Page 28

"When my grandparents died, my dad reached out to his brothers.

" He sipped coffee, expression thoughtful.

"You have to understand Haruto Tanaka—that's my dad's name.

He was brought up to believe that certain lifestyles were forbidden, but he loved his younger brothers and strongly believed that family should be united.

He brought them back into the fold and gave them their rightful places in the company.

They respected his old-fashioned tradition and ideals and never flaunted their love lives in front of him.

" He shrugged. "When he died, they, of course, came forward to do their parts and took me under their wings. "

"And your mother? What did she say about all of that? Wasn't she afraid they were going to influence you with their alternate lifestyles?"

A smile tugged at his sensual lips.

"There was never any fear of that." His smile vanished as he toyed with his cup and wondered how far he should go with the telling of the tale. She might not like the rest of it.

Clearing his throat, he picked up his cup and took a sip.

"I want you to know that my past is exactly that—the past."

She gave him a strange look and nodded.

"Okay."

"What I did back then was initiated by my dad."

"Kai, you're scaring me."

"No." He shook his head. "It's nothing catastrophic. Just—" He shrugged helplessly. "And initiation is the right word for it. I guess the old man was making certain that I was a strong heterosexual male." He took another deep breath. "I was introduced to the sexual act at the age of twelve."

Her breath caught, and she stared at him wide-eyed, unsure of what to say. The revelation hung between them like an invisible weight, heavy and suffocating.

"Kai..." she began cautiously, her voice barely above a whisper as a wave of emotions flickered across her face—concern, disbelief, and something else he couldn't quite place. "That's...unthinkable. You were just a child."

He smiled faintly, though the expression didn't reach his eyes.

"It was a different time, a different place.

My father had his reasons, misguided as they might seem now.

" He ran a hand through his hair, clearly uncomfortable but determined to continue.

"He believed he was doing what was best for me, preparing me for the life he thought I should lead.

I don't blame him, not anymore. But it's something that shaped me—shaped how I see the world, relationships, everything. "

She leaned forward, her hands clasped tightly around her cup.

"But...didn't anyone think this was wrong? Didn't anyone protect you?"

He shook his head, his gaze distant.

"In my family, questioning my father was unheard of. He was the pillar of our household, the one who made all the decisions. And back then, I didn't understand it was wrong. I just thought it was what was expected of me."

The silence that followed was thick, both of them grappling with the weight of his words. Finally, she spoke, her voice steady but laced with emotion.

"I really don't know what to say. No wonder you were—uhm, you are—" She gestured with one hand as confusion bloomed on her face.

And it delighted him.

"Mind using your words?" he asked mildly, picking up his cup.

"You were very experienced, even at the age of eighteen. You knew—you knew what to do and all that."

"I did." He nodded solemnly.

"And when you—" She picked up her cup as if to give her hands something to do. "You kissed me there—"

"Where exactly?" He was enjoying himself immensely. "I seem to recall kissing you everywhere. Care to be specific?"

Her glare had him biting back a laugh. It was strange to see her like this. Maxie Priestley appeared to be a woman of the world, sophisticated and confident, but he knew better. She was an innocent in more ways than one. It still amazed him that he was the only man who had been intimate with her.

"You know what I mean, and I'm not satisfying your prurient fantasy by speaking it out loud." Her cultured voice was prim and reminded him of his prep school teacher. "I suppose they were women your dad paid for?"

His levity vanished immediately, and he could tell that it was something that was bothering her.

"If you don't want to discuss it—"

Picking up her fork, she scooped up the rest of her omelet and forced herself to eat.

She had heard of his reputation from friends at school, but this was new information to her.

No matter how open-minded she was, it still appalled her that he had been robbed of his childhood by his narrow-minded father.

She was also trying not to think of the countless women who had paraded through his life.

But he saw the look on her face and interpreted it.

"You're disgusted."

His quiet tone had her feeling slightly ashamed.

"No. I..."

"I don't expect the woman I love to sit in judgment of me." His voice had turned cool and arrogant.

"I'm not..." She set her cup down with a snap, her eyes flashing.

What the hell did he have to be angry with her for? Was it her fault that he was a world-class slut? And how should he expect her to act with what he had just told her?

He saw the expression flashing across her expressive face and received his answer. Pushing back his chair, he rose.

