CHAPTER 11 Small Victories

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Skip Beat, for if I did, Reino would have more panels.

Ren woke up refreshed though he hardly slept. He felt as if a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. His thoughts wandered to the girl sleeping in the room across the hall. Her actions last night definitely meant something, didn't it?

Surely no woman could look at a man like that unless she felt something for him. Then again, he could be reading too much into it. Any healthy woman would have responded that way with a half-naked man in their midst. She just felt so right in his arms.

His whole body vibrated with the need of wanting her. He was so glad that the static electricity between them had shocked him back to his senses. If not, he wasn't sure what he would have done. He needed to have more control. He didn't want to scare her off.

He got out of bed to start his morning routine. He did some plyometric exercises and topped it off with his usual cold shower.

Yashiro had texted him saying he'd be there in two hours. Boss wanted to meet with them. He probably just wanted to check up on them and see how last night went.

He finished getting ready before waking Kyoko. He wanted to let her sleep longer after her trying night. When he was ready, he went out to make some coffee. He heard sounds coming from her room as he was passing.

He pressed his ear to the door and could clearly hear her moaning. What was she doing in there? Was she talking in her sleep or was she…? He shook his head quickly to keep the perverted thoughts at bay. He didn't want to have to take another cold shower. He was tempted to open the door but restrained himself and proceeded to the kitchen.

She let out an erotic moan as her fingers delved into his blonde hair. She arched her back from the intense pleasure he was assaulting on her body. She whimpered as his fingers slid slowly in and out of her core. Her hips rising to meet them wanting more. He ran his tongue teasingly over her clit. He puckered his lips and sucked on her bud causing her to squirm almost coming off the bed.

He chuckled, his soft breath on her nether region sending sensations throughout her body. They locked stares, his playful green eyes against her glazed golden ones. She bit down on her lower lip, watching him as his mouth and tongue worked their magic. Keeping his eyes on her, he reached his free hand up and started carressing her breast. She threw her head back and dug her hands into the sheets from the added pleasure. He increased his movements sensing she was close. Her voice rose as the pressure was built up in the pit of her stomach. "Yes, oh yes," she cried out in ecstasy as she came.

Kyoko blinked her eyes open, one hand was in her pants whilst the other was fondling her breast, "Ehhhhhhhh!" she screamed as her face instantly flamed up. What was she doing in her sleep? She pulled her hand out of her pants and found them wet and sticky from her bodily excretions. There was a soft knock on the door, "Kyoko, is everything alright?"

"Ah yes Corn I'm fine," she said burying her face into the pillow. There's no way she could tell him what happened. He would think she was a shameless woman. It was all his fault too. Who said he could be so damn good looking and after last night, she screamed internally, how could she face him. Her heart was pounding at the memory of last night. Her body had come alive when he pressed against her. She knew then she needed to run away but she was too intrigued by the new feelings stirring within her body.

"Well Yashiro will be here in less than two hours so get ready and I'll make us some breakfast," Ren called from the other side of the door.

She yelled a thank you and jumped out of bed. She took a shower and got dressed. Despite her embarrassment, she was eager to see him. She surveyed herself in the mirror. The outfit he chose was simple yet feminine. She was wearing a pair of dark skinny jeans that fit her like a glove and hugged her curves in all the right places. The top was a tiered spaghetti strap in yellow. She had a cardigan to top it off in case she got cold.

She applied some of the moisturizer and cosmetics he had bought for her. They were an expensive brand so she used everything sparingly. She then donned her new bracelet and Princess Rosa. When she was done she looked in the mirror again. Staring back at her was a hopeful girl with bright and excited eyes. She hoped he liked it.

Seeing herself dressed in everything Ren bought her brought back memories of the Dark Moon party. Kijima had dressed her up that night. Ren was so angry at first but he seemed to be ok by the time of the interview. "Could he have been jealous then?" she wondered incredulously. "What had Ren said that night," she thought tapping her forefinger on her chin, "something along the lines of if a man buys a woman clothes, it is because he wants something in return."

Her face paled as realization struck her. He had bought everything she was wearing; then did he want THAT from her? She wasn't sure she was ready to take that step.

She had resigned herself to quietly nurture her feelings for him but his confession threw all her plans out the window. She had no idea how to face him now in the bright of day. He had reassured her constantly that he loved her but she still had her doubts. He was too magnificent so why would he settle for her. He could have any woman.

She shook off all those negative thoughts. One thing was for sure she needed to tell him about the incident or she wouldn't be able to get through the day. Taking a deep breath, she wandered into the kitchen.

Ren gave her a peck on the cheek when he wished her good morning. She brought her hand up to touch the spot he just kissed and blushed. Ren was tempted to ask her about the noises he heard but decided against it. His eyes drunk her in appreciatively. She looked dazzling in the outfit he picked out for her. He did ,however, regret those jeans; they were much too tight. He was going to have a hard time keeping the predators off her.

