“So I was a pawn?”
“No. You were more of a rook.”
Great.
“Your presence also put our upper-level employees on notice that you were still crucial to the company. You always intended to return to Okada. Whether that meant you’d reclaim the position you left? I don’t think you have that figured out. But I do know if you’d truly walked away, when I asked you to negotiate on Okada’s behalf, you would’ve told me no.”
Shiori’s face heated. “That’s what I mean. I couldn’t say no to you. I was supposed to be figuring out my personal life, and instead I’m micromanaging my accounts from thousands of miles away because I don’t believe anyone could ever do my job as well as I do.” Her eyes smarted with tears. “This sabbatical to the States proved nothing. It changed nothing.”
Her mom clasped Shiori’s hands. “Wrong. It changed you. It’s shown you that you’re entitled to a life. Even in the midst of your nasty divorce, you carried on at work like you were invincible.”
“How else was I supposed to act? Broken?” She closed her eyes. “You know how corporate life is. Don’t show weakness. Don’t show emotion. Be the first worker in and the last one to leave—even if you’re the CEO’s granddaughter, maybe especially if you’re that. Take the minimum amount of personal time. Focus, focus, focus. Being a good employee is all that matters. If you show how hard you can work, you’ll move up the ladder and get bogged down with even more work. But hey, you can almost see the Tokyo skyline from your corner office if you look over the mountain of paperwork on your desk.
“So I ran away. Had my fun. Lived in the States and worked for my brother. Made some friends. Fell in love.” Needing to backtrack, she said, “I finally had some free time to pursue my love of art and learned that I don’t have untapped talent as a painter.”
Her mom laughed. “Same thing happened to me after you went off to school. I had it in my head I could create fancy tea cakes. Even when I devoted a fair amount of time to it . . . I didn’t improve. And because I didn’t improve, I didn’t enjoy it.” Her eyes searched Shiori’s. “Did you enjoy the process of painting even if you didn’t love the end product?”
“Sometimes.”
“Then it wasn’t wasted time.” She smoothed Shiori’s hair from her forehead. “None of your time away was squandered.”
“So what happens now?”
“With your future with Okada? I’d love to dangle a huge promotion in front of you to keep you and my impending grandbaby close by.” She smiled through her tears. “It really destroys my plans to spoil that child when you’re in love with the baby’s father and I doubt he’ll be down with his child—and you—living in Japan.”
Shiori managed a small smile. “Knox grew up in a single-parent home. He’ll never agree to a periphery role in his child’s life, and I’d never ask him to. I don’t want him to have a secondary role in my life either.”
“Then tell him, Shiori-san. While I’m glad you came to me, now you need to go to him and figure this out.”
“I know.”
“Has he called you?”
“Like twenty times.”
“Call him back.” Her mom clasped her hands and pulled her upright. “As much as I love having you here, I do have a social engagement tonight that I cannot break. Tell you what. Go to your apartment, change your clothes, figure out what you’re going to say to him. Then look around and see if you can envision yourself living in that space with a baby.”
Shiori envisioned herself living in Knox’s house with him and their baby.
Soft lips brushed her forehead. “Have the life you were meant to. If that life means I’ll be making a lot of trips to the States to see my grandchild, so be it.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“It’s what I’m here for.” She stood. “I’ll call for a car. I don’t think you’re feeling well enough to take the bus.”
* * *
SHIORI arrived at the Okada building an hour later, feeling somewhat better. She’d needed the comfort of her mom, the comfort of home more than she realized.
She didn’t recognize the security guard on the main level. Since this was a public building, security procedures were minimal until the fortieth floor, which was where private residences started. In the elevator she swiped her keycard and punched in a code.
Nothing had changed in the small waiting area on her floor, and she cut down the left hallway.
Home sweet home.
Shiori unlocked the door, dropped her duffel bag on the floor, and tossed her keycard on the catchall table like she always did. That’s when she noticed her spare keycard was already there. Strange. Had Amery left it?
