“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 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 parents died a few years ago. It’s been me and him since then.”
“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 decided 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 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 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 somehow?” 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.
“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 followed 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, meet Raiden Rei. Raiden, this is our head of security 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 jealous 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 continued 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?”
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 into her outstretched hand.
“Thanks, Kelly!” she called. She kept walking 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—”
Her hands were moving over his body cutting 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 into 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 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 tighter—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.”
“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 forward. 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.
“Welcome to Hayes Graphics and Animations,” she whispered over his lips.
* * * *
“I’ve never done that before.”
“You mean pounce on a man in your office?” 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, releasing 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 papers 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 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 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.”
* * * *
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 velocity in which she had changed topics. She fell into 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.
“What’s the matter, Rochelle? I thought you wanted to talk business.”
“You’re a tease,” she accused him. “But seriously. 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 submissions 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?”
“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 contract 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 company secrets remain inside Hayes and so forth. Her lawyers worked over-time on these papers ensuring they cover every base. She couldn’t afford for someone to waltz into her company and leave with anything that could be used against 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 coffee, 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.
“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 commitments 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 remained silent for a bit before speaking. “And when you leave?”
“I’ve tried not to think that far ahead,” he told her.
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 duties 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 knowing they had just broken up. She pressed her lips in a thin line and faced him. She stared at his 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.”
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.
For the Love of Rei Page 9
