Chapter 3: Before the Sun Rises - HIM

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat, for if I did, Ren/Kuon would definitely have perverted dreams of Kyoko.

He wrapped his arms around her lithe body and rolled to settle her on top of him. His hands drifted to her hips so he could adjust himself beneath her. She gasped as her warm center settled over his bulging cock. The friction from the fabric of their clothing as they rubbed their bodies together felt fucking fantastic. She leaned down and captured his mouth in a deep kiss. Her tongue played with his, sweetly. She rolled her hips against him sending heat waves of pleasure throughout his already hot body.

She broke away from his mouth and kissed her way down his neck to his collarbone. Her fingers moved to his chest slowly working the buttons of his shirt loose. She kissed and licked her way down his exposed skin with every button that she removed. His cock twitched painfully in anticipation of things to 'come' that her sweet lips seemed to promise. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the sensations her soft lips were bombarding on his body. She finally made her way to his waistband but paused to kiss and suck at the skin beneath his belly button.

He lifted his head and gulped as he watched her dainty fingers make quick work of his belt and fly. He panted from the excitement of having her hands and mouth so close to his throbbing manhood. He could almost imagine those sensual lips wrapped around the head of his cock and sucking him deep. He hissed loudly when her hand brushed over his bulge as she tugged down on his zipper. Her teasing giggle was a melody, he could listen to all day and long into the night. He pulled her back up on top of him, once again straddling his hips, determined to prolong this sweet torture.

He buried his fingers into her auburn hair and pulled her down for another passionate kiss. Their tongues danced together for what seemed like hours until she broke the kiss to catch her breath. She sat back up with her palms splayed flat against his bare chest and rocked her hips against him. She moaned and closed her eyes as she settled into a slow rhythm above him. His hands made its way from her hips and continued up grazing the side of her breasts to her shoulders. His fingers hooked on the straps of her light blue nightgown then tugged down exposing her perky rose tipped breasts to the cool air.

With trembling hands, he reached out to cup her breasts. They fit perfectly in the palm of his hands as if they were molded just for him. He kneaded her soft mounds while the pad of his thumbs circled each nipple working them to pebbled peaks. She gasped in shock at the heat that traveled from his hands straight down to her core and settled in the pit of her stomach. Her golden eyes closed to narrow slits embracing the lustful sensations that threatened to undo her. Her moans grew louder as she continued to grind against him. She threw her head back and arched her back quickening her pace. 'Ahhh Corn,' escaped her lips erotically.

Ren's eyes shot open. One minute he was having the best dream of his life, the next minute, he was being doused with cold water. What the fuck was that? Why Corn? He groaned out loud, sardonically. He had some serious problems if he was getting jealous over his alter ego. He rubbed his hand over his face feeling like such an idiot. He couldn't believe he would have a wet dream after her behavior towards him yesterday. Am I becoming a masochist?

Ren looked around his dark room then reached over to check the clock on his phone. Only 5:22, it was way too early . He knew he wouldn't get back to sleep since he was too wound up from the dream. He rose out of bed and did some exercises to help get it off his mind. After about a half hour of working out, he felt more in control. He ended up taking a cold shower for good measure.

He made his way to the kitchen to prepare his breakfast. He placed two perfectly cooked sunny side up eggs and some buttered toast on a plate. He had spent his time well, cooking for himself, as practice in Guam. It was a bit of a rough start but he was grateful he never burnt down the kitchen in the hotel room. He managed to accomplish what he had set out to do with the help of YouTube videos, perfect just one meal.

While eating, he texted Kyoko to let her know of his change of plans since she accepted his invitation. She responded making sure he ate breakfast. Wouldn't she be surprised? Ren thought with a chuckle.

Operation get the girl was now underway. Step one of his plan was to send her constant reminders that he was here and not going away any time soon. They had both grown considerably since their first meeting, well, first meeting after 10 years. He had watched her blossom into an amazing actress and a strong independent young woman. He was happy that her passion for acting quickly overcame the reasons she entered showbiz in the first place.

She had become his strength; his beacon of light in the dark. Ren was now able to think about the incident with Rick as an unfortunate accident. An accident that could have been avoided if he wasn't so hot headed back then. He needed to make amends with the people he left behind in the States but before that he had to settle some things here. Looking at the time, he grabbed his keys and set out to run his errands.

…

Back in his apartment Ren put his shopping bags away and dressed for work. He took a deep shaky breath and looked at himself in the bathroom mirror in his natural state. He had asked Ms. Jelly Woods, Ten, if he could delay dyeing his hair back for a couple of days. She was more than happy to oblige and prepared the Ren wig for his use. When he was satisfied that the wig was styled naturally, he washed his hands and inserted brown colored contacts masking his natural emerald eyes.

He took some shallow breaths as he stared at his reflection. Tsuruga Ren had taken over.

When he was done getting dressed, he went through his mental checklist in case he forgot anything. Groceries, check; gift, check; clothes, check. A mischievous smile crossed his lips, the emperor made a brief appearance; handcuffs, big check!

