and covered it.

“You’re leaving that for later?” she wanted

to know.

“Yes. I figure I could eat it while you’re

making dinner? Or would you like me to deal
with dinner?” He wiggled his brows at her. When
she whacked him playfully on the arm and
laughed he figured she knew exactly what he
meant.

“That isn’t the kind of dinner being cooked

tonight,” she replied. “Perhaps it can be your
dessert?”

“Oh, baby, threaten me with a good time!”
She nudged him with her shoulder and

walked by. “I’m gonna go brush my teeth.”

Raiden caught her at the door around the

waist and pressed her into the frame. He tilted her
chin upward and fused his lips to hers moaning
when her lips opened. He ended the kiss with a

169/313

pinch of her nipples just to hear her moan and
then released her.

“Why do we have to work today?”
“Because we have to make a living some-

how?” he simply replied.

The ride to work was a peaceful one. Though

they had to drive slower than normal due to the
snow, Raiden still felt refreshed. He reached over
and caressed her thigh. When she glanced at him,
he allowed his hand to snake beneath her skirt
and up her thigh.

“Zero—”
“Just let me touch you, Koibito. I don’t think

I can go through the day without tasting you.”

She sighed and he boldly pushed her panties

to one side and inserted a finger into her wet
heat. He licked his lips while rapidly moving his
finger over her clit. Her chest heaved, her fingers
tightened against the steering wheel until her
knuckles went pale. He brought her almost to the
brink before he withdrew his finger and tasted
her.

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“We should stop.” He moaned as her liquid

flowed from his finger.

“You can’t stop now—”
Raiden grinned and rested fully in his seat.

“We will continue later,” he promised.

Stopping is the last thing he wanted but he

needed her to concentrate on the traffic before
her. The traffic continued to get worse and
drivers had no driving etiquette during winter. He
tried finding something else to concentrate on.
He figured if at the end he had to leave her he
would leave her with something. The idea was
still taking shape in his head when she pulled into
a parking spot marked with her name and hopped
from the SUV. He gathered his things and fol-
lowed her into the building.

“Morning, Caesar!” She waved to a security

guard.

“Hey! Chelle! Didn’t see you yesterday.

Everything all right?” The guard jogged over.

“Everything is fine,” she promised. “I have a

guest that will be with us for a while. Caesar,

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meet Raiden Rei. Raiden, this is our head of se-
curity Caesar Marlon.”

Raiden shook the man’s hand. He mused

about the way Caesar knew to ask about
Rochelle’s well being. A part of him grew jeal-
ous wondering if the two meant more to each
other than Rochelle said in their introductions.

“He doesn’t have a tag yet so don’t give him

a hard time,” Rochelle continued.

“Nah. If he’s cool with you, he’s all right

with me.”

“Thank you,” Raiden added and they contin-

ued on with Caesar wishing them a good day.
Stepping into the elevator the nagging voice still
remained. He wanted to ask her but knew that
wouldn’t end well. He pushed it to the back of
his mind.

“I meant to ask you,” he finally spoke. “Are

you single? I know I asked if you had a husband
but being single is different than married—you
know?”

172/313

She turned to stare at him just as the elevator

door opened. She didn’t answer for the sounds of
the busy office bombarded them. As though by
instinct she stuck her hand out and some folders
and a bunch of pink message slips were stuck in-
to her outstretched hand.

“Thanks, Kelly!” she called. She kept walk-

ing until they reached an office. Rochelle closed
the door, dropped the files on her desk along with
the slips and turned to face him. “Put that down.”

Raiden arched a brow but placed his brief

case down. When he did, she caught him by the
front of his shirt pressing him into the closed
door. Her mouth came up over his. Shocked, he
still spread his lips for her. Her tongue moved
over him and fire surged through his veins. He
pushed her away gently, staring into her eyes. “Is
that your answer to my question?”

“Yes.”
“Yes what?”
“If I had a man I wouldn’t be sexing you.”
“Sorry—I had to make sure—”

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Her hands were moving over his body cut-

ting off his thoughts. She was unbuckling his belt
then reached into his boxers. She stroked his
cock to life and Raiden couldn’t help bowing his
head and biting against her neck.

She sighed into his chest but simply

tightened her fist around his dick. He licked his
lips, whispered her name and pressed his face in-
to her neck. He did something he hadn’t allowed
since he learned about sex. He’d let go and gave
her control to pleasure him. With Rochelle
everything seemed so different.

“Say my name, Raiden,” she whispered,

moving her hands faster and faster.

“Make me,” he growled at her, grabbing her

hair. “I dare you.” He yanked her head back and
licked at the beautiful skin of her neck. He trailed
a finger over the damp flesh marvelling at how
stunning her skin looked against his.

She smirked at him, released his cock from

his pants and stroked him again. His head slipped
backward, grinding his teeth. She slid her tongue

174/313

over his neck and his chin before lifting upward
and biting against his earlobe. His body shook
but he knew he couldn’t explode—not yet. He
wanted more.

“Harder!” he dared her. “Squeeze tight-

er—oh yes!”

Then their gazes locked. The minx smirked

at him. When he felt his orgasm coming Raiden
slammed his mouth over hers. He needed
something to stop the scream of pleasure he knew
would happen if he didn’t have something in or
over his mouth. While he sucked on her tongue
he imagined it on her nipples, hard and dark in
his mouth like chocolate kisses. Rochelle caused
him to lose all touch with reality and falling into
an obsessed abyss. It is a place he relished being
in. Her fingers danced over the head of his cock
and he groaned.

“I want you to suck it,” he told her.
“Really? You want me to be a dirty...” she

licked at his ear. “...little girl in my office? I
thought Japanese men are supposed to be docile.”

175/313

“Not this one.”
She immediately slipped down his body, and

he couldn’t help looking down. She smiled,
spread her lips and took him in. He released her
hair and braced his hands against the door. She
was so damn good at it. Her tongue licked over
the head of his cock and he thought he was being
massaged sweetly from the insides out. When she
began sucking him again, his hips jerked for-
ward. She spread her lips wider for her throat to
accommodate him.

“Oh fucking hell,” he groaned. “Damn! I’m

gonna...”he managed. She moved to the side so
his cum would not get all over the front of her
clothes but didn’t release his tortured penis. It
erupted leaving him breathless. His head tossed
back spilling his black hair down his back.

“Rochelle!” he whispered, slamming his

back against the door. His body suddenly felt
beautifully satisfied. She entangled his hair with
her fingers guiding his head so she could take his
lips with hers while continuing to stroke him.

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“Welcome to Hayes Graphics and Anima-

tions,” she whispered over his lips.

* * * *

“I’ve never done that before.”
“You mean pounce on a man in your of-

fice?” Raiden moaned slipping his cock into his
pants and buttoning up. “Want me to leave and
come back so you can do it again?”

“You’re a horn dog.” Rochelle laughed, re-

leasing him to grab some paper towel from the
dispenser against the wall. She cleaned up the
mess he’d made and shook her head. “Man you
give a lot.”

He felt his ears warming so he took the pa-

pers from her hand and dumped them in the
garbage. Leading her to the desk he pulled her
close, kissing her again before slipping his hand
down the front of her skirt when a knock sounded
at the door. The two jerked apart as though
caught with their hands in the cookie jar. He
settled for a kiss to her forehead and walked in
the direction she pointed. He looked back to see

177/313

her checking the floor and knew what she was
looking for. Smirking, he stepped into the office
they made up for him.

Walking over to the glass window, he peered

out. Everything seemed so small below him. Cars
moved in orderly lines to the traffic signals while
pedestrians waited their turn on the corner. A
horn blared for a bike zooming across the street
causing a few cars to slam on their brakes.

Raiden raked his hair off his face and smiled.
Some people will never learn to look both

ways.

He stepped from the window and rummaged

through the drawing pencils that sat in a bin on
one of the desks. He looked at the large drawing
station and immediately thought of working on
the next set of boards. He was already so far
ahead that it almost seemed to be coming easier
to him. He shrugged from his jacket, rolled his
shirt sleeve up to the elbows and leaned into the
drawing board when someone knocked on his
door. He spun around to see Rochelle standing

178/313

there with the woman who had handed her the
message slips that morning.

“Raiden, this is our secretary Kelly

Bismark.”

He walked over to shake Kelly’s hand.
The woman giggled at him while shoving

some hair behind her ear. Raiden felt a little
strange knowing full well she was hitting on him.
He turned to look at Rochelle who now had her
lips pressed into a thin line.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Bismark.”
“You can call me Kelly.”
“All right, time to get back to work,”

Rochelle cut in leading the woman away. Kelly
didn’t stop staring at Raiden until Rochelle
closed her office door.

“You are jealous.” Raiden smiled, hauling

her into his arms. “You want my body all to
yourself.”

“Is that so wrong?” She arched a brow at

him.

“No,not at all. I think it’s sexy.”

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* * * *

Rochelle could not believe what she had

done. She’d pushed Raiden against her office
door and sucked him off without a second
thought. He nuzzled her neck and she knew if
that continued they wouldn’t get any work done.
Taking in a deep breath she stepped from his
arms and held up her hands in surrender. “If we
start this we both know what will happen.”

“Hai. That is true. But it would be so

divine.”

She chuckled shaking her head. “Okay, let’s

talk business.” She walked around her desk
knowing he probably had whiplash by the velo-
city in which she had changed topics. She fell in-
to her chair and looked up at him. He leaned
against the door frame, looking sexy as hell,
watching her. He folded his shirt sleeves up to
the elbow. She loved to see a man with Raiden’s
kind of muscles. She groaned and closed her
eyes.

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“What’s the matter, Rochelle? I thought you

wanted to talk business.”

“You’re a tease,” she accused him. “But seri-

ously. We have to behave.”

When he sat across from her and crossed his

legs, Rochelle inhaled and pulled open a folder.
“Okay ... we have a meeting in two hours. Then
it’s lunch. Then you can do whatever you want
with the rest of your day since you’re so far
ahead. If you want to help me with some submis-
sions afterward I could use the extra eyes.”

A knock sounded at the door and Rochelle

rolled her eyes knowing Kelly waited to enter.
The woman is already smitten with Raiden and
she wanted Kelly nowhere near him. She stood
up and walked to the door opening. “Yes?”

Kelly handed over a set of papers. “These

came through the fax. They are Mr. Rei’s.” She
pushed on her tip toes trying to look around
Rochelle’s body.

“Yes?”

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“They are his contracts from Asuka in Japan.

I thought you may want to take a look at them
before I drop them off to the legal department.”

“Thank you.” Rochelle took the papers and

closed the door. She browsed the papers ensuring
they were all signed before placing them in an
envelope with a mental note to read through them
in more detail later.

“All right, I’ll leave you to it. Get me for the

meeting?” he asked.

Rochelle promised and watched him walk

off again into his office. She giggled then and
fought to focus on work. She read over the con-
tract Raiden signed before he arrived. A typical
contract for work purposes stating all artwork he
did while in the exchange program belong to
Hayes Graphics and Animations, that all com-
pany secrets remain inside Hayes and so forth.
Her lawyers worked over-time on these papers
ensuring they cover every base. She couldn’t af-
ford for someone to waltz into her company and
leave with anything that could be used against

182/313

her in the future. That is the only way she would
agree to the exchange. Because of that, the
Emiko-San Ai company had Jeffery sign the
same contracts—what is good for the goose is
surly good for the Gander in that situation. Both
companies had to protect their interests.

With the papers in order, she slipped them

into an envelope and asked Kelly to run them up
to the law department. She then focused on
emails from distributors and from production
companies that hired HGA to do their work
rather than in house. She was working on a roll
when the phone buzzed and Kelly reminded her
the meeting was in half an hour. She glanced at
the clock and smiled. Grabbing two cups of cof-
fee, she walked into Raiden’s office and called
out to him. He motioned one second and finished
something he was drawing before turning to her.

She handed him one of the coffees. “Wow,

you got a lot done.”

“I am on a roll, as they say.” He kissed her

nose.

183/313

“Raiden, I need to ask you a question,” she

said slowly.

“When you call me Raiden instead of Zero

in that tone I know I’m in trouble.”

“I rarely call you Zero.”
He nodded. “Fair enough. What’s your

question?”

“Us—I know it’s a little early for commit-

ments I know that. But I don’t want to get any
deeper into this if it’s only about sex. I’m too old
for that kind of thing.”

“I don’t think it’s just about sex—in fact I’m

sure of it. What we did this morning against that
door—I let go and gave up my control. I’ve never
done that before. Tell me that means something.”

Rochelle’s heart soared when she heard his

words and she sat down beside him. She re-
mained silent for a bit before speaking. “And
when you leave?”

“I’ve tried not to think that far ahead,” he

told her.

184/313

Honesty rang from those words so clearly

that her heart fell once more. She nodded her
head. “I can’t help thinking about it. I don’t think
we should get any more involved. I don’t want to
actually fall for you and then have you leave. It
would destroy me.”

“Of all the things in this world that I do not

want, Koibito, causing you pain is at the top of
that list. I couldn’t simply remain here. I have du-
ties to perform in Osaka that must be adhered to.
I would suggest something long distance but we
both know that wouldn’t work. I crave you too
much already for that.”

“I thought I was ready for this. But how do

you get ready to start a serious relationship with
someone knowing that in a few weeks that person
is gone and you’ll be left alone?”

“The truth is I have no idea how to answer

that.”

Rochelle nodded and patted his thigh know-

ing they had just broken up. She pressed her lips
in a thin line and faced him. She stared at his

185/313

worried face for a moment as though memorising
it. His dark eyes stared back at her and she felt
her heart break all over again. “We should go for
the meeting now.”

“Yes.”

