BorntobeWild (15 page)

The waiters returned and his father waved them away irritably.

“Not at all,” his mother replied steadily. “However, you are
the only unmarried one of my children and it is time you considered taking the
step into adulthood.”

“You consider marriage an adult thing to do?” Anger rose in
him like a slow tide. “Does it matter who I marry?”

“Someone who would suit you.” She barely gave Cyn a glance. “Someone
who knows what they want in life and can be a suitable companion and assistant
for you.”

Cyn sat still as a stone. Riku couldn’t tell if she was
angry or upset. He concentrated on his mother, leaned back, considered propping
his booted feet on the table and changed his mind. This was not the time for
childish defiance.

“I don’t need an assistant. If I do I’ll employ one. A wife
is something different, or don’t you agree?” He stared at her, making it clear
he was comparing her words with her person. His mother had a fortune in her own
right in a different sphere to her husband. She was a financier investing in
businesses, partnering them when necessary. She’d always brought her work home
but this was ridiculous. Intolerable.

“I have Cyn,” he said.

“She won’t want to follow you from place to place and put
her own needs before yours.”

He realized something else then. His mother was taking him
seriously. “So you appreciate what I do now?”

“You have found a business that suits you and you are making
a success of it. I’m told your group is the best in the world.”

“I reached the top so it’s okay that I threw away my
classical career. Do you remember saying I’d never amount to anything?”

A hush fell over the restaurant. Someone from the press
could easily be here, listening and taking covert photographs. He didn’t care.

“I remember,” his mother said. “You took a risk and not one
carefully calculated. Big risks sometimes bring big rewards. I hope you have a
financial advisor. If not, you know Haruki will oblige.”

“I know.” His eldest brother handled most of the large
clients to a private banking house. But not his. Never his. “I do, yes. I throw
money at her and ask her to take care of it.” That more or less described what
he did. Money was the means to an end, that was all. He ensured he had enough,
gave some to good causes and lived off what was left. Very well indeed, as it
happened. If they saw his home would they realize exactly how much he’d earned,
especially recently?

His mother gave him a tight smile. “I’m sure you do more.
However, we’d be delighted to scrutinize your dealings, if you wish it. You
should trust your family more than anyone else.” That was a warning. A promise,
because he knew that was true. The Shiraishis never cheated. Only evaded and
manipulated. That was all, he thought with a smile hard as his mother’s.

“I’m fine thanks.” He gave her a slow blink, the kind a cat
would give to someone he was trying to hypnotize. “As I am with the women in my
life. I’ve had a lot recently.”

He needed to reach for Cyn but he didn’t dare. She might not
respond. He felt her, taut and tense, sitting next to him in uncharacteristic
stillness. “Only one right now.” A notion struck him, a wild left-of-field
thought and as it settled in his mind, it felt right, as if it belonged there.
He was comfortable with it. “Maybe only one for a long time.”

Then he did turn to Cyn. “Will you marry me, my darling Cyn?”

Cyn stared at Riku, aghast. “Marriage?” she choked out.

“Why not?”

Fear, she detected a shadow of fear in his eyes. Soon masked
though and then all she saw was warmth. She didn’t know if he did it for real
or if he’d put it there. If she’d learned one thing from this dinner, she’d
learned Riku’s family knew how to control their emotions to the
nth
degree. They put practical considerations first, every time. All the time. When
she recalled her happy, chaotic lifestyle, she knew it would never suit the
Shiraishis. She could get as rich as the wealthiest person in New York and they
wouldn’t approve, wouldn’t like her.

Was that why Riku had come out with his outrageous
suggestion?

“We haven’t talked about it,” she managed, her breath
shortening so much she found it hard to breathe. Panic raced through her but he
needed her now. She had to keep herself together for him.

“We don’t need to. I want you, Cyn. Nobody else.”

Then his mother couldn’t force or coerce him to marry this
Suzi person. When Mrs. Shiraishi had so calmly spoken of her, she wondered if
it was a cultural thing, that Japanese families arranged marriages as a matter
of course.

Two of the spouses at the table tonight weren’t Japanese, so
not some weird desire to be culturally pure. They just didn’t want her for
their son. They wanted a sweet, biddable girl they could influence. Especially
now Riku had money to add to the family wealth, although at this stage Cyn
doubted money mattered much. Power, control, influence. Not necessarily bad but
not something Riku wanted and for that reason she had to side with him.

Besides, they’d hardly do it—get married—there and then.

She wanted this moment. This perfect piece of time to keep
in her heart forever. The time Riku asked her to marry him. She could say no
later. “Yes,” she said.

A floodgate opened deep inside her. His hold on her hands
tightened and he drew her closer for a sweet kiss. It felt like an oath. “Thank
you.” Keeping her hand tucked in his, he turned back to his family. He
addressed his parents, both attired in immaculate, discreet clothes, not a
hair, not a stitch out of place. “I don’t want to waste Suzi’s time,” he said.

His mother’s voice chimed hard and spiky in the fraught
silence. “It won’t last,” she said.