Ren returned to the stove. He was dressed for the day in designer jeans and a T-shirt. She was a bit disappointed to see that he had the wig and contacts back on. Her fairy prince was no longer but but her senpai was still so yummy too.

"I hope you like eggs and toast because that's all I can manage," he said with a laugh turning towards her. She gasped, she finally noticed the bruise on his face.

"Corn er Ren," she began.

"If it's just us you can call me Corn or Kuon but in public call me Ren, no honorifics ok," he said interrupting her. Kyoko nodded her agreement.

"Ok Corn, what are we going to do about your face? We can try putting some of my makeup on it?" she said brightly. Thanks to her concern over his face, she was able to talk to him so naturally.

"That sounds like a good idea. I was planning on asking Ms. Woods if she could do something about it but I didn't have a solution on what to do before then. It's not so bad" he told her seeing her face contort with worry.

Kyoko cringed thinking she caused problems again. She got up to retrieve her makeup bag. When she returned. Kyoko smiled and thanked him as he kissed her on her head while setting the plate down in front of her. Ren sat down next to her with his plate.

When they were done eating, she attended to his face. She leaned in closer, dabbing some concealer on the spot. Ren leaned into her closed his eyes and inhaled deeply of her flowery scent.

With his eyes closed, Kyoko took the opportunity to check him out. Her mind started to wander, "how could this man have such flawless skin? Not a single mole or blemish dotted his skin." She cursed the Gods for being so unfair. The bruise was still noticeable but any more and it would look unnatural. When she was done her eyes made contact with his as he slowly opened them and her breath hitched.

Even with contacts on, his eyes reminded her off her earlier dream. Her eyes drifted to his mouth, Ren smirked knowingly. A blush fell upon her cheeks as she cleaned up the makeup quickly. Was she becoming a pervert? It was because of last night, those images just carried over into her subconscious. Ren chuckled, pleased to see her so affected by him. Inner Ren did a victory dance as she scurried off.

When she returned, she thanked him for all the stuff he bought. She asked how much it was and she would pay him back. He told her flat out no and that they were gifts. If she wanted to, she could leave everything here for next time she stayed over. A slight blush fell upon her cheeks at the thought of a next time. Inner Ren shouted in triumph when she didn't argue. He told her Yashiro should be here in a half hour since Boss wanted to meet with them.

At the mention of Yashiro, Kyoko was reminded that she needed to tell him about Kimiko. "Um Corn, I need to tell you something. Please don't be angry. It was all due to my misunderstanding that kept me from speaking up sooner. Something happened after the audition with Morizumi-san," she said looking down, her fingers threading through each other nervously.

Ren waited for her to continue. He couldn't believe Morizumi-san had the nerve to mess with her. He didn't even know what she was about to tell him but he was already uneasy.

"The reason the part for Momiji was re-auditioned was because the previous actress had an unfortunate accident. I happen to know this actress so when she heard I was auditioning for the part she warned me. She said it was Morizumi-san that caused her accident but had no proof. Morizumi-san thought she had the role clinched as the understudy but the other actress' family is powerful so they pressured Producer Kuresaki into holding another audition. As you know, I got the part but I guess Morizumi-san had other plans. When Yashiro and I were eating..." she faltered.

Kyoko cringed and began stuttering as she felt the Demon Lord's presence emerge beside her. Her grudges were swirling around her in anticipation. "I went to the restroom while Yashiro waited. On my way back I was taken by surprise. Morizumi-san and her manager drugged and blindfolded me. If Yashiro hadn't found me in time, I would probably be laying in a hospital bed right now after they tried to throw me from a balcony."

Kyoko closed her eyes at the storm that was about to unleash. Ren erupted the only way he could without completely scaring Kyoko. He stood up quickly and let out several expletives in English under his breath. He was pacing the kitchen as he tried to control his rage all the while cursing Morizumi-san. Kyoko could make out some of his mutterings, "…kill that fuckin' bitch…ring her damn neck…and that damn Yashiro."

Kyoko was trying to contain her smile. She watched this man trying to withhold his anger for fear of scaring her. She could hear some of what he was saying even though he was doing so quietly. They had cussed a lot as the Heel siblings but she guessed British cussing differed somewhat from American cussing. His American accent was quite adorable even while raving. She was actually relieved, how could she have thought this man was so scary when he tried so hard not to be in front of her. Now that she knew how much of his emotions suppressed due to Kuon, she was no longer afraid. She was glad he felt comfortable with her to let her see all his faces.

Kyoko said hurriedly, "I'm so sorry Corn, if I wasn't such a weak idiot this would never have happened. But unbeknownst to me, I was never in real danger actually; I was just bait. It turned out that the actress that was hurt before was monitoring the situation and caught the whole act on video. She needed evidence against Morizumi-san and she had a hunch she would come after me. We all came to an agreement that Morizumi-san was to no longer work in show biz and we would keep our mouths shut in return. If she breaks her promise, then everything will go public.