186/313

Chapter Seven

Rochelle avoided him for the rest of the day.

There was no other way to describe it. Though
they all but shared the same office, she remained
out of it. She used meetings as an excuse. She
tried to distance herself. He couldn’t blame her
though—when the heart is involved most things
that aren’t acceptable before suddenly are. At
quitting time, he sat, waiting for her. She entered
the office, placed a pile of folders on her desk
and reached for her jacket.

“It’s time to go.” She didn’t meet his eyes

and he didn’t press the matter.

The day ended in a less upbeat fashion than

it started. They started the day joking, making out
and smiling and by the time they climbed into the
SUV to head home again, Raiden felt like a mor-
on and Rochelle remained silent. They drove
through the surprisingly empty streets home and
while Rochelle prepared dinner, Raiden locked
himself away to do work. At least that was his

intention to take his mind off the fact the woman
he was falling for no longer wanted to try any-
more. Instead, he spent the first hour staring out
the window at the falling snow. He so desper-
ately wanted to stay with Rochelle in order to see
where their romance would lead but he couldn’t
simply leave Japan all together. He knew she
wouldn’t give up her world for his and he wasn’t
sure he was ready to do that for her. All he could
promise her was regular visits and he thought she
deserved more. She deserved to be held every
night and kissed good morning. She deserved a
present lover—not one halfway across the world.

With an uneasy sigh, he sat on his knees

with a sketching pencil and began working. He
couldn’t concentrate. He kept thinking that per-
haps their conversation at the office had ended
too quickly. What more could be said? They
were in a relationship that was heading no where
fast. It had started out like a run-a-way freight
train atop a hill. Someone had given it a gentle
push and all of a sudden it was speeding

188/313

downward. There is no way to stop it safely.
Similar to the train, Raiden knew if he and
Rochelle got any deeper involved, it would only
end in disaster. He pulled himself from his
thoughts and peered down at the board. He drew
Rochelle’s face the way he saw it last. Her big,
brown eyes were sad and he felt like a murderer.
Her eyes used to gleam before and he somehow
in the space of days managed to kill what life she
had inside.

He finally gave up on getting any work

down and simply shoved the boards beneath his
bed. He exited the room with every intention of
helping Rochelle with dinner but when he walked
into the kitchen she wasn’t there. The stove was
off and the dinner partially cooked. Arching a
brow, he searched and found her sobbing in the
den.

“Koibito? Tell me what’s wrong?”
“You know what’s wrong,” Rochelle

sniffled and wiped her eyes. “I deserve this in a
way—I do because I do this all the time. I fall for

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men who can’t fall back or won’t fall back.
Which one are you, Raiden?”

“Rochelle, please…”
He stepped forward to pull her into his arms

but she jerked back and held out a hand stopping
him. He felt horrible.

“I just wanted to hold you.”
“It’s not about what you want, Raiden. It’s

about what my body can take and right now an-
other rejection is not something it can take. So if
you don’t mind...”

“Sure.” He stood there, helpless as she cried.

It broke his heart into a million different pieces
and all he could do was shove his hands into his
pocket and hang his head.

“What would you say?”
“No more suggestions, Zero. Every sugges-

tion in this whole torrid affair, made by you or
me, has ended in one big, fat mess. I don’t think I
can take any more ideas right now.”

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“You wouldn’t give up your world for me

and I don’t think I’m strong enough to do that for
you. I think it’s best if I left.”

“You can’t leave. Your boss and I had a

deal. One of my workers for one of theirs.”

Raiden felt even worse. “We can send you

someone else,” he whispered. “Our deal will still
be in effect.”

“I don’t want someone else and you can’t

speak for Emiko-San Ai.”

“Yes I can.” Raiden swallowed and met her

teary gaze. “I own it.”

Something died inside her eyes and replaced

with anger. He knew why she was angry he just
didn’t understand. He stepped toward her, but she
backed away again leaving him feeling empty
and alone.

“You’re the boss?” she questioned softly,

feeling for a chair. “You own the company—why
didn’t you tell me this before?”

“The

truth—I

didn’t

think

it

was

important…”

191/313

She nodded sadly. “You’re right. I think it’s

best if you leave.”

“Is that what you want?” he questioned

softly.

“Yes.”
“Very well, then. As you wish.” He turned

and left her sitting there alone. Normally he
would stay and fight but in this case he knew it
would be selfish. If their relationship would
eventually crash and burn it might as well be now
rather than later. She wanted him gone and if it
would stop her heart from breaking he would do
anything. He hauled his suitcase free and opened
it. Glancing at the clock he frowned. He did the
math mentally just to figure out the time in Japan
to know where to call his brother. With Osaka
approximately fourteen hours ahead, it should be
well into tomorrow night there. He rubbed his
temples before dialing Daitaro’s cell.

“Moshimoshi?”
His brother sounded sleepy.
“Dai, did I wake you?”

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“Rai? Ogenki desu ka?”
“I don’t know how I’m feeling right now,

Dai. I’m heading home.”

“Sumimasen?”
“You heard right, big brother. I’m coming

home.”

“You’re not due back for a few weeks. What

happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it. Get someone

else ready to take my place in the exchange. It’s
not fair to leave the space empty.”

“Want me to send the jet?”
Raiden shook his head. “No. It will not get

here on time. I’ll grab a plane from here. Look,
don’t tell anyone anything about this.”

“I won’t. You sure you’re all right?”
“I’ll explain more when I get home. I have to

call the airport now but I’ll let you know what
time I’m coming in so you can either send a car
or come get me.”

“All right.”

193/313

The conversation ended as abruptly as it

began. He didn’t mean to be rude—he just didn’t
know what else to say to Daitaro. He really didn’t
want to explain over the phone. He felt horrible
enough without rehashing everything. He picked
up the picture they took at the CN Tower and
smirked at it briefly. They had taken it before
their day went to hell with their arguing. But
making up was so damn good.

While shoving his last things into his bag

and zipping it up, he called the airport. They told
him if he arrived in the next three hours they
could get him, in first class, on his way home.
With his calls finished, he stopped long enough
to write a note, draw something and left both on
the bed. He stared down at the drawing for a bit
with unbelievable sadness. He could have saved
them both a lot of heartache, not allowing him-
self to taste her. But he truly believed where they
lived didn’t matter. Raiden swore under his
breath and yanked out his cell phone once more
and dialled the operator to get him a cab. He

194/313

descended the steps and stopped to look at her
back in the dark room. Raiden stood there a mo-
ment not knowing what to say.

“Rochelle? Please look at me.”
When she didn’t turn to face him, he accep-

ted with a nod. “Good-bye, Rochelle.”

He exited the doors and stood in the cold

awaiting his taxi.

He thought—hoped she would rush out and

stop him. Even as the taxi arrived and the burly
man tossed the suitcase into the trunk causing the
car to bounce, Raiden stood at the door staring at
the house. He hesitated, waiting for her but she
didn’t come. She did not rush into his arms. As
he sped away in the yellow car, he realized things
like that only happened in the movies. He settled
silently in the back seat and inhaled deeply.

“This is for the best,” he whispered.
“Did you say something, buddy?”
Raiden lifted his head and tried for a smile.

“No. Nothing.”

195/313

The cab driver nodded and turned his atten-

tion back to the road. Raiden stared out the side
window at the snow crew clearing the other side
of the highway. He kept repeating it over and
over in his head—there had to be a better way.
But long after the cab dropped him off, he
checked in and waiting in the VIP lounge for his
plane to board, no better way came to him. When
they finally called for him to make his way to his
seat on the plane he felt miserable. If he could
have his way, he would have turned back and re-
turn to her. But it isn’t up to him. With a frown,
he drained his whiskey glass, grabbed his carry
on and made his way toward the gates.

* * * *

Rochelle’s head snapped up when the engine

stopped in her driveway, then disappeared in the
distance. She flew from her seat and rushed out
the door barefoot and without her jacket in time
to see the tail end of the taxi speeding away. She
bit down hard against her lower lip, desperately
trying to stop the tears from falling down her

196/313

face. She wouldn’t be sad—he’d lied to her. Let
him go.

Will that make you sleep tonight, Rochelle?
Cursing under her breath she rushed back in-

side and slammed the door. She pressed her back
against it and slid down to the ground wrapping
her arms around herself.

He actually left.
For almost three hours, she sat there simply

staring into space. The phone rang a few times
but she ignored it. She attempted to pull herself
together but so many hours later she realized she
had failed miserably. Finally, she got up from
where she sat on the floor and walked into the
living room. She meant to sit down on the sofa
but memories of what happened on that couch
pulled her away from it. She passed into the den
instead and grabbed the phone. Her hands shook
uncontrollably while she dialled. Finally she had
to give up and use speaker phone.

“Hello?” Maylee sounded as though she had

already gone to bed.

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“May?” she sniffled.
“Sweetie what’s wrong?”
“He’s gone.”
“Wait...who’s gone.”
“Raiden—Raiden’s gone.”
“I’m coming over there!” Maylee hung up

before Rochelle could say anything else.
Rochelle turned the speaker phone off and made
her way into the kitchen. As she reached for a
bottle of red wine and a glass the bottle slipped
and smashed into the ground. When she looked
down, wine was splattered all over her wall and
cupboards. She made a helpless sound in her
throat and walked away to sit watching the front
door waiting for Maylee. When the knock finally
came, Rochelle flew from her seat, ripped the
door opened and all but tackled her best friend.
The two walked in, closing the door and Maylee
headed for the living room before Rochelle
stopped her.

“Don’t…”

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“What? What’s wrong with the living

room?”

“That’s where we…”
“Oh!” Maylee’s cheeks flushed and Rochelle

led her friend into the den. They sat down and
Rochelle curled her body into her seat.

“Okay, tell me everything.”
“Well...we decided—actually I decided we

should try something. I mean he was sitting there
and just looked so good. Then he walked
away—trying to avoid us getting involved be-
cause of what I told him before about us not get-
ting intimate. But I told him I am ready. I told
him I could do it.” Rochelle trailed off and
shivered. Maylee tossed the nearby Afghan over
her shoulders and she continued. “We made
love—well it started out here and Lord knows
that man knows what he’s doing...but then my
brain started working—”

“Oi vey,” Maylee muttered.
“Then he told me he owns Emiko-San Ai.”

199/313

“Wait, he’s the boss at the Emiko-San Ai?

Okay, so how did that lead to him leaving?”

“I realized that we could never be anything. I

mean he lives in Japan, and I live here and then
he lied to me.”

“You’re kidding me right? He didn’t lie to

you, Rochelle. He simply didn’t tell you—he
probably thought you knew or that it wasn’t
important.”

“That’s not the point—”
“Then what is the point?”
Rochelle sighed in frustration. She dropped

the Afghan to the chair and stood up. She paced
the room like a caged cat, fury and sadness dan-
cing through her. “He should have told me.”

“So you asked him to leave.”
“Of course!”
“Is that why you’re really angry—that he

didn’t tell you he owned such a large company?
Or are you mad as hell because he lives all the
way in Japan?”

200/313

Rochelle stopped for a brief moment to look

at her friend but that didn’t last long. She crossed
the floor again with her arms folded behind her
back. She ran Maylee’s question through her
head but couldn’t come to the conclusion she de-
sired. She inhaled deeply.

“All right. So he is gone—now what?”
“What do you mean now what? There’s

nothing I can do about it. He’s gone. I just have
to gather my shit and move on. That’s all I can
do—I was fine before he showed up. I was per-
fectly happy being alone. Why should I let him
ruin that?”

“You trying to convince me, or yourself? Let

me get you a drink.”

“Watch out for the broken glass.”
Maylee arched a brow at her as if wanting to

ask a question but didn’t. She left the room and
Rochelle knew exactly when Maylee got there.

“Holy hell!” she cried.
Soon Maylee returned with two glasses of

white wine and forced Rochelle to sit down.

201/313

“Okay.” Maylee rested her glass against the

desk. “So he’s gone and you’re moving on. If I
was to believe that it means I’m going to have to
go back to dragging you out on Saturday nights.
Rochelle, you’re not an island. You deserve a
good man and if it’s not Raiden it’s someone
else. Do you think it was an accident he left his
country and came here?”

“I don’t believe in kismet, May. You know

that. He came here because he had a job to do, an
obligation, nothing more, nothing less.”

Rochelle took a sip from her glass and

crossed her legs. Sometimes it hurt to speak to
Maylee but the woman knew her things. It hurt so
much because after a while of speaking to
Maylee, Rochelle realized what an absolute mor-
on she’d been. She did not want to realize she
hurt Raiden more than she thought he hurt her.

“If you believe that, then what the two of

you shared wasn’t real and if it wasn’t real then
you shouldn’t be this hurt about him being gone.”

202/313

“Jeesh, May! Don’t stop there. Tell me how

you really feel.”

“All right. If you thought he just came here

to do a job, your pain right now wouldn’t exist.
Actually, if you believed that then you’d have to
believe you were nothing but a booty call for
him. Is that what you want to think?”

“Of course not! What woman wants to be

someone’s booty call?”

“Then stop bitching, stop moping and call

him.”

For the first time, Rochelle realized she had

no way of getting in touch with Raiden. She had
no way of calling him or writing him or even
email. She would have to go down to the legal
department and ask them for his contact or ask
Kelly. Then she would have to explain to them
what happened and she really didn’t want to do
that. She sighed and rested her head against the
back of the plush seat.

“Why is everything so complicated?”
Maylee laughed. “Simple answer?”

203/313

“Don’t think my brain can handle a complic-

ated answer right now.”

