As The Season Changes
Chapter Fifteen
Keigo walked into the dining room and surveyed it with a critical eye. The table was elegantly draped with a pale-pink damask tablecloth, the delicate cream-and-blush colored roses had been part of Ai's order from South America for the party tomorrow night. China and silver gleamed. Stemware sparkled.
He swallowed the dryness in his throat as he checked his pocket for perhaps the twentieth time in the past half hour. God, he was as nervous as a schoolboy about to make his first confession to a girl. He smiled self-consciously as he walked back down the hall into his den and poured himself a stiff drink.
Ai was magic. His talisman against the cold loneliness he'd let fill his life for years. Ai was warmth and laughter. She made him believe he really mattered to her. She made him believe she knew a part of him no one else had ever seen. She was soft and loving, and so open and honest with her feelings; it was like looking into a crystal-clear mountain pool.
Keigo sank into his favorite chair. In the gathering darkness he could see part of the curving driveway from the mullioned windows in his den. He'd be able to see Ai's little red car as she approached the house.
Ai with her sparkling brown eyes and throaty laugh. Ai with long, slender dancer's body. She had that sensuous way of moving that always made him want her.
If what he had with Ai was just good sex, it would have been easy to dismiss. He'd had good sex before. But with Ai even the sex was different. As much as he'd tried to deny it, Ai was right. It was lovemaking. It was glorious, blow-the-top-of-your-head-off great. But there was more. There was her humor, her intelligence, her honesty and integrity. With Ai he had learned to relax, smell the flowers. And finally, in a small measure, Keigo had to admit he'd learned to trust.
He suddenly wished he had married half a dozen times, because with Ai he wanted everything to be perfect. If he'd tried a real marriage before, he'd have the bugs worked out by now.
He rolled up the sleeves of his blue-and-white striped dress shirt then rolled them down again. Was he too dressed up? Was he too stuffy? Should he wear the jeans she'd bought for him? Christ, this was ridiculous—he'd already changed twice. He laughed out loud, ridiculously happy.
Ai would be home soon. They would have a drink, go through to dinner, and after the staff served dessert, he would take the little box out of his pocket. Keigo closed his eyes, leaning back in the big leather chair as he imagined the look on Ai's face when she saw the ring. She'd get that sexy little twinkle in her glorious eyes, probably jump up and fling herself at him... Keigo lost himself in pleasant daydreams.
He hadn't heard her car but he heard the front door open. Heard Ai's high heels on the marble, the wood, the carpet.
He opened his eyes. God, he looked fabulous in a royal-blue wool dress and high-heeled black suede boots. She tossed the dark coat she carried onto a chair by the door.
Her hair was curled wildly from the cold wind, her cheeks flushed, her eyes bright. Without a word she crossed the room and settled herself on his lap, curling his neck, the sweet curve of her butt nestled against him. She smelled of fresh peaches as she raised her mouth to his.
Keigo buried his hands in her hair. It was a little damp and smelled of peach shampoo. He crushed her mouth with a bruising kiss, plumbing the depths as she relaxed against his chest. Her fingers curled around his open collar, holding on for dear life.
"God, Ai," he managed to moan before she lowered her head again.
"We have to talk," Ai said against his throat. She sounded reluctant. He ran his hand down the soft wool covering her back.
They were going to have a lifetime to talk. After dinner. How do I get into this thing?" Her skin was warm as he slowly lowered the zipper down her back, detouring to unclasp her bra on the way down.
She yelped when he swung her up in his arms. With one swipe, he cleared his big burl desk, laying her down on the cool leather surface, and drawing her close for another kiss.
"This feels very naughty." Her voice was husky, her eyes alive, the lights in them dancing. The heels of her boots tapped on the face of the desk. She watched him through heavy-lidded eyes as he stripped off the shirt he'd so carefully put on.
With his other hand he tilted her face up before dipping his head toward her. She gave him a smile at the touch of his lips on her forehead.
"You drive me wild, Saotome Aiko. When I'm with you I want you. When we're apart I think about you constantly. You worry me. You make me laugh. You make me believe in dreams."
Her crossed ankles proved stronger than his will as she drew him against her. Keigo lowered his chest, feeling the pillowy softness of her breasts flatten under him. He whispered against her swollen mouth, "I want to wrap you in a cloud and put you on top of the highest mountain to keep you safe." His gaze never wavered as he lifted her hand to his lips. "I'm excited by you, Ai, and yet strangely calmed by your presence. You're unpredictable and your crazy hobbies give me heart palpitations. You have the strangest, strongest set of principles of anyone I know, and I'm learning to trust you more than I have ever trusted another human being in my life."
Her face drained of color, deathly pale. He felt the flutter of her fingers as she tried to withdraw her hand from his. "What is it, love?" Ai bit her lip and worry immediately slammed into his chest.
She closed her eyes for the longest moment then licked her lips before she looked up at him. "I went to the doctor today." Her voice shook. She bit her bottom lip and took a deep, shuddering breath, her eyes dark and huge.
A cold chill of dread raced up his spine. He lifted himself away from her, sex the last thing on his mind now. For a moment he felt as though every particle of his body had frozen. A fear he'd never known drew a black ominous cloud over his vision. It made his heart jerk and his hands sweat.
