Under a Silver Moon Read online

  Imai raised his eyebrows. “This sounds like it’s going to cost me somehow.” He gave her a dry smile, knowing damn well he’d do just about anything she asked.

  “Oh, yes.” Kim rested her chin in one hand and flashed him a coy and utterly devastating smile.

  “Uh-oh.” Imai leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. “Now I’m afraid to ask.”

  Unable to keep a straight face any longer, Kim laughed and looked away. But Imai noticed that soft blush appear on her cheeks. “It’s nothing, never mind.” She was clearly embarrassed.

  “No, tell me.” Imai smiled, reaching over to tuck some of those stray blonde hairs away from her eyes.

  “I ‑‑ well ‑‑” She stopped, but continued when he gave her an encouraging nod. “You could sing…the way you did earlier, in the studio.”

  “I suppose I could consider it.”

  “I’m sorry. Forget it,” she said, quickly averting her gaze. “Singing is your job, and I know no one wants to be bothered on their off hours. It’s like the neighbors thinking I can ‑‑” She broke off when Imai touched his finger to her lips.

  “I would love to sing for you. Only for you,” he said in a voice like a velvet caress. He leaned in to kiss her, and she pulled back. Disappointed but not defeated, Imai smiled at her and returned to eating.

  Kim pretended to be engrossed in plucking the pepperoni from her pizza to hide her nervousness and uncertainty. This couldn’t be happening, could it? Were she and Imai Shimizu ‑‑ gorgeous, wealthy, successful Imai Shimizu, who could have any woman on earth ‑‑ actually “clicking?”

  Imai gave the bottled soft drink in his hand a small frown. “This meal calls for something more special than Ramune.” He started to get up, and Kim touched his hand before she could stop herself or think twice about it.

  “Why don’t I get it?” she asked. “As long as it’s nothing with alcohol in it.”

  He laughed. “Don’t worry, it’s not for me.” Imai winked at her and pulled away to look through one of the cabinets on the other side of the island. Returning a few moments later with a bottle of chardonnay and a single glass, he served out some of the wine for Kim.

  Lord knows she didn’t mind having a small drink, especially with the way her insides were knotting up again. This feeling of nervousness was so silly, especially after what they’d already shared. She took a sip of the wine and offered him the glass.

  “You’re trying to test me.” He smirked at her over the top of the glass.

  “No.” Kim laughed softly. “It’s not fun drinking alone, and sharing a small taste should be fine.”

  “In that case…” Imai took the glass and placed it on the table as he leaned in. His lips touched hers in a gentle, feathery kiss that stole the very breath from her lungs.

  “It’s delicious,” Imai murmured.

  “It certainly was,” Kim whispered. Throwing all fears and caution to the wind, she dipped her index finger into the glass and ran it over his full lower lip, then leaned in for a kiss of her own. You’re insane, her common sense screamed even as Imai’s fingers drifted up into her hair and pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss, his tongue stroking hers in ways she’d never experienced.

  She was insane and foolhardy, but she didn’t care. She loved his kiss, craved his touch again.

  Thankfully ‑‑ or was that unfortunately ‑‑ Imai pulled away and brushed the back of his hand across her burning cheek. “Bring your wine. We’ll go into the parlor with the piano.”

  The man’s allure was more intoxicating than any wine could be, and Kim followed him without hesitation. The parlor had a row of recessed lights over the piano and a lounge seat, giving the room a soft, sultry glow. She moved toward the davenport, but he caught her wrist.

  “Stay next to me.” Imai gave her that sinfully gorgeous smile, and soon she was easing down onto the piano bench beside him.

  “This is for you, ne?” he teased her with a wink.

  “Oh, you don’t have to do this,” Kim argued weakly, while inside her heart raced. For you… “I was just playing.”

  “Well, I mean it.” Imai played a few chords before he softly started singing along.

  He sang to her in English. He sang familiar ballads that touched her heart and made her feel that the white knights from fairy tales truly existed and could whisk her away to a world she’d only dreamed of.

