Nine

“Colin, I...” Jihae couldn’t continue because he pressed his index finger against her lips.

Slowly withdrawing his finger, he came around the bar and clasped her hand, then tugged her toward his couch. She couldn’t breathe. What was he doing? Well, she had a vague idea he hadn’t brought her to his condo to talk business, but she wasn’t sure what exactly he wanted.

“I want you, Jihae.”

With gentle pressure on her shoulders, he settled her on the couch then he kneeled in front of her, spreading her legs to get as close to her as possible.

“But...” She didn’t know what she meant to say as the heat in his eyes sucked the air out the room. All she could recall was that she’d told him he would need to get on his knees if he wanted to touch her again. And here he was. On his knees. She was going to have a heart attack.

“May I kiss you?”

“I don’t know. Why now? What’s changed?”

Colin blinked rapidly as though her question had touched a nerve. Before she could wrap her mind around it, he replied, “Me. I’ve changed. I want you, and I can’t hold back anymore.”

He wanted her and he was finally admitting it. Sweet victory. A triumphant smile rose to the surface, and she wet her already tingling lips. “So...you want to kiss me?”

“Very much.”

She had no patience left to gloat because she wanted to kiss him very much, too. Jihae wrapped her arms around his neck and lowered her face toward his. She dropped a chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Like this?”

“More,” he growled, his hands spanning her waist.

With a whisper of contact, she moved her mouth from one corner to the other. “Like this?”

“More.” His fingers tensed around her waist.

“Show me,” she commanded into his ear.

He moved so fast that she gasped against his lips as they crushed against hers. His kiss wasn’t gentle or teasing. It was Colin’s desire bared raw. Their teeth clacked as his tongue danced with hers, demanding that she match his passion. She had zero problem with that. His hands traveled to her hair and made quick work of undoing her bun. When her hair was free, he tangled his fingers into the long strands and tilted her head to expose the column of her neck.

His hot breath and wet lips drew a line down to her collarbone and the hollow at her throat. He licked and blew into the sensitive spot, and she moaned helplessly.

“Colin.”

He hastily captured her lips again as though to swallow her small sounds of pleasure, his name on her lips. She scooted farther back into the sofa and lay down, pulling Colin on top of her. When all of him covered all of her, he groaned his approval.

She wanted him naked. She wanted him to fill her. She whimpered and writhed under him when his thumb brushed the tip of her aching breast. He pushed up her shirt and her bra, exposing the hard tip, and sucked it into his mouth. She nearly screamed and knew she was close to losing all control.

“Wait,” Jihae gasped, pushing against his shoulders.

“Wait?” Colin immediately raised his head and looked her in the eyes with heavily hooded lids. Gah. Sexiest bedroom eyes ever. She almost pulled him back against her breasts, but she took a deep breath instead. Or at least she tried.

“Yes, wait. Please,” she said, barely managing to get the words out.

She was so turned on, and so was he. Colin sat up on the couch and pulled her onto his lap as though he couldn’t quite break contact with her. He smoothed her hair out of her face and said, “Tell me. What is it?”

“You and I... We’re both doing this against our better judgment. True?”

“True,” he replied with a bemused curl of his lips. Then he kissed her temple with such tenderness she wanted to melt against him. “Continue.”

“To ensure we don’t regret this, I think we should set some ground rules.” When Colin nodded for her to continue, Jihae placed a kiss on his jaw. “Rule One, this—us... We have to be discreet. I don’t want this to affect our professional reputation in any way. And I absolutely don’t want my father to find out. This has to stay between us, and us alone. Okay?”

“Okay.”

His eyes had turned watchful at the mention of her father, and she cringed in embarrassment. Bringing up her father while warm and horny in Colin’s arms was not the sexiest of maneuvers.

“Rule Two, no matter where this leads, I want us to finish our project together. I won’t sacrifice Best Placed Bets for anything.”

“Agreed.”

“Rule Three, no promises. I want us to take this one day at a time. Let’s just be two adults, enjoying each other.”

Jihae knew herself. What she felt for Colin wasn’t commonplace. Not for her. If she slept with him, she might give too much of herself to him. She couldn’t allow that to happen. She wasn’t even in the States permanently. Once their project was finished and her father summoned her home, she would have no choice but to return to Korea. To return to her family and her duties.

“No promises,” Colin said solemnly while he quietly searched her face. Afraid of revealing her vulnerabilities to him—and how much she wanted promises—she buried her face against his neck. “May I add something?”

Surprised, she pulled away to look at him again. “Of course.”