“You make it complicated. You jump to con-

clusions, Chelle. You accuse without thinking.
You let your heart lead you in times when it
shouldn’t and let your fear lead you when your
heart should. You’re run by your fear and if you
want life simpler, you’re gonna have to tell fear
to kiss your black ass and go for things.”

“Thanks for sugar coating that.”
“That’s not my job.” Maylee shrugged and

sipped her wine. “If you want to find him I got
some contacts in Japan. I can make a few calls
and get back to you probably tomorrow night.
It’s like fourteen hours time difference so calling
them too early or too late is a tad rude.”

“You’d do that for me? Even after the shit I

put you through the other day?”

“You’re my sister. I can choose my friends

but sisters I’m kinda stuck with.” Maylee
smirked.

204/313

Rochelle laughed despite her feelings. They

didn’t look anything like sisters. Rochelle had
dark skin with big, brown eyes and extensions in
her hair. In the black community she would be
called a thick sista. Maylee on the other hand had
long, flowing, real black hair down her back, al-
mond shaped brown eyes and petite body that
most men yearned for.

Placing her wine down, Rochelle leaned

across the space to hug Maylee tightly. “Thanks,
baby sis,” she whispered. “Thank you, thank you,
thank you.”

Rochelle asked Maylee to sleep-over that

night, after they cleaned up the wine mess. They
made a light snack and long after Maylee fell
asleep, Rochelle lay awake. She couldn’t fall
asleep and not for lack of trying. Finally she
climbed out of bed and made her way down the
hall to what used to be Raiden’s room. Instantly,
her gaze landed on the bed to the drawing that lay
there. She stared at the brilliant picture and

205/313

realized what it was; a self portrait of Raiden,
done in Manga style but he was missing
something. Where his heart should be a gaping,
black hole replaced it. His eyes looked like
haunted, dark holes without light and she reached
forward with a finger as though touching the
board would soothe him. She blinked, fighting
back her tears. She managed to stave them off but
once she opened the letter she could not stop the
tears from tumbling freely down her cheeks.

Koibito,
I’m sorry for any wrong I may have done to

you. It was never my intention to arrive in your
life and ruin it. The truth is, when I realised I was
the one going on the exchange, I had every intent
on coming, doing my best work then returning to
Japan. Meeting you and falling for you weren’t
in the plans at all. But plans be damned for I did
meet you and I did know you in ways that I am
sure most others will never know you. I know you
said that I wasn’t to give you any more sugges-
tions but please, forgive me for I have one final

206/313

suggestion I wanted to run by you. Permit me to
give it to you in this letter when I wasn’t permit-
ted to by words. I wanted to get to know you fur-
ther. I know I couldn’t simply give up my life for
yours and neither could you. I was going to sug-
gest a compromise. Neither of us has to give up
our lives, but we could meet half way. Half our
lives could be in your world and half could be in
mine. But obviously I have caused irreparable
harm to you and your heart. I made you cry and
the truth, Koibito, is that I would rather cut my
right arm off than see you cry anymore. Gomen-
nasai, Koibito— I am sorry. I have one final wish
for you, Wagakokoro, my heart—if you could see
what is inside my soul it would be that I wish that
you find someone who understands you and cher-
ishes you the way I so desperately yearned to. I
pray that you have all the happiness in the world
and should it be required that I trade mine in or-
der for you to smile again, then so be it. I wish
you lasting love, Koibito, and all the pleasures
the world has to offer.

207/313

Good-bye, Koibito,
Zero.
The letter slipped from her fingers and she

buried her face in her hands. Everything was a
huge mess. Raiden is gone and obviously from
his letter he let her go. She asked him to. Picking
up the letter, she read it again. That moment as
the words sunk deeper into her brain, she realized
something. She had fallen in love with Raiden
Rei. Japanese or not her heart had spoken, she ig-
nored it and now she was paying the price. She
said a silent prayer pleading for any high power
listening that Maylee’s contact knew a way to
find Raiden. She didn’t know if she could be
strong enough to expose her life to her legal team
or Kelly—especially Kelly.

Folding the letter with the utmost care, she

exited his room to go back to bed when she saw
Maylee coming up the stairs with a glass of milk.
She tried for a smile but couldn’t manage it. She
handed over the letter. Rochelle allowed Maylee
to walk her back to bed and tucked her in. She

208/313

simply cried harder for Raiden. Everything about
her house reminded her of him. His room still
had his scent. She buried her face into the pillow
allowing her tears to soak through it. Maylee
climbed in beside her and held her. She managed
to fall asleep but not for long before the sun
peered through the window.

* * * *

Walking into the building, Rochelle lifted

her chin proud and straightened her suit. She
tried to hurry past Caesar’s desk when he caught
a sight of her and waved. “Chelle. I got
something for your new worker, Raiden.”

“What’s that?”
Caesar jogged over and handed over

Raiden’s identification card. Rochelle’s lips
trembled and she gasped softly. She stuck the tag
into her purse and forced a smile at security.
“Thanks.”

“Hey, where is he anyway? I wanted to ask

him something for my daughter.”

209/313

“It’s a long story. But if you email me the

question I can get him to answer it for you?”

Brilliant cover Chelle! Way to go girl!
“All right, I’ll do that.”
After bidding Caesar a good day, she ducked

into the elevator. She held her breath, tilted her
head backward and blinked rapidly. The tears
held at the brink. She forced a breath preparing to
step from the elevator. When she did, as usual a
set of files were placed in her hands as well as a
set of pink slips. Kelly tried to speak to her but
Rochelle simple shook her head. “Not now,
Kelly.”

She barged into her office but she didn’t

have time to sob when the phone began ringing
off the hook. Reporters on the other line wanted
to know if it was true that the Raiden Rei worked
there. She hung up on all of them with a frus-
trated growl. A few she managed an angry “No
comment” but others simply got the dial tone.
Rochelle looked up to the ceiling. “Why me?
Why today?”

210/313

Licking her lips she rested her bum on the

table and tried hard not to look at the door where
she made Raiden explode all over the floor.

She stayed inside her office. All the submis-

sions she worked on irritated her. The proposals
she looked over didn’t compare to anything
Raiden would have drawn or written.

Deciding she would never give the new au-

thors a fair chance if she looked over their sub-
missions in her current mood, Rochelle put them
aside and began answering emails. Her mind
couldn’t grasp what was actually written until she
reread them over a few times.

After lunch, she finally gave in and told

Kelly to cancel all her meetings and appoint-
ments. She left the office early, wandered to the
wine store and eventually made it home. By-
passing the kitchen she climbed the stairs with a
bottle of wine and a glass.

The next morning, she woke up hoping it

was all a horrible dream. She hurried to Raiden’s

211/313

room but the bed was made and he wasn’t there.
She checked the rest of the house before crashing
in the living room on the sofa.

He really is gone.
The new day wasn’t any better. She did not

hear from Maylee and became disheartened. The
third day, she walked by Kelly’s desk with the
secretary calling after her. Rochelle didn’t stop
but simply continued into her office. When she
stepped through her door she saw a Japanese wo-
man sitting rather patiently in one of the guest
chairs. Rochelle placed her files and messages
down and turned to face the stranger.

What the hell do I pay Kelly for?
“Can I help you?” Rochelle questioned.
“I am Asuka Takahari.” The woman spoke

politely. She rose and gave Rochelle a bow just
as Raiden had done the day they came face to
face at the airport. Rochelle remembered the
name from their dealings in the past few weeks.
It is the woman that had set up the exchange.

“Welcome to Canada.”

212/313

“Thank you. I am here to replace Raiden.”
“How is he?”
Asuka shrugged slightly. “He is not like we

are used to. He has not spoken much but the
strangest thing of all he has not smiled since re-
turning to Osaka. All the contracts have been up-
dated.” She stopped and pointed to the desk.
“There are my signed copies for you and your
legal department. If you could please tell me my
duties I should begin right away.”

Rochelle nodded numbly. “Raiden’s—I

mean your office will be over there. Your job is
to help us get our serial Gothic Wings ready for
distribution. All the information you need is in
there.”

Asuka nodded briskly, excused herself and

stepped into the office. Rochelle watched her go
before walking as normally as possible from her
office to the restroom locking the door. She
peered under each stall to ensure she was alone
before locking herself in one and sitting down on
the closed seat. She allowed herself to sob,

213/313

getting it out of her system if she wanted to keep
it together. She could then admit that her sending
Raiden away wasn’t because he didn’t tell her
about Emiko-San Ai. It’s because she was afraid.
She wanted to protect her heart so it was easier to
just let him go.

How is that working out for you?
She frowned and rolled off some toilet paper

to dry her eyes. That didn’t work. As soon as she
dried the tears, new tears formed. Annoyance
rushed through her and she lifted her head in a
bid to stop them from running down but her eyes
filled up and overflowed.

The ringing of her cell phone jarred her from

her sorrow and she peered at the caller I.D. Slip-
ping it open she pressed it to her ears.

“May?”
“I have some news.”
Rochelle’s heart sank at the sound in

Maylee’s voice. “What’s wrong? Is he okay?”

“He’s alive. My contact says he’s not like he

used to be. He goes to work and goes home. He

214/313

doesn’t go to events to promote Emiko anymore
but sends someone in his place. He has basically
become a hermit, Rochelle.”

“I know. I have to do something.”

215/313

Chapter Eight

Raiden felt exhausted. He hadn’t slept well

for the past few days. Each time he closed his
eyes a vision of Rochelle came to him. Her scent
swirled around him, blocking his mind to any-
thing else. She smelled like lavender and roses.
When he tasted from her she felt like a blaze of
fire he wanted to engulf him.

Why isn’t that enough?
He remembered she didn’t give him a chance

to tell her that. At the time he wasn’t ready to
open up that deeply but he had in the letter. He
told her the truth, but she probably didn’t believe
him. Raiden bowed his head. No matter how long
or often he thought of what transpired in Canada
he always ended with a heartbreaking conclusion.
When light peered through his dark soul, there
was always that inkling of doubt that left him
gasping in hopelessness. His office door creaked
slightly and he knew his brother and best friend
peered in at him again. The two checked up on

him when they thought he wouldn’t notice. He
lifted his head again, attempting to reel his
thoughts in.

“Has he said anything to you?” Nia’s voice

questioned.

“Yeah.” Daitaro replied sadly. “You?”
“She must be some woman. I’ve never seen

him like this.”

“He hasn’t eaten either,” Daitaro added. “I

don’t like it. It’s like my brother is withering
away before my damn eyes and there’s nothing I
can do about it.”

“Guys,” Raiden called from where he stood

looking out the window. “I’m standing right here.
The last time I checked I’m not deaf—I can hear
you.”

It had been days since he returned from

Canada. He could barely hold on as it is without
the two people he loved most in the world whis-
pering behind his back. He hauled in a deep
breath and turned around to see them walk into

217/313

the room. Both flopped down on his sofa, eyeing
him.

“You’re not eating?” Nia spoke in her

mother-esque tone. “I know you’re broken
hearted and when that happens to me I don’t feel
like eating—”

“You’re not helping!” Daitaro interrupted.
But the petite woman simply continued,

“—but you have to eat something. At least snack
on something.”

“I’m not hungry,” Raiden told her with a

broken smile.

“See what I mean?” Daitaro frowned. “This

is what I’ve been putting up with since he got
back.”

“Why’d you actually leave her, Zero?” Nia

asked. Each time they asked him that question he
gave them the same answer. But Nia simply
looked at him as though he just told her the
biggest lie ever. “It couldn’t be just because she
asked you to. I mean you love her enough right?
You wouldn’t have just left.”

218/313

Raiden looked at her and took her hands. “If

you tell a man to leave and he doesn’t, you need
to call me. If a woman speaks her mind in a case
like this, even though I did not like it and it’s
killing me, I couldn’t stay. It is her wish that I
should go and I am abiding by it. I’ll eat
something later, I promise.”

Nia kissed his cheek and left the room but

Daitaro refused to leave. He simply sat there with
his legs crossed watching his brother. Raiden
walked around his desk and sat down trying to
ignore the fact that his brother sat across from
him, simply staring. He opened a submission
from the pile that collected in the last few days.
The media said he went into hiding since his re-
turn from Canada but he didn’t see it that way.
He wasn’t in the mood to have strangers peering
in, telling him how to live his life especially
while he was in this mood. Once he dealt with his
issues he would make an appearance, but until
then Daitaro would remain the face of Emiko-
San Ai. Until then, he would continue to make

219/313

sure the company sent out the best—that is
something he would not compromise due to his
crappy disposition.

Finally he glanced up. “What?”
“You love this woman—this Rochelle. Why

not call her? Just call her. Tell her you simply
want to hear her voice—see how she’s doing.”

“Did you not hear me say she doesn’t want

anything to do with me? She thinks I lied to her
and if that’s how she feels then she is entitled to
it. Now, if you don’t mind.”

Daitaro stood up and shook his head. “You

are my brother. And I love you with all my heart
but sometimes I cannot understand you. Don’t
you get it that when you hurt this much it pains
me because I can’t help you?”

“And I wish there was something you could

do to help me—as a matter of fact you are doing
something to help me. You’re helping me with
this company and that’s all I really need that any-
one can give me right now.”

220/313

“Well I’m heading home. I’m going to cook

and when you come home you’re going to eat.”

“Yes, sir, big brother-San.” Raiden ended

with a mock salute.

