by Donna Hill
“I work for Ichitaro. She pay for this trip to America to bring baby. She is the proprietress of the teahouse…”
“Teahouse?”
“Yes,” Suki smiled. “It is where the gentlemen come to be entertained. I am a geisha in training,” she added with pride. “Ichitaro say I will make wonderful geisha and does not want to lose me. One day I will own my own teahouse and be very successful like Ichitaro.”
A whorehouse. Dear Lord she’s a prostitute. “My…husband met you at this…this teahouse?”
“Yes.”
Claudia straightened her spine and jutted her chin. “Then how do you know this baby belongs to my husband?” she demanded.
Suki lowered her brilliant black eyes, focusing on the tiny baby suckling at her breast. “James…first man for me.” She looked up and met Claudia’s painstricken eyes. “That’s how I know.” She nodded her head sadly. “That’s how I know…”
Claudia turned away from the window, from the garden that bloomed with brilliant life and faced her husband. “I never thought I’d ever get over the betrayal, the anger, the humiliation I felt. How could I go on? How could I face my family, my friends? I wanted to die. But I couldn’t because she’d left that baby for me to take care of. It was so ironic,” she added sadly, “that we could never have children and here I was raising some other woman’s son. A child that you gave her but were never able to give me.” Her voice grew in strength. “But I did go on. Because I wasn’t going to let this come between us. I convinced myself that in a moment of weakness and loneliness, you and she…” She swallowed back the thought, recrossed the room and sat back down.
“Claudia, I never wanted to hurt you. When I met Suki, I was young and vulnerable. She was exotic, different. I thought I was in love. But it was separate from what we had. That was another life. You were my life.”
“But you kept going back to her.”
He looked at her with wide-eyed surprise.
“You think I didn’t know? I knew.” She looked down at her hands. “She wrote to me for the first year after she left Max. Oh yes, I have letters from Suki, too.” She paused for effect. “She would tell me whenever you came to visit, how long you’d stay and how well you looked. She always asked about Max and was he growing to be as handsome as his father. But she always reassured me that these were two different lives that you led—and that I shouldn’t worry. Life with her was a fantasy, because that was what she did, make men’s fantasies come true. I was your real life, the one you would come back to.”
James took her hands. “I did come back, Claudia. I know I made a shambles of your life. Because of me we had to pack up and move just to give some sort of legitimacy to Maxwell’s life before he got old enough to ask questions or listen to the gossip from the neighbors.” He shook his head in remorse. “And then the lies began. But what else could I do? How could I tell my son I was already married when he was born?”
Claudia took a deep breath. “There’s nothing to do now but go forward, James. We’ve weathered many storms together. I too closed myself off from being the mother Maxwell needed. I have making up to do as well.” She reached for her husband’s hand. Her eyes pleaded with him. “This time, we’ll do it together.”
James pulled his wife to him, burying his face in her pillow-soft hair. “Oh, Claudia, can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me for all of the pain I’ve caused you?”
“I forgave a long time ago, sweetheart. It’s time that you forgave yourself.”
Chapter 15
“If you want to talk, Reese, I’d rather do it in person. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“I don’t recall your asking to come here,” she tossed out, the excitement of seeing him bubbling through her veins.
Max grinned. “Consider the question asked and answered, Ms. Delaware. I’ll be there shortly.” He hung up before she had a chance to respond.
Reese hung up the phone, turned to Lynnette and giggled. “He’s on his way.”
“Of course he is. What did you expect?” Lynnette got up from the couch. “I’m only staying long enough to meet tall, dark, and handsome and then I’m out of here. But—if the two of you decide to take another one of your secret trips, please say goodbye before you go. My flight is at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow and I won’t see you until whenever you get back in the States.”
“I promise. And you’re right. I don’t expect we’ll be back in less than a month. Max said he has three separate facilities in Tokyo to visit.”
