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  "That's a little better." I nuzzled up against his chest, kissing along his sternum. He pulled me closer, stroking one hand through my hair, which had become mussed by our tumble. "How is your head feeling?"

  I took a moment to assess myself. "It's actually feeling a lot better. It doesn't start pounding with every movement." Although I did feel a tad exhausted from our recent exertions, I didn't want him to think I was a weakling. He wrapped me up in a blanket, placing a few more pillows under my head. "You should rest for now, Kat. I need to see if Taro and Himiko have made it back yet."

  Though I wanted to protest, my body was telling me it wanted sleep first, and my eyes drifted closed before I could open my mouth.

  Chapter Four

  When I woke up, the room was completely dark save for a dim lamp lit on the night table. There was a tray of food next to it, and I saw Akihiko resting in a chair by the bed, an open book spread out on his chest. For a moment I felt disoriented as to why there was an attractive man sleeping in the chair next to the bed, but then reality came crashing down around my ears. Ritchie. I was witness to a murder, and this man was the only thing that stood between me and what would probably be a brutal execution.

  I sat up slowly, but my head didn't seem to protest as much as it had earlier. Dinner consisted of some sort of cooked fish paired with white rice and some delicious stir fried vegetables. Picking up the chopsticks, I was suddenly glad I knew how to use them. I ate quietly, not wanting to wake Akihiko. I studied his handsome face a little, glad for the opportunity. His expression was so peaceful in the lamplight, free of the worry I'd seen lining his forehead earlier. Softly I brushed a strand of hair out of his face that was threatening to get in his mouth.

  His eyes opened slowly, and he set the book aside with a groan as he stretched. "You're awake."

  "Yeah. I feel like the laziest woman ever. All I've done lately is sleep."

  He shook his head. "Your body and mind needed the healing that only rest could bring."

  "How are Taro and Himiko?" I remembered him leaving to check on them before I'd passed out.

  "They're both well and returned without injury. My security tells me that the men that were loitering around the front gates have left, but everyone is still keeping a sharp eye out."

  "Aki..." I was hesitant to call him by that name, but he'd told me he didn't mind.

  "Yes?"

  "I'm... well, I want to thank you for earlier. It helped take my mind off things that have been nagging at me ever since I woke up."

  He smiled sweetly. "You are a woman of passion, Kat. I see that now. I am also thankful for the opportunity you gave me."

  I was about to reply when a loud siren interrupted me. Aki shot upright in his chair, his face holding a look of intense alarm. "They've breached the security wall? How?"

  "They?" I felt the color drain from my face. "The cell phone trick didn't fool them."

  He rose, looking furious. "Apparently not. Kat, please stay here." Without another word he strode out. I was too terrified to argue and the sounds of shouting and gunfire were heard outside his window. Rushing over, I looked outside. Uniformed men were lined up neatly all around the house, guns trained into the edges of the grounds where the floodlights didn't quite reach. A few men I assumed were gang members were already lying still on the lawn, having been gunned down before they could set foot near the house. Though I felt appalled, I told myself that they'd be doing the same if given the opportunity.

  I watched Akihiko walk out the front doors wearing a bulletproof vest. He gestured and barked orders, though I couldn't hear him from where I was standing. Abruptly I heard a massive crash, and an armored car burst through the gates, smashing them to bits. Men shouted and dove out of the way as the van drove straight up the driveway and smashed through the front doors. For a moment I was terrified that Aki had been run over, but I saw him off to the side with Taro.

  My relief was short-lived, however, as I heard the doors to the car slamming shut and saw a massive blaze of gunfire from the front door where some of the gang members were. I've gotta do something! But what? I was next to useless in a real fight, and I didn't have a gun with me. Not that I was comfortable using one anyway. Yet I hated the idea of cowering in a dark corner waiting to be found. Voices were calling from the first floor, and I heard footsteps pounding up to the second floor. Glancing around, I noticed the open door to Aki's bathroom and dashed inside, pulling the door shut just as I heard his bedroom door slam open.