He blinked, too terrified to look at her and yet too terrified not to. He thrust his fingers through his hair in frustration and swore under his breath. "You went to the doctor today... Oh, Ai." Keigo squeezed his eyes shut, a fist squeezing his heart. He forced open his eyes. Her lips were bloodless, her eyes dark with pain. Oh, god, it was bad, really bad, for Ai to be this upset.
"What the hell did he say? Whatever it is we can deal with it together. I have more money than God. We'll get the best specialists on the planet. We'll—"
The phone rang just as Ai said his name in a terrified, tremulous voice and struggled to sit up.
"Tell me, for gods sake," he demanded, ignoring the insistent ringing of the phone inches from Ai's head. It wasn't like Ai to be reticent in telling him anything he wanted to know. Her wonderfully expressive brown eyes wouldn't meet his. The phone's insistent ringing was annoying the shit out of him.
"Tell me," he ground out, his back teeth grinding painfully.
"I—I—" Ai's teeth bit into her lower lip. "Answer the phone first."
"The hell with it. What did the doctor's—"
Ai grabbed the phone off the hook and handed it to him.
"Yes!" Keigo snatched the instrument to his ear, his eyes fixed on Ai's averted face. What the hell would he do if Ai died? What the hell would—
"What did you say?" he demanded as he registered what Tarou had just said on the other end of the phone. "Senses outbid me? I had over fifty million invested!"
If possible Ai went even whiter. Hell, this evening wasn't going exactly as he'd planned. He'd thought to have dinner first, romanticize the evening, then propose to her. The shit would hit the fan now. Ai had the strangest expression on her face as she slid off his desk.
"Fine!" Keigo snapped at Tarou, impatient to get off the phone. Ai had pulled on her dress zipping it up without bothering to put on her bra. She looked sick as she frantically searched for said undergarment. Keigo found the scrap of satin stuffed between the papers on the floor and handed it to her. She crammed it into her purse and grabbed her coat by the door. "Just give me a report in the morning." Keigo slammed the phone down.
Ai stood poised, ready for flight out the door.
"Now, what aren't you telling me? What the hell did the doctor say?"
ATSC
She wore a sunflower-yellow wool dress which covered her from her throat to mid-calf and leather high-heeled boots in a deep cinnamon matched the winter coat. She looked vibrantly alive and breathtakingly lovely.
And furiously angry.
"I can't believe what you did," Aiko told Tarou angrily. She stood before his desk, having driven to is office to be there precisely nine in the next morning.
"I was so darn mad, I ran. God only knows what Keigo thought." She drew an angry breath. "I know you're his lawyer, Tarou-san, but I thought you and I had a business arrangement. So would you please explain to me how my company, which seized to exist eight years ago, bought a stock worth over—" she almost chocked on the amount "—fifty million dollars?"
The intercom buzzed announcing Atobe Kyoususke. Ai rolled her eyes. "Did you call him in a panic while I cooled my heels in your waiting room?"
Kyoususke closed the door behind him, resting his hand on Ai's shoulder. "Sit down, honey. This is not what you think."
Ai shook off his hand and flopped furiously into the soft leather chair opposing Tarou's desk. She glared first at the lawyer, then at Keigo's father. "What are you two up to? I told you years ago to stop." Ai clenched her fist on her knee. "Damn it, how could you do this to me? And now you two have made it even worse. God, I can't take much more of this," she said thickly, dashing impatiently at the persistent tears.
"Just hang in there, honey." Kyoususke looked at her worriedly, as he leaned over to pat her hand. "Keigo'll never miss the money. He has plenty to spare. We just wanted to make sure you'd be financially solvent by year's end." He looked helplessly at his accomplice. "If he didn't fall in love with you. And we—"
"Well," Ai snapped, "he won't now! I don't need Keigo to bankroll me, Oji-sama. I have a job. I can support myself," Ai said through her teeth. "And in the new year I'll go back to it." She jumped up and started to pace, the yellow dress swishing around her legs.
Both men looked alarmed as tears ran unchecked down her face. She continued to dash them away with her fingertips. "Damn it, damn it, damn it. He already thinks every woman he meets is a conniving opportunist. Are you two nuts?" She turned to Kyoususke, "He's your son. How could you d-do this to him?"
"Honey." Kyoususke glanced from Tarou to Aiko, his face creased with worry. He searched for the right words. Ai let the tears fall. She was so tried. So tired of being tired. Crying in front of these two men was the least of her problems.
"A lovely woman like you should be worshiped, my dear," Kyoususke said uncomfortably. "My son's a fool to let you out of his sight."
Ai drew in a deep, shaky breath. She felt raw to the bone. "I don't want to be worshiped. I wanted to be lo-loved." Her breath bubbled. She hated this. Hated it. "In three weeks, Keigo and I would have broken up." Ai swiped at her cheeks with the handkerchief Tarou handed her. She got makeup all over it. She scrunched it in a damp ball in her fist. "I don't want his money. I won't take his money. If you two try to take one more cent from Keigo, I'll—I'll do something nasty."
Kyoususke and Tarou rose. "Honey, we just did it so when the courts decision comes back you'd have something."
"I'll have something, Oji-sama. Trust me. Something far more lasting and important than money."
TBC...
