Kokuro traced the intricate pattern of the print on the pillow with her forefinger as she lay on her stomach with the pillow beneath her chest. She aimlessly stared at nothing, allowing her thoughts to wander. Sighing deeply, she relished the magnificent feeling of being completely sated sexually. A small gasp escaped her lips when Touta leaned over her to press a kiss to her shoulder. She sighed with satisfaction when he settled next to her, pressing the full length of his naked body to hers. The closeness of his body comforted her as did the delicate, unspoken intimacy of their hopelessly tangled emotions.

It had been a few weeks since the confrontation with Hideki in her office. She had avoided seeing her brother-in-law and even her sister thinking it best they get several counseling sessions beneath their belt before a family reunion. The holidays were coming up and she was afraid the interaction would be awkward at best, hopefully not excruciatingly uncomfortable, for all involved. She and Touta had used the time to forge a closer bond and strengthen their relationship since everyone else's seemed to be in tatters. She had not asked him how all of this was effecting Shuichi Aizawa because in the end she really did not give a damn. The only person she felt sorry for there was Aizawa's wife. Touta's relationship with his coworkers seemed unfazed and he never mentioned any strange feelings or interactions with the men so she never asked. She made a conscious effort to not function as his counselor anymore and only as his girlfriend. She asked how his day was at work and if he offered information fine, but she would not pry it out of him like she was trained.

"Koko," he sighed, nuzzling into her hair. He had begun calling her that soon after the incident. It seemed all of the people who knew her familiarly and loved her the most called her that so why shouldn't he?

Kokuro shivered and giggled when he kissed her neck. Something long and hard rubbed against her bare thigh so she turned on her side to invite him to take her. He had an astounding recovery time. She was surprised after the rambunctiousness of their last encounter he would be ready for another go around so soon. Pressing her lips to his, she pulled him into her arms and rolled over to put him on top. He could do all the work this time. She was tired.

"Koko," Touta murmured again, avoiding her kiss.

"What is it?" she asked apprehensively as he stared down at her. What could it be? Hopefully the fallout from everyone else's failing relationships was not seeping into theirs. Not this soon.

"I-I…I, uh, want, um, need to say something," he faltered, kissing the tip of her nose. He could see the anxiety growing in her eyes. He knew he needed to say it, to let her know, but he was afraid it might make her run. Worse yet, what if she did not say it back?

"You can tell me anything," she assured him, pressing her hands to his cheeks. Kissing his lips, she attempted to soothe his obvious nervousness. Whatever it was produced enough anxiety to make his body quake and caused him to lose his erection. What the hell was wrong with him?

"I love you!" he gushed, tightening his arms around her as if to keep her from retreating physically despite her emotional reaction.

"Oh, god," she gasped before she could stop herself. She closed her eyes, wishing her stomach had not fallen to her toes because it made her feel nauseated. That had not been an appropriate response and she could not bear to open her eyes to see the emotional hurt she had caused him by her adverse reaction. Her breathing came in shallow ragged gasps as he held her tightly, laying his cheek against hers. Goosebumps rose over her body when his lips moved, brushing across the outer curve of her ear.

"It's okay. I didn't expect you to say it back. I just wanted to tell you how I felt. It's important to me that you know," he whispered, kissing her cheek.

"Touta, I – " Her words died away when he covered her mouth for one of his amazing breath stealing kisses that prevented her from thinking as well.

"It's okay. I'm not going anywhere. I hope you don't either," he stated rather emotionlessly, looking into her jewel like eyes.

"I'm not," she responded, brushing her fingers through the bangs that fell over his eyes. "I won't."

Kokuro breathed his name when he unexpectedly slid into her, hard and ready. She pressed her hands against his smooth, bare chest before kissing his soft skin over his heart. She did love him and it scared the hell out of her. Struggling with her emotions, she whispered his name as he made love to her with such sweetness and intensity his emotions were being conveyed to her physically with no misunderstanding. Tears sprang to her eyes as the pleasure escalated, pushing her toward being overcome with pleasure and her own feelings.

"Touta, please," she begged, pulling him down on top of her to hold him close to her.

"Please what, Koko?" he asked, finding it difficult to move but unable to stop nonetheless.

"Please, don't stop," she pled with him, gasping in ecstasy when he jerked his hips forward.

"It never even crossed my mind," he replied, seizing her mouth with his for a passionate kiss.

Their bodies moved over one another easily from the light sheen of sweat that had formed from their fervent physical activity. As they slipped and slid together for each meeting of bliss, both of them uttered words or moans of their enjoyment to the other. It was incredibly arousing and extremely pleasing right to the marvelous conclusion.

"I love you," Touta whispered as he held her quaking, pleasure saturated body in his arms.

"I love you too," Kokuro rejoined in kind unafraid to admit her feelings due to the euphoria she was experiencing.

Touta smiled, holding her close to him as a heavenly sense of elation spread over him. He did not care if it was spoken in the heat of passion. She had uttered the words he doubted if he would ever hear out of her mouth under any circumstances.