Awareness of something being not quite right set the hair on the back of her neck on end. She quietly removed her shoes and listened.
Nothing.
But wait. She closed her eyes and inhaled. The scent that hit her nearly buckled her knees. Warm skin with a hint of male musk and laundry soap.
Knox.
Don’t be silly. He’s not here. It’s just wishful thinking.
As Shiori turned the corner from the foyer into the living room and stopped, a loud gasp escaped her lips.
Knox was here. Shirtless, stripped down to his boxers, on his knees, head bowed, facing away from her.
Holy fuck.
Knox.
Was.
Here.
On. His. Knees.
Waiting. For. Her.
Immediately she closed the distance between them. She fell to her knees behind him, stretching herself over his back, pressing her face between his shoulder blades. The familiar scent of him filled her lungs, quickened her heartbeat, and soothed her soul. “Tell me I’m not dreaming.”
“You’re not dreaming, Mistress.”
Shiori held on to him for the longest time, letting her tears fall freely onto his back.
She gathered herself as she placed kisses up his spine to the nape of his neck. She moved to stand in front of him. “Look at me, please.”
Knox lifted his head. Those blue eyes held such resolve.
“Why are you here?”
“Because I love you. It’s been the worst three days of my life, not knowing what I’d done or said to make you leave.”
She curled her hands around his face. “Say it again.”
“I love you.” He blew out a breath. “Have I fucked this up beyond repair, Nushi? That would kill me.”
“Why?”
“It’s been my greatest joy to belong to you. To love you.”
Such simple, beautiful words.
“But if you don’t want me here, don’t want me as yours—”
She slammed her mouth down on his to shut him up. The kiss was electric from the start. A reunion, her affirmation, his repentance.
Knox recognized all the things this kiss was. His hands clutched her hips, and he gave himself over to her completely.
Shiori might’ve let the kiss go on forever until she got a crick in her neck and realized Knox had to be uncomfortable too. Still, she broke the kiss slowly, easing off in increments. Then her gaze hooked his. “You are mine. I love you, Knox. So much that it scares me.”
“Say it again.”
“I love you.”
His eyes softened. “Don’t be scared. We belong together. You know this. I will fight for you. Hell, I’ll even fight you to have you.”
The sound that exited her trembling lips was part laugh, part sob.
“You might outrank me, but I promise I won’t follow the rules. I won’t fight fair when I’m fighting for the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“You have that wrong. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
The joy that lit his handsome face cued the waterworks again.
“Since I’m already on my knees, although I’d rather not do this half damn naked . . .” Knox reached down and picked up a blue velvet box. Hi
s gaze locked on to hers. “I love you. Whether I call you Shiori, or She-Cat, or Mistress, or Nushi, or Shihan. You are all those to me, but there is one thing I want to spend the rest of my life calling you. My wife.” He paused. “Will you marry me?”
Shiori gasped. She placed her hand on his chest to center herself, and she could feel his heart beating erratically. “Yes.”
He briefly closed his eyes and exhaled. “Thank you.”
“Did you really think I’d say no?”
“I wasn’t sure. I didn’t think you’d run off to Japan without telling me either, so this whole trip was a shot in the dark.”
Silly man. She sniffled but let her tears fall without shame. “What’s in the box?”
“A promise that I’ll be everything you’ll ever need. I wanted you to feel how I do every time I look at the bracelet you bestowed on me.”
“Put it on me.”
“Bossy.” Knox kissed the base of her hand before he draped the delicate chain over her wrist. Then the two ends were attached to a heart-shaped lock. Once he snapped it on . . .
“It locks?”
“Yes, ma’am. I have the key. I’ll always keep it safe.”
Did he know what that meant to her?
Yes, of course he did.
She looked from the Tiffany box to the platinum bracelet to the way his eyes shone. “You one-upped me, didn’t you, Ob-Knox-ious?”
“Yep.” He grinned. “I’ll get you a traditional engagement ring, if you want me to show my public claim on you, but this is a private commitment.”