“Smart ass.” Daitara left the room frowning.
Just thinking of food made Raiden want to

throw up but he made a promise. Shaking his
head, he went back to work. The truth is, Raiden
wouldn’t have left if she just asked him to go. He
would have moved out of her place, found a hotel
and stayed fighting for her. But then he saw her
tears and it simply broke him. The image of that
day flashed into his mind again and he cringed. It
was hard for him to see her cry and not be able to
soothe her. At that moment, he realized that he
fell in love with Rochelle Hayes whether he
wanted to or not. Perhaps it was their day in the
CN Tower—but he knew for certain something
happened the moment he watched her lose her
mind on that table. He closed the file and got up
from his seat. He could suddenly see her, on her
knees smirking up into his face and reaching for

221/313

his cock. Perhaps it was the days without food
but his mind seemed to be going. He said good-
bye to Nia and left for the day.

He had every intention not to go home. He

wandered around and wound up at the Tennōji
Park. But the beauty of the park did nothing for
his mood or his clogged mind. Eventually he left
the crowded area. He spotted a few Canadian
flags on bags belonging to tourists and couldn’t
help the smile that crossed his face. But he found
himself withdrawing from all the people in
Osaka.

Eventually he ambled home, and true to

form, his brother shoved a plate of teriyaki chick-
en at him. Offering a small smile, he accepted the
plate, pushed off his shoes and sat down at the
table with his chopsticks poised over his meal.
Daitaro didn’t go far—the older Rei brother
stood by the table, arms folded watching Raiden
until finally Raiden put a piece into his mouth.
He chewed and swallowed reluctantly. The taste
of food seemed almost foreign to him. The

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flavours exploded in his mouth and he tried his
best to keep it in. It took him longer than he
would have normally to eat the small portion on
his plate. After he finished he downed a bottle of
water non-stop before walking into his den and
sat down at his computer. He noticed an email
from Asuka with her daily report in his inbox. It
took everything within him not to write back and
ask her how Rochelle is. Is she still as beautiful
as I remember?

Is her body still as curvy?
Does she still taste like every good thing I’ve

ever eaten?

Instead he sent a small note confirming he

received the email and wishing her a good stay in
Canada. He moved to his sofa and rested his head
back.

“How are you feeling now?” Daitaro ques-

tioned from the door.

Raiden looked up and smiled. “Better.

Arigatou.”

223/313

He watched his older brother for a moment

before Daitaro walked in. The two sat in silence
for a bit before his brother finally spoke. “I’ve
been thinking.”

Raiden chuckled.
Daitaro nudged him with his shoulder. “I’m

older than you—I should have found a woman I
love half as much as you love this Rochelle wo-
man. I’m at the age where thinking like our par-
ents has been slowly seeping out of me. Thinking
that dating outside my culture is taboo. I have to
be open-minded, Zero. I have to know that love
comes from where ever it wants.”

“Is that why you didn’t say anything when I

told you Rochelle is African American?”

Daitaro nodded.
“I didn’t have a choice, Dai. I took one look

at her and—”

“I get it. I realize that you can’t pick who

you fall in love with. You have no control over it.
Sometime it just has to be.”

“I didn’t know you believed in destiny.”

224/313

“You’d be surprised the things I believe in,

Otouto. The older a man gets the more he stops
seeing the world as simply black and white.
There are colors in between, Rai. The sooner you
realize that, the better.”

Raiden smiled sadly. “You haven’t called me

that in years.”

“Call you what?”
“Otouto—little brother.”
Daitaro smiled then, his years showing mo-

mentarily through his eyes. “You haven’t needed
it all these years. You haven’t really needed a big
brother—and a part of me was happy about that
because I knew you weren’t in any dire straits.
But now—it’s called for.”

“It’s good to be someone’s Otouto.” Raiden

nodded. “Sometimes being an adult is just so
tiring.”

“I believe that.”
Raiden slipped deeper into the softness of

the sofa and closed his eyes. He wanted to bask
in the moment he just shared with his big brother.

225/313

After breaking up, Rei usually shrugged them off
as the “they weren’t meant to be” kind of rela-
tionships. Daitaro took his break-ups a little more
seriously since he had been looking for someone
to settle down with and start a family. Raiden
hadn’t seen the point to his brother being so upset
before but he knew why now.

“I understand now.” Raiden lifted his head.
“Hmm?”
“Why you were so upset after you lost

Atama.”

Daitaro shifted slightly and Raiden knew he

made his brother uncomfortable with the direc-
tion of the conversation.

“Do you?” Daitaro asked.
“Hai.” Raiden replied with a nod. “You

loved her—almost desperately.”

Daitaro nodded silently before bowing his

head. “But it wasn’t enough. It seems lately, love
is never enough.”

“Then what else is there?”

226/313

“Well, when I find the answer to that,

Otouto, I’ll be sure to let you know.” He patted
Raiden on the shoulder and stood. “Since you’re
no longer starving I’m going to head home. If
you need me—”

“I’ll call you—and yes, I promise.”
Daitaro offered him a smile and Raiden

watched his brother leave. Raiden stretched his
body out on the sofa. He didn’t have the energy
to move to the bedroom. He closed his eyes, and
forced himself into a deep sleep. As soon as he
closed his eyes, he began reliving everything
with Rochelle. During the middle of the night he
hauled himself to the kitchen, poured himself
some whiskey and swallowed. Once more he
brought his tired body to the sofa, removed his
shirt and put his head down.

* * * *

Where is that sound coming from?
Raiden moaned and snuggled into the arm of

the sofa. It isn’t the most comfortable position for
his neck but somewhere through the night he got

227/313

used to it. He heard a banging and lurched for-
ward trying to remember where he was.

This isn’t my bedroom—oh the living room.
Rubbing his eyes, he glanced at a nearby

wall clock and arched a brow. It is too early for
visitors. With a groan he tried to lie back down
again but as soon as his head hit the cushion the
knocking came again. Frowning, he wondered if
Nia was checking on him again. His neck hurt
from sleeping in an awkward position all night.
He rubbed it, tilting it from one side to another
trying to get the pain to stop. Yanking the door
open his eyes almost slipped from his head.

“What are you doing here?” he questioned.

* * * *

It had taken Rochelle almost twenty hours

but she made it. She almost passed out when the
plane lifted off. It is a fear she never thought she
could over-come but each time she flew she felt
ill.

228/313

She turned around to look at him. Beside the

fact that he looked sexy without his shirt, he
looked tired.

“I wanted to see you—can I come in?”
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

Raiden tilted his head. He stepped aside anyway.
Rochelle walked by him and into a surprisingly
beautiful home. She removed her shoes like
Maylee told her and placed them neatly to the
side on a mat. She spent the few minutes it took
her to book her flight, secure a hotel in Osaka
and pack a few things, to have Maylee shout
Japanese etiquette at her. Rochelle prayed she re-
tained all the information so she wouldn’t offend
anyone. She turned to face him until he led her
into the living room. He picked up his shirt and
slipped into it, leaving Rochelle feeling cheated.

“I asked you a question.”
“And I told you. I didn’t come all this way to

argue with you. I hoped you would want to do
this.” She held out the letter that she folded and
unfolded so many times that it fit in her palm

229/313

perfectly. Without pressure keeping the sides
down, the letter simply unfolded itself. He looked
down into her hand as if it had sprouted horns.

“I didn’t write that so you’d come running

back. I wrote it to tell you how I felt so you
wouldn’t be left wondering. I just wanted you to
know.”

“I know,” Rochelle whispered. “I’ve missed

you, Zero. Everything in my house smells like
you—my office isn’t the same anymore. I keep
seeing you up against the door with me on my
knees. I read your letter and it broke my heart. I
tried to move on but the last few days have been
torture.”

She stared at him but he turned his face away

from her. It seemed like he was rejecting her and
she didn’t know what to do. She reached out and
held onto his arm. “Zero—”

He pulled from her and she reached forward

again.

“Zero, I need you.”
“That’s not enough.”

230/313

“I know—but right now that’s all I have. I

know you don’t love me—”

He swung to face her so violently that she

gasped and jerked backward. “And how would
you know that? How do you know what is hap-
pening inside me—how do you know what I am
feeling? You cannot begin to understand. My
family expected me to marry a Japanese woman.
I expected to marry a woman of my culture. But I
never felt for any of them the way I felt for you. I
never wanted any woman to be in control—ever.
But with you…” he stopped and lifted his head as
though trying to find the right words. “I gave you
my body and I longed to give you my soul. But
my heart, I had no power over that.”

“No one loves anyone that deeply within the

short time I’ve known you.”

“Did you come all this way to insult my in-

telligence, Rochelle? Do you think I haven’t lain
here, on this sofa wondering how that could be?
I’ve spent hours trying to figure it out. At first I
thought it was lust, just a stupid infatuation. But

231/313

then I thought of you with another man and it
damn near killed me. Each and every time I saw
you looking at him the way you looked at
me—on that table, on your knees, in his arms—I
wanted to die. It won’t go away, Rochelle. Now,
you’ve asked me to let you go and I am try-
ing—at least give me the chance to do that.”

“I don’t want to lose you, Raiden. I can’t.”
“Then what do you want me to say? What do

you want me to do?”

The pain on his face startled her. She could

see the hurt in his eyes. She wanted to reach out
and take him in her arms. Bowing her head she
inhaled before looking at him again. “Hold me?”
she whispered, daring not to meet his gaze.
“Look at me like you did when you picked me up
in your arms in the CN Tower. I want you to
smile at me the way you did when I cooked you
Miso. I want you to touch me like you did
before.”

232/313

“I can’t. I can’t smile at you when you

already have my smiles. I gave them to you so
you could be happy.”

“Zero, I’ll never be happy until I have you.

Don’t you understand? What I need is for you to
love me—not to tell me you do because that’s
what you think I want to hear. I want you to take
time, really make sure you love me.”

“So until then what do I do? Pretend I don’t

love you? Rochelle, you can leave now. You can
come back when you think it’s the right time for
someone to love someone else. I will not be with
someone who wants me to reject how I’m
feeling.”

Rochelle stared at him, tears welling up in

her eyes. When the first one toppled down her
cheeks, Raiden looked away from her and walked
from the room. She stood there, alone and vulner-
able, shaking slightly. She took a seat on the sofa
behind her and tried drying her eyes. She re-
membered what he had written in the letter.

233/313

I made you cry and the truth is I would

rather cut my right arm off than hurt you any-
more. Gomennasai, Koibito— I am sorry.

She took a deep breath to settle her emo-

tions. She dried her eyes with the backs of her
hands. When she felt like she could control the
tears, she exited the room and found him in the
kitchen. She stood at the door watching him. He
had both hands braced against the counter with
his head bowed. His lovely, dark hair hung in his
face. She could tell he was trying to reel himself
in. “Raiden.”

He didn’t look at her.
“I’m not crying, Raiden, I promise.”
Slowly, he lifted his eyes to her.
“Why do you look away every time I cry?”
“I know the tears are because of me—and

seeing you cry breaks my heart.”

The truth behind his words tore at her heart

but she inhaled and held the breath in order to
keep from crying. She stepped forward and took
his hand, pressing the palm to her heart. “I can

234/313

make you a promise right now, Raiden. I can
promise you that I would be a good woman to
you. But I can’t be that if you keep pushing me
away.”

“I can’t allow you to, if you keep telling me I

don’t love you. How can you look into my eyes
and say that I don’t?”

He stared at her. When Rochelle thought she

would die if he didn’t do something, Raiden
reached out and lifted a hand to the back of her
neck. His fingers caressed her while his gaze
never broke contact with hers. He pulled her into
his arms and buried his fingers in her hair.
Rochelle felt his body exhale and she couldn’t
stop the tears seeping from her eyes. She clung to
him tightly, burying her face to his neck beneath
his chin. She caught his shirt against his back in
two fists, holding on as if she thought she would
die if she released it.

He kissed the side of her neck and whispered

softly to her in Japanese, a language she didn’t
understand but had every intention of learning.

235/313

“Aishiteru, Koibito. Wagakokoro.”
Rochelle didn’t care. At that moment she

knew exactly where she wanted to be—trapped
between Raiden’s body and a counter. In his
arms, again, where everything seemed right with
the world. Her body trembled while he continued
whispering to her. He lifted her face and kissed
her eyes shut. He dropped soft kisses over her
brows, sending torrents of fire through her. He
focused on her with tender and sweet caresses.
His mouth roamed over her nose and fi-
nally—something she had wanted since the mo-
ment he disappeared in the yellow abomination
of a taxi. He took her lips gently, more tears
flowed from her eyes and her arms snaked
around him once more.

“Rochelle…” he whispered. “Please be…”

even as he whispered to her he undressed her. He
ripped her shirt from her body and tossed it over
his shoulder as he pleaded with her.

She sighed, feeling the air against her naked

flesh knowing and craving what was coming.

236/313

“Be sure.” His mouth trailed down her neck.
This felt like heaven. She buried her fingers

in his hair, trying to move his mouth to her
nipples. She needed him to suck on her, taste her,
remind her why her body trembled into orgasms
each time she thought of him. But he took his
time. He moved at his own pace; ate at her skin,
licked her in places she never thought would turn
her on. Finally he came to her nipples. They were
already hard—she could feel it. Then his mouth
engulfed her breast.

“Rai…” she managed. Her knees buckled

beneath her and Raiden wrapped his arms around
her. He picked her up, placing her on the counter.
He smirked at her, sending her whole body shud-
dering and she reached for him. He took her
wrists and moved them behind her. He left her,
for a second, grabbing a piece of her tattered
shirt. He used it to restrain her hands behind her
back.

“Oh my.” The thought of her control being

taken away from her turned her on. She

237/313

shuddered and licked her lips. Raiden gripped her
pants with both hands and tugged. The sharp
sound of her new, name brand jeans ripping
caught her attention and for a brief moment she
wanted to cry. Then she remembered what
Raiden could do to her body and knew he would
make up for it all.

“I hope you brought clothes with you.” He

laughed, reaching in and removing her panties.
The red lace soon became a red piece of tattered
cloth and his tongue replaced her panties.

