She knelt next to an amused Loki when Minoru came in. They bowed politely, and Minoru frowned. Polly wasn’t sure about what the problem was, but he picked her up and carried her to the other side of a table. “You were supposed to wear a yukata.”
“She wore one earlier and changed out of it when she put on the kimono. The staff did not replace it.” Loki frowned. “And who are you to define her clothing choices?”
Minoru frowned. “Her fiancé.”
“Where is the token?”
Minoru blinked. “The what?”
“The token. European descent requires a token to be given to the bride as a placeholder. It is a financial representation of the value put on the bride, holding her for them, and after the wedding, it proves she has completed the contract.”
Minoru nodded. “I will be back in a moment.”
He got up and growled his way out of the room while Loki grinned.
Polly hissed. “What the fuck did you just do?”
“Getting you an engagement gift. It probably won’t be a ring, but it should be worth a bit. Did you get the kimono back to the rental agency?”
“I did. It folds up neatly. Surprising, but yeah.”
She shook her head, and one of the room attendants came in with a hotel yukata and sash. “Shit, he was serious.”
Polly took the yukata and went to the restroom. She slipped the dress off and put the robe on, winding the sash into place. She tied it and twisted her hair so the thin line on her neck could be visible to him.
She stepped back into the room, and the room attendant took her dress over her arms and left with it.
Minoru was back and had a wide flat box sitting next to him. She knelt next to him and inclined her head to him and Loki.
Loki snickered. “It’s a good thing that you have to dress like that at home. You were quick.”
Minoru blinked. “Dress like that at home?”
Loki nodded. “Sure. We use yukata at home, so there is a line between work and home.”
Polly nodded. “At my place, I wear sweatshirts and footy pyjamas.”
Minoru looked at her. “What do you find more comfortable?”
She twisted her lips. “Frankly, it would depend on which bra I wore that day.”
Loki snickered, and the food started coming in.
They washed their hands, and the grilled fish was served on a bed of rice. A bowl of ramen was on the table, and Loki was laughing as Minoru handed her the bowl filled with noodles, slices of pork, and small vegetables, and she giggled as she took the bowl from him. She dove into the noodles as they worked on the fish, and by the time she had finished her bowl, she was left with the head. She picked at the head and got the cheeks, settled them on rice, and added some of the seared vegetables. She nibbled and ate until her bowl was empty, and then the next course arrived.
They went through three courses and a mochi dessert, and Polly was stuffed.
She looked at the pretty items left on the plate and couldn’t make herself eat anymore.
Minoru sighed. “Polly, you eat like a bird.”
“If there is a bird that eats like me, it must be huge.” She put her chopsticks on the tiny rest.
Minoru laughed, and Loki continued to eat the mochi.
Minoru picked up a cute mochi mouse with a strawberry inside and held it to her lips. “Just one more. You can take it.”
She glared at him, and his expression changed to that of the ogre. “Open, Polly.” The mochi was held between his razor claws.
She muttered, “The next time I hear that, there had better be snacks involved.”
“There are snacks involved now. Open.”
She rolled her eyes and flipped off Loki as he silently laughed. She opened her mouth, fully aware of the training that her alpha was starting. He was trying to develop a trust response, and she let the terrifying ogre feed her a mochi that looked like a tiny mouse but had a strawberry and red bean paste inside.
She brought her hand up to catch the strawberry juice, but he pulled her close and caught it on his tongue. Clever bastard. His teeth pressed against her lips, his tongue licked at the juice, and she finished swallowing the remains of the mochi.
He held her head and kissed her softly until she was relaxed and limp in his hands. He raised his head, and his public face was back with a satisfied smirk. He rubbed his thumb across her lower lip.
“I have something for you.”
“I can’t say anything that won’t make Loki die of laughter.” Polly smiled and looked at Minoru.
Loki chuckled. “I am waiting for something. I know your wit.”
Minoru smiled. “Perhaps I should have done it privately.”
Loki snorted. “Too late.”
He handed her the box that had been at his side during dinner, and he opened it, lifting the necklace and putting it around her neck. He even arranged her hair over the chain and smiled. “It looks pretty.”
She looked down and blinked at the huge emerald that actually seemed to be swirling inside the confines of its structure. There was fire inside.
“It has ogre fire, and it will summon me if you ever have need of me. It will also let me feel you.”
She looked up at him and then lifted the gem in her hand. It was warm and felt alive. It was also the size of the first segment of her thumb. She swallowed. “Is there anything smaller that could do the same thing?”
“No. Reconcile yourself to wearing a necklace worth as much as a house in the suburbs.” Minoru laughed.
She carefully set the necklace down, and it nestled into her robe, working under the layers until it touched her skin. She blinked. “Holy crap.”