  Looking around, there wasn't much that was immediately useful. Except... I yanked the towels off the towel rod and pulled the heavy bar from the wall, trying to be quiet.

  "She's gotta be somewhere! Little bitch can't hide forever!" I recognized the voice of one of Ritchie's goons. I slipped behind the bathroom door just as it was kicked open, narrowly missing the handle slamming into my gut. The second I saw a mop of blonde hair I brought the bar down as hard as I could with a yell, cracking whoever it was over the head. The shock of the blow dropped the man down to a complete faint on the bathroom floor.

  The blonde turned out to be the muscular guy with the tribal tattoo on the back of his neck, and I grinned viciously. "Payback."

  "Aaron, what the hell...?" I heard the other guy rushing over, and readied my grip on the towel bar again. This man was smarter though, and dodged my first swing. "I found her!" He edged away from me and pulled out a gun, training it on my forehead. "You've been a real pain the ass, you know that?"

  There was nothing else I could do. I heaved the towel rod at him as hard as I could. The move took him by surprise, and the rod flipped end over end before bashing him squarely between his eyes. He crumpled to the floor, still looking slightly confused. If this had been the time or place I would have started laughing hysterically at my dumb luck, but I was suddenly yanked back by my braid and dragged back into Aki's room.

  "Kat, Kat, Kat..." Ritchie's hated voice pierced through the sudden sharp pain in my head. He tsked. "What am I going to do with you, you vicious little vixen? You've been such a huge pain. I mean, if only you'd stayed home like you were supposed to." He threw me roughly on the bed, and I froze as I heard the click of a gun’s hammer. "We wouldn't be here, and I could be fucking you right now instead of having to put a bullet in your head."

  "As if I'd ever let you touch me again, you slime!" I was beyond furious, despite staring down the barrel of his gun. "You're the lowest of the low!"

  Another man walked into the room. I recognized him as the leader of the gang, Theon. "So this is the girl?" His voice was cool and collected. Ritchie nodded grimly. "Yeah. Guess she wasn't as dumb as she looks."

  Theon walked up to me, his gait smooth and even. Staring down Ritchie's gun didn't frighten me much, but this man did. There was something absolutely freezing about his demeanor that sent every hair on the nape of my neck prickling. "Where are Aaron and Rick?"

  Ritchie jerked his head at the bathroom. "Somehow she got 'em both in there."

  "With a towel rod," I added vindictively. "Your little gang members didn't even see it coming."

  "You little--!" but Ritchie was cut off as Theon laughed. "A towel rod? I've got to hand it to your little slut, Ritchie. She's feisty."

  I gave him my most venomous look. "I'd do the same to you, you creep."

  He waltzed up to me, cupping my chin in one hand. I wanted to jerk away, but his grip was painfully strong, so I stared him down instead. His blue eyes held no feeling behind them, and for a moment I was afraid I'd be swallowed up by the hollowness I saw. "I'm sure you would, little kitten. Unfortunately you have no towel rod at your disposal at the moment, do you?" He straightened, but still held my jaw in a painful, viselike clamp. "I could use a woman like you. Someone spicy and unafraid."

  Oh dear God... I would have rolled my eyes if Ritchie didn't have a gun pointed at my head. "As if I'd ever work for a sleazeball like you."

  He looked smug. "Oh, I didn't expect you to do it willingly, my dear." Looking behin
d him, he snapped his fingers. "But you see, I never make an offer unless I'm sure I have the upper hand."

  Aki was dragged into view by several men. His face was a bloodied mess, and I could see bruising on his face. I wanted to cry. "You bastard! I swear if you--!"

  "If I what? Order him to be executed? What would you do, little tigress?"

  Aki was forced to his knees, and one man held a cruel grip in his hair. Our eyes met, and my hands were shaking. "Don't. Don't hurt him."

  Theon let out a sharp bark of laughter. "Don't hurt him?" He mocked me. "Did you hear that, Ritchie? She cares more about this foreigner than she does you!"