“Oh God…” She wanted to reach in and

bury her fingers in his hair. She wanted to trail
her nails over his abs. She tugged at the piece of
shirt binding her hands while her hips gyrated
against his tongue. “Eat me—please.” Never in
her wildest dreams did she ever think she’d beg
for it. But Raiden had a way with her body like
no other man. He had a certain way he licked at
her clit, pulled her pussy lips together and sucked
them. The pull of his mouth on her most intimate
area left her half sobbing and delirious.

238/313

Without thinking her tongue hung from her

mouth, curling in the ways his moved over her
clit. She ached to claw at his shoulders, pull his
hair but she couldn’t. Her chest heaved, her neck
lost all strength to hold her head up and soon she
rested backward on her elbows shouting her re-
lease to the ceiling. Raiden’s tongue flowed over
the tender bud again and again, even as she
soared through her climax. When he lifted his
head and wrapped an arm around her, she knew
there had to be more.

He untied her and lifted her gently from the

counter. Without a word he carried her into the
living room. His eyes glazed over with de-
sire—she could see it each time he looked at her.
He turned her from him gently. “Don’t move.”

She whimpered. The hard tone of his voice

aroused her even more. She heard the sound of
his zipper. She wanted to feel him hot and throb-
bing between her lips. But knowing Raiden, he
had other plans.

239/313

“What happens if I do move?” she whispered

cheekily, wiggling her ass at him.

He slapped one butt cheek and she moaned.

“Oh!” Needing to feel it again, Rochelle moved
from where he placed her to the other side of the
sofa. He reached forward, kissed her bum before
spanking her hard against each cheek. She
whimpered. “More.”

Oh no! Now I love getting spanked? When

did that happened?

Raiden did have other plans. He spanked her

until she heaved with arousal. He slapped her ass
until she gushed against the sofa. She slumped
forward and he pulled her back to all fours.

He loved tasting her after such a long

drought. He licked his lips and to his satisfaction
he could still taste her. While she faced away
from him, Raiden stripped slowly, watching her
ass dance sensually from side to side. He walked
up to her and inserted a finger at first, feeling her
hot, tight and wet around the digit. He moaned

240/313

raising the finger to his lips and letting his tongue
taste her. He guided his hard cock to her en-
trance, clutched her hips and drove into her
forcefully.

“Raiden!” she screamed at the top of her

lungs.

“Is that what you wanted?”
“Deeper!”
Pulling fully from her, he guided himself

once more and pushed forward roughly. That sent
more pleasure through him than anything he
could think of. He groaned, gyrating his hips,
withdrawing and plunging deeper. He loved the
little gasps and purrs she made when he hit her
spot just right. When she came around his dick,
her back arched, her knees buckled to the sofa
and her head fell forward. Panting, he held his
head back squeezing his eyes shut. It couldn’t be
over so quickly—he did not want it to be. But he
had gone without her for so long that his body
didn’t want to wait.

241/313

Grinding his teeth he reached forward,

pinching one of her nipples forcing her to cry out.
She reached back and dragged her nails against
his bare thigh just as he plunged in her again.
When he erupted, Raiden didn’t have the strength
to pull from her. He pushed in and his whole
world exploded. His body jerked, spasms send
his mind fleeing his body. He loved every sweet,
painful moment of it. He wrapped his arms
around her and fell downward, pulling her with
him to the sofa.

They lay there, silently panting for breath.

Raiden kept his eyes shut afraid that should he
open them she would vanish and he would be left
with Daitaro or Nia staring at him like he had
gone insane.

“Zero?” Her sweet voice called to him and

he moaned.

“Shh—I don’t want you to disappear.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“You aren’t a figment of my imagination?”

242/313

She laughed softly and he felt her press a

kiss to one of his nipples. He felt it harden in-
stantly. When her tongue passed over it, his eyes
flew open to see her grinning at him.

“See? I’m still here.”
“Good.” Raiden moved them to the ground.

“Because that little lick you just gave me made
me hard again. How about you help me out a
little?”

When she licked her lips, flipped her braids

from her face and climbed to all fours, Raiden bit
his lower lip. Her gaze locked with his as her
hand wrapped itself around his already hard cock.
He stuck his tongue out at her in a licking mo-
tion. She gave him what he desired and bowed
her head licking the swollen head of his dick.

“Oh yes, baby, that’s it.”

243/313

Chapter Nine

The moment Raiden opened his eyes he felt

the pain in his neck. He hadn’t slept on the
ground in a very long time. Glancing at the clock
on the far wall he swore under his breath. It is
after lunch and Daitaro and Nia must be going
out of their minds. Normally, he would be in the
office before everyone else. He tried to get up,
thinking last night was all a dream but Rochelle’s
warm body cuddled against him proving other-
wise. On queue the telephone started ringing. Al-
though he wanted to get it he knew he couldn’t
leave Rochelle on the floor. He tried waking her
by shaking her gently but she simply moaned and
shifted into him even closer. Smiling, he pressed
a kiss to her head before scooping her into his
arms. He carried her down the corridor and laid
her against the bed. He removed her mangled
pants from her body with a smile on his lips. The
first time he kissed her that day a feral feeling
tore through him. He hadn’t given any regard for

her clothing—he needed to taste her, feel her
tighten around his cock. He pulled the sheets up
to her neck and sat on the side of the bed. He
stared at the now silent phone, took a deep breath
and reached for it.

His company’s number appeared on the

caller ID and he arched a brow—seventeen times.
He stopped counting. Taking a look at Rochelle’s
sleeping form he smiled wanting to crawl into
bed with her but left the room to return Nia’s
call—he knew it was either her or Daitaro.

“Moshimoshi!

Emiko-San

Ai!”

Nia

answered the phone. “How may I help you?”

“Hi, Nia.”
“Zero! Are you all right? I’ve tried calling

you.”

“I know. I stopped counting after seventeen

times. I really wish there is a way to hang a sock
over the phone line.”

“I got worried and sent Daitaro over there.”
Raiden palmed his forehead and moaned.

“That’s a bad idea. I have a guest.”

245/313

“A guest? Who?”
Raiden tilted his head to peer down the cor-

ridor to ensure Rochelle was still in the room.
When he didn’t see her he walked further into the
kitchen. “Rochelle. She’s sleeping now. I should
have called but things kinda—look I haven’t had
a chance to be alone with her and Daitaro coming
over isn’t something I’m ready for. I didn’t want
to just toss her into meeting my family.”

“You wanted to kinda ease her in, huh, I’m

sorry, Zero. I’ll try calling his cell phone and—”

The door bell rang.
“Don’t bother. He’s here. I have to go.”
Rushing to grab pants, he hauled them on be-

fore answering the door. When he pulled it open
Daitaro simply stormed in shouting at him, “Did
you hear the phone ringing?”

“Keep your voice down or you’ll wake her,”

Raiden warned.

Daitaro’s brow shot upward. “Wake who?”
“Rochelle.” Raiden closed the door and lead

his brother into the kitchen. He stopped only

246/313

briefly to peer down the hall to make sure Dait-
aro and his big mouth didn’t wake his woman.

“She’s here?”
“Yes. I didn’t even know she was coming.

She showed up last night at my door.” Raiden
prepared some tea and the two sat down. “When I
heard the door bell I thought either you or Nia
were checking on me.”

“So what happened?”
“What do you think? We argued for a while,

she cried and I just lost myself. Seeing her upset
breaks my heart more than I ever thought pos-
sible—but then I took her into my arms and
everything just seemed to melt away.”

Daitaro held up a hand. “Whoa! Don’t need

a play by play. I’m just glad I didn’t get here
sooner.”

Raiden laughed softly and bowed his head.

“I think I speak for myself and Rochelle when I
say, so do we.”

“Zero?” Rochelle’s voice called and he

looked up.

247/313

“In the kitchen, Koibito.”
She walked into the kitchen, thankfully,

wrapped in one of his sheets. He had all but
shredded her clothes. He saw her blush as she
walked into the kitchen. He could only imagine
the thoughts going through her head. She stood
behind him looking around at Daitaro. What an
embarrassing situation for her. Raiden turned,
pulled her around and into his arms with her back
against his chest.

“This is my brother Daitaro,” Raiden intro-

duced. “Dai, this is Rochelle.”

Daitaro smirked but bowed his head slightly

in greeting. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hello.” Rochelle shivered against Raiden’s

chest. “I should leave you two to talk.”

Raiden didn’t release her. He didn’t think he

could. She glanced over her shoulder at him but
he only smiled at her. She shook her head, kissed
his chin and let her go. When she disappeared
from the room, he looked over at Daitaro.

248/313

His brother leaned in. “She isn’t the kind of

woman I would’ve pick for you but the way she
looks at you says so much.”

“How so?”
“Her eyes said more in that brief moment

than any words could.” Daitaro took a drink from
his tea cup. “And I think that’s all a big brother
can ask for his baby brother. The truth is I don’t
know if you could find a woman here that would
ever look at you like that. Her eyes lit just from
seeing you. She barely even looked at me.”

Raiden felt pride surge through him. He lif-

ted his head to stare at his brother. “She loves
me, Dai. She is just scared.”

“Of?”
“I don’t know.”
A short silence filled the room before Dait-

aro broke it. “So what happened to her clothes?”

Raiden looked at his brother who was now

smirking. With a chuckle, Raiden got up and
grabbed some crackers. “What do you think?” He
stuffed one into his mouth and chewed. His eyes

249/313

never left his brother’s face and he instantly saw
understanding cross Daitaro’s face.

“Oh no! My baby brother is a freak.”
“Oh shove it.” Raiden laughed before walk-

ing back to the counter, returning to his seat. “So
that is why I didn’t answer the phone. Besides,
afterward we both passed out on the floor. I have
to find out what hotel she’s booked in and go
over there to grab some clothes for her.”

Daitaro nodded. “I’m happy for you,

Otouto.”

“Arigatou, but we still have a far way to go

till I can seriously consider her mine. We have to
deal with the distance thing.”

“Well both of you have a business that needs

you in the country to run at least half the time.
Why not split your time half and half between
both countries?”

“What happens if this works out and we

have children? Where will we live?”

“That, my dear brother, is the bare bodkin of

it all, isn’t it?”

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“I really wish I hadn’t made you read

Huckleberry Finn. Yeah, so as you can see we
have a ways to go before we can truly say we’re
together.”

“It’s not that complicated, Zero. Think about

it. You have a woman in that room…” Daitaro
peeked over his shoulder then leaned closer to
Raiden. “A woman that has this look when she
sees you obviously feels deeply for you. Don’t
throw that away. I live here, I’d be happy to look
after Emiko-San when you’re in Canada and I’m
sure she’s got friends who she could count on
when she’s here. Don’t let something as trivial as
distance take away your happiness.”

Raiden thought about Daitaro’s words of

wisdom. His brother stood up. “I’m going to
leave you with your lady,” Daitaro explained.
“I’m going to tell Nia that you’re fine. Give me a
call when you can.”

Raiden reached over to touch his fist gently

to Daitaro’s and the older Rei walked out the
door. He sat there for a while longer then walked

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into the bedroom to see Rochelle sitting on his
bed still wrapped in the sheets. With a smile, he
kneeled against the bed crawling up close to her
and kissed her. He slowly peeled her from the
sheets to savor the taste of her against his tongue
before lifting his head. “I have an idea.”

She smirked. “Does it involve me and

my—” she gasped when Raiden took one of her
nipples in his mouth and sucked against it.

“I’ll take that as a yes. But we have to think

about my clothes and your family seeing me
walking around in one of your sheets.”

Raiden moaned and shifted to the second

breast. Before taking it between his lips he
looked up at her. “I know. But why do you need
clothes? I’m only going to tear them off
anyway.”

“You big freak!” She laughed. “What about

when people visit?”

“Oh all right.” He kissed her nipple, and then

her chin before rolling onto his back and

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grabbing the phone. He dialed and locked eyes
with her.

* * * *

When she walked in and saw another man

sitting across from Raiden, Rochelle thought of
running. She wasn’t sure how Raiden would in-
troduce her. When he hauled her into his arms
and introduced her to his brother indescribable
pride surged through her. But it embarrassed her
not being dressed the first time she met a member
of his family.

Rochelle giggled and let the sheet fall away

from the rest of her body. On her knees, she un-
zipped his pants and reached in for his cock. His
eyes widened and she simply laughed and licked
against the head of it.

“Koibito,” he grunted.
With a smile, she opened her mouth pulling

him deep to the back of her throat. She stared at
him, desperately trying to concentrate on the
phone call. She began bopping up and down on
him.

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“Hi, Tae, I need—need a favor—oh God!

No—I’m fine…”

He spoke on the phone in rapid, raspy Japan-

ese but she didn’t mind. She had a mission. She
wanted him to explode before her eyes, but when
making love with Raiden nothing went as
planned.

Rochelle loved the taste of him leaking

against her tongue; hot, tangy and delicious. She
completely forgot about his phone call, closed
her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy pleasuring
him. She clawed against his bare abs and purred
when he groaned her name. She glanced up to see
his phone call had ended and laughed.

“You tease,” he accused.
“Want me to stop?”
“I want you to ride it.”
Rochelle shivered at his vulgarity. “Oh,

Zero. You are so naughty.” She stroked his dick
in a tight fist while taunting him. He grinned at
her and folded his arms behind his head.

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“Not until I’ve had time to buy the hand-

cuffs. Now, climb on, and ride my dick.”

She didn’t let him ask a third time. The way

he looked at her made her want to do things she
never thought she would ever want to do with a
man—like climbing over him, forcing him to eat
her. With that thought, she climbed on and he
gripped her hips. She reached back to guide his
hardness into her and couldn’t help the scream
that escaped her lips. She looked down into his
eyes and he grinned at her.

