She continued, “For Kimi to be the one to suggest giving you the shirt before she had even met you is a great honor. Especially if the only people not related to her who owned one happened to be her surrogate family. There could be a couple of reasons she did this. But I personally think it has to do with her father. If she told you that he couldn’t stop talking about you, then it must have been one hell of a conversation. You must have truly affected him as well for her to approve of you sight unseen. That’s a huge accomplishment, Hitomi.
“The bond you formed after only a few hours with her is amazing. That takes trust. Plus, I’ve always felt that kids have a radar for people who are good and bad. It seems Kimi is a little mature for her age, and between Raiden and the Lacoste family, they are raising a great kid. Hell, I like her already.”
“I know that’s right, Nat. When do you see them again?” Riva asked.
“I have lunch with Raiden tomorrow, and Kimi wants me to come to every practice and game she has. She is rough and competitive as hell. It brought back memories of a younger version of myself when I used to play sports. She’s a straight tomboy, and I loved watching her in action. I was louder than Raiden. I’m excited to watch her at ballet and gymnastics. I don’t know where she gets the energy,” she said, beaming ear to ear like a proud mom.
Whoa. Where did that come from? Forget that. I’m not going to question this. I’m going to enjoy Kimi’s time for as long as she allows me.
* * * *
Raiden had lunch delivered, and Hitomi was setting it up in her office when he arrived. When he reached her office, he slid a piping hot cup of caramel macchiato onto Heather’s desk. The shocked look on her face was laughable.
His only response was “I do my homework.”
Raiden flashed Heather a friendly smile as he approached Hitomi’s door. He quietly opened the door and closed it the same way. Hitomi was busy placing the food on her coffee table so he knew she didn’t hear him come in. He was glad he would be able to openly stare at her again before she noticed he was in the room.
Raiden realized that he hadn’t actually paid any attention to her office. It had Hitomi’s style written all over it. She had a huge wooden desk and matching leather chairs that sat on one end of the office for meetings. To the left sat a contemporary sofa and matching overstuffed chairs with accent tables and coffee table. This was clearly becoming their lunch room table. She also had her own personal bathroom. No wonder she never leaves the office. There was also a flat screen bolted on the wall in the corner. She had bookcases on each side of her desk that were lined with books, Japanese statues and collectibles, and pictures of her parents, sister, and godparents. Then other pictures of Heather and he assumed her husband and twin boys. Hi was absolutely fond of the twins. There were lots of pictures on other shelves with Hi and the twin boys at different outings. She also had a few of her other friends.
Where would she put the picture of me, her, and Kimi? Hitomi was breathtaking as usual. She had on a V-neck, peach silk dress with specks of gray that made her beautiful gray eyes pop. She never really realized how beautiful she was. Those curves of hers were killing him. He couldn’t wait to wrap his arms around her and caress every part of her body. Today, she had her hair up with chopsticks. He had forgotten how much he used to love when she did that. She always made that style look effortless. It was loose, and she had strands loose around her face and neck. It was sexy as hell and his steel erection agreed. He cleared his throat, alerting her he was in the room. She looked up at him with the sexiest smile he had ever seen. His cock immediately came to attention, pressing harder against his slacks.
Damn, I’m toast! My cock is reacting to her, and she only smiled.
* * * *
Hitomi felt eyes on her almost immediately and knew who it was. She chose not to look up; she was feeling a bit daring, so she thought she’d let him steal a few glances. Plus, this allowed her a few moments to calm her racing heart. Hitomi was also trying to control the excitement she had about seeing him again. She could barely sleep the night before because of Raiden. He had her feeling giddy and loving it. She enjoyed their lunch dates more than she thought she should have. Opening herself up to him and falling so easily for Raiden was an unexpected welcome. She just hoped he felt the same way.
