Ryo tugged on Aya’s wrist again.
“Say yes, Aya. Please.”
“What exactly am I saying yes to, Ryo?”
He was acutely aware of the pressure of Ryo’s hand on his wrist, of the warmth of his fingers as they touched his skin.
“Does that mean you’re saying yes?”
Ryo didn’t wait for an answer before reaching up to comb the fingers of his other hand through Aya’s hair, rubbing the silky strands between thumb and index finger. He appeared to be reveling in the imagined finally come to life.
“Ryo...”
There was a warning in the tone of Aya’s voice, enough to drag Ryo’s attention away from his hair and back to his face.
“Your hair used to be longer, didn’t it? I had the sudden image of you with a braid trailing down the length of your back and then of all that hair unbound while we…”
Ryo visibly swallowed, his gaze darting from Aya’s eyes to his mouth and back again.
“Please tell me that was you.”
Aya nodded slowly. “That was me.”
The softly spoken words were barely out of his mouth when Ryo tightened the grip on his arm and pulled them together, lips descending to his own in a fierce, desperate kiss. Any thoughts of resistance, if they existed in the first place, were lost at the moment of contact. His lips parted as he fervently returned the embrace, feeling Ryo’s tongue thrusting quickly inside, seeking its mate. He thought he heard Ryo moan, or had that been him?
It occurred to Ryo that he shouldn’t be taking such liberties. He was acting upon fragments of both memories and emotions. There was much about his and Aya’s relationship that he didn’t yet know. They loved each other once and Aya had admitted to loving him still…
It occurred to Aya that he shouldn’t be allowing this to happen. It was too much, too soon, and would only lead to consequences he didn’t know if he had it in him to deal with right now. There were so many unresolved issues. He knew Ryo wanted him and he had admitted to loving him still…
They both broke the kiss with a gasp, staring back at each and speaking at the same moment:
“I love you.”
They tried a second time to speak, but succeeded only in talking over each other again, asking what the other had said. Finally Ryo held up a hand. “Me first, because I was saying something I should have said the second I found you. I love you, Aya. I know I don’t have all my memories back, but I’m positive about my feelings. I have no idea how many chances you’ve given my sorry ass in the past, but I’m only asking for one more.”
Aya tried to move away, embarrassed at his actions, frowning when Ryo wouldn’t let him. He didn’t force the issue, but sighed instead, resigning himself. “I love you and will continue to love you, whether you remain Ryo or return to Yohji. I thought one would be different from the other, but they aren’t. You aren’t. I believe now that Ryo is to Yohji what Ran is to Aya. But at the same time, I can’t give you an answer, not yet. I have to talk to the others. Can you let me do that?”
Ryo didn’t bother to hide his disappointment, but he nodded all the same. “I’m not sure I understand and I’m not entirely happy about it, but if you have someone you need to talk to first, then I can respect that. I realize I don’t have much right to demand anything from you. Will you still stay the night? I’ve been dreaming about you so long. I want to fall asleep with you in my arms and wake up beside you in the morning. Otherwise I might not believe you’re real.”
Aya smiled, stroking a hand over Ryo’s hair. “Of course I will. Why don’t you order us some food? I need to make a phone call. It won’t take me long.”
Leaning into the caress, Ryo returned the smile. “Thank you.” Taking Aya’s hand in his own, he dropped a kiss against his palm before releasing it and turning to pick up the phone, hitting the button for room service.
Leaving Ryo to place the order, Aya stood and headed for the room’s balcony, wanting privacy for his own phone call. Extracting his cell phone from his pocket, he hit the autodial number for the house.
It only rang once when Ken picked it up, no doubt waiting all this time for him to call. “Aya? How’s it going? How much does Yohji remember?”
“He’s Ryo now, Ken. You should endeavor to remember his name. He appears to remember quite a bit, only it’s in pieces, like a puzzle he’s trying to put together. We’ve had a long talk and I will be staying the night.” Aya closed his eyes and began counting to ten. He didn’t have to wait long for Ken’s exclamation of approval.
“That’s great, Aya! Congratulations. I knew you two would get back together. No way Yohji…I mean Ryo would forget about you. Not after everything you two went through together. He may not remember everything, but you could tell him what he doesn’t and talk to KR about getting him on the team…”
“Ken,” Aya quickly interrupted, “you’re getting ahead of the situation here. Ryo does not remember being an assassin. If he does remembers, then I will do my best to help him understand, but if he doesn’t neither you nor I nor anyone else will tell him. Do you understand?”
Ken was clearly not happy with Aya’s decision. “But Aya, how are you and he going to work things out if he doesn’t know? What about the current team? Are you going to lie to him? Look, I really think you should talk to Mihirogi and KR. See what they think before you go making choices for everyone. Including me. Because I sure as hell don’t intend on …”
Whatever Ken had intended to say was suddenly cut off, leaving Aya to wonder if the connection had been severed until he heard another voice on the phone.
“Aya?”
“Chloé? What happened to Ken?”
“He appeared rather agitated, so I suggested he let me deal with you. I understand you’re with Yohji?”
“Ryo. He’s Ryo now and yes, I am. We’ve been talking. I was calling to say that I would be staying the night with him at his hotel.”
“Excellent!” Chloé sounded genuinely pleased, leaving Aya to question exactly what Ken had been telling him and the others. “You’ve certainly been spurning my advances long enough. It’s about time you were able to share such physical pleasure again.”
Aya gritted his teeth. “I didn’t say I was planning on having sex with him, did I? I’m only staying the night because he asked.”
“Why ever would you not have sex with him, Aya? He is the man you love, is he not? And you have not been with anyone since him for nearly three years, correct? I should think that you would be rather anxious to become reacquainted with him. Ken assured me that Ryo had come looking for you because he still loved you. I’m not sure I see what the problem is.”
“Don’t you think, considering the situation, that fucking the man so soon would be both imprudent and unwise? It could jeopardize Krypton Brand… “
But Chloé was clearly having none of Aya’s objections. “I believe, Aya dear, that you are long over due for a night of both imprudent and unwise carnal activities. Enjoy yourself and don’t worry about your shift in the shop tomorrow. Free has kindly agreed to cover it. Goodnight Aya. Sleep well.”
Before Aya could retort, Chloé ended the call, leaving him staring at the phone as if he were contemplating throwing it over the balcony.
“Fucking bastard,” he grumbled at the device before shoving it into his pocket and heading back into the room where Ryo was waiting, well aware that he’d been rather expertly played.
Damn Ken, Free and Chloé.