  He sang for her and her alone, his gaze capturing hers and never letting go.

  He played the notes she knew so well, the words of love lost and found, treasured and wasted gliding from his lips like a thousand secret touches. For her, only for her.

  She shifted nervously on the padded bench, wanting him more than she’d ever wanted anything in this world. She wanted him to take her, possess her inside and out, hold her forever and never let her go.

  Imai stopped playing, took a tiny sip of the wine she’d brought from the kitchen, and ran his fingers across the keys once again.

  “Sing in Japanese,” she choked out, so full of emotion and longing that the words would barely come.

  “You can’t understand it,” he said softly, his finger tracing the outline of her lower lip.

  “But I can feel it. I guess that’s silly, but hearing you in Japanese is different, so much more…” There were no words to convey the things she wanted to communicate, so she didn’t try to think of any. “I can feel your music when you sing in Japanese,” she said simply.

  He smiled and nodded. “This is a new one. It isn’t quite finished yet, but I think you’ll like it.”

  He could see that she did like it from the way she closed her eyes to let it flow over her, swaying her body gently to and fro. Imai smiled to himself as he sang and played the sultry tune that would be so much better once the rest of the arrangement was finished, especially the throbbing bass line and steady pounding of the drums.

  It was probably a good thing she couldn’t understand these words because this had to be one of the most sexually charged compositions he’d ever done. And it was written with her in mind, the words filling his mind the instant he’d awakened this morning to find her gone and his body aching with need for her.

  Wanting you my touch is weak

  I dream of you before me

  The beauty, the power

  I kneel at your feet

  Kiss dewy pink skin

  I worship you with my passion

  Drink from your well

  Drown in your heat.

  He let the last chord vibrate a little longer, and then lifted his foot off the pedal. His body still ached with the same need for her now as it had this morning as he composed this song. “It wasn’t too awful, I hope,” Imai said with a dry smile.

  Beside him, a soft sigh escaped from Kim. “I don’t think I’ve heard anyone sing more…beautifully,” she whispered. “I couldn’t understand the words, but the emotion in them…there was so much, I don’t know…” Her words trailed off. That faint, rosy blush coloring her cheeks deepened, and Imai wondered where else she might be blushing.

  Imai turned in his seat so he was almost facing her. “What did the lyrics mean to you?” he asked.

  “Never mind,” she shook her head. “It’s ‑‑ it’s probably silly.”

  “Tell me.” Imai placed his hand over hers on her lap. She gave him a half-embarrassed look, but smiled when he squeezed her hand gently. “Please.”

  “Longing,” Kim said quietly, and Imai caught his breath. “Maybe it’s just me, but it felt like the lyrics carried this sense of desire, or maybe even a little loneliness.” She looked away and rolled her eyes. “Silly, right?”

  “Why?” Imai asked.

  “Because…” She looked back, and there seemed to be a hint of sadness in her eyes. “You can have anyone you want, so why would you ever long for anybody?”

  “How do you know?’

  “What?”

  “How do you know I can have anyone I want?”

  She gave him
a look as if he’d just turned lime green. “You’re famous, wealthy, gorgeous, charming ‑‑ who in their right mind would turn you away?”

  “You?”

  Her jaw dropped open and she simply stared.

  “It’s written all over your face,” he said bitterly, closing the cover over the piano keys. Kim stared at him, her mouth open but no words coming out.

  “Just forget it.” Imai pushed away, wincing when he put too much weight on his leg. “I feel so fucking stupid.”

  “Wait.” Kim finally found her voice it seemed and moved to his side. “What are you saying?”

  “That I’m going to bed.” Imai sounded tired, even to himself. He paused when Kim slipped her hand in his.

  “Imai, stop.” She furrowed her brow and pressed her lips in a thin line. “I want you tell me the truth.”

  “That I think I love you?” He gave a short, hollow laugh. “But that wouldn’t be professional.”

  Kim’s grip on his hand tightened. “Me? You think you might love…me?”

  He pulled his hand away from hers. “Why do you find that so hard to believe?”

