“Hello, Harmony.”
God, he couldn’t get enough of her. Her hair was held up by a comb of some sort that had a flower design on it. With it drawn back like that, she looked more severe than he remembered.
“Jonathon.” She gave a slight bow and stepped back to allow him in.
Christ, his hands itched to touch her. Kiss her. The moment he had stepped past the entryway and she’d shut the door, he reached for her, his heart splintering when she shook her head and stepped out of his grasp.
“Are you still mad at me?”
“No. I… I just have to get going. I have dinner to go to with my parents.”
“Where are they?”
“They were at Papa’s business thing. They’ll be here in about fifteen minutes. I’m supposed to meet them downstairs so we can go to the restaurant.”
“Fifteen minutes?”
She nodded, looking entirely too delectable and enticing as she stood there, her hands clasped before her.
“Not quite enough time, but it’s a start.”
She blinked, her confusion apparent. “Not enough time for what?”
He loosened the knot of his tie. “For me to give you a proper hello. I’ll just have to make do with the time we do have.”
He saw the moment understanding set in, for she shook her head and began to back farther away from him. “No, Jonathon. I have to meet my parents.”
His tie fell to the floor and he unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it from his slacks. “You still will.”
There was no disguising the raw hunger in her gaze and it spurred him on. The shirt went next and he undid his belt.
She shook her head. “I can’t.” Her tongue sneaked out and licked her lips, his groan slid free.
“Why?”
She reached out to him only to drop her hand back to her side. “Meeting my parents.”
“I’d love to.”
Her eyes widened and her gaze flew to meet his. “What?”
This time he did touch her. Curled his fingers around her wrist and drew her flush to his bared chest. Dropping his chin so they could be staring at one another, he smiled.
“Meet your parents. I’d love to.”
He could see her gearing up for a big argument so he stopped it the best way he knew how. He kissed her. Lord, he’d missed this woman. Rejuvenating energy poured through him as her taste reawakened his senses.
She hesitated for about two seconds. Then responded with the fiery passion he’d come to crave from her. She wound her arms around his neck and he lifted her. Like usual, she hooked her legs about his waist, pressing them even closer together. He loved how tightly she held him.
Cupping her ass, he continued to devour her mouth. Their tongues danced and stroked along one another, tastes mingling. With one hand, he freed himself and jerked off her panties before sliding into her with a single, smooth stroke.
Her gasp was as potent as the feel of her tight sheath around his cock. He spun them, so her back was against a wall and began to thrust up into her. Hard and fast, he took her. Her nails dug into his back as she rode him.
In and out. Back and forth. She kept up with him, moving in the perfect tandem he knew and hungered after from her. He could admit it—she meant more to him than a random fuck. This woman made him see the future he had always wanted. But not with anyone other than her.
Her muscles clenched and legs tightened as her internal muscles gripped him harder, milking him. He couldn’t hold out anymore and flicked her clit with two fingers. Her back bowed and her breasts were thrust forward as she came all over his shaft with a scream into his mouth. The feel of her coming on his uncovered cock was all it took. He drove home three more times before he unloaded deep within her core, bathing her channel with his seed.
Only once her shaking had stopped did he break the kiss they’d shared. Her eyes were hazy and glazed with passion, lips swollen and yet slightly turned up at the corners in pleasure.
“Hi,” he murmured.
“Hi yourself.”
“I missed you.”
She glanced down to where they remained joined and grinned. “I see that.”
Jonathon carried her to the bathroom where he cleaned them both up. He watched in silence as she threw away her torn panties and put on another pair before checking her reflection in the mirror.
“You’re beautiful.”
She gave him a soft smile in the mirror but didn’t respond, just continued to fix the small bit of makeup she wore.
“I want to meet your parents.”
Her small body stiffened again, and not for a good reason this time. “To what end?”
“Because I’m dating their daughter. And I want to meet the people important to you.”
She uncapped her lip gloss and applied a light layer. “Dating?”
He crossed his arms. “What the hell do you call what we’ve been doing?”
“I thought after I moved out…” She trailed off with a shrug.
He narrowed his eyes. “You thought what? We would just end it? Go our separate ways? Because of the disagreement?”
“Disagreement? Is that what you call it? You constantly shoving down my throat how I should be living?”
“I said I was sorry.”
“Not to me you didn’t. And if you were truly sorry, it wouldn’t happen over and over again.”
He frowned, frustrated. “So you’re mad at me because I don’t want you living in a small place?”
She spun to face him. “No. I’m mad because you don’t think I know what I want. How I want to live.” A slash of her hand through the air. “Or what makes me happy.”
“Didn’t you like living at my place?”
“Sure. You have a very nice condo. But it’s not me, Jonathon. Like I told you before, I’ve done the gilded cage. I don’t want that. I don’t need huge, expansive places. My little apartment had more warmth and feel to it, for me, than your whole place.”
“You could decorate it.”