“Ride me, baby,” he ordered in a fierce

growl.

Bracing her hands against his chest, she

began, slowly at first. Letting her head fall back-
ward, she rotated her hips, pulling him deeper in-
to her and moaning his name with each inch that
sank within her. She felt her orgasm coming as
he reached up and sucked one of her nipples. She
held the back of his head so his mouth stayed
where she wanted and jerked against him harder.

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“Rai—” she panted. Her chest heaved and

she could feel herself gushing around his cock.
Her hands fell to her side, her head fell forward
and then back as her eyes widened.

“More, baby?” Raiden asked her.
“Oh hell yes!”

* * * *

Raiden grabbed her around the waist, forcing

her backward on the bed. He spread her legs with
a greedy smile and allowed his tongue to work.
He sucked at her, lapping at her juices and flick-
ing his tongue over her tender clit. He felt her
fingers in his hair pushing his head down, sinking
his tongue deeper into her. He loved that but he
wanted to dominate. Taking her hands from his
head he held them down at her sides. Glancing up
at her briefly he attacked her again—pulling her
pussy lips into his mouth and bathing them with
his tongue. He watched her come again as her
body started bucking wildly. He released her
hands and clutched her hips, holding her in place.
She tried pulling her abused clit from his mouth

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but he wouldn’t allow it. He licked and sucked
against it until one orgasm turned into another
and she clawed at his neck, crying his name.

When Rochelle slumped back against the

bed, Raiden licked his lips and crawled up her
body. He aimed his cock at her entrance and
slammed his hips forward. He held himself deep
within her. “Open your eyes, Rochelle.”

“I can’t—it’s so good. Please fuck me!”
“Open your eyes.”
When she shook her head, gyrating her hips

against him, Raiden smirked and began with-
drawing. She gripped his hips but he took her
hands away and held them over her head. “Look
into my eyes, Rochelle. I want to see what they
look like when you come.”

She finally met his gaze and he sank into her

again. Her pupils dilated, her mouth opened in a
silent gasp and her nose flared. He smiled, sur-
ging into her over and over. Her hips writhed
against his, meeting each thrust powerfully.

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“That’s it, Baby, fuck me back,” he teased

her.

“Raiden…”
Silence tore through the room except for the

bed creaking each time he pushed into her. Her
mouth opened, but she didn’t make a sound. His
hips pumped harder and a whimper left her. He
let her arms go and pinched one of her nipples.
She cried out arching upward and Raiden felt her
muscles clamp around him. He grunted, flipping
his long hair from his face.

“Shit, you’re so wet!” he cried out. He

fought off his orgasm but couldn’t. He simply ex-
ploded within her causing another climax to
pulse through her. Raiden held himself above
her, enjoying the way her velvet wetness con-
vulsed around him. He fell to his side beside her
and pulled her to him.

“I really do love you, Koibito,” he whispered

to her. “I know you don’t want—”

“I want,” she interrupted. “I really want.”

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Raiden closed his eyes with a smile on his

lips, his cock already growing again.

They tried to sleep, but the door bell rang.

She looked up at Raiden and moaned. He smiled
at her and she sat up to allow him to climb from
the bed. She watched his ass while he hauled on
his pants. Still too sated to think straight, she
shrugged and fell back against the bed. Muffled
voices carried from the door and she wondered
what was happening. She smirked at what
happened to them before blushing and burying
her face in the pillows. It dawned on her that they
had sex twice without protection and she could
be pregnant. Her eyes widened and she wanted to
cry. When he returned she sat up in the bed with
the sheets covering her breasts.

“Zero,do you realize we’ve made love twice

without—”

“Don’t worry, I’m clean—and you’re wor-

ried you’re pregnant.” He placed the bags he car-
ried into the room beside her and sat on the other

259/313

side of her. He took her hand. “I’m ready. Would
having my children be horrible?”

“Are you serious?” Rochelle arched a brow

and faced him. “It wouldn’t be horrible at
all—that’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying
is that we haven’t even decided what we are yet.”

“I have decided, Rochelle. You’re the one

denying it.”

“And what are we?”
“We are lovers, friends—you are my

itsumademo.”

“Itsumademo? What’s that?”
Raiden smiled at her and Rochelle felt her

insides melting. “It means you are my forever. I
really wish when I say I love you, you believe
me.”

“I want to—and I am beginning to more and

more every day.”

“Tell me about the last man that told you

those three words.”

Rochelle wrapped the sheets tighter around

her. She suddenly didn’t want to talk about it but

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she had to explain to him why this terrified her.
Getting up she walked to the window and leaned
against it.

“About a year and a half ago,” she began

slowly, “I had just opened Hayes and I figured
the time had come for me to have someone in my
life. I met Jason at a club Maylee and I went to
and he said all the right things. I mean, he was
clean cut, handsome, had ambition—or so I
thought…”

“What happened?”
Rochelle turned her eyes to him and bit

against her lower lip, debating if she should con-
tinue. He nodded at her and she turned her gaze
out the window at the beautiful garden his bed-
room overlooked. “I didn’t want to rush into any-
thing so I put off sleeping with him for a while.
Well aside from the fact that I was scared out of
my mind to sleep with him—of being naked with
him. But one night I decided I would—he’d been
patient, hadn’t pushed the issue so he deserved a
reward right? So I planned it for weeks. I ordered

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lingerie from my favourite online store. I bought
wine, and cooked him a nice meal.”

“Sounds like a good time. What was the

problem?”

“Well, when he came over and saw me in

lingerie, he rushed out the door.” Rochelle
stiffened, staring out the window. “I guess it was
the last thing he wanted to see. Then after I cried
for a few days, I called him to give him a piece of
my mind and to get closure. I found out the reas-
on he never pushed for sex was because he
wasn’t sure he wanted to have sex with me. After
that, I just—closed myself off.”

“But you weren’t scared of me—”
Rochelle smiled sadly and turned to look at

him. He looked so damn sexy sitting on the bed.
She bowed her head. “I didn’t have a choice. My
body didn’t give me one. I knew from the mo-
ment you showed interest—even before then—I
wanted to rip my clothes off and that scared me
more than anything else.”

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“I’ve listened to you, Koibito. Now you

listen to me. Not every man will see what I see in
you. I see a fire in those big, brown eyes that
turns me on so desperately that I lose myself
sometime when you look at me. I see a body that
I can pleasure, that I can feel in my arms. You
deserve so much better than what this other joker
put you through. You cannot define yourself by
what he did—and I refuse to have you paint me
with the same brush. He was a kid who didn’t un-
derstand that a woman is a woman no matter her
size. Come here.”

Rochelle hesitated. Not because she didn’t

want to be held but because she needed time to
take in what he just said to her.

“Baby,” he called softly. She heard the bed

give under his weight and looked up. He’d risen
from the bed and walking towards her. She al-
lowed him to pull her into his arms and caress her
back.

“Some men don’t appreciate the beauty that

is the woman’s body. I, on the other hand, am

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happy he was an idiot because if he hadn’t done
what he did, I wouldn’t have you in my arms
right now. Call it selfish. Don’t get me wrong
I’m sorry you were hurt but I am happy you are
with me.”

Rochelle felt tears streaming down her face

and she turned into his chest. He whispered
against the side of her head, kissed her ear. She
shivered against him and smiled even through her
tears. “Thank you.”

“For what?”
“For actually loving me—and not what I can

do for you.”

“Who says I don’t love what you can do for

me?”

Rochelle yanked her body from his arms but

when she looked into his face he grinned boy-
ishly at her. She smacked him in the arm and he
grunted in obligation.

“I love it when you smile at me, Rochelle.

The sun shines when you do.”

“You’re corny.”

264/313

“And you’re sexy,” he retorted.
Grinning, she shook her head. “You’re in-

corrigible. What’s in the bags?”

“I got you something.”
“For me?”
“Open them.”
Rochelle gave him a suspicious look but

rushed to the first bag and opened it. Japanese
writing decorated the outside of the bag in red
and gold. She pulled out the tissue paper and
peered in. Arching a brow she glanced at Raiden
who smiled at her lovingly. “Zero, what did you
do?” she reached in and pulled out the first thing
and unfolded it to reveal a beautiful, sky blue top
with a plunging neckline. She grinned.

“I knew the colour would look amazing

against your skin,” he whispered, sitting down on
the bed.

She smiled and continued going through the

bags and eventually she had a pile of clothes on
the ground including panties and everything she

265/313

might need. She stood up and tackled him on the
bed.

“Damn! I should buy you things more of-

ten!” Raiden chuckled wrapping his arms around
her. “I love this way of thanks.”

Rochelle smiled at him. “Thank you.” She

kissed his lips. “Though I could have just gone
over to the hotel and got my stuff.”

“Yes but you, in my car naked, would get us

both arrested.”

She arched a brow at him. “How’s that?”
“I would have to have you ride it on the side

of the road.”

Rochelle shivered against him with a grin.

“You’re dirty.”

He rolled them over and looked down into

her eyes. She smiled up at him and for the first
time Rochelle realized true happiness. She felt
like floating because of him. She turned her face
away from him grinning. Love felt so good that it
made her want to cry.

“What is it?” he asked her.

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“You make me happy,” she admitted before

looking up into his eyes. “You make me want to
smile all the time—you made me love you.”

The look that came to his face made her

heart soar. Without a word, he bowed his head
and took her lips.

267/313

Chapter Ten

The next morning, Raiden kissed her good-

bye and went to work. After he left she watched
him through the window and grinned. She could
learn to get used to this. She walked into the kit-
chen wondering what to do. She thought about
going out but she forgot to ask him for keys to
get back in the house. If she left and locked her-
self out she’d have to wait for him. Pouting she
wandered into the den and browsed the books.
Raiden seemed like an avid reader. She pulled
out a large, leather, black book that did not have
a name on the binding and placed it on the desk.
Flopping into his leather chair, she pulled it open.
Her eyes widened. She thought it might be porn
or something. But his earlier drawings were
inked and sealed off in protective sleeves.

“My man drew these,” she said proudly. She

turned the pages surprised at Raiden’s wonderful
talent. Each drawing got better and better. When
she finally closed the volume and slipped it back

in its spot on the shelf, she felt absolutely giddy.
She decided to give her best friend a call.

Maylee had asked her to call as soon as she

settled in her hotel room and Rochelle had for-
gotten. Moaning and palming her forehead, she
hurried into the kitchen searching for her purse.
She finally found it in a corner beside the counter
and smiled. Grabbing it, she dug through it for
her cell phone and snapped it open. She dialed
Maylee’s number and waited.

“You’re safe!” Maylee exclaimed on the oth-

er line. “Have you seen him yet?”

“Yeah actually,” Rochelle replied. “I’m at

his place right now waiting for him to get back
from the office. I sort of made him miss work
yesterday.”

Maylee giggled. “I can just bet what you two

did to make him not go to work. Did you work
out the whole relationship thing yet?”

“If you mean a fish and a bird can marry but

where would they live, no we haven’t. And the
truth is I don’t care about that anymore.”

269/313

“So if he said you need to give up your busi-

ness and move to Japan, you would be totally all
right with that?”

“Of course not. I don’t wanna give up my

business. And he wouldn’t say that. Look, don’t
start…I am trying to be positive here.”

“My bad. Just talk to him and don’t wait too

long because it seems you two fall deeper in love
every damn day.”

Rochelle chuckled and rubbed her eyes. Her

phone beeped at her. “Listen, I have to go. My
phone is dying. But I’ll call you once I know
something, all right?”

“You be safe.”
“Love you.”
Maylee laughed. “Love you more. Bye.”
After hanging up, Rochelle rummaged

through her purse looking for her charger but she
could not find it. She checked Raiden’s but it
wasn’t compatible with her phone.Moaning, she
placed the phone down and looked around for
something to do while she waited for him to get

270/313

back. Then she remembered the garden she’d
seen earlier through the window. Darting to the
front she grabbed her shoes, pushed her feet into
them, and left through the back door, propping it
open with a garbage can. She walked into the
most beautiful garden she’d ever seen. Lanterns
lined each path and Rochelle wondered how it
would look at night. Rocks lining the path as well
and to the far left a well made from the same
rocks. A small bridge ran over a small body of
water and when she looked down she could see
fish swimming around in it. After crossing the
bridge, she saw something that resembled a tea-
house and she arched a brow. Raiden Rei had his
own teahouse?

“Sakura!” she gasped, rushing toward the

tree. Rochelle may not speak much Japanese but
that word she knew by heart. She looked up at
the Cherry Blossoms and inhaled. She could re-
cognize the scent of her favorite body wash any-
where. A blossom slipped from the tree falling
against her face. She caught it and sniffed. What

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a pleasure seeing the tree up close, and being able
to run her hand over the trunk and have the smell
slip downward naturally against her skin.

She sat beneath the tree, wondering when

she last had a chance to just sit, quietly. But her
brain wouldn’t stay quiet. She began thinking of
a possible future with Raiden even though they
lived so far from each other. They crossed the
first hurdle—love. Maylee always told her once
you find love everything else will fall into place.
Rochelle prayed that was true because she fell
hard for Raiden. Giggling at the thought of his
name she shook her head. She never giggled that
much in her life before—ever. But they had de-
cisions to make before things went any deeper.
She rubbed her stomach feeling remarkable and
different than she had the first time they made
love. Now she felt happier.