Yesterday was very strange. He still wondered what he did wrong to warrant such coldness from her. He was sure it had to do with the flower ring. He shook his head to erase the unease in his mind. He was overthinking things again and had to remind himself that she sounded fine last night. He was surprised that she easily agreed to his dinner invitation despite her odd behavior. He made another mental note to find out from her tonight. He gloomily added, if she didn't hate me afterwards.

On his drive to LME, he switched on his player filling the car with loud music. He was getting cold feet again. He needed a distraction from all the negative thoughts he was having of what could go wrong tonight. He didn't want to scare her off. He tuned out his thoughts and focused on the music instead.

Another one of his metaphorical songs blared over the speakers making him groan. The male voice sang, "I'm serving time, all for a crime I did commit. You want the truth? You know I'd do it all again. Left for dead, heaven is only in my head..." He tapped his hand on the steering wheel to the beat of the song as he waited for the light to change.

Later, fellow commuters would say they swore they saw Tsuruga Ren in his car singing with his free hand curled into a fist holding it up to his mouth like a microphone. They would wonder, just what kind of song would affect Japan's most desirable man in such a way.

Ren parked his silver GT3 in his designated spot of the underground parking garage at LME; the perks of being a top star. Locking the doors, he made his way through the employee entrance and straight up to the President's office.

Ruto, Lory's right hand man, greeted Ren when he arrived wearing a pair of khaki trousers, a flower print shirt, and a pair of sunglasses. Ren suppressed his grin at the man Kyoko secretly called Sebastian. He could only imagine the theme for the day if the usually stoic man was dressed as a Japanese tourist in the islands of Hawaii. Lory's office was transformed into a tropical oasis. There were palm trees, white sand, and even a blow up pool meant to simulate an ocean. Ocean waves and water splashing could be heard through the surround sound speakers in the vast office. Is that a ukulele playing?

Ren walked towards the President's voice and found him lying in a hammock wearing nothing but a pair of board shorts and sunglasses. Two beautifully tanned women in grass skirts and coconut shelled tops were performing a traditional Polynesian dance. "Ren, my boy," Lory beamed taking a sip of his coconut drink, "to what do I owe the pleasure?" Lory asked waving the ladies away dismissively so they could talk in private.

"I'm going to tell her Boss, everything!" Ren declared. Lory tilted his sunglasses and stared hard at Ren. Boss? Since when did Ren ever refer to him as Boss. This must be Kuon speaking. He wondered if Ren was aware of the slip. Lory decided not to correct him. This could be a good thing.

In a shrewd voice Lory replied, "are you sure that's a wise decision? You do know the implications that your confession would instill should this information ever leak out."

Ren kept his face neutral but was confused by his tone. He thought that this was the moment Lory had been waiting for, the time for him to come clean and accept his past. Unable to maintain his cool, Ren paced back and forth in front of Lory. He responded in a tirade, "I trust her and I know she won't betray me! I won't back down from my decision, consequences be damned! I'm tired of lying, especially to her, even if it is by omission!"

Lory broke into a smile, he had been testing Ren. The boy was finally ready to face the music. "Well my boy, I'm happy to hear all this. I wish you all the best. She is my LoveMe member number one after all so she'll be a challenge for you."

Ren knew all that. He was fighting an uphill battle chasing after her. He wanted to spoil her with all his love and affection. If he had his way he would rather secret her away to keep her from the prying eyes of others. She didn't realize the effect she had on people, especially men.

She wasn't aware of any of her good qualities which was good for him that she was quite dense. There was a growing list of men vying for her attention. The few that he was aware of that actually had the guts to pursue her were Kijima, Reino, and that damn Fuwa. He wouldn't let any of them have her, especially Fuwa.

That punk didn't realize that his insults and taunting was akin to an immature little boy showing his love by picking on the girl he desired. Fuwa had his chance. It's now my turn to help build her up and give her the love she deserves.

After Boss wished him good luck, Ren made his way out. His phone buzzed indicating a text message from Yashiro. Ren, I have some work to finish up in my office. Please have lunch with Kyoko first and I will try to join you as soon as I can. I left her in the LoveMe room.

Ren shook his head at their manager's audacity. He was always coming up with excuses to disappear and give them some time alone. Today, he really didn't mind. He made a mental note to either thank or curse their manager depending on how the next hour went.

With a pep in his step, Ren exited the elevator on the floor of the LoveMe room. As he walked down the hallway, Kanae made her way towards him carrying a box. A scowl spread across her face as she stared him down. She reminded him of a lioness ready to pounce on her prey. Ren let out a defeated sigh. What did I do this time?

AN: See what I did there, in their own way, both of them had nightmares...lol. Thank you for reading and reviewing everyone. I'm pretty sure I'm going to drag this day out. As I write, I keep coming up with more ideas to fill the in between since I already have their happily ever after written. I'm willing to take ideas on how Ren should pursue her so let me know. I don't want Kyoko to make it too easy.

The song Ren was listening to in his car was Arcade Fire's "The Well and the Lighthouse." Give it a listen.

Until next time, sayonara! ^_^