  “Well, I…I’m not like those models and jetsetters you’re used to ‑‑”

  “Exactly. You’re a real woman. A complex, intelligent woman who lives a genuine life and doesn’t exist in some superficial world of parties and photo shoots, society and gossip columns.”

  She bit her lower lip in that way of hers, and tears began to well up in her eyes. One trickled down her flushed cheek, and he instinctively reached out to wipe it away. She grabbed his hand, held it close to her face.

  “Please tell me you mean that. Please promise me this isn’t just some game to see if you can get the stupid fat girl into bed then toss her aside.” More tears came. “I went through that once with my husband. I couldn’t bear it again.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Imai brushed away her tears with his fingertips and then with his lips. “Only a complete fool would hurt you that way,” he whispered, stepping back to cup her chin.

  “Maybe I was the fool.” Kim sniffled. “For even believing someone would care for me.”

  “Don’t say that.” The sharp tone of Imai’s voice made her gasp. “Don’t even think it for a moment.”

  “I just ‑‑ I just don’t want to make another mistake,” Kim whispered. “My heart can’t stand being broken again.”

  Imai leaned forward and gently kissed the crown of her head. “I’d never forgive myself if I hurt you, Kim.”

  “Oh, Imai.” Her voice shook with pent up emotion, and she couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. This was like the one favorite song of Mandy’s from another Japanese band that spoke of “dreaming a dream in a dream.”

  “Please don’t cry,” Imai said, his own tone a bit hoarse. “You’ve come to mean the world to me.”

  Kim sniffled and smiled through the tears. “I believe you. I’m just so happy.”

  He pulled her into an embrace and she clung to him, welcoming his kiss and the caress of his hands on her back. He broke the kiss, teased her ear with the tip of his tongue. “Come upstairs with me. I won’t force you into anything. I just want you to stay the night. I want to wake with you in my arms.”

  Kim wiped the last of her tears away and nodded. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

  Smiling, Imai dropped his hand to her lower back. “Come,” he breathed and led her toward the staircase.

  When they reached the bedroom, he dimmed the lights so the room was cast in a soft, pale glow. Imai guided her to the edge of the bed, his fingers loosening the ponytail at the base of her neck. He ran his fingers through her hair and caressed the side of her face. “I was attracted to you the first time I laid eyes on you,” he admitted.

  “Really?” Her tone carried all the doubt that was in her heart.

  “Don’t do that to yourself,” Imai said. “Because one bastard was too stupid to realize what a wonderful person he had, doesn’t make you anything less than the beautiful, sexy woman you are.”

  Her skin quivered under his touch, and she sucked in her breath. “This is a dream…or maybe I just don’t know what a real man is like.”

  “If it’s a dream, then I don’t want to wake up either.” Imai kissed her tenderly.

  He pulled her close, and she could feel the press of his erection against her leg through the thin layers of silk he wore. She felt herself grow warm and even wetter than she’d been last night. He kissed her again and slid his hands up under her sweatshirt to caress her bare flesh, his deep voice murmuring his building desire.

  Kim felt him shift all his weight to his good leg, and she pulled back. “You need to lie down, get the pressure off your leg. You should take one of the new pain pills.”

  “I don’t want anything to dull my senses now.”

  Kim smiled. “And I don’t want your pain to lessen your pleasure.”

  “It’s going to take a lot worse to ruin my pleasure where you’re concerned.” Imai smiled coyly, tracing a fingertip along her chin and lower lip until she purred. “As long as you’re with me, that’s all I’ll know.”

  But he sat on the edge of the bed, his hands gliding up and down her hips as he urged her to come close. Imai rolled up the bottom of her sweatshirt so his lips touched the bare skin above her navel.

  Soft noises worked their way from Kim’s throat. She found herself pulling the sweatshirt completely off, so she stood before him bare breasted. He rolled his fingers over her hard nipples, his palms cupping the full softness of her breasts.

  “You’re wet again, aren’t you?” he teased.