“While we take this day by day, I want all of you for every day we have together. I don’t like to share.”

She sucked in a sharp breath at the possessive note in his voice and nodded rapidly. “Okay. And same goes for you.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. You will have my complete and undivided attention while we’re together. There won’t be room for anyone or anything else.”

Hot damn. She wanted to fan herself. He said “complete and undivided attention” with such intensity, she could only imagine what making love to him would be like. But ironing out the rules made things suddenly seem so real that Jihae was overcome with shyness.

“So, um, what should we do now?” she asked. She wanted to palm herself in the forehead. It sounded like “should we shag now?” She truly wasn’t trying to be suggestive.

“I have an idea or two,” he said in a low voice that sent shivers down her spine.

All shyness forgotten, she took his face in both of her hands and kissed him until they were both out of breath but hungry for more. Desperate to be closer to him, Jihae straddled his lap and pushed herself against him, delighting in the pressure of his hard chest against her aching nipples.

It wasn’t enough. She shifted back just enough to get her hands between them and began unbuttoning her blouse. Making a noise of frustration, Colin pushed away her fumbling fingers and undressed her himself. Once the blouse was pushed down her shoulders, he reached around her and unclasped her bra. After he’d thrown that on the floor, he immediately took a hard, sensitive peak in his mouth. Moaning with exquisite pleasure, she instinctively ground her hips against his hardness.

“God, Jihae,” he said as he freed one nipple and moved on to the other. “You’re killing me.”

“Perfect,” she replied in a small puff of breath, giddy with relief and joy.

“Oh, is it?” He pulled back to grin wickedly at her, and she squirmed in her seat so he could go back to what he was doing so beautifully. “I’m going to get you back for that.”

“What—”

Before she knew it, Jihae was lying on her back on the sofa with Colin kneeling at her feet. “I’m going to make you come so hard, you’ll scream.”

Jihae wasn’t sure if she was excited or a little alarmed. Probably both. She was already so wet and aching, she didn’t know if she could take any more. When he parted her thighs, nestling his head between her knees, her hands fisted in his hair.

The first lick and hot breath had her whimpering, “Please.”

Other than a low, rumbling chuckle, Colin didn’t stop to respond. He licked her center with slow, sensual attention until she was a mass of desire. When he added a finger, then another, she ground against his hand and tongue without self-consciousness. Only want. She was so close that she could see white sparks beginning to go off behind her lids. Somehow sensing she was about to fall off the edge, he pulled her into his mouth and gently sucked.

“Colin.” His name left her lips in a sharp scream and her hips lifted off the sofa.

He pushed her hips firmly against the cushions and brought her down torturously slow, his palm lightly massaging her sensitized core. Once she could see straight again, Colin rewarded her by removing his shirt and pants in swift succession. When he was gloriously naked, he took a foil packet from his wallet, tore it open with his teeth and sheathed himself.

His eyes looked out of focus and heavy-lidded with need as he smoothed the hair out of her eyes. “You okay?”

“Yes, I just need you inside of me,” she said, biting her bottom lip. “Please.”

His gaze not leaving hers, he plunged inside her, deep and heavy. She felt herself stretching to accommodate him.

“God. You feel so good,” he said.

“So do you.” But it wasn’t enough. She swerved her hips to get used to the feel of him.

“Wait. Don’t do that,” he groaned. “I’m close to losing it just being inside you. I want to take it slowly.”

“Colin, I’ve been wanting this from the moment I saw you,” she said, shifting in the other direction, and was rewarded with his hips jerking involuntarily against her. “Screw taking it slowly.”

With a helpless groan, Colin pulled himself out and buried himself to the hilt inside her. Then out again and deeper still. She matched him thrust for thrust until all semblance of a smooth rhythm broke down and they jerked wildly against each other, each seeking a climax so close within reach.

“Yes. God, yes.” She fell apart, with him close behind, pumping wildly into her before shouting his own release.

Colin collapsed on top of her, but shifted slightly to the side on his elbow so he wouldn’t crush her. Her limp legs hung over his back and one of her arms hung loosely off the side of the couch.

“My God,” she whispered in a raspy, awe-filled voice. “That was brilliant.”

“Anytime, sweetheart,” he replied, his voice muffled, his shoulders shaking with laughter against her. After a moment, he raised his head to look into her face. “It was my absolute pleasure.”

That was the most amazing, mind-blowing sex she’d ever had, but he managed to make her want him again with just a crooked smile and a few husky words. She wanted this after-sex warmth to last, but realized they would soon have to untangle their limbs and get off the couch. Then what? Would he expect her to leave right away? No, he wouldn’t be that callous; he’d said he wanted this to be a real relationship, at least while it lasted.

