Boss's Christmas Proposal Read online

  “Stop trying,” she whispered. She tightened her fingers against his hands, levering herself up to meet his mouth. “Dozo.” She breathed against him. “Please.”

  He groaned, and swept her against him, his hands slipping down her spine, cradling her over him as he turned against the mattress, pulling her hips tight against his.

  He swallowed the cry she could not contain, and then his hands were pushing beneath her thin sweater, dragging it upward, his warm palms sweeping up her spine, sending shudders dancing through her limbs. When he could draw the sweater no higher, she sat up, only to have to steady herself with a hand on his hard abdomen when she felt the full extent of his arousal against her.

  His gaze was intent. “This is the time to stop, Kimi.”

  She drew her knees alongside his strong hips, saw the effect that had in the way his jaw tightened and his green gaze sharpened. “I don’t think so,” she said huskily, and tugged the sweater over her head and tossed it aside. His gaze dropped to her breasts and she felt her skin tighten as if he had touched her. She slowly undid the back clasp of her sheer black bra. “Stopping now is the last thing I want.”

  “And the first?”

  She slid the straps off her shoulders and let the bra fall away. Evasion was simply beyond her. “I want you to touch me.” Her breasts were so full and tight, they ached.

  His fingers flexed against her hips. “Where?” His voice seemed to come from somewhere deep inside him.

  She stared at him. This man who so confounded her thoughts, her body, her heart.

  She pressed her fingertips to her lips. “Here.” She let her fingertips drift down her throat until they reached her breasts. She slowly covered them, her hands shaking. “Here.”

  She saw, as well as heard, the sharp breath he drew in through his nose.

  Emboldened, she trailed her fingers down the valley between her breasts until she reached the waist of her silk slacks. “Here.”

  He suddenly jackknifed upward, catching her mouth with his, kissing her so deeply she felt faint. Or maybe that was his hands, covering her breasts, grazing her flesh, tormenting her nipples into even more frenzied peaks. Then she felt his knuckles brush her abdomen, as he freed the clasp of her slacks and drew down the zipper. “Where else?”

  Fire ripped along her nerves, but shyness tore alongside it. “Greg. Wait. I—” She ducked her chin, suddenly aware of how bare she was, and how clothed he remained.

  He drew his hands away only to tilt up her chin. His expression softened. “What is it, Kimi?”

  She knew she should tell him. Tell him now, before it was too late, that she was a virgin. “I…not what,” she said weakly. “Where.” She suddenly pulled at his shirt, tugging it from his trousers. “Touch me everywhere,” she breathed. “But I want to touch you, too.” Her hands finally met warm flesh. She felt his muscles bunch beneath her fingertips as she tossed aside the shirt. And she felt even dizzier as her hands slowly drifted up his torso.

  Muscle. A whorl of soft hair that felt oddly crisp against her palms as they spread over the widening breadth of his chest. The heavy thud of his heart when her hand paused over it.

  “You are so beautiful.” The words came without thought. He truly was, in the most masculine of ways.

  He, of course, snorted softly. “That’s my line.” He kissed the tip of her shoulder. The curve of her neck where her pulse sped frantically against the flicker of his tongue. His head dipped even farther, and she felt his kiss slide downward, over one breast, then the other, closer and closer until she felt his breath brush over her nipple.

  Her head fell back, her eyes closing. “There,” she gasped, and cried out when his mouth finally covered one tormented peak. Pleasure careened through her, aiming straight for the very center of her. She felt herself falling, heard the keening moan coming from her that she could not seem to stop.

  And she could only grab for him as her world tipped on its axis.

  She was barely conscious of the way he groaned her name, the way he stripped the rest of their clothing away and hauled her toward the center of the bed. Then he was leaning over her, threading his hand through her hair, spreading it wide, as his mouth found hers again. “I want you to do that again with me inside you.” His low words vibrated intoxicatingly against her lips.