  Ritchie muttered something under his breath, but I refused to focus on him. All my attention was on Aki. His eyes were glazed with pain, and he had a few nasty cuts on his forehead. I wanted to run to him and comfort him, but Theon's painful grip on me was causing stars to spark at the edge of my vision. Then, of all the things, Aki's eyes focused on me, and he winked. I felt myself relax suddenly, and didn't feel any fear anymore. Whatever was going on, I needed to keep these men distracted.

  I slumped in a posture of mock defeat. "Please don't hurt him. I'll do anything."

  Ritchie looked absolutely furious with my statement, but Theon only held that smug expression that I wanted to punch right off his face. "There's a good girl. I'm glad we've come to an understanding. Now first you're going to come willingly with us. Ritchie's told us all what a little firecracker you are in bed, and I think I'd love to try some of that sweet action myself." I tried not to vomit as he leered at me. "You're gonna suck cock until that cute little mouth is sore, then you're gonna take it from as many guys as I see fit. We can't let you out of our sight for a minute, you see, or you might run blabbing to the cops. I should just kill you, but I'm willing to make an exception. So you're gonna come quietly, and if you don't, your little boyfriend here loses his head. Got it?"

  I felt utterly filthy just listening to him speak, and had to fight an urge to run for the shower. Digging my nails into my palms, I tried to stuff my pride back as I nodded submissively. Theon grinned lecherously. "Good girl. Now--"

  There was a loud clanging and a sudden thunk, and then Ritchie was on the floor unconscious. However, Theon wasn't as stupid as his underlings. Yanking me off the bed, he whipped a gun out from a shoulder holster and pressed it against my temple. I pulled at his arm, trying to loose his suffocating hold, but he only squeezed tighter and I had to release my grip or be strangled. "Now now, we'll have none of that when I'm so close to walking out of here with a prize like Miss Saunders here. Show yourself."

  Taro walked into view, his suit mussed and one bad cut on his arm, but other than that he seemed fine. He was coiling a length of chain around one arm, the device he’d obviously struck Ritchie with, and he looked wary. "The police are already on their way, sir. I suggest you lay down your arms and leave peacefully. Perhaps the courts will offer you mercy."

  Theon snorted with laughter. "Mercy? Please. We all know none of you have the heart to risk her life, so drop your weapon and go stand by the wall like a good butler."

  Taro had no choice but to drop his weapon. He gave me a sorrowful look as one of the gangsters left Aki's side to pin him up against the wall roughly. I couldn't be the damsel in distress anymore, and I hated myself for letting things happen like this. Gathering up my strength, I subtly lifted up one leg and kicked Theon's knee with all the force I could muster, breaking out of his arms. He dropped me with a howl of pain, swearing loudly. The members in the room started shooting, but I ducked under Aki's bed just in time.

  There was a whistling sound in the air, and suddenly I heard loud thuds and watched several gang members slump to the ground, unconscious from something. For a moment all was silent, and then I watched incredulously as Himiko's shiny black patent leather shoes came into view. "Miss Saunders?"

  "I'm here." My voice was muffled by the mattress, but I scooted back out from under the bed, feeling dazed. Every gang member was on the floor, and Taro was checking over Aki's injuries. "What happened?"

  "Oh, I was downstairs cooking a pastry for a late night dessert when the attack started. Imagine my frustration when these rude men burst in and tried to assault me! So I taught them a lesson." Though her face was sweet and smiling, suddenly I was glad Himiko was on my side of things. I didn't even want to know what she'd done to those men. I hurried to Aki's side, touching his face.

  "Aki, did they--"

  He shook his head, kissing my fingertips. "No, sweet Kat. They didn't do any lasting damage."

  Police sirens wailed in the front yard, and flashing lights strobed through the curtains. I held Aki's hand, and with Taro's assistance helped him to stand. A sudden gunshot rang out, and I felt a sharp pain in my side. I dropped to my knees as I heard Aki shout, and turned back to see Himiko holding Theon back with a garrote wire. She hissed something in his ear, and he turned pale, dropping his gun. She nudged him toward us with a kick, and he limped forward pathetically.