  “Dripping, I think.” She sighed. She teased him by undoing the button and zipper of her denim shorts and slipping her hand inside to stroke herself. “Definitely dripping.”

  “I don’t believe you,” he teased back before tugging the shorts and panties down. His lips curved into a wicked grin when he saw that the red fabric of her panties was dark with wetness. He gently pulled her hand free, then slowly licked her fingers clean. “I think I could live on the taste of you forever.”

  A low groan spilled from Kim’s lips. The feel of his tongue on her fingers sent a jolt through her entire body, especially between her legs. The heat rushed to her throbbing sex, and she spread her knees apart hungrily. Her heart thumped within her breast with anticipation. She wanted to feel the silky touch of his tongue and lips against the heat pulsing between her legs. She imagined herself kissing him afterwards, savoring the taste of her own juices on his mouth.

  After one last suck on her fingertips, Imai gave her a sultry smile and moved his hand down. His fingers stroked along the wet slit before slowly pushing inside her hot depths.

  She rocked against him, one hand gripping his shoulder for support. “Oh God, Imai, I want you so much.” Her eyes were heavy lidded as he pulled his hand away and licked her sweet essence away once more.

  He slipped off his robe, then let her pull off his T-shirt and silk boxers. He sucked in his breath when the cooler air of the room touched his hot flesh and groaned when she stroked her hand over the head of his cock, spreading the thick precum with her fingers.

  He pushed himself back onto the bed and reached into the nightstand for a condom. Kim took the small packet from him and tore it open. She climbed onto the bed and knelt between his spread legs, leaning in to lick the full, hard length of him before slipping the condom on.

  Smiling, she slid herself down on the bed and began to undo the Velcro fastenings of the supportive plastic boot cast. “You have to promise not to exert yourself.”

  “Oh, I’ll try not to.”

  She grinned, then kissed her way up the length of the elastic bandage binding his leg. She moved to straddle him, her sex poised over him. She covered his mouth with hers, her tongue teasing his before breaking away to kiss a searing path down the center of his chest. She rose, ran her palms back and forth across his sensitive nipples, and lowered herself upon him. He could feel the heat
of her through the latex of the condom, feel her tightness gently pulsing around him.

  Imai tangled his hands in her hair and tugged her down for another kiss, this one slower, deeper, more urgent. He nipped her lower lip, fixed his stare on her pretty blue eyes. “I don’t mean to be indelicate, love, but I need you to fuck me.”

  “With pleasure,” Kim said, her voice husky with lust. She closed her eyes, tilting her head back as she slid herself over him.

  A groan rumbled in Imai’s chest as Kim rocked back and forth. She rode the hard length, his cock pushing deeper into her willing body. “God,” he moaned. “You’re so tight…you’ve been neglected for too long.”

  He smoothed his hands over her hips and matched her pace with long, powerful thrusts. She kept time with him perfectly and moved his hand, begging for him to touch her as well. Her wetness was incredible and the knowledge that he roused such desire in her made him want her all the more. He stroked his fingers over the swollen lips of her smooth pussy, loving the way she whimpered and pushed against him, all the while riding him. She cried out, gasping his name when he stroked the pad of his thumb across her clit, then massaged it in quick little circles.

  She chanted his name like a mantra as they raced toward orgasm. Imai arched his back, half-sitting as the rush seized him. Moaning with his lips pressed against her throat, he erupted with a shudder that wracked his entire body. She followed soon after, clinging to him and biting his shoulder as the orgasm shook her through and through, her hot folds clenching his still-hard cock, pulsing around him and making him shudder with the pleasure of it all once more.

  He collapsed back against the pillows, taking her with him, not wanting to leave the soft confines of her body. He kissed her deeply and wiped the sweat-dampened strands of hair back from her beautiful, flushed cheeks. “It’s never felt so good,” he whispered against her ear.

  Kim pulled back and looked at him with an intensity that he’d never seen. This was a special woman, and he’d never let her go. A tear slid from the corner of her eye, and he felt his heart sink, felt himself begin to go limp within her. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you? Was it not good for you?”