Minoru laughed. “I will charge it up for you before you leave.”
“Charge it how?”
He purred. “I am very glad you asked.” She was gathered onto his lap, and he kissed her senseless. The pendant spread warmth through all of her limbs, and she was dangling in his arms in under two minutes.
It took her three tries to grab his jaw and push him back. “Enough. Any more and I am gonna pass out.”
He chuckled. “My blessed bride, we are going to have to work on your stamina. It’s a good thing that we have months to do it.”
She shivered. “Oh. Yay.”
He laughed, and Loki lost it. He hooted with laughter as he rolled around on the mats.
Polly sighed, and the throbbing of the fire between her breasts was hard to ignore.
A few more days and she would be on her way home. Sixteen hours after that, she would be back in her bed and pondering what the hell had just happened. If she drank, this would all make more sense. As it was, she needed to get off Minoru’s lap and get back to her room. Something told her that it would be easier to sculpt Minoru out of mochi than to get her out of his grasp. She was well and truly caught.
Loki looked at her as they went over the contracts and the dimensions of the space the hotels were offering. “Are you cool with Minoru?”
She met his gaze. “What do you mean?”
“With becoming his wife. It feels like a strange arrangement.”
“Dude, I have the claw marks of an eight-foot-tall mythical monster on my back. Actually, meeting one was rather comforting. At least there is a reason for it. A giant fucking signpost for the guys to follow.”
He smiled. “So, somewhere out there is a woman with nine tails coming out of her back?”
“Or a cute little fox with charm in her eyes.” She laughed as he blinked
He paused and then smiled slowly. “I think that would be a wonderful discovery. Minoru is talking about stealing you, presenting you at his side, and starting a family, and those words got into my brain.”
She chuckled. “Uh-huh. I am still shocked that I got that writ from Minoru that let me bring the necklace through customs without penalty. Was that really the minister of trade’s signature?”
“Of course. Minoru’s mother’s family has been well respected, and it is her jewel that you wear.”
“I liked meeting his grandfather and grandmother, but they were awfully pinchy.” She smiled and rubbed her cheeks. “I don’t know if they were testing for youth or trying to tenderize me.”
“You really need to learn Japanese.”
“I know. I can normally pick up the nouns, but there was something about the way they spoke that was formal. I couldn’t catch on.”
Loki chuckled. “I know Minoru faked the translation, but they basically said that you would make a good wife, and if not, a good meal.”
She laughed. “Yeah, that’s what it felt like. So, for them, it is breed or bread.”
He snorted, and they laughed as their plane made its way over the open ocean. Home was on the other end of the voyage, plus or minus some domestic flights.
Five days after returning home, Polly had her schedule back in place and Loki’s as well. When her phone rang, she answered, “Hello? Polly speaking.”
The low growl made her knees go weak. “Hello, Polly. I have touched down and gotten a good night’s sleep. Would you be interested in coming over for dinner?”
“Uh, hey, Minoru. Um, yes?”
He chuckled. “I will send my address to you. Bring a change of clothes and some things to wear while you are here. I intend for this to be our marital home, so it is best if you get used to it as soon as possible.”
She swallowed. “Um, I will come for dinner. I don’t think that I will stay over.”
“Of course, my bride, but you are leaving it up to my housekeeper’s discretion. She is appalled at the idea of my bride not having a change of clothing here. She will build you a traditional wardrobe if you don’t bring representations of your wardrobe style, she would guess, and she’s sixty-three years old.”
She paused. “Fine. I will bring a change of clothes. Bully.”
“Alpha. I do what I do to make your life easier eventually. Bullies do it for their own entertainment.” He growled into the phone in a manner that held her captivated.
When she could speak without her voice being all husky, she said, “Fine. What time did you want me over?”
“Forever.”
She smiled. “Can you narrow it down for a starting point?”
“Six.”
“All right, I will be there for six.”
“I will ask Loki to send his car with you. Mine will take you back to him in the morning.”
“We already gave the driver the day off. Me. I am the driver.”
He sighed. “I will still speak with Loki.”
The tea-slinging fox walked in, gnawing on an apple.
“Okay, I will tell him to expect your call.”
Loki smiled at her. “Who is it?”
“Minoru.”
“Oh. Goody. Hand him over.” Loki took her phone with a smirk and switched to rapid Japanese.
Loki winced, glanced at her, pulled her phone aside, and said, “Go pack. I will bring your phone and a charger when I am done.”
She was dismissed and went to pack. Pushing back against alphas was never a game she could win. They pushed back harder.
Loki got onto the lane that led to the interstate, and she smiled. “This is a new one.”
“I know how to drive. I just rarely have to.”
She snorted. “I imagined you did. You have a car collection.”