~\..'../~


Kokuro sat at her desk daydreaming about the man who had managed to arrest her heart. A smile lifted up the corners of her mouth as a contented sigh left her lips. She was happy. Ecstatic even. For the first time in a long time she felt the fabulously thrilling effects of an adrenaline rush every time she conjured a vision of a pair of deep brown eyes that always held her gaze so lovingly. Stretching out her arms and leaning back in her chair, she closed her eyes and allowed her mind to drift to more private memories when they shared not only their bodies but their feelings. Biting her lower lip, her body responded with an unexpected burst of sexual arousal as she recalled some of the delightful sensations he had stirred within her on those occasions.

"Hey! Kokuro, what – " The words halted on the tongue of her loud mouthed male colleague after he burst right into her office without a polite knock or any kind of warning at all.

Kokuro had responded by jumping out of the chair and pressing her palm to her racing heart. Regrettably, her action had brought attention to her chest which his eyes were firmly locked on at the moment as he remained speechless but only momentarily.

"Are you all right? Are you cold?" he inquired, a lecherous twinkle in his bright cornflower blue eyes behind his rectangular glasses.

Kokuro looked down to see her nipples were rigid enough they were visibly poking into her silk shirt and the creep in front of her was enjoying the view. Picking up her stapler, she threw it at him. To her dismay, he dodged easily allowing it to hit the floor with a loud bang. Running a hand through his shoulder length blond hair, he confidently swaggered over to her.

"Chizue, you're such a pervert," she growled as he backed her into the wall.

Chizue Wakahisa* was the office lech and completely unapologetic for it. To make matters worse, he was the resident grief counselor. It was well known that he took advantage of grieving widows and mourning women in general yet by some miracle or cruel trick of fate he had somehow bypassed losing his license or getting sued. Despite dealing with death and sorrow all the time, he still held a sunny outlook on life and always wore a smile. Maybe his unrelenting lasciviousness and constant string of conquests gave him a reason to smile in addition to the constant flood of orgasm induced endorphins flooding his system.

"Creep," she muttered, when he rubbed his nose against hers and kissed her forehead.

"What were you thinking about, my dear?" he asked, sitting down in her chair and propping his feet on her desk.

"Nothing you would be interested in," she countered, shoving his feet off her desk hard enough he spun around in her cushy leather chair. She sat down on her desk rather than making him vacate her chair. She viewed him as an annoying little brother and had told him so which made him leave her alone for the most part with only occasional bouts of flirtatiousness to deal with.

"Oh?" He grabbed her knees and pulled himself forward, staring up at her like an inquisitive child. His bright blue eyes fixed themselves on her face for a fantastic change and pleaded with her to share. "By the look on your face when I walked in I think I would be very interested in knowing what you were thinking."

"Jerk," she snapped, grinning like an idiot and avoiding his intense gaze. "I swear, I don't know how you keep your job."

"Because I'm just that good," he responded egotistically, jumping up from the chair. He sat beside her on the desk, draping his arm comfortably and little too cozily over her shoulders.

"Did you have a reason for crashing in here?" she inquired, grabbing his hand and dragging his arm over her head to removing it from her shoulders. 'Other than to irritate me,' she wanted to add but did not.

"Oh, yes, actually I do. I'm headed to the Whispering Pines Rest Homes. They've had a sudden spate of deaths there and I need someone to help me. I can't handle the load of the grief stricken loved ones that need counseling," he explained nonchalantly and emotionlessly as if he were discussing the weather.

"Honestly, Chizue you're a heartless bastard," she muttered, getting off the desk.

"What am I supposed to do? Be broken up over every person's loss?" he questioned her, following her like a lost puppy. "You know as well as I do I'd be an even bigger emotional screw up than I am now if I let it get to me."

"Oh, my god, I never expected you to admit it," she mumbled, turning around too abruptly only to have him run right into her chest. She jumped back to remove his head from her cleavage. "I wish you were taller."

"I love it when you wear heels," he returned breathlessly with a big grin.

"Ugh, you're disgusting," Kokuro growled with a sneer of apparent revulsion.

"Please, help me. It really is overwhelming and these are hurting people who need help. I know you don't have any appointments because I checked with the receptionist so don't lie to me," Chizue warned her, turning dreadfully serious.

'Damn him and I'll pay that hapless fawner back who has no chance with him,' she thought to herself, pressing her lips together into a thin line of anger.

It was a widely known and much laughed at fact that the receptionist, Haruka, had a terminal crush on Chizue who held no interest in her whatsoever. She would do anything for him and he ruthlessly abused that fact. What an all-around asshole he could be with no remorse whatsoever.

"You owe me big for this," Kokuro told him although she already knew she would never get any kind of compensation whatsoever for assisting him.

"I know one good way you could thank me that would be mutually beneficial," he announced happily with a big smile.

"Not just no, but hell no you pervert." She turned her back on him to take her coat from the back of her chair.

"Can't blame a guy for trying," he murmured, watching her appreciatively as she bent over to retrieve her purse from her bottom desk drawer.

"Yes, I can."


*Chizue Wakahisa – is an OC. The reason he was created will be revealed in later chapters if some of you cannot guess already where I'm going with his character.