STANDARD DISCLAIMER APPLIED.
Dear Reader, I love you. Thats all you need to know.
Ps. ToFuu Romance will seriously start from this chapter. Hurray ToFuu lovers!!!
---I CANT REPLY TO REVIEWS, But U know I Love You guys. I just SAID it!--
Chapter Thirteen
Duke Austin was a young elegant host and Fuuko couldn't help but be awed by his mild temper and intelligence. When he was introduced by Tokiya, who much to Fuuko's bewilderment, had turned from a monster husband into an affectionate lover, Fuuko was expecting the same trepidation showed by the previous aristocrats but Austin Leak was the last person on earth whom Fuuko think would show any expressions but kindness.
Proteus and Joker seemed to be close friends with him and when all of them were invited for lunch, the two were the first ones to raise their hands yes. After the bountiful feast, Austin invited them to his backyard, and Fuuko was not at all surprised to see a wife cascading waterfalls occupying most of the space. In one side of the area was some sort of entrance to a cave that led underground and Tokiya silently took his wife's hand as he ushered her inside.
"Careful, it's slippery," Nanashi grinned at Vanni, holding her arms when she accidentally slipped on her feet.
She rudely pushed him aside and walked away, muttering curses under her breath.
"Is it just me or there's something going on between those two," Fuuko pointed the quarreling couple, her eyebrows not denying amusement.
"I do not pry my subordinates' business, its theirs to take care of," Tokiya replied, walking steadily by her side.
"Figures," she mumbled and thought that the entire two-week pretentious love affair was never going to work, not with such unparticipative partner. Too bad this was his idea.
She heard him sigh and looked straight ahead, following Duke Austin's lead. "Nanashi stole Lady Vanni's first kiss," he finally whispered, careful that nobody else would hear, which was a hard task since the cave makes every noise thrice as loud.
"That's it?" Fuuko asked, annoyed that she was also whispering.
Tokiya shook his head. "Umi concubines are considered the most elite group of women in our kingdom. They portray grace, elegance, beauty, wisdom and the very essence of womanhood. They are prim and pure, and they should remain as such until they are married. What happened to Lady vanni, after Nanashi took a kiss from her, made her feel tainted and used. For her, she is no longer a true concubine because Nanashi had caused a crack in her oath when he kissed her.
Fuuko bit her lower lip in constrained irritation, glaring hard at Nanashi's head as though wanting to create a hole through his skull. "Vanni-chan has every right to hate him. He is the Umi version of King Domon of Lantis!"
"Nanashi will truly take offense from your words. However, I couldn't blame him for making moves. Lady Vanni is a very handsome woman."
"And should I assume, Your Majesty, that you approved of your friend's offense to my poor maid?"
"He is not as bad as how you think he is. Nanashi had asked her hand in marriage, even petitioned for my approval, but Lady Vanni turned him down," he was now matching her irritation and Fuuko could sense it. "For a man of Nanashi's pride and status, that's worse than losing war against the Fuus."
Tokiya, mentioning the Fuus with such vile distaste in his mouth, hit her hard on the head that her clenched fist whitened. "I think Vanni made the right decision when she turned him down because being captive by the Fuus would be heaven compared to being married to an arrogant Umi bastard!" she muttered and walked past him.
He held her wrist to stop her from leaving, tangling their fingers again, sending pleasure impulses thru Fuuko's spine.
"That's why I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want us to argue and waste every valuable minute I have of this two weeks," her back towards him, he nuzzled her ear and smiled. "You like that, don't you sweetheart?"
In fear that, if she opened her mouth, she might yelp, she closed her lips and gulped. When she could finally find the courage to control her tongue so she wont squeaked, she said, "I beg you to stop that."
"Why? Are your knees weakening?" he bit her earlobe, enjoying it when she shivered.
They already are. She wanted to say but instead, she produced a moan of frustration. With the darkness of the cave against the small light coming from the torches, they can be barely seen but Fuuko never agreed to any form of public display of affection, not when your true boyfriend lingers somewhere.
"Alright, alright. No touching, no kissing, no making love unless you initiate it. I remember." With both palms raised as though in surrender, Tokiya said.
