Teru stared at her with anger in his eyes as she walked away from him. His lips compressed until they disappeared from the fury he was struggling to keep under control. His body flinched when she slammed the bedroom door to lock herself inside. Maybe he had been staying late at the office too much. Had he let another love replace his love for her? Possibly. Couldn't she understand that it was work; his love for his chosen career that was keeping him away from her and not another woman? Apparently not. He knocked on the bedroom door, attempting to draw her out. Things had been so perfect. What happened? He had been working at the firm for five months now and they were well into another semester. He still had plenty of time for her and for study so what was the big deal if he was staying and hour or two late and going in on some Saturdays at the law office? Was it because of the paralegal with the implants that he was not attracted to anyway? Surely Adila could not think he was interested in that woman who had more fake parts on her than a Rolex bought from a guy on the street.

"Go away, Teru! I just want to be alone. You leave me that way most of the time anyway!" she shrieked at him in a very unseemly and pouty manner. Without warning, she burst from the room carrying her coat on her arm. It was a short, lipstick red trench coat that he had bought for her to match his black one but to be specifically feminine.

"What now? Where are you going?" he demanded, grabbing her arm.

"OUT!" she shouted, snatching her arm out of his grip and shrugging on her coat over her pink sweater and jeans. She looked like some kind of Valentine's day sweet in those colors. Right now she definitely did not seem very sweet.

Teru glowered at her back as she swept through the door and slammed it behind her. How uncouth! Slamming doors like a simple minded, overemotional child. He absolutely refused to run after her. It was not his fault she had gotten the wrong impression. He was working hard to achieve his goals and she should appreciate that. Of all people, he thought she would understand his motivation. This was their first lover's quarrel, and he hated it. Especially since she made it seem like he had caused it.

...

Adila had just finished her first bottle of sake at the little outdoor tent stand that lined the street with many others. She had picked this one simply because she had gotten tired of walking and wandering aimlessly through the streets. Just as she called for another one, a man sat down in the seat across from her. Her eyes met his dark black ones, and he smiled. She did not return it in hopes he would get the hint she wanted to be alone and leave. Apparently understanding subtle hints was not his strong point. That could also be due to the fact that he was half lit as well.

"I've never seen a Japanese man with an afro before," she commented, tipping her chin at the waitress as she sat down the tokkuri full of sake.

Adila glared at the man when he grabbed the bottle and filled her cup. She became downright indignant when he had the nerve to raise the cup to his lips.

"Excuse me," she grumbled, resisting the impulse to slap him. "Who in the hell do you think you are?"

"Oh, please forgive me," he said unapologetically, reaching across the table to shake her hand. "My name is Shuichi Aizawa."

"I don't care who you are. I just want you to go the hell away," she hissed, calling the waitress for another cup and another bottle of sake.

"Can I at least drink with you for a while? I'm celebrating because I just received the news that I have been promoted to a detective for the NPA," he told her, pouring sake in the new cup that was sat down in front her.

"Congratulations," she snapped, drinking the contents of the cup in one gulp. "Why are you celebrating alone?"

"Wow!" he commented, ignoring her question and refilling her cup. He held up his cup and she took the cue to refill it. He had actually committed a serious social faux pas by filling his own cup earlier but he was too drunk to care.

"Why are you so upset? It's obvious you've been crying," he pointed out.

"Way to go, Sherlock. No wonder you're a detective," she snorted, raising her cup to drink.

"Sherlock?"

"Never mind."

Whether she wanted him or not, Adila had a drinking buddy and companion to keep her company. The conversation flowed freely between them since their tongues had been loosened greatly by the sake. At some point they exchanged phone numbers. She was not sure if she had forgotten the fact she had a boyfriend on purpose or by accident because of the sake. When she finally remembered it was too late to explain nor did she really care to. One thing she had not forgotten was how angry she was with Teru.

Shuichi offered to escort her home and she accepted. Her luck had never been too good on the subway. Now that it was the wee hours of the morning, and she was drunk, she was sure her luck would be even worse. Who would be stupid enough to assault a woman with a National Police Agency detective by her side? So what if he was brand new? They would not know that any more than they would know he was a detective.

"Ichi, you're a very nice man," Adila sighed, putting her feet in his lap once they were situated in a seat. They were alone together in the subway car.