So, putting aside her trepidation, she simply asked, “Do you want to watch a movie?”

“Absolutely,” he said as he shifted his weight off her.

“Perfect.” Jihae must’ve sighed in relief because a knowing grin spread across Colin’s face. “I mean, good. I’m glad.”

“Here.” He handed her the remote control, then began picking his clothes up off the floor. “You choose the movie and I’ll pop the popcorn after I clean up.”

Colin was sweet and considerate, and she sighed dreamily. She wasn’t going to hope for an unattainable future, but would enjoy the here and now to the fullest. Because the here and now was pretty fantastic.

Colin had been wearing a stupid grin on his face all day. He and Jihae were dating. It was a secret, and it belonged only to them. Hell. He was a grown-ass man, acting like a giddy high-schooler. If he hadn’t been buried in work, he would’ve been drawing heart curlicues on his notepad. Fortunately, the sheer size of his workload prevented him from making an even bigger fool of himself.

To be discreet, they hadn’t appeared in public together more than once a week, and they were even more careful about spending time at each other’s places. They took advantage of as many chances as possible to see each other in their business capacity, but it was a far cry from spending time alone with her. The curtailed opportunities for privacy were frustrating, but it made each meeting all the more precious.

The script was close to being finalized—it was even better than his highest expectations—and the auditions were scheduled to commence in the next month or so. Other than relaying the author’s suggestions to the director, he and Jihae would be relatively hands-off in the initial creative process. They trusted Cora, and the casting director she brought on board, to do an amazing job.

But they definitely wanted to be present when the candidates for the female and male leads did their readings. In a romantic comedy, the hero and heroine’s chemistry was crucial to whether the movie worked or not. They wanted sparks coming off the lead actors when they were together on screen. Cora had some strong favorites she wanted to work with. He and Jihae also saw great potential in her choices, but they wouldn’t know for certain until they saw the candidates read together in person.

He leaned back in his chair and stretched out his stiff neck and shoulders. The clock on his monitor told him it was already past seven thirty in the evening. Damn. He’d wanted to mix business with pleasure with Jihae tonight, but she might already have had dinner. He sat upright and texted her, his pulse picking up speed.

Her response was almost immediate. I’m starving, baby.

He choked on a laugh even as his shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He loved her sexy sass.

He gave her the name of the perfect place for her craving. She was a bit closer to the restaurant than he, so he only had time to write one more email before he closed shop. That minuscule act of discipline made him feel a bit more in control of himself, and he was able to stop himself from running to his car.

Despite his attempts to slow down, he arrived early at the restaurant. He always came before Jihae. Not that she had a habit of running late, but he simply enjoyed the anticipation of waiting for her arrival, with his heart pumping a little faster each passing minute.

When she finally walked into the restaurant, his stomach clenched in a visceral reaction to her presence. She was wearing a white pantsuit with a pale, off-white blouse. Her patent-leather, nude stilettos completed her signature look. She exuded aloof sophistication and ice-cold detachment. He couldn’t believe how well she carried off her public image when he knew how contrary it was to her true personality.

“You look lovely,” he said softly into her ear while pulling out her chair.

“Thank you.” Her expression remained carefully neutral but a splash of pink stained her cheeks.

“This place has the best New York-style pizza you’ll find on the West Coast.” He took his seat across from her and opened up his menu.

“Yum. I’m starving.”

“So you’ve said,” he drawled, staring pointedly at her perfect red lips.

“Now behave.” She arched an eyebrow at him. The subtle twitch at the corner of her lips betrayed that she was holding back a smile.

“When have I not?” Other than tugging her into a stairwell the last time they’d met to kiss the hell out of her only to find the door locked behind them. They’d had to climb five stories to find an open door. And that other time... Now that he thought of it, he’d misbehaved quite a lot.

Jihae gave him the subtlest eye roll in the world. Actually, he only recognized it as an eye roll from spending so much time with her. Her every emotion and expression was subdued to the point of stoicism in public, but he soaked up her barely there smiles and the teasing twinkle in her eyes that were meant only for him.

As dinner progressed, however, Jihae’s subtle smiles and gentle teasing grew dim, and her eyes took on a distracted, faraway look every time there was a slight pause in their conversation.

“Hey,” Colin said, reaching across the table to touch her hand. But he hastily withdrew as soon as he realized what he was doing. PDA was not a risk they wanted to take. “Is everything all right? You’re hiding it well, but you seem distraught. We could talk about it in private later, if you’d like.”