Earlier after the bargain was made, both of them began setting rules to follow within the two week contract. Tokiya hastily said that she should never see or talk to Raiha, even accidental meetings must be prevented as much as possible. Fuuko was a bit stiff about that so, in return, she made the 'no touching' rule. Tokiya argued at that, saying that it was beyond impossible to pull off a husband-wife relationship without touching each other so Fuuko was forced to make some reforms—casual touches and even holding hands are okay, however, intimacy in every form are not permitted unless Fuuko starts it. If Tokiya felt repulsive, he didn't show it.
After the short walk inside the dark cave, they finally entered Rainford's famous underwater aquarium and the muddy cave ended where the glassed tunnel started. To Fuuko's belief, it was incomparable to anything she had ever seen so far. Their argument had long been forgotten when Fuuko started asking every creature's name and Tokiya was more than willing to answer all her inquiries; he even provided her their specific abilities.
Fuuko was so closed to the glassed tunnel that she could kiss it. Her eyes were saucer big and every once in a while, her mouth would form an 'O' when another creature swims by. At one corner, something caught her eyes and she ran towards it. Tokiya followed his wife to where her attention brought her and was not surprised at what she saw.
"A mermaid," she sighed, staring at a creature inside a big open shell. It literally glows against the dark underwater and its white scaly tail slowly goes up and down as it breaths. It looked like it was sleeping and Fuuko didn't want to disturb such peaceful slumber so she could only whisper her adoration. "She's so beautiful."
"It's a Luna," Tokiya said, looking at Fuuko's delighted face. "Although they're not exactly mermaids, they're water guardians. They protect the sacred life crest from possible thieves."
The mention of the life crest rang a bell and Fuuko jerked her face towards Tokiya. If Tokiya had his eyes on her and not on the Luna, he will be able to know she's a Fuu, her abrupt reaction to the life crest was a dead giveaway. Fortunately, for her, she managed to recover immediately before Tokiya looked back at her face.
"Didn't Laird Eneas tell you about that?"
"About the life crest? Of course he did. He said that a life crest is the source of power and life amongst every Majican nation. If the crest was stolen and taken away from the border, the nation will die."
Tokiya smiled and ruffled her hair as though she was a younger sibling. "Were going to have smart kids," he said and she glared at him, her eyes back on the Luna, only to find out it already awakened and was almost nose to nose with her.
Fuuko froze and stepped a foot backward. "Stop, don't move," Tokiya commanded and she obeyed. "Let it look at you. Lunas detect pure hearts. If they agree with you, they could be your greatest ally."
"And if they don't?" she asked tersely.
"They kill you."
"I knew you'd be happy telling me that!" she spat out, then went silent when the Luna cooed and batted her eyes slowly. "What's she doing?"
"Observing you," he answered, taking a step closer to the Luna, which, in return, giggled at him and cooed more, as though wanting the king's attention.
Fuuko rolled her eyes and right there and then decided that she doesn't really like this beautiful creature very much. She watched as Tokiya talked with the Luna in a language Kami-knows-what and Fuuko frowned at them. "Give me a break hearthrob," she mumbled and eyed him with disgust. Growing impatient of the two's flirtations, Fuuko cleared her throat. "What is it saying?"
As though seeing her for the first time, Tokiya blinked at her. "It says you're not the type of woman I would marry," he grinned, ignoring the vein on her temples. The Luna giggled more and she glared at it, half expecting it to attack. 'Attack me, you wench, and you'll see who you're messing with. Even you cant protect the life crest from me.' Then suddenly realizing something, Fuuko stared at Tokiya. "If a Luna is here, does that mean the life crest is nearby?"
To her astonishment, Tokiya nodded. "Do you see that glistening thing over there?" When Fuuko nodded, he continued, "It isn't very clear from this vicinity but if you're near it, that's actually a huge golden temple underwater. That is where the life crest is sanctioned."
Holy Cow! It is no wonder Kenji was not able to get the life crest. It's at least a hundred feet underwater. How was he going to survive without breathing?"
"I see," she said, acting uninterested as she turned her back on him. He smiled and followed her out of the tunnel.
