What Men Want - Chapter 16

Die!

Kaori shot up in bed, eyes wide, sweat trickling down her spine. Her body quivering, her breath came out in loud gasps. Pressing her thighs together to get rid of the strange, pulsing feeling between her legs, her heart almost slammed out of her chest.

Her pajama bottoms were soaked. Heat was still pooled in her lower abdomen. Her entire body quivered...She wasn’t an idiot; she knew what these ‘symptoms’ meant. Her cheeks positively burned at the thought of her, Makimura Kaori, having a wet dream. An extremely wet, extremely hot, dream!

He felt he might explode then and there at the feel of her tight, sleek muscles milking him for all she was worth.

Kaori gulped.

She was still quivering around him as he bent his head down, biting hard at the tendon in her neck, making her scream and tighten even more around his pulsating cock.

Her eyes filled with tears as her stomach roiled. It wasn’t her dream. She’s been living Ryo’s dream. And apparently he was still sound asleep, projecting everything straight into her head.

He groaned as he once again drove himself in to the hilt.

She pressed her hands to her ears, trying to block out the sounds, the images...

She felt sick to her core. It was worse than suddenly barging into his room, finding him in bed with another woman. This was even more real. This told her of his secret desires, secret fantasies...This told her just what kind of woman he wanted in his bed. Slender, gleaming, flawless ivory skin, legs that went on forever, brazen—at least judging from her moans.

Circling her waist with his powerful arms, he lifted her, slammed her against the tiled wall as he started pounding in earnest. She’s had her satisfaction; now it was his turn. He groaned...

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Kaori brought her knees up under her chin, laying on the bed in a fetal position. She couldn’t take this any longer. She just couldn’t. How will she be able to look into his eyes in the morning after this night?

Slowly, other memories intruded into her tumultuous mind. Memories of other nights, other dreams. Dreams similar to this. How could she forget something like that? She’s probably been dreaming his dreams ever since she’s come out of the hospital. Now she knew this mind-reading ability was indeed a curse.

For a woman, learning the deepest erotic fantasies of the man she loved—learning he dreamed and fantasized about someone else—was devastating. She finally knew what it meant to have your heart broken.

Die!

Her head snapped up. That was what’s woken her! Not the dream, not the realization of—She shook her head. There was no point in brooding about Ryo’s mind. It was his mind after all; he could think and dream about whatever he wanted!

But it was that vehement, hateful whisper that woke her.

Die. One simple word. One word, spoken with such hatred, such loathing that made her hair stand on end.

Where did it come from? She could hear only the thoughts of the men in her immediate vicinity! Was there an intruder in the house? And who did he want to kill? Her? Ryo?

Her eyes widened.

Amaya!

Die!!!

Icy chills running up her spine, she jumped out of bed. How could there be an intruder in the house? It was impossible to get past Ryo’s security system. And how come he didn’t feel his presence? He should be up and running, gun in hand. Instead, he was still in the midst of his dream.

Blocking the explicit images out, she dashed down the hallway toward their guest bedroom. Her heart hammering in her chest, she tried to bring her breathing under control. She needed her wits about her. Actually, she needed Ryo around, but she’d be damned if she was just going to barge into his room to wake the bastard. Being that close with him dreaming, she would surely collapse.

Setting her jaw, she slowly pushed the door open, peeking in.

Her eyes widened in the darkness. The room was empty, except for Amaya sleeping peacefully in the bed.

Closing her eyes, Kaori concentrated. Shutting Ryo and the nausea his dream was bringing her out, she tried to find any sign of an intruder. There was nothing. Silence. Utter silence. Amaya’s calm breathing was all she could hear.

Shaking her head—she probably imagined the whole deal—Kaori softly closed the door.

Standing in the middle of their hallway, she munched on her lower lip. What to do? She couldn’t go back to sleep, not with—Don’t think about that! So what was she to do?

She heard a muffled, shuddering groan from upstairs, and her blood turned icy cold. If she didn’t know better, she’d assume he was upstairs with some hooker, but she did know better. She’s seen it with her own eyes, heard with her own hears—sort to speak.

Another muffled groan.

Kaori squeezed her eyes shut. She was going to be sick if he didn’t wake up soon!

Ryo was sprawled on the floor, his empty, glassy eyes staring sightlessly. An expression of disbelief and shock marred his handsome features as a dark, oily stain started pooling under his unmoving body...

A wave of such dark anger, such blind rage, and savage hatred swamped her that it brought her to her knees. She’s never felt anything remotely similar to it. Not even when she glimpsed pieces of Ryo’s memory did she feel anything like this. Her mind was bombarded with rage and hatred, with images of Ryo’s lifeless, broken body...

Slapping her palm over her mouth, she screamed behind it, her eyes wild, blinded by tears.

Someone wanted to kill Ryo. It happened many times before, but this time it was different. Maybe it was the fact that she could actually glimpse the true intentions of the killer, but it felt personal. The grudge someone held against Ryo ran deeper than simple vengeance. It bordered on obsession!

Ryo stared in surprise at the barrel of the gun. A lone, thundering shot rang out in the darkness, and his large body slumped to the floor. A scream shattered the deathly silence...

Kaori realized the scream she heard wasn’t part of the dark vision. It was her own. She was the one screaming her lungs out!

Gaining her feet, she dashed down the stairs and out of the building. She didn’t know where she was going. She didn’t care. She just had to get the hell out of there!

A scream pierced the silence in the apartment.

His erotic fantasy dissolving, Ryo snapped awake. Sitting up in bed, he listened intently, trying to pinpoint the origin of the scream. It came from inside the house; he knew that, and he also knew it wasn’t just a figment of his imagination. If it were, it would’ve certainly had a passionate undertone. He grinned, which was quickly followed by a groan as his rampant and unfulfilled body protested. Grimacing, he reached a hand down his abdomen but thought better of it. He didn’t want to come. At least not like this.

Serious once again, he listened more intently. The sound he heard was a scream of pure terror. His jaw tightened. Did Kaori have a nightmare? Should he go and check on her? On a second thought, maybe that wasn’t such a good idea in his state of mind and body. She’d faint...Or hurl her entire arsenal of mallets at his head.

Nah, she knew how to take care of herself after a nightmare. She’d warm up some milk and go back to bed. She didn’t need him around.

Sighing, he plopped back down onto the bed, folding his arms under his head. He really should stop having these dreams. Or at least stop having them with such frequency. He couldn’t handle another night like this. Dreaming of her, of her body, her silky skin...Dreaming of taking her, impaling her, giving her all of him, feeling her tighten and tighten around him...Only to wake up hard and hurting, alone in his bed, his arms cold and empty.

He knew there was a cure for his ailment. All he needed to do was go out, find a willing woman, and lose himself between her thighs. But he couldn’t. Not anymore. Not ever again. He wanted her, only her; any other would just be a poor substitute. Not to mention he’d feel like shit afterwards.

His face grim, he stared at the ceiling, listening for Kaori’s quiet footsteps below. He guessed he’d just have to endure this torture a little while longer. At least until the end of this assignment. When Amaya was out of danger, he’d better gather his courage and do what needed to be done a long time ago.

Or he might go insane for real.