“No, everything is fine. I’m fine. I’m just knackered.” She looked down at her pizza and pulled off a pepperoni to pop in her mouth. “I had a three-hour meeting with the Korean production team on one of our celebrity reality shows. They’re a well-oiled machine but it was a lot to catch up on.”

“That must’ve been draining.” She was hiding something from him, and nausea rose in his throat. Was it about her meeting with Yami Corporation’s CFO? He hadn’t heard back from Garrett about the PI’s progress, and it’d been weeks. “Once you finish your pizza, we’ll get out of here. Okay?”

“That’ll be nice. Thank you.” But again, her smile fell short of reaching her eyes.

“Should we go to your place, so you don’t have to go out again?”

“No,” she said in a rush. “I mean... I’d like to go to your place tonight.”

“Sure. We’ll do that.”

They were quiet on the drive to his condo, each of them lost in their own thoughts. What was she hiding from him? More than ever, he believed her innocence. Throughout the film production, Jihae was always the first to ensure that everything was aboveboard. If there was ever the slightest doubt, she would err on the side of being shortchanged rather than injure the other party. The Jihae he knew would never involve herself in any unethical behavior, much less corporate espionage. But something had happened today and he wanted to find out what. Was it about Yami Corp.?

Once they were inside, he helped Jihae out of her jacket and hung it in the entryway. She stepped out of her heels with a sigh and plopped herself down on the sofa like a limp doll. He couldn’t fight the smile that pulled at his lips. He loved it. He loved how she just let go and relaxed when she was alone with him.

He followed her to the sofa, pulled up her legs onto his lap and gently massaged the ball of her foot.

“Mmm. You’re good at that,” she said, her eyelids fluttering shut.

“I’m good at a lot of things,” he joked, moving on to the arch.

“And ever so humble.”

He tickled her for that response and nearly got kicked in the jaw. “Whoa, watch it. You could’ve broken something.”

“Sorry. I seriously could have,” she said, breathless from laughter. “I’m really, really ticklish.”

“That doesn’t sound right.” He ran his hand up the back of her legs. “I’ve touched you everywhere and you haven’t reacted like this before.”

“Just on my feet. I’m only ticklish there.”

“Thank goodness. Otherwise, I’ll get a good beating every time we make love.”

“Aw, poor Colin. Did I scare you? We could take a break tonight if you want.”

“Not on your life,” he growled, pouncing on her. “I already don’t get to have you often enough. I wouldn’t stay away from you even if you were covered in sharp needles.”

She giggled and pretended to push him off her, but he made quick work of trapping her arms above her head. “Can we at least go to your bedroom tonight? I feel like we rarely make it that far before we rip each other’s clothes off.”

“As you wish.”

He stood from the couch, lifted her into his arms and carried her into his room. After laying her down on the bed, he unbuttoned and shrugged out of his shirt as Jihae watched with rapt attention. As he unclasped his belt, a familiar ringtone sounded from his back pocket. Garrett. And all his trepidation from earlier in the evening rushed back to him.

“God, I’m sorry,” he said, pulling out his phone. “I need to take this.”

“Go right ahead. I’m not going anywhere.”

Colin left the bedroom and walked into his study, making sure to close the door behind him.

“Garrett.”

“Hey, little cousin. What are you up to? You sound a bit out of breath. Did I interrupt your workout?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. So, what’s going on? Any news on the lead?” Colin deliberately exhaled when he noticed that he was holding his breath.

“As a matter of fact, there is, but I thought we might exchange some social niceties like normal people first.”

“Since when do the Songs engage in small talk over the phone?”

“I guess you have a point.” Garrett chuckled on the other end.

“So tell me. Was there any movement from Yami Corporation?”

“Yes. Yami’s CFO, Sylvia Taylor, finally met with Jihae Park at a coffee shop this afternoon.”

Colin’s heart drummed against his ribs. “Did we have ears on them?”

“Our PI had someone planted a couple tables away.”

“What—what did they talk about?” he asked, both eager and afraid to hear the answer.

“The conversation was convoluted and brief. Taylor asked Jihae Park about how her father was doing and whether Rotelle was running smoothly. Park effectively shut her down and asked for the reason she wanted an introduction to NAM.”

“Then what?”

“Taylor said her father owed her, and Park should just do as she was told.”

Colin almost laughed. Jihae would not have liked that. “What happened next?”