She could tell that Ren was trying to calm himself down. "I'm sorry Corn! I should have told you sooner. Due to my own misunderstanding I thought I was doing you a favor from keeping it," she said the last part quietly.

He turned towards her his anger finally reigned in, "what misunderstanding?" She told him that due to Morizumi-san's ring story she had jumped to the conclusion that they were in love. She didn't want to hurt him by letting him know that the woman he loved was capable of such horror.

Ren balked at the insult, "How could you think I'd feel anything for that viper?" Kyoko apologized repeatedly for her misunderstanding.

Ren knelt down before her taking her hands into his, "I'm sorry Kyoko, I should have been there with you. My thoughts were a little cloudy that day after my meeting with Boss. I had every intention of meeting up with you as soon as I got back from Guam but there was a misunderstanding on my part. Because of my stupidity, I was convinced to have a drink with Kajima to unwind. If I had been with you Kana-san would never have kissed me."

"What?!" Kyoko gasped as she pulled her hands out of his grip hurt flashing across her eyes for a fleeting moment. Ren was able to register the look in her eyes; it was the same look she had yesterday when he put the flower ring on her hand. He now understood, his father had warned him that she was good at hiding her true feelings.

"Of course there were women throwing themselves at him, he was Tsuruga freaken Ren afterall," she thought bitterly trying to ease the pain in her heart.

Ren, held her hands again and leaned his forehead to hers. "Please don't be hurt," he said begging. "It's true! Because of my carelessness she caught me off guard. No one has ever dared been so bold with me. I now understand how you felt when Fuwa did it to you, twice."

He was being sly by throwing Fuwa in her face but he needed her to understand that the kiss was unwanted on his end. She quivered at the recollection of Shotaro's forced kisses, her hurt and anger slowly dissipated after his explanation. "So he too has such horrible experiences," she said inwardly giving him a tentative smile. If she accepted him was this what their lives would be?

He cursed as his phone chimed indicating Yashiro was downstairs. He sighed, he wanted to talk more about this but it would have to wait. "Come on let's go, we have to meet with Boss," leading her by the hand.

Yashiro was standing beside the car as his favorite couple exited the elevator. His inner fangirl was squealing in delight. They looked so good next to each other.

"Ren what happened to your fa…" his unfinished inquiry was cut off by Ren's fierce glare. Yashiro recoiled and looked to Kyoko who was bowing repeatedly in apology.

Yashiro could see a slight bruise on his face, was he wearing make-up?. He was flipping out, "what could have happened, did Ren actually try something on her and she had to fight back? Ren how could you, to such a sweet and innocent girl!" inner Yashiro screamed. This was all his fault he was the one that suggested she stay the night.

"Yashiro I wish you would stop looking at me in the rearview mirror like I am some lecher," Ren said flashing him his gentleman smile. Yashiro averted his eyes forward focusing on the road.

"By the way," Ren continued in his deadly gentleman tone, "why did you not inform anyone about Kyoko's incident with Morizumi-san?"

Yashiro locking his eyes with Ren's in the mirror responded in a serious voice, "by anyone, you are in fact referring to yourself right?" He saw Ren flinch in surprise as he hit the nail on the head of where Ren was getting at. "I left that up to Kyoko-chan. As her manager, it is my duty to not inform anyone of her private matters and that includes you. I figured if she wanted to let you know, she would have."

Kyoko was quiet, clearly upset that she was the cause of the strife between these two friends. Ren feeling her unease brushed the back of his hand with hers so their knuckles grazed slightly. The physical contact soothed her. He was happy she didn't pull her hand away. His inner Ren did a fist pump as he congratulated himself on his small victory.

Ren let out a defeated sigh and thought, "Yashiro was right, it wasn't his place and he understood why Kyoko withheld the information. He was mainly upset with himself for having once again been unable to protect her."

Yashiro continued, "For your information, although we had it settled between Morizumi-san, Koenji-san and Kyoko-chan, I could not withhold this information from the President. It was decided that If I am unable to stand by Kyoko-chan's side, Ruto would fill in from the shadows. Kyoko looked up in surprise she had no idea the President, Yashiro and Sebastian had gone so far for her sake. "You think I would have just dropped her off casually at her cast meeting if I wasn't confident that she would be safe because Ruto was watching over her. Please have more faith in your Manager," Yashiro said as he pushed up his glasses.

Ren gave Yashiro's reflection a curt nod. He was glad more precautions were being taken for her safety. He hated that he couldn't be by her side all the time but he knew he could trust Yashiro and Ruto to watch out for her.

AN: Thanks again for reading and reviewing of last chapter. Feedback is appreciated lets me know you aren't too bored. ^_^

I'm still trying to clear up some recent events from the manga. What got me was the fact that Yashiro just drops off Kyoko at her cast meeting the next day while escorting the weak and frail Ren to his job. Like seriously did Yashiro forget she was almost murdered...lol.

btw has anyone read Karen Marie Monings fever series (Highlander series is good too)? It's about faeries and I can't help but superimpose R&K as the two main characters.