  “Yes.” She could not seem to form another word to save her soul. Her hands weakly closed over his broad shoulders. “Yes.”

  His kiss swallowed the word as he settled against her and at last she felt him there. No clothing between them. No barriers.

  Just the two of them.

  She shifted, lifting herself against him, gripped with sudden impatience. All she wanted was more. More of him. More of them. More of that undying pleasure flooding her cells, and the only thing that would satisfy was him.

  He let out a low growl and ran his hands along her thighs, and sank deeply.

  Heat, pressure, pleasure, it all screamed through her at once. But she could not stop the sharp gasp at the unfamiliar invasion, no matter how badly she wanted.

  He went utterly still against her, an oath on his lips. “What the—”

  “Stay.” She breathed hard, pressing her mouth against the hard bulge of his shoulder. The pain was already passing, far outshadowed by the spiraling pleasure, and she twined her arms around his back.

  Yet he still managed to lift himself above her. “You’re a virgin.”

  She moistened her lips. If she had expected anger, she would have been wrong, for it was shock…and pain…that tightened his face.

  “I wanted to tell you.” She could still feel him, insistent and full inside her and instinctively rocked against him, nearly moaning again at the intoxicating sensations. “I did. But it does not matter.”

  His teeth bared and he caught her hips in his hard hands, whether to stop her motion or to encourage, she couldn’t tell. “Doesn’t matter?”

  She slid her legs against his. Ran her hands down his spine. Pulled herself even more tightly into his broad, tall body. “Not anymore.” She rocked against him and had to press her mouth against his shoulder to muffle her moan of pleasure.

  His fingers dug into her hips, as if to push her away again, but with an oath, instead he drove deeper.

  Again. And again, sending a wildfire streaking through her that eclipsed everything that had gone before. She was only vaguely aware of his name on her lips as the coil inside her tightened until she thought she might scream from it, and then his hands slid against hers, fingers tightening, and he murmured her name in a low breath as he tensed, and just like that she slid off the precipice with him, exploding in ecstasy.

  His head fell to her breast, great breaths racking through his broad shoulders. Her head fell back weakly against the bare mattress—somehow they had managed to tear the sheets halfway off of it. “As an American, you are not always in a hurry,” she managed to say breathlessly.

  “Damn it, Kimi!” He yanked away from her and pushed off the bed, leaving her gasping. Without a seeming shred of modesty for his nudity, he stood at the side of the bed and glared at her. “Is this a joke to you?”

  She pushed herself up on her arms. “Of course not.”

  “Then you should have told me.”

  “So that you could think me even more of a child?”

  “I might have thought you were more mature for admitting the truth!”

  She winced. “We will never know. My virginity is—was—mine to give as I chose.”

  “Yeah, well, if it didn’t matter as you say, then why the hell didn’t you get rid of it with one of those guys you were always with in the gossip rags?”

  She realized she was staring at him and couldn’t seem to make herself stop. She had to fist her hands in the downy comforter to keep from reaching out and closing her fingers around him. “Would you have really preferred that?”

  He raked his hands through his hair, leaving the short strands standing in spikes. “No.” His answer was brutal and
short.

  She moistened her lips and swallowed the knot in her throat. Her body shamelessly wanted him all over again.

  She feared her heart was on the verge of endlessly needing him.

  She released the comforter and lifted her hand, palm upward. “Then come back to me, Greg.”

  His jaw canted. “What if I’ve gotten you pregnant?”

  A sweet pang speared her. What if he had? The thought should horrify her, but it did not. “I have been on the pill for several years,” she told him truthfully.

  His eyebrow lifted, sardonic.

  “To regulate my cycle,” she finished, squelching the defensiveness that rose inside her. “As you have discovered, there was not much other reason. Believe it or not, it is a fairly common practice.”

  “Imagine my relief.”

  She lifted her chin. “There is no need to be sarcastic.”