When she set eyes on him today, she could have fainted. Was it possible for the man to get sexier every day? He was casual today, dressed in black slacks and a royal blue shirt with the top button left open. He was incredibly handsome. Hitomi had come to terms with the fact that she was still in love with him as she had been in college, except it was stronger now. Hitomi longed to kiss him, but she respected people’s boundaries and did not want to embarrass herself. Although she promised herself not to get into a relationship with anyone ever again, she realized that rule had quickly diminished the moment Raiden walked back into her life.
Stop overanalyzing and go with the flow, girl. Enjoy yourself a little.
“I’ve set everything out. Come have a seat. I can assume you spoke with Heather. There’s no other way you would have known about my favorite selection from The Tea House. None of this is on the menu,” Hitomi said as she motioned for him to come take a seat. Modest in size, the coffee table held a small lunch spread that consisted of a turkey burger with cheese, bacon, and barbeque sauce and sweet potato fries. Although surprised when she set the food out, she was totally taken aback by the notion that Raiden was interested in things that ravished her palate.
Raiden nodded and gave her a wink. “It’s called a surprise, Hi. Do you like it?” She noticed how proud he was to have been able to surprise her.
“Yes,” she said, softly blushing. “Thank you. It looks and smells delicious.”
He stood until Hitomi sat, then he followed. Raiden watched her as she admired the food in front of her. Everything looked amazing and they were some of her favorite foods. She couldn’t help but wonder if Heather was responsible for helping Raiden pick out her favorites.
“The only thing I didn’t get was how addicted you were to strawberry lemonade. I’ve never had it before. Do you like it, Hitomi?”
“Oh yes, strawberry lemonade is my favorite. You definitely have my approval. Thank you, Raiden,” she responded as she began eating her food, not waiting for him. The one thing Hitomi wasn’t afraid of was showing she was not shy about eating in front of a man. There was no way in hell she was going to starve herself and get a case of the shakes while trying to impress a man.
Once they finished their lunch, he asked Hitomi the question that had been bugging him the most. “How come you aren’t married, Hitomi?”
That question so caught her by surprise that she choked on her strawberry lemonade. Once she gathered her composure, she took another pause before she answered Raiden’s question.
“I was married for three years. It simply did not work out.” She quickly muttered as she immediately broke eye contact and lowered her head.
“When is the last time you visited your godparents in Japan?”
Hitomi breathed a sigh of relief when he changed the subject. She wasn’t in the mood to discuss that part of her past. No one liked to discuss their failures or how defective they were. That was possibly the worst subject for Hitomi to discuss with anyone.
A small smile flashed across her face as thoughts of her godparents popped in her head. “It’s been a few months since I last visited them. But I will be going there in a few weeks. My godfather is having a huge birthday party, and everyone in my family will be attending. ”
He chortled and remarked, “I see your bond with them is thicker than ever. It’s great to have family and extended family around.”
She could only nod at this response.
They sat in silence for a few moments.
“Have dinner with us tonight?”
“Okay.” She didn’t have to think about her answer. She loved having the privilege to share both Raiden and Kimi’s time. She knew they had a tight bond,
and they trusted her enough to include her. “Where are we going?”
“Do you think you would be comfortable to come to my house, or would you rather eat out?”
“Your house is fine. I have to stop back at my place first. I will leave my place at six. Is that okay?” Hitomi was excited. Knowing that she would be near him again had her stomach in knots.
“That works great. Let’s get this stuff cleaned up.” He extended his hand and helped her to her feet.
* * * *
This time he wasn’t going to let the moment pass him by. Hitomi was standing so close and looking up at him that he knew she could feel how hard she was making him. Raiden could see her eyes darken with arousal. He leaned down and cupped her face, not wanting to move too fast in case this wasn’t something she wanted. When she darted that hot little pink tongue of hers out to lick her lips, Raiden let out a low, approving groan.