"Do you always act like this when you're jealous?"
"No. Im usually violent."
"So glaring at the Luna with blazing murderous eyes doesn't count as violent?"
"You're enjoying this, aren't you? You disgrace yourself by publicly flirting with any woman you meet all for the intention of making me jealous, is that it?"
She expected him to come up with a sarcastic retort but his face was solemn with seriousness, as though she had ticked off something within him. "I do not enjoy it as much as you enjoy publicly throwing yourself to the person who killed your brother," he said. "At least you could make true to the bargain and pretend you're a jealous wife whenever I 'disgrace' myself with another woman." He left without saying more.
She stood there flaccid, feeling miserable. "That's the reason why I cant throw myself on you, you moron. I don't think I'd enjoy it at all."
----TF----
That night after the long tour around the kingdom, Fuuko skipped dinner and slept on her riding habit. Twice Vanni and Mikaro tried waking her up so she could dress into her night gown but she was sleeping like dead and on their third attempt, the king came in the room and dismissed them, saying he'll be the one to wake her up.
At midnight, she stirred and opened her still-drowsy eyes. The light from a single lamp on a desk not too far from the bed distracted her vision and she turned towards it, seeing the big silhouette of a man leaning on the back of the chair, silent in his slumber.
Making as little sound as much as possible, she pulled the heavy blanket with her as she sauntered on tiptoes to the desk. Leaning her face on him, making sure he's fully asleep, Fuuko smiled at the baby face of her husband and tucked the blanket around him.
He stirred a little, making an errant lock fell over his left eye and Fuuko, itching to feel those silver strands over her fingers, didn't deny herself the luxury of touching his hair, pulling that isolated lock off his eye and kissing his left eyebrow gingerly.
"Destiny…" she whispered against his cheek. "In a better world, we could be as close as friends but in your world and mine, we are only destined to hate each other." She carefully tucked another bundle of hair behind his ear and lightly played with the rest. "However, my brother has not been killed. I see that now when he visited me a few days ago. And for that I personally no longer have any reason to hate—" she was about to say 'you' when he abruptly opened his eyes.
"So you no longer have any reason to hate Raiha, is that it?" Surprised by his sudden consciousness, Fuuko could not utter a single word. That was close, so damn near close! She was still in a moment of dazed when he continued. "Now I understand," he said. "Because I've always wondered how you could eventually harbor romantic feelings to him when you were hostile the very first time you met him in the dungeon?"
Fuuko's face was red with anger at the knowledge that Tokiya pretended sleeping. "How dare you play such childish tricks on me!?" she snapped, looking completely horrified with embarrassment.
"Let me get this straight," he rose from his seat, ignoring her tantrum. "You saw him in the dungeon, felt love at first sight but knowing that he was responsible for your brother's death, you suppressed your attraction and days after you've been here, your brother visited you from the grave, you found out Raiha was innocent and now you have your eyes back on him again. How am I going so far?"
Fuuko blinked at the idea he presented and unexpectedly grinned broadly. "Excellente, you are a genius, Your Highness!" she said cheerfully, loving the fact that she no longer had to create her own story since Tokiya had provided her the perfect excuse.
"You are so easy to read," he smiled back, dashing enough for her to skip a heartbeat.
"What? My lies or my truths?"
"Your lies. You never said any truths to start with."
She frowned at that. "Well, I know all your lies and truths. Which one do you want to know first?"
"Which one will be easier for you?" he asked, thoroughly enjoying her discomfiture. He casually leaned on the side of the desk, half sitting and half standing while his arms crossed over his chest.
"Truths. The truth is, you are no longer a virgin. You slept with half of the female aristocrats and concubines since you became king. The reason why you never married anyone of them is because you either make love with them on broad daylight or because there were no witnesses."
At that, Tokiya arcked one eyebrow. "What exactly does that mean?"
"No witnesses. Tradition says you marry the opposite sex you spent the whole night with, given theyre unattached and under marriageable age and status. That tradition must have been devised many eons ago. Who in bloody hell would continue following such absurdity in this modern era? You, as king, could not live up with it, how much more would other Umi's your age?"
