Ice Blue - Anne Stuart [85]
He rose, and for once he didn’t tower over her. The three-inch heels brought her closer to her baby sister’s height, though still a bit shorter than Taka.
The shower had revived her, brought her brain back to life, and with it all her doubts and emotions. She shoved them to the recesses of her mind—she had to deal with this one minute at a time, and the startled look in his eyes, quickly masked, was reward enough.
He stood, staring at her for a long moment. “What?” she demanded in a low voice. “You didn’t think I could clean up well?”
He put his hand on the side of her neck, and she didn’t jerk away, couldn’t. He pressed his beautiful mouth against hers, briefly, and she could feel her body rise to his touch, her lips clinging for a moment.
And then he released her. “My family will love you,” he said, the image of sincerity. “Particularly my mother. She’s waited so long to be a grandmother.” He put his long-fingered hand on Summer’s flat stomach, and she jumped, nervous. Aroused.
She didn’t know whether he was trying to rattle her or simply lure her into playing the part completely. She didn’t like it, though she wasn’t quite sure why. Maybe because the reality of it would have been so piercingly sweet.
She gathered the only defense she had left. “I hope so, Taka-chan,” she said.
There was an odd gentleness in his smile. “You’re far too easy to love, Su-chan.” His affectionate name for her was a worthy comeback. Harder to bear, because he made it sound so believable. He stepped back, breaking their contact. “My cousin should be here by now,” he added. “If you’re ready?”
He couldn’t hold on to her, the hard-shell golf case and his own suitcase. She could run when they reached the main part of the terminal, and he’d have to choose between the Hayashi treasure or her.
But she’d accepted the fact that she wasn’t going to run. She was trapped in a foreign land with a man who killed, but he was still her best chance at staying alive. Besides, where would she go? She had the fake passport, credit cards and a wad of paper money in the Coach handbag that was part of what she could only think of as a disguise. She had a minimal knowledge of the language, and even in the U.S., where she had all her resources, she had been helpless when she came up against Takashi and the Shirosama.
Here, in their own country, it would be even worse. She had no choice but to play out this hand. It didn’t help that she could still feel Taka’s soft lips against hers.
“I should warn you about my cousin,” he said just before they headed out into the winter afternoon.
“Is he anything like you?”
“Reno is like no one else on this earth. He doesn’t care much for Americans.”
“That hardly makes him unique. We’re not terribly popular, and for good reason.”
“His are a bit more…personal. Just don’t let him get to you, and I’ll make him behave.”
Not the words to instill confidence, she thought, stepping through the automatic doors and taking her first breath of fresh air in God knows how long. She could smell the sea. She stood for a moment, breathing it in, when Taka spoke.
“There he is.”
She turned, and the first thing she saw was the white limo—just like the ones used by the Shirosama and his crew. Summer froze, ready to make a run for it, when she caught sight of the figure leaning against the side of the car.
Not one of the Shirosama’s brethren. He was dressed entirely in black leather, sunglasses covering most of his face, and he had red hair. Bright crimson, a shade not found in nature, and as he pushed