"You're a very nice woman when your attitude doesn't get in the way," he returned, taking off her shoes to rub her feet.

"Oh, god that feels good," she gasped as his thumbs dug into her aching soles. "Oh, yes, you're a very, very nice man."

Adila smiled when she heard him chuckling lightly. She leaned back against the railing and closed her eyes to enjoy the unexpected foot massage from her new friend. She fell asleep before they reached her stop, and he watched over her despite how badly he wanted to fall asleep himself.

Shuichi tried to wake her up when the conductor announced her stop, but she was out cold. He should have just taken her to his apartment to begin with.

...

Adila woke up to the smell of coffee and the pain of a headache.

"Good morning," an unfamiliar male voice greeted her.

Adila screamed upon seeing the man with black eyes and an afro. What unusual hair. Where was she? Her eyes scanned the neat and sparsely furnished apartment. A shooting pain felt as if it were splitting her brain in two. It was as if the pain released the memory of last night: sake, way too much sake, and meeting the man who was at present standing in front of her with a cup of coffee and pain pills. She eagerly held out her hands for both, managing a lopsided grin in thanks. Oh, Teru was going to kill her. She looked around for her coat and saw it neatly laid over the chair next the couch she was laying on.

"Looking for this?" Shuichi inquired, digging in the pocket for her phone and handing it to her.

"Yes, thank you. I'm sorry," she apologized feeling her cheeks heat up with shame and humiliation.

"About what?" he asked, sitting down in the chair across from her.

"Getting drunk and passing out," she answered, opening her phone to check for messages. Not a single missed called or text. Well, Teru was the obstinate cold hearted bastard, wasn't he?

"Who's Teru?" he questioned her like a good detective.

"Hmmm?" she mumbled, looking at him over her coffee cup.

Shuichi had to smile at her. All he could see around the cup was two big green eyes staring at him wide eyed and supposedly innocent. He knew the man she was calling for in her drunken sleep was her boyfriend. She had actually told him about the boyfriend in her inebriated state. After all, it was because of that man that she was at an outdoor sake stand by herself getting plastered. He had thought she was quite dramatic and somewhat pathetic at first. Then he realized she just felt alone and scared because she was a foreigner here and had given up everything she knew for her boyfriend to stay with him. That relationship had hit a rough spot and she did what anyone her age would do – go drown her sorrows in drink.

"I know he's your boyfriend. You need to go home to him," he said, watching her as she finished off her coffee with the same delight she had used on the sake last night.

"Oh, crap! I've got classes to get to! You've also got your first day of work as a detective. I've got to go!" she yelled, jumping to her feet. Grabbing her jacket, she rushed to the door to retrieve her shoes.

"Hey, wait!" he exclaimed, moving to her swiftly before she hurried out of the door. "Can I take you to lunch sometime?"

"Sure. Just text me," she replied, leaning forward to give him a quick peck on the lips.

Shuichi stared after her as she ran down the hall like she were fleeing for her life. He touched his lips with his fingertips still in shock from the unexpected, brief kiss from the very unique woman he had met last night.

...

Adila arrived to an empty apartment. She showered and dressed, grabbing her books for class. Her first class was with Teru. She snuck in the back door of the classroom that led to the upper level of the seating. Carefully slinking down the aisle and thanking providence that the professor had chosen today to show a movie, she slid into her seat beside Teru. She did not know whether to be happy or upset by his lack of reaction to her sudden appearance.

"Where were you last night?" he asked calmly not taking his eyes from the screen.

"I went out drinking," she answered simply.

"All night?"

"Well…"

"Look, now is not the time. We'll discuss this when I get home from work."

Adila did not say another word. She tried to concentrate on the film that showed interviews with several serial killers. Any other time she would have been completely fascinated and the psychos on the screen would have had her undivided attention. Instead, all she could think about was the man next to her. What was she going to tell him? How would she explain this?

...

Adila jumped up from the couch when she heard the door open which alerted her to Teru's return home. Her eyes moved to the digital clock on the television: 8:38. He should have been home over two hours ago. She suddenly remembered why she had gone out drinking last night. The stab of pain in her heart made her ache all over. She no longer felt like his goddess, his chosen one, his beloved.

"Tell me what happened. And don't bother lying. I want to know the truth," Teru said in a disturbingly tranquil voice.