Tokiya hid his smile behind a skeptical face and continued observing her as she proceeded with her speech.
"Lady Afiura told me the real story behind her marriage. She and Proteus were struck in a cave during an avalanche and they were rescued by morning. It's an obvious fact that half the kingdom was able to know they spent the night together and so they have no choice but to marry. The same goes to us. There was not a single castle inhabitant who didn't knew that I was presented to you as your concubine that night days ago. Everybody in the castle knew we are to spend the night together and will eventually marry. Even you did. That's the reason why during that night you intentionally left and went to the kitchen, where you know most of the servants so that when Proteus and Afiura insist you spent the night with me, you'll have the castle servants to prove them otherwise." Fuuko was so engrossed on her charade that she wasn't aware of where her little speech had positioned her to—in between his parted legs, a hand on her left hip while she used the other one to poke his chest, teasing him immensely. She had on that arrogant chin and taunting look, meaning to humiliate him.
Tokiya, looking unperturbed and casual, twisted his waist on one side and poured a bottle of whiskey on two crystal glasses—taking one glass and handing Fuuko the other. "You got everything correctly so far except for some facts you obviously didn't know. With Proteus' strength and amazing sorcery, he could survive layers and layers of avalanche and could still escape it. Lady Afiura didn't know that before, for she is not from royal blood and she only knew him as nothing but an insolent fool who kept following her wherever she goes. Needless to say, Proteus intentionally lingered inside the cave with her, hoping that by morning a lot of witnesses would see them together. And another fact you left out—despite all the evasion I did, I still ended up spending that night with you and eventually married you. Why do you think that is?" he asked innocently, but his eyes were hot and blazing blue that Fuuko's face immediately heated up.
"Oh that?" she took the glass he handed and slowly drank it as she mentally constructed a witty retort. "Well," she cleared her throat. "That I haven't figured out yet," she finished truthfully. "But I was certain that wine you drank somehow addled your mind," she rotated her glass with her fingers.
Tokiya laughed at her honesty and Fuuko was caught off guard. Never had he laughed genuinely since she first came there. How could a man with less compassion and lesser emotions produce such rich remarkable laugh? One of those common tragedies that proves how the world could be so unfair.
"Enough of the truths then. Let's proceed with the lies," he ended his laughter with a chuckle.
Fuuko shook her head to clear some unwanted thoughts and almost jumped to the ceiling when she found out how intimately close they were. Tokiya only smiled as thought he understood. "There's nothing wrong with a husband and his wife being inches apart. As far as I know, they could be closer than that."
His voice turned into solemn and she couldn't believe that her sworn enemy was looking at her with great hope and longing in his eyes. "Tokiya, I—"
He pushed two fingers over her lips, silencing her. "Hush. I don't want to hear anything that will spoil this two weeks I have with you."
"About that," she started. "I don't think—" she was, once again, interrupted when Proteus came inside. As though struck by a lightning bolt, Fuuko scrampled away from Tokiya.
"Pardon my intrusion, Highnesses, but the Head of the Council calls for an immediate meeting and he wants you there, Master Tokiya."
"About what?" the king didn't mind hiding his irritation for being bothered.
"There had been citings of Fuus and Hikarus surrounding the border, although not at all confirmed. However, two Umis—a guard and a concubine—were mistakenly captured by our guards when they tried crossing our border, Your Majesty."
"And why would they be 'mistakenly captured'?" Fuuko could sense Tokiya's growing impatience.
"They wore our enemies' clothes, sire. The man was dressed as a Hikaru prince and the woman's clothes bore the emblem of the Fuu royalty. They said their clothes were exchanged in the neutral land and the servants' quarters had confirmed the two's identity. However, they are currently both under strict observation until we find the culprits who stole their Umi clothes. It is out assumption that the two had used the identity of the clothings to enter our border thru the shrine stationed in the neutral land. If that's the case, we have royalty spies lingering around the kingdom."
"Spies?" Fuuko voiced out from one corner, jaw dropping from the news. Proteus nodded. "We had Lady Lydia, the royal seamstress, study the clothings and she confirmed that they belong to a Hikaru prince and a Fuu princess."