Raiden gently covered her mouth with his. Kissing her slowly and passionately was only teasing his need to have more of her. He didn’t have to wait for an invitation for his tongue to slide into her mouth. Hitomi parted her lips, welcoming Raiden. They teased and tortured each other with their tongues as mutual groans floated through the office.
Hitomi stepped in even closer to Raiden until the solid steel of his dick could be felt on her stomach. She guided her hands to his neck as he moved his hands to cup her butt. He pulled her dress up just enough to touch her flesh. He wanted to feel her skin against his hands if only for a moment. She sighed as her hold on him weakened. Before things could burst into uncontrollable flames, Raiden gently broke their kiss and pulled back but stayed in their embrace.
“Sweetheart, I’m positive we should stop. I won’t be able to control myself. I promise I will take you right here, Hitomi, and I don’t want our first time…” He smiled wide at her. “I mean our first time since college to be in your office. We can christen your office later.”
He loved the rosy glow on her cheeks. She was blushing, breathless, and absolutely spellbinding. She nodded at his statement and laid her head back on his chest. Her racing heart pounding against his chest was soothing. He could hold her in his arms all day if he had his way. Raiden held her tight and caressed her back. He was not ready to leave her just yet. Finally, Hi reluctantly broke their embrace. He knew she had clients to see.
“I can’t wait to see you tonight, sweetheart. Don’t work too hard.” Raiden gave her a kiss on the cheek this time. He knew his willpower was on the fritz and didn’t want to take the chance of kissing on the lips. Raiden stroked Hitomi’s cheek one last time before he quietly left the office.
Chapter 6
Hitomi was packing up to leave when Heather buzzed her. “You have a call on line one, Hitomi.”
Sighing, Hitomi picked up the phone. Damn. She knew she should have gotten out of there sooner. She answered, “Hitomi Narcisse.”
“You sound irritated, sweetheart. Are you okay?” Raiden’s soothing voice flowed through the phone.
“Hey.” Hitomi cheered up immediately. “I’m sorry about that. I assumed it was a client, and I was trying to get out of here. Is everything okay, Raiden?”
He sighed as he took a few moments before answering Hitomi. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I’m going to have to cancel dinner tonight. I have to track some missing shipments, and a few of my clients’ orders were mixed up. I would let someone else handle it, but these are my high-profile and extremely private clients. Do you think you can give me a rain check?”
“I understand, Raiden. Take care of that first, and I will figure out another time to cash in my rain check.” She tried miserably to keep the disappointment from rising to the surface. Hitomi really wanted to see him. She could hear the disappointment in his voice. She didn’t know if she had the patience to wait. Then an idea hit her. “Raiden, would you mind if I brought dinner to you instead?”
“Oh Hitomi, you get extra kisses for that. Why don’t you take your time and do whatever you need to do first and call me when you get home. I will give you directions. And bring whatever you want for dinner. I can’t wait to see you, sweetheart.”
His voice was like smooth milk chocolate. She was getting turned on just thinking about that tempting mouth on him. They said their good-byes, and Hitomi damn near skipped out of the office, leaving Heather laughing after her.
* * * *
A few hours later, Hitomi pulled into the garage of the Saga Towers building. Since it was after hours, Raiden had a guard waiting to escort her to his office. This was the first time she had ever been to his office building. During their initial meeting, Raiden made it seem like a small, insignificant building that housed several other companies. Hell, this was a twenty-story building according to the buttons on the elevator, and of course, his office was on the twentieth floor.
The guard escorted her to Raiden’s closed door before turning and getting back onto the elevator. His office occupied most of the space on the twentieth floor. The wooden double doors to his office were massive. Since he was expecting her, Hitomi didn’t bother to knock. She quietly opened the door and stepped inside the empty office. She was in awe as she closed the door behind her. Raiden’s office was efficient, organized, contemporary, and definitely built for comfort. To the left of his office setting, Raiden had a small conference room closed off by a glass wall and door.