  Aki was the one holding me up now. He was shouting, but all I could hear was a ringing in my ears. My right side stung horribly as if I'd been bitten by something. I blinked a few times, staring at Aki's lips as I tried to comprehend what he was saying, but darkness was beckoning to me at the edges of my vision, and I fell into it.

  Chapter Five

  I woke in a familiar setting. My eyes first opened to see a white canopy above my head, decorated with little lavender ribbons. Shifting a little, I discovered it didn't hurt to move much, and I slowly sat up.

  "Kat!" Aki's relieved voice drew my gaze to the side of the bed. Seeing his face soothed me, but the bandages reminded me of what had happened.

  "Ritchie and Theon?"

  He shook his head with a smile, touching the side of the bed reassuringly. "They're gone, Kat. All of the gang members are in jail right now. I ordered my men to use rubber bullets on all of them. Effective, but not lethal."

  My shoulders slumped in relief. It was over. "What happened?" I touched his hand gently, and he smiled and held it.

  "After you fell unconscious the police rushed in and arrested every gang member still standing. You had a nasty gash in your side, but I thank God that the bullet only grazed you." So the sting had been me getting shot. He continued. "The paramedics stitched you up, but I insisted that you remain here. They allowed it so long as we kept you on IV fluids and some medication to stop any infection." He nodded to a bag hanging up above my head, which I followed down to a needle in my arm. "Himiko has been keeping a close eye on you, but I let her take a break. You've been asleep for almost twenty four hours."

  I groaned. "You're going to think all I do is sleep."

  Chuckling, he shook his head. "No, I believe you needed it. We can take your IV out now that you are conscious, if you'd like."

  "Never been a huge fan of needles," I joked. "Is Mr. Taro okay?"

  He nodded. "Yes. Though we had some injuries, there were no casualties on our side, I'm happy to report."

  "So um... Himiko. Who exactly is she?"

  His laugh filled the room. "I told you I had the best of the best."

  I sank back into the cushy pillows with a small grin, finally relaxing. "So now it's all over."

  "Well... not quite." his expression was pained.

  I tensed up again. "What's wrong, Aki?"

  He sighed. "I'm afraid there are still members out there, and they will come after you if you leave this premises."

  Part of me regretted the news, but the little hopeful part of me jumped for joy. I wouldn't have to leave Aki's side yet! Trying to keep my expression neutral I asked, "So...what should I do now? I mean, I can't really go home. And they'll need me to testify at the trial."

  "I suppose you'll have to stay here." Though he tried to sound regretful, I caught a gleam of happiness in his eyes. I couldn't help grinning in response, and then he was on top of me, kissing me deeply. I brushed one hand through his hair, but made a sudden sound of discomfort
as I was reminded that there was a needle poking into me. He backed away, looking irritated. "This thing..." Tying off the tube, he slipped the needle out of my arm and taped a piece of gauze to it that had been sitting on the nightstand. Once he finished he returned to making me dizzy with kisses. As our lips and tongues met over and over again, I reflected on how much of a miracle it was that I'd found Aki. He'd saved my life in more than one way.

  He was so tender with me as he slipped my thin nightshirt over my head, sitting back to stare at me for a moment before glancing into my eyes and smiling. "I am so glad that you are better, Kat. I was so worried for you." One of his fingers flicked across my nipples, and I jumped a little. The sensation went straight to my feminine center, and I felt myself begin to get wet. What is it about near-death encounters that make people so horny?

  Aki cupped both of my breasts in his hands as he knelt over me, kneading them gently. I groaned in bliss at the soothing sensation, once again relaxing into my pillows. I watched as he leaned down to trail his tongue along the center of my breasts, and I shivered slightly. Pinching my nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, he began tugging gently on them in a way that had me gasping. Of their own accord my hips started gyrating against his. For a moment he released me to strip off his own shirt and toss it to the side. As he leaned over me, I felt my lips being irresistibly drawn to his warm, pale skin.