Fuuko was as white as dead when she looked up at Proteus again. "A Hikaru Prince and a Fuu Princess? Isnt it possible that they're probably eloping? What would those two royal brats do in the Umi kingdom without escorts? They knew they cant survive," she tried reasoning out.
Tokiya could sense her extreme pallor and took her hand, intending to give her comfort. "If they're half as witty as you, they could survive," he chuckled and kissed her hand, wanting to calm her down but to no avail. What he said seemed to have frozen her on the spot. He leaned over her soulless face and patted her cheeks. "Don't worry, I wont let them harm you," he placed a light kiss on her forehead and left the room with his commander.
Fuuko sank on the marble floor as she stared wide-eyed at the door. "Holy Mother of Fuus! I have to warn Recca and Laird Eneas!" was the first thought in her mind before she opened the door and ran towards their chambers.
--
One highlander and one Umi guard were positioned outside the guest chamber and Fuuko turned at them with urgency in her emerald eyes and she was immediately announced. She raised one amused eyebrow at Recca who was squatted on the floor across Laird Eneas, playing cards.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your late-night bonding," she greeted, catching her breath afterwards. "But the news I'm about to tell you needs absolute attention…and privacy," she remarked, turning her eyeballs to the awaiting guards and waited until they took the hint and excused themselves with a bow.
"What seems to be the problem?" Recca was the first one to talk, ignoring Fuuko's surprised of their 'late-night bonding'. He can hardly call it a 'bonding' since he didn't want to be here in the first place. Earlier, the old lunatic had declared that Recca could probably beat him in strength but he could never win against him when it came to games concerning minds. Recca, of course, was repulsive and challenged the Laird to a game of chess to prove him otherwise and redeem his doubted reputation.
Without asking permission, Fuuko took the wine the males where sharing and drank from the long bottle.
Amused, the Laird glanced at his grandson skeptically. "You've been influencing this beautiful lady with your heathen manners , son."
Shooting back a glare, Recca barked. "If you knew Fuuko the way I did, you would say it's the other way around."
Eneas shrugged, obviously not believing and Recca decided he'd crumple Fuuko's face later. Now would have been the perfect time but there's trouble, most likely a big one judging from the severity of Fuuko's agitation. Grabbing the bottle from Fuuko's hand, Recca snapped. "Alright, alright. Enough of this, what trouble did you put yourself into now?"
Fuuko sighed and sat down Eneas' enourmous bed. "Our problem," she corrected, gaining their attention. Then silently, she narrated everything Proteus said, watching as both men's eyes rounded and sweat started ticking from the sides on their necks. When she was finished, they were as agitated as she, well, Recca was, Laird Eneas looked perturbed but serenely composed.
When the men remained speechless, Fuuko took a long breath. "So what are we to do?" That question was new to her, considering she's usually the one who used to device plans, sets strategies and make decisions. But since a few days ago, Fuuko had not been able to think clearly—marrying her worst enemy, and accepting the two-week contract without assurance of freedom were just two of her eroded brain. If this keeps up, she didn't know what insane things she'll do next.
"Let's device a escape plan," Recca was first to talk. "We need to get out of here tonight. Once the council meeting ends, they'll be looking for us all around the castle. It's obvious we'll be the first ones they'll suspect, they'll match those servants' disappearance to the time we showed up here and they'll know. They were suspicious of us in the first place, it will be easier for them to blame us than blame their own kind."
Recca hit every point. If Proteus hadn't forgotten their attire when they first came here, it would be real trouble for all of them.
"You're not going to escape," Eneas interrupted.
Fuuko blinked at him and Recca looked incredulous. "If you escape now, that would be a dead giveaway of who you really are. Not to mention you wont be able to take Raiha with you at this moment. They'll know it were you two and they'll hunt you before you could reach the border. In this kingdom, you should know one thing—'its easy to get it, but it will take your life to get out'.
"If were left here, we still die anyway, so what's the difference? I'd rather die knowing I did everything to escape it," Recca said, annoyed.
"You heard what Princess Fuuko said, lad. They don't have a clue who the culprits are, they don't even know how they looked like. It will take them a few investigations before they could come up with a valid proof. It's true they might fix all their attention on you, so from this moment on, you should play your part well."