“That’s going to be so exciting, Reese. I swear I envy you. Not only do you get to travel with the man of your ‘current’ dreams, you get to visit probably one of the most mystical places on the planet.”
Reese smiled. “That’s what I thought,” she chuckled. “But according to Max, Japan is just like any other bustling country only more crowded.” She shook her head. “But I have a strong feeling there are a lot of answers in Japan. Answers that will give me the pieces of the puzzle I need to put Maxwell Knight completely together. The article is beginning to take on shape, but it’s still all surface. I’ve battled with myself to keep my personal feelings out of it. I want to probe beneath the surface and immerse myself in all the aspects that make him the man he is. There’s so much of him tied to Japan, and he hasn’t found a way to totally deal with it. I know when he finally comes to grips with that part of his reality, he’ll be whole. Maybe finding some of the answers about his mother and his Japanese heritage is what he needs. Everyone needs to know their roots and from where they came so they’ll know where they’re going.”
“If anyone can find answers, it’s you, Reese. It never ceases to amaze me how you are always able to turn up the most elusive pieces of information and tie it all together.”
She sighed heavily. “I’m always searching, Lynn. I guess by digging up other family trees, I’m secretly hoping to reclaim my own roots.”
“It’ll all come together, Reese. For you and for Max.” She stared pensively at her friend. “Whatever it is that’s happening between you is acting as a catalyst to your memory. Both of you were brought together for a reason, to somehow help each other. Maybe he to help unlock you memory and you to help unlock his past. Don’t fight it,” she urged. “It may be the only way either of you will be whole.”
I sure hope you’re right, girlfriend. Want a refill on your tea?”
“Sounds good.” She handed Reese her empty glass, just as the doorbell rang.
Both women looked wide-eyed at each other.
“Behave,” Reese warned, pointing a finger in Lynnette’s direction, while heading for the door. She took a quick look through the peephole and her heart did a hard knock. She looked over her shoulder and mouthed “it’s him.” Lynnette gave her the thumbs-up sign.
Slowly she opened the door and tried to look totally casual and aloof with one hand on her hip and her full mouth pinched as if she’d just tasted something sour.
“I’m glad to see you, too,” Maxwell greeted, seeing straight through her. He stepped up to her, slipped his arm around her waist, and took what he’d been savoring on the entire ride to the hotel.
The instant Maxwell’s hot, wet lips took hers, Reese forgot all about Lynn, the fact that she was supposed to be upset about Victoria, and anything else that didn’t have to do with how Maxwell Knight was making her feel right at that moment.
He moaned against her mouth, while flicking his tongue across her lips. “I missed you, baby. I didn’t think sleeping alone was going to be so hard. We’re going…”
Movement over her shoulder caught his eye. Slowly he stepped back, giving Reese her footing. She looked curiously up at him, wondering why he’d stopped the erotic assault on her body. Lynnette. Reese spun around, and if she had been as fair as Lynn, she would have turned beet red with embarrassment. Fortunately, her deep chocolate complexion protected her. But she felt the fire burning under her skin nonetheless.
Lynnette stood across the room, with one hand propped be
neath her chin, supported by her arm that crossed her waist. Dropping both hands to her sides, a slow smile spread across her face. In long-legged strides she crossed the room, her eyes like radar on Maxwell.
“You are obviously Maxwell Knight,” she said, placing one kiss on his right cheek and then his left. “Otherwise, my friend here has a lot of explaining to do. If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m Lynnette Campbell and I’m on my way out of the door.” She brushed by Maxwell who grinned with unabashed astonishment.
“Pleasure,” he mumbled to the departing figure.
“Believe me, it was all mine.” She gave him a seductive wink and a smile. “Call me, Reese,” Lynnette tossed out over her shoulder. She stepped onto the elevator with a wave and was gone.
Maxwell shook his head and began to laugh until he was doubled over with water squeezing out of his eyes. He stumbled over to the couch and plopped down on it, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. “Whew, your friend is a real winner. You should have warned me.”