“Why? I don’t live there anymore. I am getting my place how I want it.” She moved closer to him and touched his arm. “I’m sorry, Jonathon. I don’t fit into your world. Look at how you live, your friend Deyon lives. Your older brothers. Hell, even your oldest sister. All of them have huge places. Arissa and Lis have smaller ones, but still. And your parents.” She shook her head. “It’s just not me. Not anymore.” Harmony stole a glance at the delicate watch on her wrist. “I have to go. It was great seeing you.”
Jonathon stood there in disbelief as she turned and walked out of her hotel room, closing the door silently behind her. Not belong in his world? He’d never cursed his family name or the money he had until just now. Then he jerked open the door and went after her. He couldn’t let it go like this. Hell no. Not on his life. And that’s exactly what she was to him, his entire life.
Harmony rode the elevator down alone. Her heart hurt from what had just transpired between herself and Jonathon. It hadn’t been easy at all telling him those things, but she’d had to be honest with herself. And with him.
The doors slid open and she walked out, shoving Jonathon and that issue to the back of her mind for the time being. Right now, she had to focus on the dinner with her parents. Smoothing her hands down her sides, she took a deep breath and continued on to where they were supposed to meet.
Sure enough, her parents were there, early like usual. At least she wasn’t late. She pasted a smile on her face and walked up to them.
“Ready?” her mother asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She watched her father rise from the chair and shrug into his suit coat. Then he helped her mother up. Both of them paused and stared at something behind her. The feeling in the pit of her stomach and the way the hair on the back of her neck stood up told her in more ways than one whom it was that approached.
“Hello, Harmony,” Jonathon said. “I saw you earlier and wasn’t sure I wasn’t mistaken as to who it was. Then I saw you walk in he
re and I knew.”
She turned and met his gaze. Determination shone in it. Damn Wrights. Always so sure of themselves and taking what they wanted.
“Jonathon. Good to see you.”
Before turning back to her parents, she shot him a glare, which she knew didn’t faze him in the least. Still, it felt good.
“Who are you?” her father asked, his accent thick.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Jonathon stated in his smooth lawyer way. “Forgive my lack of manners, I was so pleased to see her again. I’m Jonathon Wright.”
She wanted to sink beneath the floor. However, her father was nothing if not a consummate businessman. He held out his hand.
“Katashi Oshiro. This is my wife, Diandra.”
Jonathon bowed over her mother’s hand and brushed a kiss on the back of it. “Lovely to meet you, ma’am.”
“How do you know my daughter?” Her father posed the question.
“We live in the same town and have become friends.” He gave her a smile. “I was happily surprised to see her out here.”
“You live in McKingley?”
“Yes, sir. I have my whole life.”
Her mother glanced between them both. “Would you like to join us for dinner, Mr Wright?”
“I’d love to. Only if you call me Jonathon, however.”
She saw it on her father’s face that he wanted to refuse. However, her mother rarely didn’t get things her way. So she swallowed back her stress at the knowledge that he would be joining them for dinner.
Jonathon escorted her mother and left her with her father. They walked side by side, not talking, which was the complete opposite of Jonathon and her mother. He held her by the arm and was engaging her in conversation.
“How did you meet this man?” her father queried in Japanese.
“I met him one night at the auction I was at and then we ran into each other again at the college.” She answered in the same language.
“He is going to school?”
“No, he was there teaching law, stepping in for a friend.”
“A lawyer?”
“Yes.”
Her father gave a noncommittal grunt and she licked her lips. They walked to the restaurant and she was grateful they didn’t all have to be in a vehicle together. Her head hurt and she wanted nothing more than to head back to her room and sleep. Well, there was something else she’d be fine doing. That brief interlude in her hotel room had only fanned the flames in her, it hadn’t dampened them.
Dinner wasn’t all bad. Jonathon kept the conversation going by asking her parents all kinds of questions. And he had no problem answering theirs either, which she knew got points in his favour from her father. Just when she thought it would be okay and had taken a relieved breath to enjoy her dessert, she discovered she never should have assumed it would end any other way.
“When are you coming back to Japan?”
“I don’t believe I am, Father.”
“You need to. I have set up a concert for you.”
Her heart seized, the spoon in her hand clattering to the bowl. “There will be no more concerts.”
She could feel Jonathon’s gaze on her but she steadfastly refused to meet his eyes. She didn’t want to see the question in them.
“You are healed. After all our sacrifices, you can’t just give up.”
Tears pricked and she gulped, trying to hold onto her tears. “I am not ‘healed’, Father. It hurts to play. I can’t withstand the rigours of a full concert. And we didn’t have sacrifices, I did. Me! I was the one who wasn’t allowed to play with the other children. I had to stay home and practise, or go to get tutored by your professional who loved to yell at me. I had to be perfect all the time—heaven forbid I messed up and embarrassed the Oshiro name.”
Her mother’s gasp almost stopped her but it couldn’t. Not quite. The floodgates had opened.
“My first concert, do you remember what you said to me? There were no congratulations, nothing like that. You told me what I’d messed up then walked away. That was it. Do you know what that is like for a child? For a little girl who only wanted her father’s approval?” She stared at her mother. “And you, never standing up for me when I wanted to do something else. Telling me how lucky I was to live in all those fancy hotel rooms as I travelled doing concerts. The money I got from endorsement deals, which you both took. I don’t have the money.”