Fuuko looked up, dazzled. "What do you have in mind?"
As an answer, Laird Eneas gave them a glass of wine and asked them to drink it, smiling broadly.
--TF—
Fuuko was all limping and swaying when she arrived in front of the bedchamber she shared with Tokiya. The wine and whiskey had drained her of her strength and composure and the Laird's plan had robbed her of her mental capacity. At her current state, she could be mistaken as a zombie or a sidewalk lunatic. Recca had offered to walk her back to her room but she declined, screaming at him for even thinking she cant handle herself. Muttering a curse, Recca shut his door at her face, leaving her to laugh maniacally afterwards. Kami, she was that drunk. But halfway through the lengthy corridor leading to her room, Fuuko was beginning to regret rejecting Recca's offer and was now the one muttering curses to herself. Luckily, she had enough body strength to last her until the front door before she became tipsy and totally drunk.
When she swayed a bit, five guards nearest the huge door made a step forward, ready to catch her but Fuuko merely smiled at them and waved her hand 'no'. Then she straightened her back and blinked the drowsiness away. "Has the King arrived yet?" she asked a young guard at the side of the door.
"It is to my knowledge that the king had been asking for your behalf since an hour ago, Your Majesty."
Fuuko escaped a long sigh, trying to guess Tokiya's reaction to her sudden flea out of their room. If he was the romantic Romeo who he promised to be in full two weeks, then Fuuko would be in sheer bliss but if he's back to his old grumpy self, Fuuko would be in great trouble.
Placing her tattood hand against the center carving on the door, she braced herself for whatever mood that awaitedher. If she had her mind in its normal wit, she'll have more strength against the monster Tokiya but right now, with her mind inside the gutter, even a mere frown from him would most likely evoke an attack from her, or maybe a shiver, she doesn't know. All she knew was she's very uncertain of what to do as of that moment.
"You have to pretend that you love him." Laird Eneas' words kept haunting her empty mind and that's all that occupied it for now.
"The more he's attracted to you, the less he'll think of you as the culprit. And even if he will, he'll be blinded by your love."
It made perfect sense, so perfect and logical, Fuuko wanted to throw up and be insane. That 'brilliant outstanding plan' has nothing against them but it has everything against her!
"Choose me in two weeks, be mine in two weeks, love me in two weeks." Tokiya had said, his voice as smooth as velvet and as romantic as holding hands at sunset.
When the door open, Fuuko straightened her dejected back once again. The last thing Tokiya should see would be a drunken wife offering love in alcohol-scented breath and goofy expression.
The single lamp that was lightened before, was the same one casting fain glow on her face and she was thankful that he wouldn't see the extent of her red face.
She finally saw him, seated on his desk chair, hidden behind the shadows so she couldn't figure out how he looked against the darkness, but judging from the silence of the room and the familiar caution in the atmosphere, Fuuko knew she was about to see that explosion of outburst she was expecting.
Her cherry face was now dead pale with dread and she carefully stepped forward, balancing her foot and making sure her dizziness and clouded mind wont severe the vertigo.
Matching the calculated moves coming from her, Tokiya stood closer to the lamp, finally showing her how he felt, which was completely blank--unreadable.
"You haven't slept yet?" against the deafening silence, her voice was a loud echo.
"I was waiting for you," he responded, his voice neither cold nor warm. It lacked emotions, even anger. All it was was plain and direct, something she couldn't understand nor handle, not with her state of mind. Slowly, he reached for the handle of the lamp and walked towards her. She didn't move to meet him, but she didn't backout as well. Fuuko could feel the beads of sweat running down her nape and her empty mind was now filled with fear—real primitive fear.
His last step landed him inches in front of her and against the dim light, Tokiya was the most handsome creature she had laid eyes on—that, or the alcohol was already making her delirious.
He held the lamp near her face, no doubt he was planning to kill her by putting her face on fire. She gulped and waited, readying herself for an abrupt attack.
"Emerald," he barely whispered and she looked up at him, confused. "You're eyes are the color of emeralds," he said, cupping her chin to get a clearer view.