Adila swallowed convulsively as he sat down in front of her in the chair. She noted how he looked like a true prosecuting attorney in his black suit and red tie, regarding her coldly with his eyes that glowed with an inner fire of anger. She found it creepy how his voice betrayed nothing of the tumultuous emotion held in his fierce maroon brown eyes.

"Am I on trial here?" she asked, her voice sounding weaker than she had intended for it to.

"If you choose to see it that way, yes," he responded calmly, folding his long fingers together under his chin. "Any time you would like to start."

Adila took a deep, shaky breath feeling like a child being reprimanded by a cruel and emotionally sadistic father. She avoided his penetrating gaze as she recounted the events of last night. She drank herself senseless at a sake stand, met a man who took her home, and she woke up in his apartment this morning. Even as she tried to explain that nothing had happened between them, not even a passionate kiss, she found it hard to believe herself.

"Take off your clothes," Teru ordered her calmly.

"Wh-what?" she stammered, sure she had not heard him correctly.

"Take off your clothes," he repeated patiently, enunciating each word carefully.

Adila's face burned from the degradation of her present situation. After slowly stripping down to nothing, she stood in front of him completely naked feeling vulnerable and apprehensive. She did not like the way he was staring at her. His obvious but overly controlled anger frightened her. It was like waiting for a roiling volcano to erupt. Her eyes moved over his body as he undressed in front of her. Confusion began to set in as she pondered what he could possibly be about to do to her. She would have never guessed he had a little bit of freakiness hiding inside because of his usual uptight, prudish attitude toward sex. In almost five months, it had been plain missionary sex. It was great but a little variety in positions was nice and the occasional tongue lashing was incredibly pleasurable. What was he planning for tonight?

Adila held her breath as he moved toward her with a definitive predatory look in his eyes. She cried out briefly when he grabbed a handful of her hair, using it to pull her to him. The rest of her sharp call was muffled by his lips covering hers for a rough, abusive kiss. Was he seriously going to punish her for her indiscretion? Her already muddled mind became hopelessly twisted and jumbled as he pulled her to the bedroom by her hair. Her brain was trying to process her present situation as thoughts bombarded it like mental bullets. She was flung onto the bed violently and uncaringly. How could he be doing this to her?

"Roll onto your belly," Teru ordered her gently.

Adila rolled over obediently, the niggling fear in the back of her head growing. She held her breath as his fingers tenderly grazed her shoulders. The breath she had been holding gushed from her lips as his fingertips trailed down her back and over her behind. She yelped in pain and surprise when he smacked her behind.

"Teru, what the hell are –"

"Although I appreciate your honesty, it does not change the fact that you were with another man. You are mine and you would do well to remember that. What you did is evil and you should be punished."

The fear increased when he gave her another punishing slap. How incredibly humiliating. She was getting spanked like a rebellious child who lied about stealing the last cookie from the cookie jar. It was a dreadful and alarming new side of him. Something about it was distressingly exciting. She yelled out his name when he popped her tender behind again. Lying on the bed drawing in long deep breaths, she was unable to sort out her baffling and conflicting feelings. Fear, excitement, apprehension, and arousal clashed inside her body and mind as he continued with the spanking.

"Teru, please," she begged as sexual excitement and pain raced through her body simultaneously. Her breathing became loud and erratic like the panting of a dog when he pulled her behind up until she was on her knees.

Teru shoved into her with no warning causing both of them to yell out in blissful surprise from her body's tightness caused by her fear and arousal. He thrust into her with long, powerful strokes unsure if her cries were from pleasure or pain. At this moment, he did not care. He had not anticipated the sexual excitement that would come with her physical reprimand. Slamming his body into hers with strong, penalizing strokes, he reached his limit rather quickly. Yelling out her name, his fingernails stabbed her delicate skin as he discharged deep inside of her.

Adila slid down to her belly, her body shivering from shock. She was unsure what to think at present. Her scrambled mind could not comprehend her wildly incompatible thoughts and emotions. Tears burned her eyes, and she let them come.

"Don't cry, my love," Teru murmured, stroking her head. "You are my immaculate and perfect goddess. Please don't disappoint me again."

Adila cried softly as he lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms. She trembled against his body while he kissed away her tears and soothed over her fears with tender words. Her body relaxed against him, and she fell asleep in his arms.