Shiori trapped his face in her hands and kissed him. “I didn’t think I could love you more than I already do, but I was wrong.” Another kiss. “Please get off your knees and hold me.”
When he wrapped her in his arms, his skin held a chill.
“You’re freezing. How long have you been waiting for me?”
“Your mother called after you left her place, so probably about an hour.”
She tilted her head back and studied him. “She knew you were here?”
“I called her before I flew in. I needed to make sure you’d see me and Okada wouldn’t toss me out on my ass for showing up at your apartment even when Amery gave me a key.”
“Did my mom say anything to you?”
Knox’s gaze narrowed. “Besides she was happy I’d chased after you? No. Why?”
“I have something to tell you. But let’s get you warmed up first.” She took his hand, intending to take him to her bed and crawl under the covers with him.
But the stubborn Viking wouldn’t budge. “No. Tell me now.”
She moved in close so they were body to body. “Remember that I still felt nauseous after my accident?”
He nodded.
“The day you had all those meetings at Black Arts, I got sick again and decided to call the car service to take me to a walk-in clinic.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you needed to go in? Baby, I would’ve dropped everything to take you.”
“I know. But Ronin had already come down hard on you, so I wanted to spare you further chastising and went alone.”
“What happened at the doctor’s office?”
She pressed her palms against his pectorals. “The doctor ran a bunch of tests.” The words stuck in her throat, bogged down by her guilt.
Then his big hands were cradling her face. “Tell me.”
“I’m pregnant.”
He blinked. Frowned. Knox shook his head as if he’d misheard her. “Say that again.”
“I’m pregnant. That’s why I continued to be sick even after the accident.”
Shock distorted his features. His mouth opened and then snapped shut. “But we . . .”
“Used condoms every time. Except for that first time.” Shiori closed her eyes. “I took the morning-after pill like I told you I would. But it didn’t work for some reason.”
He said nothing.
Finally she said, “I’m sorry.”
“For?”
“Not telling you first. For making you chase me here.”
“Is that what you came over to tell me the night I was a drunken asshole? That you were pregnant?”
She nodded.
“Look at me.”
Shiori lifted her lashes despite the weight of tears on them.
“Are you sorry you’re pregnant?”
“No.”
Knox crushed her to his chest. “Thank god.” His big body shuddered as he kissed the top of her head.
She felt like she was the only thing holding him up. “Let me go.”
“Never gonna let go of you again.”
She tried to squirm out of his hold, but he was having none of it. So she had to bring out the Domme voice. “Knox. Let go. If you faint, you’ll take me down with you.”
“I’m not gonna faint.” Then he lowered to his knees again. This time his focus was entirely on her abdomen. “Show me.”
“There’s not much to see.” She pulled her T-shirt over her head.
Immediately Knox tugged down her yoga pants. Gently holding her hips, he dragged his mouth all over her belly. “A baby. Jesus. Our baby is in here.”
She hadn’t been sure how he’d react, but she hadn’t expected this. “You aren’t upset?”
“Surprised? Yes. Upset? Not on your fucking life.”
“Why not?”
“Because I love you.” Soft kisses around her belly button. “Because this baby is meant to be.” More soft kisses. “Think of what this sprout survived in the past eleven weeks.” Knox looked up at her. His eyes were wet, heavy with emotion.
And her love for him grew even more. She shivered when his lips teased her stomach. “I’m relieved you asked me to marry you before you found out about the baby.”
“I want you for you, Nushi. Little sprout is just sprinkles on the cupcake.” He stroked the hard lump above her pubic bone with his thumbs. “You felt any movement?”
“No. But I do have pictures, and I got to hear the heartbeat.” She ran her hand through his hair. “I wanted you there beside me so badly at that point I cried.”
“I will be beside you for every damn thing from here on out. No matter what happens at Black Arts or Okada. No matter if we live in the States or in Japan.”
“You’d move here for me?”
“Woman, I’d do anything for you.”
His blue eyes held so much love and heat and respect it was hard to speak around the lump in her throat. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
That roiling sensation started pushing past her sternum. “I’m
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