“She told Taylor in no uncertain terms that there will be no introductions to the talent agency unless there were legitimate reasons for it.”

Atta girl. “So, did Taylor succumb and tell her everything?”

“Basically, but nothing of use to us. She wanted Park to pressure executives at NAM to have their big-name stars endorse Yami Corporation’s apparel. Be seen wearing it and share how much they love it on social media. All for free.”

“That’s ridiculous. Jihae would never ask for something like that from NAM. She values them as colleagues.”

“I guess Taylor thought NAM would rather do Park’s bidding than lose Rotelle Entertainment’s goodwill.”

“That may very well be true, but Taylor wanted to take advantage of NAM. It’s far from a fair deal. Jihae would never stand for that.”

There was a short pause. “You sound pretty confident about that.”

“I am.” Colin clenched his fists, ready to defend Jihae if his cousin questioned her integrity.

But all Garrett said was “Huh.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means huh. Why does it have to mean anything?” There was a smile in his cousin’s voice. Was Colin that obvious about his feelings for Jihae? “Anyway, the only information that we gleaned from their meeting was that Sylvia Taylor believes Chairman Park owes her. Just more circumstantial evidence.”

“So how did the meeting end?”

“Park told Taylor to go pound sand, and Taylor left in a huff, threatening that her father won’t be happy about this. Maybe Taylor has something on Chairman Park and is pressuring him for favors. But could she be so foolish as to anger the chairman? If she was, then she was playing with fire. The bastard might humor her for now, but he will bury her for daring to pressure him.” Garrett’s sigh communicated his frustration across the line. “But again, it’s all speculation and conjecture. We got nothing, which means we’re back to square one.”

“We did get something. This meeting proves that Jihae Park is innocent. She obviously doesn’t know what Rotelle Corporation’s connection to Yami is about. She was forced to play the middleman, but she walked away.”

“Again, it’s all just conjecture at this point, and it isn’t Park’s innocence that we’re trying to prove but Rotelle’s guilt.”

But it wasn’t conjecture. Jihae could’ve inadvertently been pulled into the espionage scheme, but she’d distanced herself from the situation. She was innocent but the situation reeked of her father’s guilt.

“So what’s next?” Colin dragged his fingers through his hair, pacing his office.

“We need to continue keeping an eye on Sylvia Taylor and Jihae Park.”

“On Jihae? She’s not a part of this.”

“We don’t know that for sure. She may even be the key to solving this case.”

Colin blew out a frustrated breath, not liking the idea of Jihae being watched. It could also reveal their relationship, but he would deal with that later. He needed to protect Jihae from being under the PI’s surveillance.

“Look, Garrett. I’m sure Grandmother has relayed to you that I’m working with Rotelle Entertainment while keeping an eye on Jihae Park. From everything I’ve seen so far, I believe her innocence. But if she ever diverges from that, I’ll be there to see it. Jihae is already under casual surveillance by her father’s people. Following her would only risk the PI’s cover and expose our investigation.”

“I see your point. Then we’ll leave Jihae Park up to you and focus on Taylor.” There was a slight pause on the line. “Colin, I appreciate you doing this for the family, but be careful. You don’t need to risk your dream for us or Hansol. If things get too hot, I want you to stop and focus on producing your film. Is that a deal?”

“Deal.” A small smile quirked Colin’s lips. Garrett was like an older brother to him, and he appreciated how he always looked out for him. “Thanks for the advice, hyung.”

The weight on his shoulders feeling significantly lighter, Colin walked back to his bedroom. Jihae was asleep exactly where he’d left her. She slept with her hand tucked under her chin like a child. He could imagine touching her skin and finding it hard and cold as porcelain, she was so perfect in her sleep. Then her pouty lips blew out a soft breath that sounded like puuuu.

He wasn’t quick enough to cover up his snort but managed to hold back his laughter with his hand over his mouth. He loved that sound. It was so adorable. She always did that—blew out puffs of air like she was trying to extinguish a row of birthday candles—when she was especially tired.

Still laughing softly, he tiptoed to the dresser and searched for a blanket, since she was sleeping over the duvet. He pulled out a soft knit throw and laid it gently over Jihae’s sleeping form. He badly wanted to climb into bed with her and hold her as she slept, but no alarm would wake him if he got that cozy. Frustratingly, sleepovers weren’t allowed in their secrecy pact, so he would need to wake her up in a couple of hours to send her home.

Colin walked to the kitchen and got some coffee going. He would stay awake and catch up on some work. Then he would provide Jihae with the most erotic and satisfying wake-up service she’d ever had.