Reese fell into the spot next to him. “Believe me, you can’t be warned about Lynnette. She defies explanation,” she chuckled.
“That she does.” He angled his body toward her and slid his arm along the back of the couch. “I understand you have some business you want to discuss with me.” He let his fingers trail along the back of her neck while he spoke. “Sounded very important.”
Reese opened her mouth to speak, but Maxwell put a finger to her lips. “Before you get started nailing me to the cross, I just want to say this one thing in my own defense. Victoria Davenport means nothing to me. We met yesterday to finally settle some unfinished business—verbally—over lunch.” He pursed his lips and lowered his gaze. “She finally explained a few things…that…I needed to know, and that was good, but it ended there. I took her to the airport and she’s back in Virginia.” He looked into her eyes and tilted up her chin with the tip of his finger. “Listen to me Reese, I’ve crossed some serious lines with you. I’m still trying to deal with that reality.” He ran a hand across his hair. “I’m not the kind of man that goes backward—no matter what the incentive. When a relationship is over for me, it’s over. I don’t know what the future will hold for you and me, but I’m not going to be looking behind me to find out. If you want me to trust you with my thoughts, my feelings, and my heart—” he tapped his chest “—then you have to trust me equally.”
Reese swallowed back the swell of emotion that lodged in her throat. “What I can promise you, Maxwell Knight, is that I will always try,” she whispered.
He brushed a thumb across her lips. “I can’t ask for any more than that, Reese.” He leaned over and tenderly touched his lips to hers, taking in the soft texture of her lips before entering the sweet warmth of her mouth. His tongue dueled expertly with hers, advancing—retreating—giving—taking. He slid his hand down her spine, pulling her as close to him as space would allow. He felt the fullness of her unbound breasts press against his chest and the shock wave shot straight to his hardening penis. “What I will ask for,” he whispered urgently, “is that you give yourself to me again—all of you.” His hands stoked the embers that flickered within her into flames. “Will you do that for me, Reese?” He pressed a hot kiss along the tender side of her neck, running his tongue along its length. “Will you?”
Reese pressed herself closer, winding her slender fingers through his hair, down the side of his jaw, across his wide chest to meet the tiny white buttons that became unfastened beneath her fingertips. She pushed aside the fabric of the gray pin-striped shirt, exposing the soft nest of smooth black hair that partially covered the muscled bronze chest. Bending low, she laved one distended brown nipple and then the other.
A shudder raced through him. Maxwell’s eyes squeezed shut.
“I’ll try,” Reese whispered softly, taking his hand to pull him to his feet. “Let me get started inside.” She led him toward the bedroom and Max kicked the door shut behind them.
They lay nestled together bathed in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Maxwell caressed Reese’s back, contemplating whether or not to tell her of his conversation with his father as he placed featherlike kisses along her face. He didn’t want to frighten her, and maybe this whole thing would blow over once they were in Tokyo. But gut instinct told him otherwise.
Victoria was working with General Murphy, a man to be feared under the simplest of circumstances. His father had also informed him that his friend Larry Templeton was assigned to keep an eye on things and that Max should stay as close to Reese as possible to make Larry’s job a bit easier. Staying close to Reese was not the problem, it was the reason why.
“Reese,” he began softly.
“Hmm?” Reese opened her eyes and looked into his. “What is it?”
“I got a call from my father today…” Maxwell went on to explain how his father found out about Victoria and his concern about her being taken to Chevy Chase, leaving out the part about Larry Templeton.
“You seem to be the key, Reese,” he concluded. “For whatever reason. My father didn’t go into details but I suspect it has to do with his connections to the Special Forces unit.” He paused. “Reese, what did your father do—before the accident?”
Reese swallowed. “According to my aunt Celeste he worked for the Air Force, too. I thought I told you that. He was on the investigative unit, if I remember correctly. Why?”