  “No. Of course not. I just stole the virginity of the child of the very two people who entrusted her well-being to me!”

  She scrambled off the bed, tossing her tumbled hair out of her eyes and behind her shoulders, and stood in front of him. “First of all, I am not a child. Secondly, I came here to work, not to be babysat by you. And most important, get it through your head, Greg, that one cannot steal what is freely given!”

  His hands closed around her and he hauled her off her toes, right up to his nose. “Why now, Kimi? Why me?”

  Her lips parted. “Because I—” She broke off before she humiliated herself even more and wriggled until he released her.

  She could not possibly love this man who had so little use for her.

  Could she?

  “Why not you,” she asked flippantly. “Why not now? If I am banished here to Kyoto, at least I managed to get some practical use out of it!” Before he could see the tears burning in her eyes, she knelt down and snatched up his shirt, yanking it over her shoulders. Her fingers were trembling too badly to bother with buttons, and she just clutched it together at her waist as she strode over to the open doorway connecting their rooms. “But now that it is done, you might as well go.”

  “Dismissing the help, are you, Kimiko?”

  She lifted her chin, avoiding his gaze. “You will think what you want no matter what I say.”

  He did not bother collecting the remainder of his clothing. Not his trousers nor even his shoes.

  He strode through the doorway.

  She could not be certain which side closed first.

  Hers.

  Or his.

  But close they did and, once they were, Kimi turned away from the sight. She could not even bury her face in her pillows or in her tumbled bed. Not when, despite everything, her body was still yearning for his.

  Chapter Ten

  “Good afternoon. Welcome to the Taka Kyoto.”

  From her position behind the reception desk where Kimi had been hurriedly training with Sue to help fill in for a regular who had been stricken with the flu, she watched Greg greet the guests milling around the lobby.

  For some reason she had expected the second week after their opening to be much slower than it had been during the first week.

  Today, however, the bellmen were still in constant demand, couriering carts of luggage across the marble and wood floors. Michel St. Jacques, the concierge, had yet another small but steady line of guests awaiting his special attention. As they had since they had opened to guests, four young, pretty women whom Kimi remembered from the banquet crew were rotating through the lobby, offering trays of delectable hors d’oeuvres and drinks. The water in the fountain offered a soft, rippling backdrop to the trio of musicians stationed nearby, playing familiar holiday carols.

  There was a calmly organized flow to everything, but Kimi could still feel the heightened energy that hovered beneath. She wished she could have felt a little of that energy herself, but nothing seemed able to displace the disquiet that had filled her since her and Greg’s lovemaking had ended in such failure.

  None of which showed on her face, she felt certain, as she slid two newly programmed key cards into a jacket and handed them across to the couple she had just checked in to the hotel. “We hope you enjoy your stay with us, Mr. and Mrs. Peterson.”

  “It’s our thirtieth anniversary,” Mrs. Peterson admitted in a hushed tone. “My husband surprised me with a world tour.”

  From the corner of her eye, she saw Ambassador Diggins and his wife cross the lobby from the elevators and latch on to Greg.

  Kimi realized she was watching him too hungrily and quickly turned her focus back on the Petersons. “That’s very romantic. Congratulations.” Kimi made a note in the registration file about the anniversary. She did not know the procedure, but she knew there was some sort of special amenity the hotel would provide to honor the occasion.

  “Honey, come see the garden.” Mr. Peterson was wandering toward the fountain and the expansive windows beyond. “It’s just beginning to snow.”

  “The gardens are all beautiful here,” Kimi encouraged. “Joon will take care of your luggage. It will be waiting for you in your room if you would like to explore first.” The bellman was at the ready as soon as she gave him a glance.

  Mrs. Peterson smiled and hurried after her husband, tucking her arm in his.

  Kimi watched them go. Thirty years. She held back a sigh and waited until Sue finished with her guest before asking her what they could do for the Peterson’s anniversary. She had just started ordering the gift basket Sue recommended to be sent to the couple’s room when Tanya appeared.

