I groaned as my palm heavy-handedly smacked her bottom cheek before squeezing it avariciously. “You’re really getting ittonight.”
“I look forward to it.” She kissed me softly, thoroughly,painstakingly.
It couldn’t be helped. I was unequivocally mesmerized. She was the ultimate tease. “Christ, Gisele. You’vebewitchedme.”
“Good. Now we’re even,” she cheekily stated, earning her another firm smack on thebottom.
Arm secured around mine, we headed downstairs. The chauffeured car was at the curb the moment we stepped foot outside the hotel. We were immediately greeted with the cool air. Placing a firm hand on Gisele’s backside, I led us towards ourawaitingride.
The Michelin star restaurant was located in Azabu, a little gem of a place located in the foothills south of central Tokyo. The Kagami brothers consisted of Haruto, the oldest out of the trio, followed by Kosuke and Takeshi. I’d met them a handful of times. Once here when I came with Peter three years ago and the rest were backstateside.
Though the two younger brothers were pleasant to deal with, the older brother, Haruto, was the one to fully home in on our focus since he made the final decisions. Being the scrupulous one and as the oldest, his approval would ensure we’d continue renewing our contracts with the same terms as Peter previouslynegotiated.
We were warmly received upon entering the famedrestaurant.
Haruto was the first to step forward. “Konbanwa,” he cordially greeted, along with his brothers in a formal bow, a customary greeting where one exhibited respect. Depending on the angle, the lower the bow, the greater therespect.
“Konbanwa,” I smoothly countered back, nodding lower than usual before extending my hand to each sibling, addressing each onebyname.
“It’s good to see you again, Mr. St. James.” Haruto beamed before his attention shifted to the red siren next to me. “Ah, Ms. Weber. Finally, we meet. You have our deepest sympathies. Your father was an extraordinary man. The world mournshisloss.”
Gisele respectively bowed in the same crucial method before surprisingly replying to Haruto in fluent Japanese. The old man’s face lit up before he guffawed, brightly impressed with his guest. The two brothers chimed in on the conversation, mirroring the same reaction as their oldersibling.
Unfortunately for me, I had learned Mandarin, French, and Spanish. So, whatever it was they were discussing, I was inthedark.
Fortunately, the awkward ordeal didn’t drag on. With the formalities out of the way, they led us towards the back of the restaurant where our large party was situated. It seemed being graced by Peter Weber’s only spawn and heir had intrigued quite a few. So much so that every eligible bachelor in their family was brought in to be introduced to Gisele. Another plausible reason was out of curiosity. Due to my meticulous obsession of ensuring she got to have as much privacy as possible, I consistently made sure her pictures never graced the tabloid drivel, and her name was scarcely referenced inthenews.
Gauging their overly animated reaction to her slight bows and warm smiles, awestruck was too mild a word to describe theirexpressions.
Before we took our designated seats, Gisele stood close to me, dipping her mouth close to my ear. “Everything okay, sexy stud? You’resulking.”
Mirroring her low baritone voice, I cocked my head so my lips were close to her but kept my eyes engaged on the rest of the party. The less intimate we appeared, the less inquisitive observers took note. “You never mentioned you spokeJapanese.”
“You never asked.” Her eyes twinkled,amused.
My gaze lingered too long on her lips, noting how my body ardently responded at the sight of her crimson puckers. “Do you have any more surprisesforme?”
One beautiful brow pointedly arched, cheeky. “I don’t think you’ll stay long enough tofindout.”
“Really,Gisele.”
“Yes,really, Mr. St.James.”
Smirking at her mad mission, making sure I understood there was a barrier between us now, I cast her a piercing, primitive gaze, one that entailed all the wicked things I longed to do to that wicked mouth of hers. “The second that bloody door shuts, I’m going to rip that little snug dress off your body, bend you over the nearest chair, and strike that little insolent arse until it’s pinkandsore.”
“I’m sure you would. But until then…” she murmured, letting the words hang between us, teasing me tonoend.
Our gazes locked for a hasty moment. For a wild heart-thumping beat. Senses heightening. Pulses quickening as we instantaneously got engulfed by raw, potent lust. Like a snake, it wrapped around the body, clutching onto it with deft precision, mercilessly constricting its fragile structure as it seized its hapless prey, biding the perfect ripened time to consume itwhole.
“You drive memental.”
“The feeling’smutual.”
The banter went straight to good ole reliable jack. “Bloody hell,I’mhard.”
“Business first. Pleasure later.” Gisele pressed her lips together, stifling a laugh mischievously. “Looks like we’re ready to be seated. Can’t wait to tease you across thetable.”
Bloody hell, woman, I could do with a short reprieve. “One more thing, Gisele. Will you kindly stop flirting! It pisses me off.” I’d perfected the poker-face look for years now, but tonight, I was starting to wonder if this feat was stillattainable.