"Yes—yes they are," she stammered and even she could hear the fear on her voice. Not wanting to meet his scanning eyes, she settled her vision on the open collar of his shirt, surprised to see it almost soaked with dried sweats. Despite the calm expression in his face, his chest was heaving heavily and Fuuko couldn't help but noticed how breathing seemed to pain him.
"Fuuko," he cupped both her cheeks and made her look at him. "The Fuus, all of them, have eyes the color of emeralds. And I personally knew one who had the same set of purple hair as yours."
This time, Fuuko could finally read his face, feel the agony through the creases on his forehead and his awareness of the treacherous reality.
"Tokiya, I'm—"
"I will believe whatever you'll say. I beg you to choose your words carefully," he interrupted, his eyes close and his back towards hers. "Are you a Fuu?"
There was a long pause, each could hear the other's breathing. And suddenly, Tokiya felt two arms wrapped around him while her front part pressed against his solid back. "I'm not," she declared, surprised that she didn't choke on the words.
"Prove it," he answered against the silence. "Here and now, I will believe everything that will come out from your lips." Expecting her to bubble, explain and come up with logical narrations to defend herself, he was surprised to feel her arms left him as she stepped away, the back of him instantly felt cold and rigid.
But nothing could surpass his astonishment when he turned around and saw all of her clothes dropped on her feet, leaving her stark naked in front of his parted lips and stunned face. Then abruptly, she swayed, making him duck low and catch her before she knocked herself on the floor.
"Dammit! Are you drunk!?" he bellowed, the calm composure he carefully installed immediately flew away.
With flushed face and pouty lips, Fuuko purred. "Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?" she lifted her fingers to touch his face, her eyes darkening and her voice turning dangerously arousing to his ears.
He pried his face away, glaring hard at her afterwards. "Please pull yourself together and help me get you on bed," he commanded, irritated that he has to try carrying her while making sure his eyes are glued on her face, the only part of her that was naked but not drugging him to ecstasy.
She chuckled at his beet red face. "Turning shy on me now, my love?"
"Remind me never to give you whiskey and wine in the same night," he hissed and pulled her up, gasping when she threw her arms around his nape and leaned all her weight on him, making his balance falter and they both landed on the soft cushions of his bed.
She sighed, purred and teased him immensely, placing quick pecks all over his face until he was trembling with want. "Stop it," he commanded, feeling more awful when he heard the lying sound in his tone.
In a second, she did stop and half of him wanted to pull her back and let her continue. But he cupped her cheeks and looked at her directly on the eyes. "Fuuko, if you don't stop now, there's no turning back," he warned, dead serious on every word.
"I know you want me," she whispered, her voice not slurpy but it was too bold a statement Tokiya knew she was still under the influence of alcohol. Weird enough, she actually had a serious expression on her face and Tokiya suffered the long silence that followed her words afterwards.
He collapsed his head on the bed and covered his palms over his face, crumpling it slightly. Behind his hands, he muttered, "You are really going to be the death of me."
Slowly, Fuuko moved, making his aroused body ached even with a slight action from her. She was delicately positioned over him, and everytime she moved, he responded with a groan. "Please stop moving," he growled low, snaking his arms around her to keep her from making any midget action.
"If you don't want me, I'd go change to my night gown now so we could both take a rest," she pulled herself up and he groaned aloud.
She had both hands at each side of his ear when he said, "You're drunk. I don't want you to regret everything when you wake up in the morning."
As an answer, she glared at him. "Earlier you got mad at me because I wasn't playing the jealous wife. And now that I'm playing as the wife you wanted, you give me this shy treatment. If I'm going to be the death of you, you are going to be my passport to insanity." Pulling herself away from him, she tamed the riot on her hair and frowned at him. "I'll go take a bath."
He got up, clamped her wrist and pulled her back on the bed, pushing his weight on her and making her a prisoner of his embrace. "Don't get mad at me if you regret this by morning," he barked and dug his lips over hers.
----
A/N: I'm still writing the next chapter and will update near soon. –grins—
Please REVIEW!
Non-edited chapter and will be checked on later.