"Where are you going?"

"Why?" He snapped it out. "I thought my company was offensive to you."

She saw red. Pushing back her own chair, she marched over to him and shoved at his chest.

"You sat there and told me you had been having sex since you were damn well twelve.

Twelve! Nothing more than a baby, and you expect me to what?

Just continue sipping coffee and shrug it off?

Well, I'm not that sophisticated. Is that the same thing you're going to do if we have a son?

Hand him over at that age to some—to some floozy to be initiated? "

His eyes fired dangerously.

"The women were chosen carefully and were highly experienced and considerate of my tender age."

She stared at him as if he had grown two heads.

"Well, that makes it quite all right then. They were considerate—Wait!" She stepped back. "Women, as in more than one?"

He saw his mistake when it was too late.

"Two. They came in pairs."

Her brows arched.

"As in buy one, get the other one free?"

He had to make the effort not to laugh then.

"Don't be crass."

Her brows arched even higher.

"I'm being crass? Two for the price of one. Were they doing you at the same time, or was one watching... Oh! I cannot think about it anymore." Shoving past him, she practically ran out of the kitchen.

He stood there wondering how a simple discussion had turned into an argument.

He had seen the astonishment on her face along with the disgust, and it had boiled his blood.

He had taken his upbringing for granted—certainly he did not agree with the extremes his father had gone to just to make certain he was not like his uncles—but it had not been all that bad.

He had garnered a world of experience, ones he was using to bring her the ultimate pleasure.

He had no idea why she should be so...jealous.

Oh, bloody hell! How blind could he be? It was jealousy fueling her emotions.

With a deep sigh, he turned on his heels and went after her.

Maxie was pondering if it would be better for her to go home.

Her chest was tight, and her skin was hot.

She was also trying to convince herself that there was no point at all in being angry with the child.

The father was not here for her to tell him a piece of her mind.

But she could not help it. He had been with all those women.

He had been her first and only, while he had spread himself all over the damn world, flashing his.

.. She clamped down on her treacherous thought and flounced her way over to sit on the supple masculine sofa across from the bed.

She must have been such a disappointment to him. With her fresh, unwelcoming innocence. One who did not know what the hell she was doing.

Had he laughed at her in private? Shaking his head at the "sweet little virgin" he had nailed?

The humiliation of that was drowning her. What had he thought of their first sexual encounter?

Her back went up when he walked in and stopped in the center of the room, staring at her.

"What I did in the past has nothing to do with us."

"Did you laugh?" She was humiliated for asking, but she had to know.

"Pardon?"

The arrogant, cultured tone had her back going up some more.

"When we had sex the first time. Did you laugh? Because it must have been beyond your realm. At the age of eighteen, you had—wow! Six years' experience. Being with someone like me must have set you back. Well? Did you laugh?"

Tamping down the anger, he reminded himself that on his way up here, he had decided he was going to be considerate of her feelings. But by God, she was making it difficult.

"Did it look like I was amused when we were doing it?"

"I don't know. You might have taken a moment in privacy to laugh yourself silly at the fumbling of a virgin."

"Enough." His voice was quiet but had enough steel to let her know that she was treading on dangerous ground.

Bridging the distance, he crossed to her and knelt before her.

"I did not tell you something like that—something I have never shared with another living soul—just to have you condemning me.

I wanted to share—want to share my life with you.

I also did not tell you to boast of my supposed conquests.

One discussion led to another, and I believed I could share things with you—private things. Don't make me out to be a liar."

"You didn't answer the question," she said mulishly.

She wanted to be able to just shrug and be done with it, but her jealousy and what she considered inadequacy had her pressing on.

"Maxie—"

"Did I please you?" Her humiliation was now full-blown. "I did not know what to do half the time, and even now..." She turned her head away and bit her lip. "All those women. I—"

She let out a startled gasp when he hauled her into his arms.

"What are you doing?"

"Using my considerable experience to show you how insane I am for you." He bruised her lips with his as he marched her off towards the bed. "And to shut you up."

"You—" She screamed when he simply dumped her onto the bed.

Before she could react, he had tugged off his robe and trapped her body beneath his.

"I love you." He told her softly. "I have never said that to a single soul before, and I would like you to take my word for it."

Not waiting for her response, he bent his head and kissed her until she was past thinking.