“It will last as long as we want it to.”

That meant he wanted her to play along, surely? Not take
this seriously. He was making a point to his parents, which she should condemn
because he was using her to make it. But when he looked at her with warmth in
his eyes, when he smiled at her just like that, the intimate smile he usually
saved for private times, then she couldn’t, God help her, resist.

So she smiled back, gave him back the warmth. He snatched
another kiss as gentle as the first then reached into his pocket and pulled out
his cell. Glancing down, he thumbed through his contacts and hit a number. “When’s
the next plane to Las Vegas?” He glanced at her and this time she saw daring in
his eyes. Unholy enjoyment. Considering the humiliation his mother had put her
through, Cyn was having some of that.

She leaned back in her chair and watched the expressions. “I’m
overjoyed to join the Shiraishi family.” Not quite true but the name had a
great ring to it. Cynthia Shiraishi. A touch of Cyn, only she’d never dared
call her line of jewelry something so cheesy.

Mrs. Shiraishi gave her a curt nod. “We’re delighted to have
you.” If Cyn was any judge her future mother-in-law was already calculating how
to make this situation work for her. Civilized, so fucking civilized.

Riku had grown up with this family, with these parents. His
father didn’t say a great deal but he didn’t have to. His word mattered and
what he said, he got. His mother matched his father in calculation and
coolness.

What a terrible upbringing, however rich. All that shit
about birds in gilded cages sometimes happened. They’d reared him to expect the
best, to do what they told him. Everything but love and spontaneity. It
appeared they’d squeezed the fun out of their other children but perhaps
appearances were deceptive and they did it their way.

Not Riku’s way though. He was unique. Tall, slender,
powerful, sensitive, brutal, he encapsulated a mess of contradictions. He made
them make sense. She watched, fascinated, listening to Riku booking two seats
in first class on the 11:00 p.m. plane to Las Vegas. They couldn’t possibly get
there in that time. He was bluffing.

Then he called a car. “A quick stop at the apartment,” he
said to her, “But no nightwear. Not unless it’s
very
scanty.”

Bastard. That low growl got her every time. Despite her
tension, confusion and anger, he cut right through those emotions to the desire
simmering inside her every moment she spent with him. They’d go home and send
the cab away. He could call his parents later and tell them he’d changed his
mind or bluff some more.

“Are we leaving the back way?” She assumed so. She’d bet
people still waited outside. This was the kind of restaurant that often had
photographers and fans waiting outside since it such a fashionable place. Not
that she’d tasted much of the food.

“No, we’ll go and face the hordes.” He stood and held her
chair for her with exaggerated care. The way he helped her to her feet showed
he’d forgotten nothing of her injuries. “One more thing,” he said, addressing
everyone at the table. “You must have read Cyn was hurt in an attack on me. If
you googled for me this morning you’d have seen the pictures. Not one of you
asked about it or showed any concern at all. Cyn isn’t an accessory, she means
a great deal to me. You’ll have to get used to her.”

Which was the point really. He wanted them to think.

The fug of shock and desire laced with pain cleared enough
for her to see more of his tactics. He hadn’t planned this act of defiance.
Giving his righteous family the finger. As such it wasn’t worthy of him but she
couldn’t blame him, however she wanted to.

Riku had had enough.

The maître d’ crossed the floor to their table but Riku
stopped him with a glance. He nodded at his father, almost a bow. “Thank you
for the dinner. I found it enlightening.” At that moment he could be a samurai
warrior, reluctantly deferring to his king. He wore the outlandish clothes with
grace and bore his fame with patience. He was also an excellent actor. In the
public eye most of the time, he’d probably learned to be.

“It was—interesting, my son.” His father didn’t venture any
opinion of Riku’s announcement. “We shall no doubt see you when you return from
your vacation.”

Had they decided to ignore it? It seemed so because his
mother joined in. “A good joke, Riku. Do enjoy yourself.” She glanced at Cyn,
distinctly disdainful. “Yourselves.”

Riku held out his hand. A gesture of invitation, to place
her hand in his forever or spurn him now. That would be what it seemed like to
onlookers. Only she knew better. She took it, smiling. He drew her close, their
clasped hands between them and gazed into her face. What she saw there troubled
her more than anything else that had happened tonight.

Riku was deeply upset. Distressed. His anger was there,
heating the way he looked at everyone but her, but he’d let her see his
vulnerability.

That meant more than she could say. Which was why she wasn’t
a poet or a songwriter. No doubt he’d make something of it when he had time to
process what had happened here tonight. She’d considered her family life was a
mess but tonight she’d learned differently. Her issues with her parents didn’t
come under the dysfunctional banner. At least she didn’t think so.

Hand in hand, they left the restaurant. “I never want to see
that place again,” she said, low-voiced but vehement.

“Me either.” He was smiling when he faced the crowd, far
from his usual broody public image.

A woman pushed her way to him, grinning broadly. “Someone
told me you’d proposed. Is this the lucky lady?”

