She was going to kill him. She might love him beyond reason, but she was going to kill him. No doubt about it, as soon as she got home, Saeba Ryo was a dead man.

Her fingers clenched into white-knuckled fists, and her back teeth being ground into fine powder, Kaori stomped down the street toward their apartment building, fuming.

She’s been out and about since dawn it seemed, following the supposed client all around town. It had started with a message on the board at the station, as it usually did. But what followed had been the wildest goose chase in history of goose chases.

From the station to the Gyoen, from the park to the bars of the Kabukichō, from there to the skyscraper quarter, then onward to Toyama and back to the Nishi-Shinjuku and to the police station where Saeko had greeted her.

At that point, irritation had started kicking in. She’d been hoofing it around town for hours, chasing the elusive and obviously paranoid client God only knew why, she should’ve given up ages ago, but she’d been determined to…Even she had no idea what and there was Saeko, all polished and nicely-scented with that friendly smile on her face and Kaori wanted to punch her.

And then the detective had given her the last message, directing her to Cat’s Eye, and there was that mischievous twinkle in her eyes that Kaori had been instantly suspicious. But no matter what she’d asked, no matter how she’d cajoled, Saeko had remained mum, only telling her she’d learn everything at the café.

And Kaori had known, she’d known that Ryo was behind everything. Her visit to the Cat’s Eye merely confirmed it. He was behind her impromptu and utterly unwanted Shinjuku-ward tour. He was the reason she was tired, sticky with sweat, and her feet were hurting. No wonder everybody who knew her, who knew them, had looked at her with a little smirk that day as they gave her note after note directing her to yet another place.

And the son of a bitch didn’t even have the decency to show up at the café. Nope, he’d only left another note directing her back home. And he’d had the gall to tie it to a white rose. He could take the rose and shove it!

So she’d drunk a gallon of water, scarfed down two pieces of Miki’s scrumptious red velvet cake (she hadn’t eaten since breakfast), and hoofed it back home, the rose crushed in her fist, ready to do murder. She wouldn’t even go for the temporary insanity plea; she was completely lucid as she planned the dismemberment of the bastard formerly known as the ‘Stallion of Shinjuku’. Nope, no insanity plea for her, she’ll gladly take her sentence with the happy knowledge the prick was keeping Satan company.

So compelling were her thoughts, she actually walked to the door of the apartment with a little smile on her face. The smile quickly vanished as she saw yet another freaking note pinned to the door.

In the bedroom

Okay, the prank was officially overblown at this point. Couldn’t he give it a rest?

Kaori shrugged. Who was she to poop on his party. He’d just have to die in the bedroom.

But of course, he wasn’t in the bedroom. There were only red rose petals thrown onto the bed, providing some sort of cushion for three white boxes stacked one on top of the other.

And—you’ve got to be kidding me!—another note.

Open me

What kind of game was he playing at? And what was he planning?

She slowly lifted the first box. It was light as a feather. She shook it gingerly, but nothing rattled. She huffed and lifted the lid…And her jaw dropped open.

Tucked safely between sheets of tissue paper was a nude, sheer satin teddy with dental-floss thin straps, barely there bra cups that revealed more than they covered, and thong panties with a little bow on the back—the man sure loved bows on her lingerie, she had a drawer-full of proof.

She shook her head and dropped the box back onto the bed. There was no way she was wearing that. Not tonight. Not after all that he’s put her through.

Still, she was curious. So she opened the larger box. Inside, again protected by flimsy tissue paper was a pair of shoes that literally made her mouth water. Although shoes were a very generous term for the contraptions with a sky-scrapping stiletto heel and a thin toe strap and even thinner ankle strap with a little bow in the back.

Okay, she was officially intrigued, all plans of torture, murder and dismemberment forgotten. What was he planning?

She lifted the lid off the largest box on the pile and went all mushy inside. There was another white rose on top of the tissue paper, but this time, instead of crushing it, she gently lifted it to her nose. The scent was faint, but sweet, and the feel of the petals on her lips felt like the barest of kisses.

She peeled off the tissue paper…And stared. She recognized the dress. She’d helped Eriko design it. Well, Eriko asked for her input and drawn it, but Kaori had stood in as model when Eriko needed to ‘fiddle with it’.

She felt tears sting the back of her eyes. The dress had been made for her, that’s why Eriko had been so insistent. But that was weeks ago. How long has he been planning whatever this was? It wasn’t her birthday. It wasn’t an anniversary, at least she didn’t think so; the man invented an anniversary for everything under the sun, from the first wink to the first kiss on the forehead, how can she be sure?

She swallowed convulsively as she lifted the dress from the box. Made of white lace with large crocheted roses to compensate for the lack of lining—which explained the scrumptious nude teddy—the asymmetrically crocheted hemline fell just below her knees. The body-hugging sheath with its empire style waistline accentuated all her curves, while the knee length, coupled with three quarter sleeves elongated her figure even more.

She knew she looked smoking hot in it.

As she shook the dress out, yet another note slipped onto the carpet.

Emitting a half-chuckle and half-exasperated sigh, she picked it up…And frowned.

Put these on and join me on the roof

Why the roof? And why send her on the Shinjuku tour-of-Hell when where she was supposed to be was on the roof? She looked up as if she could see what was going on above her. Was it possible he’d sent her on the wild goose chase to arrange whatever surprise awaited her on the roof?

Every dark and murderous thought she’d contemplated during the second part of her day and on her way home, resurfaced, tasting foul in her mouth as her conscience chimed in. The man had been trying to surprise her and she’d been thinking of quartering him.

Although judging from the lingerie, the surprise was as much for him as it was for her.

She felt her cheeks heat and she shook her head at the fact she could still blush after all this time spent in a relationship with Ryo. She’d thought the blushing would be fucked out of her in a month, tops, yet here she was, after almost a year of having the ‘Stallion of Shinjuku’ using all his experience and prowess on her in every possible way and position, saying words like ‘fuck’ and still able to blush.

He loved it, the jackass, using every opportunity to make her blush, saying her flushed naked skin made him even harder. As if that was possible.

Contemplating the fact, she’d probably be blushing a lot this evening, thanks to the dress and what she would wear underneath it, Kaori ran for the shower.

It wouldn’t do to ruin the ensemble by smelling like a tired race-horse.