“Somehow, your father and General Murphy are all tied up in something together. Something that he feels you’ll discover by interviewing me.” He shook his head. “I can’t imagine what it could be. I was just a kid when they would have known each other. And even though my father didn’t come right out and say it, I believe he’s involved in some way as well.”
Reese sat up in the bed. “But what does Victoria have to do with all of this?”
“I don’t know.” He lay back and stared up at the ceiling. “When we talked, she asked a lot of questions about you. At first, I just felt it was natural curiosity. But now…I’m not so sure.”
“I certainly couldn’t give anyone any information. I don’t even remember who I was beyond fifteen years ago.”
“That’s just it. Everything keeps pointing back to that time. And you may be the only one who knows. Now your connection to me is posing a threat to someone.”
“Max, you’re scaring me.”
He pulled her into his arms, burying her face against his chest. “I don’t mean to, sweetheart. I’m sure it’s nothing. My father is so accustomed to everyone having ulterior motives for everything, he’s probably overreacting. I mean Victoria does work for the Air Force. There could have been a million reasons why she went to Chevy Chase.”
Reese mulled over what Maxwell said, and tried to put it in perspective. He was probably right. His father was just overreacting. But what if he wasn’t? Maybe it wasn’t really Max who they were concerned about, but more what he could or could not reveal about his own father.
“Let’s not worry about it,” Max said. “I just want to enjoy our time together. The next few weeks are going to be really hectic.”
Reese nodded, trying to dispel the effects of Maxwell’s revelations and her own shaky conclusions.
“How’s the article coming?”
“It’s coming along,” she replied absently. “I still have to work on getting it in shape and getting the feel that I want. Everyone I talked with has been so helpful. That makes things a lot easier.”
“You do have a way of getting folks to cooperate,” he teased, pinching her lightly on the behind.
“Very funny,” she laughed slapping his hand away. “Max,” she hedged. “I think I remembered something. I was talking with Lynnette about it just before you came over.”
He turned on his side and propped up on his elbow. “Do you want to tell me about it?”
She took a long breath before detailing the remnants of her dream.
“That could mean anything, Reese.”
“I know,” she sa
id with resignation. “I could have been remembering something from anytime in my past.” She sighed. “The only part that upset me was that when I tried to put a face to the figure by the car, I kept seeing you.”
He chuckled deep in his throat. “So you’re seeing me in your dreams now, huh?”
“I’m serious, Max. It really bothered me. Lynn said it was probably transference, or something.”
“She’s probably right,” he said, kissing her solidly on the lips. “Don’t let it get to you. The harder you try to make sense of it the more difficult it will be. Did you write it down?” He gently began to massage her engorged breasts.
“As soon as I woke up,” she said, shuddering from the sensations rippling through her.
“Good. And how about the headaches?” he crooned.
“I felt the onset of one this morning,” she hissed between her teeth, as his touch became more demanding. “But I nipped it in the bud.”
“When we get to Tokyo—” he took a hardened nipple in his mouth, then released it “—I want to take you to this place where they teach Tai chi. It’s an excellent form of relaxation.” His hand slipped between the juncture of her thighs, parting the tangle of black hair to make a path to the already wet cavern. “It will do wonders for the stress and headaches. And maybe you can stop taking the medication.”
Reese rolled her hips and spread her trembling thighs to give him better access. “I’ll try anything,” she moaned softly.
“But in the meantime,” he said in a husky whisper, pulling her on top to straddle him, “maybe this will help.”
Inch by delicious inch she felt him fill her. Yet he held her immobile with a steely grip until he reached full entry before letting her take the lead. And as they began to move together in unison, the shadows that stalked them soon became incinerated in the heat of their passion.
“Well, it’s pretty obvious that we’re not going to get any work done wrapped up in each other’s arms.” Maxwell yawned, tweaking Reese on the nose.