To the right, there was another set of smaller double doors that sat open. A dim light glowed from within. Hitomi set the pizza box and wine bottle on the table in front of the sofa and headed to the room on the right. She could hear the faint sound of water running just beyond the double doors.
This man is something else. It was a miniature apartment. Hitomi didn’t get a chance to look around because the sight of Raiden walking out of the closet with his shirt in his hand was breathtaking. Damn! She couldn’t look away. Her nipples pebbled. Her vagina creamed with excitement. Her body was out of control. And Raiden’s body had her wondering what it would feel like to lick ice cream off of his abs.
* * * *
Raiden instantly smiled when he saw Hitomi standing in the doorway of his office apartment. The guards had called to let him know she was on her way up. He flashed her a small, knowing smile as she stood frozen in the doorway. He didn’t think she was aware of how her eyes darkened when she was aroused. But before he would start anything with her, he wanted to eat. He was starving. Then maybe he could have her for dessert.
“Hey, you,” she stammered out as she quickly diverted her eyes and glanced around the room. “I didn’t mean to barge in. But this is amazing.” Like a magnet, her eyes made their way back to Raiden. Her focus was on the lightly sprinkled chest hair.
With a nervous laugh she continued, “Self-control is something I have not yet mastered when it comes to being around you. So I’m just going to go back into your office and grab a slice of pizza.” Raiden flashed his sexiest smile at her as he watched her retreat back into the office. Over her shoulder she called out, “Put that shirt back on!”
Raiden erupted with laughter as he dressed. The way Hitomi’s jeans clung low on her hips had him standing at attention. He wondered what her bare ass would feel like in his hands. By the time he had made it back into the office and joined Hitomi, she was on her second slice of pizza. He was amazed at how considerate this woman was. He had wanted to invite her to his office but didn’t want to seem selfish or inconvenience her. Raiden figured it was meant to be when Hitomi suggested coming to him. There was no way in hell he would pass that up. His heart literally ached for her when she was not around. Thoughts of her crowded his head and nothing would suppress it unless he was with her or talking to her on the phone. That’s why he had begun to make it a nightly ritual to call her before she went to bed. It was becoming one of his most favorite tasks at night. It was a great way to end the day.
“Thanks for dinner, sweetheart. I was famished.” Raiden took a sip of his wine. “Mmmm…what type of wine is this? It’s delicious.”
After greedily swallowing her food, she managed to answer him. “Moscato. I like my wine sweet. I’m glad you like it.”
He wondered how sweet her nipples would taste if he dabbed some of the wine on them. His cock twitched at the thought.
“May I ask you a question?”
“I’m listening,” he responded smoothly as he ate his pizza and stared at her intently.
“Why do you have a bedroom…an apartment attached to your office? I mean, I understand the conference room, but an apartment, Raiden? Should I watch out for random women roaming in and out of here?”
He sat staring at her for a few moments before answering her. “Hitomi, you should know me better than that. I only have eyes for you, sweetheart. There are no other women. Other than my assistant, you’re the only woman to get a glimpse of it.” He smiled as he watched her cheeks burn from embarrassment. “It’s not like it’s a fully loaded apartment. Two small bedrooms and two full-sized bathrooms. I had it built when I bought the building. I know how my work habits can get. Sometimes I would leave the office late and I didn’t like to drive home at night when I was tired. I added the other small room for when Kimi needed to stay or my executive assistant when we worked late.” A small smile slid across his face. He gently cupped her chin. “Why do you ask?”
“Just curious.” There was no use in trying to conceal the redness that grazed her cheeks.
“Uh-huh. I am going to apologize now for what I’m about to do to you.” Not waiting for her to question his motives, he covered her mouth with his. Raiden’s hand carefully made its way to her neck and up to her ponytail to loosen it. His tongue darted into her mouth as Hitomi deepened the kiss. She was definitely responding to him.
Alexander, Kortny - Love, Interrupted (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 5