Riku lifted their clasped hands to his lips and kissed Cyn’s
knuckles. “It is. Now we’re in a hurry so please let us through.”

The muscle made it possible for them to get to the car
idling by the curb. A sleek, black limo like the ones she’d seen outside the
venue last night. He helped her in. Smoked glass windows ensured their privacy,
which was probably why he’d ordered one.

Once in and with the window between them and the driver
closed he tugged her against him, with her bad side cradled protectively and
kissed her. “Can we not discuss it for a while?” he asked.

“Sure,” she said. They travelled to the apartment in
silence, peaceful silence. He made her feel safe and wanted and she let herself
sink into the atmosphere they created between them.

When they got out he opened the screen and spoke to the
driver. “Give us fifteen minutes and call up. We’re in a hurry.” He ignored the
way Cyn stared at him in disbelief.

When she opened her mouth to speak to him in the elevator,
he stopped it with a kiss. Still reverential, sweet and lovely, ravishing her
senses. In the old days she might have swooned.

“Can you pack in ten minutes?” He gave her a cheeky grin
this time.

“What?”

“Las Vegas,” he said patiently, as if explaining something
obvious. “Throw some things into a case. We’ll buy what we forget.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not? You told me you had no important clients, that
your managers could cope for a while. You’re not going back to work yet so come
with me to Las Vegas.” He quirked a brow. A dare.

Oh she never backed down on a dare and he knew it. When she
growled as she strode to the bedroom he only laughed.

Fifteen minutes later she emerged to see Riku in jeans and a
black T-shirt with a dragon sprawled over it. She frowned at the shirt’s eerie
glow. He’d only put the ambient lights on, so she could see the night outside.
He glanced down to see what she was staring at. “It glows in the dark. It
seemed appropriate for Vegas and it was the first in the drawer.” He thrust his
wet hair behind his ears. He must have showered and she wished she’d had time.
It might have helped to wash the memory of that awful dinner away.

Grinning, he gestured toward the elevator, picking up a
large black bag and reaching for her small case. “We deserve a vacation.”

He was right. Although she’d forgotten a lot of items,
including her toothbrush, she’d remembered underwear, a couple of changes of
clothes and her passport. Her bag was smaller than his and while that didn’t
seem right they were both accepted as carry-ons. The air stewards in first class
seemed more pleasant too, or perhaps it was because they had fewer people to
attend to. Maybe they got more money.

Cyn shuddered to think of the cost but she’d let him treat
her to this part. He could afford it, she told herself and she’d endured his
parents for his sake.

Once they were in the air he hovered anxiously as the
steward let down the seat and made a real bed for her. Sheets and all. Then he
helped her to take off her shoes, although she’d deliberately chosen flats she
could kick off. He held back the covers as she climbed in, feeling completely
idiotic. “I’m not a child,” she protested, for all the good it did her.

“You’re an invalid.”

Like him she’d chosen simple clothing, loose black pants and
a top. She climbed in and lay on her injured side as the doctor had
recommended, which meant facing Riku’s seat. “Did you get separate seats on
purpose?”

He motioned to the rest of the cabin. No, he hadn’t. The
seats were arranged herringbone fashion, so they couldn’t have bunked in
together. Clever of the airline, she supposed, avoiding mile-high-club
attempts. The idea made her shudder. In her current condition that would just
about kill her.

Riku smiled. He’d followed her thoughts, perhaps had them
himself. Anyhow, he knew. He squatted to her level and gave her another of
those sweet, gentle kisses. She loved them and leaned up for another one. Her
side hurt like a bitch. So what?

He held her, lowered her gently to the bed. “Get some sleep.
We’ll paint the town red when we get there. Or white. All the colors you want.”

When she laughed it really hurt, so she cut it short and
settled down. Only when she was drifting did she recall they hadn’t had one
serious conversation since they left the restaurant.

* * * * *

A seven-hour flight. Almost as long as a direct flight to
the US from the UK. At times like these, Cyn truly understood how big a country
the United States was. However, she slept through most of it. She couldn’t
remember sleeping this well on a flight ever before.

She’d opened her eyes once or twice and every time she
caught Riku’s dark gaze, watching her. His bed was made the same way but he
didn’t sleep as far as she knew. A small notebook lay on the little table and a
pen. Notes or a song or something. Would this prove good inspiration? Half comical,
half terrifying, she thought but her mind spun with the speed of the way Riku
had put everything into effect. Las Vegas. She’d never been before. They were
only here for a vacation, not for the preposterous suggestion he’d made to her
earlier.

Lulled by his nearness, by exhaustion brought on from
worrying and pain, she drifted again. When she opened her eyes once more they
were an hour from landing and the stewards were bringing breakfast. Even that
turned out to be palatable in first class. “You’re spoiling me,” she said to
him softly.

“I intend to,” he responded. “Time you saw something of
life. You’ve worked solidly for the last eight years, haven’t you?”

“Had a lot of fun doing it.” She laughed when she worked
sometimes. She’d never have laughed if she were working as a dramatic soprano. “Jewelry
has more jokes than Wagner.”