“Then I had the accident and you make me feel like that is also my fault. Like I asked to be shoved through that window. The first thing you ask then is when do I think I’ll be able to play again?” The tears escaped. “I can’t do this anymore. I know, I know—you’re disappointed in me because I’m a failure. Well, let me top it off for you. You really want to know how I know Jonathon? Because we were dating and sleeping together.”
Yes, those gasps she’d expected. Shoving to her feet, she ran from the establishment and up the street to her hotel. Once she had made it into her room, she collapsed on the bed in a torrent of tears. Would she never learn? Would she always be a disappointment to her parents? Eventually the tears became too much and she sank into oblivion.
When she woke, she had a moment of panic. Strong arms were around her. The next second, before the scream could escape, she inhaled and knew exactly who it was. Jonathon was in bed with her. She’d know his scent and his touch anywhere.
They spooned in her bed and she could feel the strong cadence of his heart, calming her. He nuzzled her behind the ear and pressed a light kiss to the shell of her ear.
“I know you’re awake, Harmony.”
“How’d you get in here?”
“I have my ways.”
Of that she had no doubt. “I don’t have it in me to do this right now, Jonathon.”
“Too bad.”
She stiffened. “What?”
“That’s your go-to phrase for everything and I’m tired of it. You need to face it, face me, face us.”
She didn’t want to face anything. Nope, no thank you. She wanted to go back to sleep and forget the entire day.
“Tell me about your accident.”
Her fingertips itched to touch her scar but she refrained. One, because she didn’t want to move and two, because it wouldn’t help anything.
“What’s to know? It happened.”
“Why are you so set on being difficult, Harmony?”
“Why are you so damn set on figuring everything out for me?” she countered angrily.
He stiffened before rolling her towards him and holding her gaze. “Okay, we’ll handle this first. I’m sorry. For all the times I pushed too hard about your living conditions or place. I’m sorry for wanting to treat you like a princess and put you in a castle of your own.”
“Don’t try to get me to feel guilty, Jonathon. You’re ashamed of me living in a smaller place.”
A tic appeared in his jaw. “We both know you looked me up. Do you really think that I give a damn about that?”
She sat up and he followed. Shoving a hand through her hair that had come free, she finally just jerked out the comb and let it all fall loose.
“Yes.”
He blinked a few times and she knew he’d not expected that answer. “How can you say that?”
“You’re questioning my opinion now?”
“Yes, I guess I am.”
“On paper, all of your family is impressive and yes, you all do a lot of good for others. None of that matters about your personal feelings on those you may be dating.”
He ran a hand over his mouth and sighed heavily. “We’ll agree to disagree on that. Regardless, I am sorry I made you feel that way. Okay?”
“Fine.”
He held her gaze a bit before nodding. “Now. About this?” He touched her scarred arm and hand that remained hidden beneath the sleeve of her dress.
“My scar.”
Chapter Nine
“Yes, your scar. More specifically, your accident.”
Jonathon stared at the woman he s
at across from on the bed. The protectiveness that had surfaced when her father had started in on her had been expected. The fury that had accompanied it as she’d shot back at her parents hadn’t been.
Each tear she shed was like a dagger to his chest. The torment in her voice had made him want to cringe and hold her. Tight. Protect her even more. And get her away from her parents. Having the family he did, he wasn’t used to being treated as she’d obviously been her entire life.
Win or lose, his parents had always been supportive of their children. There was not a single time he could remember either of them walking up to him after something and telling him what he’d done wrong. Sure, in sports he could always go to his dad and ask him for pointers, but he would never have said anything like that to him at the game.
To not know the joys of going to school and having friends was something he couldn’t fathom. When she’d told him she’d already done the living in fancy places, he honestly hadn’t given it much thought, past that she was upset and ranting. But now… It was an entirely different situation. No wonder she’d resented it so much, his insistence over the house and pushing her for a larger place, as well as Deyon’s amount of purchased clothing. As she’d pointed out, stuff she’d had to pay back because she wasn’t about to take anything from him like that.
So yes, he’d screwed this up majorly. And wanted to fix it all, but first he had to get her to open up to him.
“Harmony?”
Her body jolted and he knew she’d been lost in a memory. From the look on her face, it hadn’t been a pleasant one either.
“Tell me.”
She blew out a breath and cleared her throat. “It was after a concert. There was a thing after it, you know, a food and drink kind of thing. Anyway, I was one of the youngest ones there and was keeping mostly to myself. My chaperone was off drinking.”
“Where were your parents?”
“Home.” A shrug. “Not sure. They rarely travelled with me. Paid another to watch me. I only had a chaperone to make sure I didn’t get into trouble, and I’d always had one. Age didn’t matter to my parents—they had their plans for me.” She sniffed. “Anyway. There was a younger man who also played piano. Riku. Handsome and very talented. We were talking by a large window, looking at the fountain beyond it, when the girl who wanted to be his girlfriend came up and yelled at me for talking to him.”
Pure Harmony Page 10