Another Sakura blossom landed in her lap

and she grinned. It seemed to confirm her de-
cision. She entered the house once more and
peered into the fridge. Half the things had

272/313

Japanese writing on them. She opened one con-
tainer and peeked in; left over Chicken Tat-
suda—the same thing Raiden made her for dinner
back in Canada. She rummaged around for some
sauce but couldn’t find any. She settled for ketch-
up. Grabbing a copy of The Island of Doctor
Moreau from Raiden’s library, she carried her
treasures back beneath the tree and sat down.

* * * *

Driving away from the house seemed differ-

ent knowing that when he returned someone he
loved would be there. He held onto her at the
door, wrapping his arms around her voluptuous
waist and kissed her lips. He glanced back a few
times debating whether or not he should just take
her back into his bedroom. He decided against it
and continued to work. He took a moment in the
parking lot before entering the office. The mo-
ment Raiden walked in, Nia came charging in
closing the door behind her. She sat down on the
edge of the sofa and crossed her legs. When he

273/313

looked at her she stared at him expectantly and
he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ha! Warai!” Nia exclaimed happily. “I

haven’t seen you laugh—truly laugh—in a while!
So you’re happy she’s here?”

Raiden turned and sat down beside her. After

he had gotten over his initial shock that Rochelle
Hayes was standing outside his door, his heart
had fluttered. He never thought he could be hap-
pier to see any woman in his life. She was stand-
ing there looking so beautiful and so vulnerable.
After their argument he thought he would be go-
ing to hell for not taking her in his arms. But
Daitaro always told him that true love never did
run smooth. It infuriated him that she couldn’t
see just how deeply he felt for her but at the same
time he understood that some people just didn’t
believe in love at first sight. Neither did he until
it knocked him on his ass in the middle of a for-
eign airport.

He rested his elbows on his knees and nod-

ded. “Hai. I am. And she finally told me she

274/313

loves me and I swear I could have floated out of
that room.”

“She must really be something. I’m glad for

you. So when do I get to meet her?”

“You promise to behave?”
“Me? Not behave?”
“Ya-ku-so-ku!”
Nia pouted. “Yakusoku—I promise.”
Raiden nodded and stood. “I never did say

thank you.”

Nia arched a brow and genuine confusion

washed over her beautiful features. “For what?”

“For being concerned. For having my back

and taking care of me even when I don’t feel like
taking care of myself. I’m glad to have a friend
like you.”

“Yeah well, you’re lucky to have me.”
Raiden leaned in and kissed the side of her

head “I know. So how are things between you
and the Canadian?” He walked to his desk and
began rifling through the different folders that

275/313

had piled up the one day he wasn’t there. He
sighed.

Nia giggled and he turned to face his friend.

“You giggled.”

Her hand flew to cover her mouth and her

face took on a red tint. “Well, we’ve been on a
few dates,” Nia finally lowered her hand and
replied. “He’s been nothing but a gentleman. So-
metime I think he is staring at me and grinning
when I’m not looking.”

“Well that’s normal for someone in love. I

found myself doing the same thing this morning
while Rochelle slept and I didn’t even know I
was doing it.”

Nia nodded. “I’m falling for him, Zero and it

is such a bad idea.”

“Why is that?” Raiden turned and leant his

bum against his desk crossing his ankles.

“He’s going home soon.”
“That was the issue—rather is the issue

Rochelle and I are having. I’m prepared to split
our lives between the two worlds. And I am

276/313

prepared to move to Canada if we have children.
But she has to be a part of the decision.”

“You’re lucky. Rochelle seems to be a reas-

onable person. I haven’t said anything to Jeff.”

“You won’t know until you try. Talk to him

and see what he says.”

Nia nodded.
“Okay now I have to get some work done. I

don’t want to leave her alone for too long. She
has nothing to really do in the house and I, like
an idiot, didn’t give her keys before I left.”

Nia grinned knowingly. “Sure that’s why

you’re in such a hurry. It has nothing to do with
that beautiful brown skin.”

Raiden laughed, his mirth causing his hair to

shake from side to side. When he could control
himself he pulled out a tissue, bunched it up and
tossed it at her. Nia simply laughed and walked
from the room, her heels clicking against the
wooden floor. He shook his head when she
closed the door behind her. He wanted to go
home as fast as he could so he could taste

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Rochelle. But he had to keep focus while at the
office. That would be easier said then done. By
the end of the day he only managed to get half
his regular amount of work done. Thankfully he
finished up payroll. He dropped off some mail
for Nia to send out and smiled at her.

“Do it tomorrow,” he told her. “You go

home.”

“Yes, boss.”
Raiden moaned and darted out the door. He

stopped at a local restaurant, picked up dinner
and chose a flower arrangement from a street
vendor. By the time he reached home it was late.
Entering the house he arched a brow. Something
smelled good.

“Koibito?” he called, dumping his keys into

the bowl and removing his shoes. He walked into
the kitchen to see her peering into a pot. He
smiled. “Konbanwa koibito,” he greeted. She
gasped and spun around knocking a glass off the
counter.

278/313

“You scared me!” she exclaimed, turning to

pick up the glass.

He rushed toward her and took her hands

leading her away. He handed her the flowers.

“These are for you.” He kissed her. “Now,

let me do this.”

When she nodded, Raiden carefully cleaned

up the broken glass. “How was your day?”

“I took a nap under the Sakura tree,”

Rochelle explained while opening cupboards and
closing them. “I still can’t find anything in this
kitchen.”

“Relax, baby, you’ve been here less than a

day.” Raiden grinned. “What are you looking
for?”

“A vase.”
“Oh that’s easy, I don’t have one.”
She turned to look at him as though he had

told her they were going to have triplets and he
chuckled.

“What?”

279/313

“Did you just say—when was the last time

you had a woman in this house?”

“Aside from Nia? Never.”
“Nia?”
“Jeff’s new girlfriend. She’s been my friend

since high school. I don’t bring lovers home,
Rochelle.”

“You had me here and I’m a lover.”
“You’re not a lover—you’re more.” He

turned to the stove switching them off before tak-
ing her hands and leading her into the living
room. He sat her down and kneeled down before
her ensuring she had his full attention.

“So today I was in the office and I couldn’t

stop thinking. I’ve been thinking that it is time
we made some decisions about where this is go-
ing—no let me finish. I love you. You know that
already. I don’t mind sharing our worlds—but the
big decision needs to be where we will live if we
have children.”

Rochelle pressed a finger over his lips to si-

lence him. “It will work out, Zero. Our kids can

280/313

live in Canada and visit Japan regularly or vice
versa. I don’t care where I am just as long as it’s
with you.”

“Okay, then we will live in Canada. I don’t

think our babies would have a complete child-
hood without snow, do you?”

Raiden smiled at her and she kissed his face.

That caused his heart to soar. He felt absolutely
giddy knowing even though he would live with
her in Canada, he could always visit Japan.

“But, I want our babies to have a Sakura tree

in the backyard. I want them to learn the lan-
guage of their father.”

“And they will, this will be their home too,”

he whispered. “Koibito, no matter where we live
our children will have the absolute best of
everything. Yakusoku.”

“Ya-ku-so-ku—what’s that?”
“It means, I promise.”
“You have to teach me,” she whispered, tak-

ing his lips.

281/313

He moaned as her hand began unbuckling

his belt. Silently, he allowed her control of his
body. He watched her with heated eyes. He fol-
ded his arms behind his head after she removed
his shirt. When he lay naked before her eyes,
Raiden smiled at the way she stared at his body.
She trailed the curves of his abs with a finger
bowing her head to kiss them. He moaned arch-
ing up to her mouth. Temptation told him to wrap
his fingers through her hair but he couldn’t. He
would let her take her fill of him and then he
would demand the same in return. His body
would take from her everything she wanted to
give. He smiled, licking his lips trying to keep his
eyes from rolling back.

Her hot mouth engulfed his cock and every

thought of staying sane left him. His eyes did roll
back and his fingers tightened. His breath left
him in hard, fast bursts as her mouth moved up
and down, sucking at his member. His hips gyr-
ated upward.

282/313

“Rochelle,” he gasped, struggling to sit up.

He couldn’t though—every muscle in his body
felt limp. Her tongue licked over the head, down
against the shaft before he felt his balls in her
mouth.

“Yes!” he managed. He lifted a hand to his

face, covering it before raking his fingers through
his hair.

“Scream for me, Raiden,” she teased. “I

know you want to.”

“How—how do you know that?”
She smirked at him before the head of his

penis disappeared in her mouth again. Her tongue
danced over the head quickly and Raiden yelled
as he released against her tongue.

Raiden’s body jerked against the couch as

she continued stroking him. This is not what he
wanted to do at all. He wanted to come deep
within her.

“Oh wow,” he managed still not able to sit

up. “No matter how many times you do that—”

283/313

“Thought you didn’t want to scream for me,

Raiden?”

“Tease!” he accused. “How about I return

the favor?”

“What do you have in mind?” She arched a

brow at him.

“How about you climb up here—I’ve wanted

to taste you all day. I want to feel you dripping,
hot down my chin.”

Rochelle giggled and wiped a hand across

her mouth. She slipped from the brand new pants
he bought her along with the thong and did as he
so asked. The moment she sat over him, Raiden’s
tongue went to work and Rochelle couldn’t con-
tain her self. She pinched at her nipples and when
she couldn’t take the delicious torture anymore,
she bit down against one of her fingers. She fell
forward against her elbows as she rode his
tongue. His hand came down against one butt
cheek with a resounding slap. “Oh!” she gasped,
wiggling her ass against his tongue. “Again!” she
pleaded breathlessly.

284/313

He slapped the other cheek again and again.
She squealed driving her hips down over and

over.

He ate her through her first orgasm, her

second and through her third. Rochelle melted
from his face to lay on her back beside his head.
He climbed over her, spread her legs and drove
himself deep within her. She arched upward, eyes
widening, yelling, “Zero!”

He stopped moving and Rochelle wanted to

scream in frustration. She looked up and he
grinned down at her. She clawed at his chest and
gyrated her hips to show him what he wanted but
he simply leaned down and kissed her nipple.
“Tell me what you want, Koibito.”

“I want you to fuck me—hard.”
“As you wish,” he smirked and drove his

hips home.

A delirious smile braced Rochelle’s lips as

Raiden gave her what she wanted.

“Oooh-yes-baby-yes!” she cried out, digging

her nails into his back.

285/313

He plunged within her, again and again.

With each thrust, Rochelle squealed his name in
absolute bliss. When she finally came undone
around him, Raiden gave up, and erupted deep
inside her.

“Welcome home, baby,” Rochelle moaned.
“I’m so glad I came home—”

286/313

Chapter Eleven

After being in Japan for two weeks, Rochelle

woke up one morning feeling less than stellar.
She lay alone in bed wondering where Raiden
disappeared to. He walked through the door at
that moment carrying a tray with breakfast. The
smell of food turned her stomach so violently that
she shoved from the bed and breezed by him into
the bathroom. Falling on her knees before the toi-
let, her stomach heaved and it seemed everything
she had ever eaten made a re-appearance.

“Baby?” Raiden questioned. She heard his

footsteps coming toward the bathroom. He
kneeled beside her, holding her braids out of her
face.

“I don’t feel well, Zero,” she whispered. Her

body heaved again. She wanted to faint by the
time she stopped. Falling against Raiden’s chest
he cradled her head against his neck.

“Come on,” he said, gently helping her off

the ground. “Let’s get you to a hospital.”

“Sweetie, I don’t think I need a—” She again

fell to her knees before the toilet. “All
right—hospital.”

She stopped to rinse her mouth and allowed

Raiden to pick her up into his arms and carry her
to the car. On their way out she reached for his
cell phone and car keys. At the vehicle he refused
to put her down and she chuckled, “Baby, you’re
going to have to put me down for me to get into
the car.”

“I just—”
“I won’t break, I promise. It’s probably a

stomach bug.”

Rochelle saw reluctance in his eyes but he

placed her gently on the ground. She kissed his
cheek and climbed into the car. When he closed
the door and walked around, she leaned over and
inserted the key into the ignition. He climbed into
the car and before he had his belt on, he started
the engine and backed out of the driveway. They
drove so fast that at one point she gripped his
arm. “Slow down, Zero!”

288/313

“I’m sorry.” He took her hand but didn’t

slow down very much. In no time at all they
pulled up to a large building with Hoshigaoka
Koseinenkin Hospital written on the outside
along with the Japanese symbols. She took his
hand and allowed him to fuss over her as they
walked into the large building.

The hospital was unlike anything she had

ever been in but she didn’t have time to take it all
in. The last place she wanted to end up in Japan
or anywhere else was a hospital. They were
barely in the door when someone called to
Raiden.

“Rei-Chan!”
They both turned around and Raiden waved.

“Yamamoto-isha,” he returned the greeting bow-
ing slightly. He then went on to ramble in rapid
Japanese. “Rochelle, this is Doctor Yamamoto,”
Raiden said, before turning back to the man and
continued in Japanese. The older man’s eyes
widened, then he glanced at Rochelle. Suddenly
the doctor shouted to a nurse who came running

289/313

with a wheelchair. The nurse helped Rochelle in-
to the chair and wheeled her into a private room.
They stopped Raiden from entering and closed
the door. The nurse handed her a hospital gown.

“You—put—on,” she spoke in careful Eng-

lish. “Take off clothes.”

Rochelle offered a smile, a nod of the head,

and accepted the gown. “Arigato.”

The nurse gave her a beautiful, bright smile

and exited the room leaving her alone. She
quickly stood up and stripped, changing into the
gown. It barely covered anything and she prayed
the doctor wasn’t the one coming back. She
wasn’t that lucky.