  “Mail room delivered this for you this morning.” Tanya handed over a padded envelope. “Thought it might be important since it came express from the States.”

  “Thanks.” She tore open the envelope and glanced inside, though she knew what it would contain simply from the shipping label.

  Her college diploma.

  Considering everything, she ought to feel more elated with the delivery. Her gaze lifted, easily tracking Greg. He stood near the elevators now, along with the ambassador and his wife. A moment later, the couple disappeared from view.

  Kimi closed the envelope and slid it beneath the counter, out of sight.

  “Charity called in with the flu,” Tanya was saying in a confiding whisper. “Whether she’s really sick or just using the excuse to avoid the staff party tonight is debatable.”

  “I’m sorry it was not your movie theme that was selected.”

  “I never figured it would be,” Tanya said easily. “I think your poolside Monte Carlo night will be a lot of fun, but I don’t know what the big secret about it is. You could have put your name on the submission. Or at least admitted that it was your idea when they selected it.”

  Kimi shrugged. “I would not wish anyone to believe there was favoritism involved.” Truthfully, she had been stunned when the announcement had been made about the selection. It was just another irony in her world, these days, she supposed.

  “Right. ’Cause it’s not like you can’t afford your own plane tickets back to the States.” Tanya rolled her eyes humorously. “It’s your call, though. So you think you’ll be off reception soon?”

  “Tomorrow for certain, what with the Nguyen wedding tomorrow evening.”

  Tanya grinned. “Be good to get that one off the plate, won’t it? I’ll see you tonight, right?”

  “I would not miss it. I want to see that dress you have been talking about for a week now.”

  With a little wave Tanya headed back in the direction she had come, leaving Kimi to finish the Peterson’s gift basket order.

  But her eyes kept straying to Greg.

  It had been nearly two weeks since the debacle in her room. Two weeks since they had said more than one word directly to the other.

  Two weeks of pure misery.

  “Well, my word, look who is playing receptionist.” The familiar female voice was full of laughter, and surprised, Kimi looked over to see her stepsister, Jenny, heading toward her. Her husband, Richard, wa
s following behind, pushing a stroller, though the intended occupant of it was currently cradled in his daddy’s arms. Jenny stopped in front of the desk. The striking green eyes that were so like Helen’s were sparkling. “I thought you said they’d hidden you in the basement in sales.”

  “I’m pinch-hitting up here.” Kimi left the computer and hurried around the long reception desk and hugged Jenny. “I didn’t know you were coming in today.”

  “Richard decided to come in a day early so he could pop over to the TAKA-Hanson office in Tokyo.” She turned and took the baby from her husband when he reached them.

  “Hey, kiddo.” Richard swallowed her in a bear hug, nearly lifting her off her toes. “Everything’s looking good here.”

  “I have not burned down the place,” she confirmed wryly, tugging down the hem of her black jacket. “Sue can check you in. I want to see my nephew.”

  “Not even three months old and letting us know he doesn’t like the long flight from Chicago,” Jenny told her wryly as she passed over the baby.

  Kimi cradled her nephew up to her nose. “What are they saying about you, little Mr. Warren?” She kissed Jason’s admittedly cranky-looking face.

  He wrinkled his brow and let out a wail.

  “Told you,” Jenny said. “I’ll take him back.”

  “It’s all right.” Kimi settled the baby against her shoulder, patting his back. “We are not so bad at this, are we,” she crooned against his sweet-smelling head and carried him toward the fountain.

  She stood next to it, and took Jason’s tiny hand and grazed it against the sheet of falling water, dislodging the perfect, glassy surface.

  Sure enough, he forgot about the big, fat tears that were rolling down his round little cheeks and wriggled his hand right back into the water.

  Kimi laughed softly and pressed her lips to his bald head. “Nothing like the simple pleasures, is there?”