Three times he built them up to the tipping point and backed off at the last second. Falling petals stuck to their sweat-soaked skin when he drove them to the edge and at last let them spiral into the void together.
As they indulged in kisses and caresses in the afterglow, Amery said, “What number was that?”
He laughed. “I lost track after twenty.”
Chapter Four
Amery missed her friends.
She missed going to the office every day.
She missed being able to drive wherever she wanted.
She missed junk food.
She even missed the dirty sweat-sock smell of the dojo.
But mostly she missed her husband. Which was ironic because of all the things she missed, he was the only thing that was close by.
They’d been in the village outside of Sapporo for two and a half weeks now. The house Ronin had rented for them was in a secluded spot. The people in the village were friendly enough she supposed—not that she could converse with any of them since the locals didn’t speak English and she didn’t speak Japanese.
The first day they’d arrived, Ronin had shown her around. Given her detailed instructions on where to go and not to go. The second day, she’d been on her own. As well as the third day. And every day after that.
Initially she’d hoped Ronin had exaggerated his training schedule, but if anything it was more demanding than she’d expected. On the first day of training, Ronin had returned a different man. And as the days rolled on, he pulled deeper inside himself and further away from her.
Part of his withdrawal, she knew, was from exhaustion. Even after being on medical restrictions for half a year, the man was still a specimen of physical perfection with his lean, muscular body because he challenged himself daily to remain in top condition. The fact he was so worn down every night that he could barely keep his eyes open through dinner indicated how rigorous this training regimen was.
It wasn’t like he didn’t warn you that it’d be like this.
Although she’d had a restless night of sleep, she got up when Ronin got up. He’d been gone an hour by now and she’d done nothing but drink a pot of coffee, and brood while gazing out the window at the mountain she could only admire from afar.
Tired of moping, Amery called her office in Denver. It took some time before the connection went through and the line began to ring.
“Hardwick Designs, this is Molly.”
“You sound chipper. Is it because your workday is almost over?”
“Amery! I was just thinking about you and missing you, you jerk.”
“Missing me? Sounds like you were cursing me.”
“Maybe a little.” Molly paused. “Good god, woman, what time is it there?”
“Seven in the morning. Tomorrow.”
“Why would you get up that early when you’re on vacation?”
“I’m not really on vacation.” She paused. “But Ronin has to get up . . . so then I’m up.”
“Sounds . . . challenging. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. No. Maybe.” She sighed. “I don’t know what I’m doing here right now, Mol.” Hearing the squeak of Molly’s office chair, she had a serious wave of homesickness.
“Hang on.” Footsteps, then, “Hey, Presley, you wanna get us some snacks? Great. Thanks.” Another pause. “Okay. Now I can talk. What’s going on?”
“I’m at loose ends. We’ve been in Japan for three and a half weeks. The first week was amazing. These last few weeks have sucked ass. So when I think about spending the next five weeks bouncing around, I want to jump on the next flight home.”
“Because you’re bored?”
“I don’t know if it’s boredom. Since I haven’t taken a break from working since I graduated from college, I don’t know what to do with myself when I don’t have a regimented schedule. I’ve exhausted all of my options already. I’ve taken a bazillion pictures. I’ve wandered around the village—which takes like four minutes. A tutor comes twice a week to teach me Japanese and I’ve mastered oh, maybe ten more words. I’ve caught up on all the industry magazines and articles that I brought along for reading. I’ve even managed to finish a few books on my ereader. I practice yoga for an hour every day. I cook dinner for Ronin every night.”
“And?”
Amery walked over to the pot for a refill. “And I hear myself sounding like a fucking whiner and I want to kick my own ass. For christsake, I’m in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been and I’m—”
“Lonely,” Molly finished softly.
“Yeah, I am. But I knew going into this trip that I’d be spending a bunch of time by myself. I didn’t think it would be an issue. I’ve never minded doing things alone. It’s not like Ronin and I are joined at the hip when we’re at home.”
“But if you were at home you’d call up your friends to hang out, or you’d work in the office, or you’d pound the pavement drumming up more business. You can’t do any of that there.”
“True.”
“Have you said anything to Ronin about how you’re feeling?”
She’d imagined the conversation a half a dozen times but it always ended badly, with her coming across like a fishwife. Anytime she’d asked him if he was pushing himself too much he gave her that hard stare that indicated the topic was not up for discussion.
“Amery?”
“No. He’s preoccupied with training. It seems like a bitchy thing to bring up, especially since we’re flying to the Ryukyu Islands in a few days. So I’ll suck it up. I just needed to vent and you’re lucky enough to be on my speed dial.” She sipped her coffee. “What’s new at the office?”
“Just the usual. Kinky, corny, kitschy, classy projects that showcase our diverse graphic art abilities.”
“Kinky? Do tell what dirty things you’ve been doing.”
Molly snorted. “Nice deflection. Is having a predisposition for kink a prerequisite when you get involved with the guys at Black Arts?”
“What makes you say that?”
“I overheard Deacon and Knox arguing about some place called Twisted, and I don’t think it’s a strip club because Shiori’s name came up. Then there are the covers you did for Cherry Starr. After you started seeing Ronin you just happened to know someone who’s into rope bondage? And they just happened to allow you to do a photo shoot with them? Bull. I think we both know who’s really on those covers.”