* * * *

Raiden thought he’d definitely age with

every passing minute no one told him what was
happening. They took Rochelle away and he star-
ted panicking. He didn’t like her throwing up. He
tried going over everything she had eaten since
arriving in Japan—since arriving at his house.
They went to a restaurant a couple of times—she

290/313

didn’t have the Fugu, he made sure. He refused
to eat that thing and wouldn’t let anyone he loved
eat it. The fish is poison, if you cut it wrong. He
rubbed a hand over his face and paced back the
other way.

He looked at the door to find it still closed.

Trying to keep his mind occupied he faced the
glass panes and stared at nothing in particular. He
could, however, see Rochelle’s face and the
smile she’d given him as he fussed over her.

It’s probably a stomach bug.
He hoped so. With a frustrated groan he

pressed a hand against the glass.

“Oh God, please don’t take her from me,” he

whispered with his head bowed and eyes closed.
He wasn’t a praying man but losing Rochelle
scared him more than he ever thought possible.
Finally he couldn’t stand it anymore. He walked
over to the nurse’s desk and leaned in.

“Kanojo ga, doko desu ka?”
The nurse looked up at him and Raiden was

about ready to spit fire.

291/313

“Your girlfriend is almost finished,” she told

him. “Doctor Yamamoto will be out to speak
with you in a few minutes.”

“And when you say a few minutes—” The

sound of Rochelle’s voice interrupted Raiden. He
swung around and rushed to her, pulling her into
his arms.

“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know yet. Doctor Yamamoto says

he wanted to talk to both of us, come on.”

Raiden allowed her to lead him down the

corridor. He smiled down at her when she looked
up into his face and knocked onto the doctor’s of-
fice door. They were told to enter and he walked
in after her. They both sat down, and he reached
over to hold her hands. He trusted Doctor
Yamamoto immensely. The older doctor had
been his doctor ever since their parents died. He
was there for them when no one else wanted to
take in two boys in their teens. He made sure
they went to school and protected them.

292/313

“Is she going to be all right?” Raiden

questioned.

When the doctor answered him in Japanese

he turned shocked eyes at Rochelle before asking
the doctor if he was certain.

“What?” Rochelle wanted to know squeez-

ing her hand.

“Uh…” Raiden turned to look at her with a

grin on his face. “You’re pregnant!” He grinned
proudly.

“Don’t look so proud of yourself.” She

laughed and felt tears rolling down her cheeks.
She leaned in to kiss his lips.

The doctor shook Raiden’s hand, speaking in

quick Japanese. The doctor’s words came so
quickly that all Raiden really heard was,
“…kongurachure-shonzu, Raiden-Chan.”

“Arigato,” Raiden whispered.
He watched the doctor’s exiting back with

widened eyes then turned to face his woman,
feeling so proud. He leaned over to give her a
proper kiss.

293/313

“You’re carrying my baby. My osanago.”

* * * *

Rochelle suspected she was pregnant the

moment the doctor started drawing her blood.
Normally a nurse would have done that but he
did it personally. She arched a brow after Raiden
sat back to look at her quite pleased with himself.

“The doctor is an old friend of yours?”
“Why do you ask?”
“He did everything personally.”
“Yes. He is like a second father to me and

Daitaro. He took care of us until we were old
enough to fend for ourselves after our parents
died. Sure we lived in the house by ourselves but
he stopped by, made sure we were going to
school, eating, sleeping—like a real father would
have.”

Rochelle nodded and leaned forward to press

her face against his chest. “What did he say be-
fore leaving?”

294/313

Raiden went silent so she sat up to study his

eyes. She saw reluctance in his face and she
touched his cheek. “Zero?”

“He said—you wouldn’t be the woman he

would have picked for me. But he saw how much
I loved you so he gave us his blessings.”

“I guess we’re going to get that a lot.”
“Yes. Daitaro said the same thing. You see,

Koibito, Daitaro, Nia and Yamamoto-Isha matter
in my life. But the truth is, I would love you even
if they hated the idea.”

Rochelle smiled at him and rested her head

back against his chest. “So, a baby.”

“Hai. Our baby.”
“Are you happy about it? I mean if you don’t

want to be a father now I can understand. I have
seen men love women but not the children.”

“Are you kidding? I want this child more

than you’ll ever understand. I am so proud of my-
self right now.”

“And why is that?” She lifted her head and

peered at him.

295/313

“Because, it has to be a record. Two weeks

later and I knocked you up.”

Rochelle smacked him in the arm and

laughed. “You behave yourself.”

“Why?” He pouted. “Being bad is so much

better.”

“It seems being bad is what got us here in

the first place.”

“Admit it, you love it.”
Rochelle giggled and kissed his chin. “I will

admit nothing. Now take me home so I can call
Maylee.”

“Yes, Koibito.” He stole a kiss and a quick

grope of her breast before complying.

* * * *

After returning home, Raiden made her tea

and a sandwich. While she called Maylee, he dar-
ted into the den to call Daitaro. He would hate for
his brother to hear the news of becoming an
uncle from the media or the doctor.

“Hello?” Daitaro replied. Raiden could tell

he interrupted his brother’s meal.

296/313

“Daitaro, you’re about to be an uncle!”

Raiden blurted out.

“Subtle, Zero. Real subtle.”
“Sorry. I couldn’t help it. She’s going to

have a baby, Dai.”

“That has to be some kind of record. What’s

it been? Two—three weeks?”

“That’s what I said!”
“You’re incorrigible! So are we celebrating?

I could bring Nia and she could bring her boy-
friend. Am I the only one not getting laid these
days?”

Raiden chuckled. “Let me run it by Rochelle.

She’s been throwing up and I freaked out and
rushed her to the hospital.”

Daitaro laughed. He laughed so hard, he

broke out into a round of coughing. Raiden made
a face staring at the phone blankly for a while be-
fore pressing it back to his ear. “What’s so
funny?”

297/313

“Otouto, with the amount of sex you two had

in the last two weeks how could you not know
she is pregnant?”

Raiden frowned. “You’re an ass. I’ll call you

later.”

“Hey, Zero?”
“Yeah?”
“Omedeto Otouto—congratulations.”
Raiden grinned. “Thanks.”
With a shake of his head, he hung up and

made a few other calls.

* * * *

Rochelle giggled and held the phone from

her ear. She had told her best friend she is preg-
nant and Maylee showed her happiness by
screaming loud enough to wake the dead.

“I’m gonna be an aunt!” Maylee called

happily.

“Yes. You’re going to be an aunt. I wanted

to let you know before it gets all over the Japan-
ese media.”

298/313

“Well yeah, that’s true. Raiden is kind of an

icon over there. So, it’s been two weeks? That
man’s soldiers are marching.”

“May!” Rochelle gasped and burst out

laughing just as Raiden walked to the door. She
watched him as he stood there, slowly removing
his clothes.

There is something so damn sexy about a

man doing a strip-tease.

She loved the way he locked his gaze on her

while undoing his buckle. She smirked at him
knowing fully well that he would pay her back
for the time he was on the phone and she went
down on him. He stepped from his pants and
worked on his shirt. When his abs came to view
she could scarcely breathe. He began touching
himself, stroking down his chest, over his abs,
then up to his nipples. She licked her lips, and
stuck her tongue at him showing she wanted a
taste.

“Oh my Lord, you should see what I’m look-

ing at right now.”

299/313

Maylee laughed. “Do I want to know?”
Rochelle couldn’t reply. Raiden stood there

stark naked holding his hard cock in one hand
and stroking. She bit against her lower lip, eyeing
him like a wolf would its prey.

“Chelle?” Maylee’s voice sounded worried.
“May, I gotta go… I’ll call you later.”
Before Maylee could answer, Rochelle hung

up and slipped from the bed. She stood before her
man, grabbed his cock and shoved his hand
away.

“Do you want it, Rochelle?” he asked,

tangling his hands in her hair and savagely taking
her lips.

She squeezed and he groaned. “What do you

think?” She turned her back to him, slipped from
the pajamas she still wore and smiled at him over
her shoulder. “Come on, Zero—remind me how
good you are with that thing.”

She bowed her head and purred when he

found her entrance and sank home.

300/313

A few hours passed before Raiden allowed

her out of bed. He glanced at the clock and
frowned. He hadn’t called Daitaro back.

“Koibito?” he called to her in the bathroom.
“Yeah?”
“Daitaro wanted to have a little get together

for us later here. He wants to celebrate the baby.
Are you up for it?”

“Sure—” she replied. “I seem to only have

morning sickness that happens only in the morn-
ings so that’s good. And since I’m not that preg-
nant yet, I don’t mind people seeing me.”

Raiden chuckled. “You will look as sexy as

ever.”

“No, I’ll be as big as a house.”
He slipped from the bed and walked to the

bathroom door. Sticking his head in, he saw her
inspecting her stomach and grinned. “You
haven’t gotten any bigger since this morning,
baby. Don’t worry about it—you don’t have to be
sexy to any other man but me.”

301/313

She pouted at him. He reached in and kissed

her lips. “No matter what, you’ll look marvel-
lous. I’d still want to—how is it the rappers
say?—tap that?”

“Raiden Rei!” she gasped with a laugh.

“You are so not gangster.”

“I know. I think they call the Japanese ver-

sion the Yakuza.” He hauled her into his arms
and kissed her soundly. “Now get ready, I’m go-
ing to call the herd and they will descend on this
house with enough food to feed a small army.”

When she laughed, he couldn’t help but kiss

her again before she playfully shoved him from
the bathroom and closed the door. He grinned
like a fool while reaching for the phone again.
Calling his brother, the two made plans and
Raiden entered the bathroom again. He stripped
down and snuck into the shower with Rochelle.
She didn’t have time to argue; the moment
Raiden stepped in, he plunged deep within her.

“I can’t stay away,” he whispered helplessly.

“So addictive.”

302/313

303/313

Epilogue

Rochelle watched Raiden and Daitaro

through the screen door in the backyard. They
had arrived back in Canada when she was five
months pregnant. Raiden hadn’t liked the idea of
her flying but after she told him they would fly in
the private plane, he reluctantly agreed. He
brought the whole tribe—Daitaro, Jeff and Nia.
Jeff and Nia swiftly made their way to the CN
Tower leaving the others at Rochelle’s house.
Rochelle shook her head and turned her attention
to Maylee who was busy reciting Japanese words
to the baby.

“Do you seriously think the baby can hear

you?” Rochelle questioned.

“It’s not too early to teach the baby a new

language and will you please find out what sex
the baby is? It’s really strange saying the baby all
the time and I refuse to say it.”

Rochelle grinned. “Well his or her father

doesn’t want to know. He wants to be shocked
when it arrives. “

Maylee giggled and peered outside leaning

in to whisper to Rochelle, “Is he single?”

“Who—oh you mean Dai? Yes he is. You

like?”

“Oh yeah. Maylee like a lot.”
Rochelle laughed. “You’re dirty. I thought

you didn’t go for Japanese boys?”

“I don’t—didn’t. I mean look at him! The

man is beautiful and that smile—” Maylee trailed
off into a sigh and Rochelle had to agree with
her. The Rei boys had something about them that
left women breathless and confused and she
loved that about Raiden. Grinning, she stuck her
head out the window.

“Would you two stop being anti social and

get your butts back in the house?”

“Hold on, babe.” Raiden waved. She

watched him turn back to his brother and sud-
denly an overwhelming happiness surged through

305/313

her. She watched them walk inside and instantly
Raiden walked over to pull her into his arms for a
kiss.

“Missed me?” He smirked at her.
“Like hem...” She trailed off and placed a

hand over her stomach. “Whoa!”

Raiden frowned and bent over to speak to

her stomach. “Stop kicking me! I saw her first.”

Rochelle giggled at the father of her baby ar-

guing with his unborn child and ran her fingers
through his soft hair. Raiden’s hair was a turn on
for her and since he refused to make out with her
she would take all she could get. He thought sex
would hurt the baby—then again she wouldn’t
want to be poked in the head either.

“Dai, you hungry?” she asked since Maylee

was too busy blushing.

“Don’t do that.” Raiden grinned. “Feed him

and he’ll never leave.”

Maylee smiled walking over to take Dait-

aro’s hand. “I’ll feed him—don’t worry.”

306/313

Daitaro laughed and wiggled his brows sug-

gestively while Maylee led him from the room.

“You know she’s smitten right?” Rochelle

asked, allowing Raiden to pull her into his lap on
the sofa. “I think your brother will be married
within the next two years.”

“Really?” Raiden grinned, kissing her cheek.

“You’re giving them that long?”

Rochelle turned and peered at him thought-

fully for a bit then nodded her head. “You’re
right, a year and a half because Maylee has to cut
him out of some horrid habits.”

“Horrid habits? I assure you, m’lady, my

brother has no horrid habits. Rei men are practic-
ally perfect in every way.”

Rochelle giggled at his Mary Popins refer-

ence and relaxed against him. His hand pressed
against her stomach and the baby kicked again. “I
think we’re having a boy,” she whispered.

“Hmm?”
“The way he kicks—I think it’s a boy.”
“I’ll be happy with either.”

307/313

“I’m just saying,” she whispered.
Rochelle turned to press a kiss to Raiden’s

brow.

308/313

About Tigra-Luna LeMar

Tigra-Luna was born in Jamaica and moved

to Canada when she was really young. She loves
writing, movies (especially comedies), learning
and cooking. She loves to hear from readers so
you can add her to facebook or drop her an email.

Also available at MuseItUp Publishing

Boating with the Buttermores
By Randall Lang
Naughty and Sizzling Hot
ISBN: 978-1-926931-02-9

Years of jobs, kids, and other family de-

mands can take the excitement out of a marriage.
But when neighbors become lovers, suddenly
new and unexplored worlds can open up. Espe-
cially when they go "Boating with the
Buttermores".

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