He kept her phone, but it was plugged into the charger. He hummed as he drove along the lane and missed the turn to the interstate. He drove past woods and trees and then turned into a drive.
“You are kidding me.”
Loki laughed. “You are just lucky that he didn’t build a monorail between our places.”
The drive was long and winding, leading to a large home that was reminiscent of the inn they had stayed at most recently. Minoru came out wearing hakama and a kimono shirt. She reached for the door, and Loki made a rumbling sound, so she pulled her hand back. Minoru opened the door, and Loki got out to get her bags from the trunk and hand them to Minoru. He slung them over his shoulder then opened the door and smiled at Polly. “Welcome to our home, my bride.”
She sighed and said, “You think I want to live close to this asshole for the rest of my life?” She jerked her thumb at Loki.
Her boss snorted and said, “Stop hanging onto the car. I need to leave you to your fate.”
Minoru wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her away from the vehicle. Loki used that opportunity to fuck off.
Minoru held her hand and led her inside.
“So, why the traditional clothing for you? I know why Loki does it.”
“It’s comfortable.” He smiled.
“Oh. Right.” They entered the building, and she and he kicked their shoes off before bending and turning them into the exit position.
A smiling woman with soft grey eyes came in and nodded. “Welcome, Miss Polly.”
“Hello.”
“This is Nari; she keeps me in line.” Minoru stepped inside with the bags. “Her family has kept a tight rein on my mother’s family for centuries.”
“Pleased to meet you, Nari. Does he need much management?”
She stepped into the house and bowed to the older woman. Nari blinked, and she repeated with a lower bow. Polly stood straight, and the older woman smiled. “Please, miss. I have prepared something for before dinner. Come and relax while Minoru puts your clothing away.”
Minoru cleared his throat. “Perhaps she should get changed into house clothes, I believe, is the term Loki uses.”
She looked at him and then at Nari. “Right. Of course. Please, lead the way.”
He nodded and put a hand on her back. “This way.”
They walked through the house, and she smiled. “How much would this square footage cost in Japan?”
“Well, easily five figures. I have also registered mineral rights on the property for the hot springs. Call me greedy.”
“You have hot springs attached to your house?”
“Of course. There is a reason to have this house in this position. As much as I would build you a palace if you wanted, this house was almost completely built when I met you. I will change things to suit your preferences, but the structure is what I have had in mind all along.”
“Oh. Okay.” She looked left and right, and it had the same polite cleanliness as the structure at the inn, but everything had thicker wood and frosted glass instead of paper. “Um, don’t get the wrong idea, but how soundproof are these doors?”
He paused. “I suppose we will find out, but they are supposed to be very well insulated.”
She nodded. “Okay. I would just hate to disturb Nari.”
He nodded and slid a door to one side. He walked to a dresser and emptied her bags onto the surface. He tucked her underwear into a drawer of the dresser, hung up dresses in the nearby wardrobe, then looked at the silk nighty she brought along, rubbed it against his cheek, and hung it up next to the dresses.
“Did you have something for me to put on?”
He smiled. “It is in the bathroom.”
She nodded and went to the bathroom, finding a red and black yukata and an underrobe as well. She got dressed and hung her dress up on the hook on the back of the door. There were a set of crocks in her size, and she put them on. She came out of the bathroom, and Minoru was standing on the other side.
He smiled, stroked a finger down her neck, then pulled out the pendant. “It needs a charge.”
“Oh. Now?”
He grinned. “It isn’t immediate, but perhaps after dinner.”
“What are we having for dinner?”
He chuckled. “Pot roast. It’s my favourite, and Nari spoils me.”
“Well, she made us something as an appetizer, so we should get back to the kitchen.”
“A kiss for your husband?” His red eyes were begging.
“Get down here then, or get me a step stool.”
He lifted her, and the kiss was toe-curling. Her mouth fitted to his, and her tongue moved along his teeth. He was covered with sharp edges, and she didn’t feel any of them. He didn’t let her feel any of them.
When she heard Nari say, “Well, it seems that you have already whetted your appetites, but here are some snacks,” Polly knew that Minoru had walked into the dining area with her.
She jerked her head back, but he was holding her, and his ogre seeming was out. “Twit.”
“Oh, my bride, that is an insult. I believe that another apology is required.” He chuckled.
She stared. “What?”
“Once our meal is concluded, I will show you the gift that has been sent to my bride.” He chuckled. “Loki has spoken to several of my relatives and explained about the likelihood of your needing to make a formal apology again. You are about to have quite the kimono collection.”
She groaned. “Oh, balls.”
He sat down and held her close while grinning like a fool. She tried to think of something witty but could only sigh and lean against him. If you pushed alphas, they pushed back. She was going to be on the receiving end. Part of Polly told her that it was going to be a lot of fun, and the other part was waiting to judge.