Amery let his words flow through her and it set something inside her free.
This man was beauty.
She dropped to her knees in front of him.
Ronin’s surprised eyes hooked hers.
She took his right hand in her left, threading their fingers together until their palms met. Then she brought his left hand to her mouth, letting her lips drift across his ravaged knuckles. She pressed kisses on the back of his hand, the joint of his thumb, and the tips of his fingers. Then she pressed his hand to the side of her face. “I think your scarred hands are beautiful. Will you use them to create that rope artistry on me?”
“You really want that?”
“I really do, now that I understand it. Now that I understand you.”
“You undo me, Amery.” He stroked her cheek with the ragged pad of his thumb. “I should be on my knees before you.”
She melted.
Ronin stared at her, his face again devoid of expression and it scared her.
“What?”
“Do you know why I took an interest in you that first night you showed up at my dojo?”
Hoping to lighten things up, she tossed off, “There’s another reason besides you recognizing my natural untapped abilities in martial arts?”
Ronin smiled. “Besides that. Although you missed class this week and you will be required to make up the session.”
“In private? With you?”
He shook his head.
“Shoot. Anyway, tell me why you took an interest in me.”
“Because of this.” He tugged the shirt down, below the ball of her right shoulder and traced the raised flesh of her scar. “How did you get this?”
She glanced at the white lines an inch apart that ran parallel for two inches up her biceps and the thick line at the top that connected the two lines. “The summer I turned eight my parents sent me to stay at my grandparents’ farm. After living under my parents’ iron rule . . . I went a little wild. Got a little reckless.”
“Your first experience with no boundaries?” he said wryly.
“Something like that. Anyway, somehow I ended up in the bull pasture and those mean motherfuckers chased me. When I reached the fence, I dove through it, scared to death of being gored by a bull. In my haste to escape, I got caught up in the barbed wire. I twisted and jerked until I freed myself. I didn’t realize how deeply the barbed wire had gouged me until I felt blood running down my arm.
“At that age I was more worried that my grandma would be mad I’d ripped my shirt than that I’d injured myself. Long story short—I covered the wound with duct tape and that stopped the bleeding. But I hadn’t gotten it clean, which made it itch, so I picked at the scabs and ended up with a scar.” She looked at him. “Why? Are you into scars?”
“Never before now. But this one”—his finger followed the white lines—“threw me off.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s nearly identical to the Japanese symbol for a rogue samurai warrior.”
“Seriously?” Amery glanced down at it. “I’d think it was weird that you knew that, but given your background . . .”
Ronin placed his fingers beneath her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Do you know what word is the English translation for a rogue samurai warrior? A samurai without a master?”
The intensity in his eyes caused her heart to skip a beat. “No. What?”
He paused and said, “Ronin.” Then he angled his head to place his lips on the scar. “You have my name etched on your skin, Amery. I considered that a sign.” His eyes met hers again. “Wouldn’t you?”
The room spun. She didn’t trust herself to open her mouth, so she rested her head on his leg.
He silently stroked her hair.
Finally she said, “I know we need to talk some more, but I’d really like to wrap myself around you for a little while.”
“Here on the couch or up on the roof?”
Amery lifted her face and looked at him. “What about your bedroom?”
Those golden eyes gleamed. “I have willpower, but not that much after a week without you. I can’t promise to keep my hands to myself.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
Without a word Ronin scooped her into his arms and carried her into his bedroom.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THEY stripped down to their underwear and crawled beneath the cool sheets. Entwined together with Ronin in the dark, Amery suspected nature would take its course. And it did, just not in the way she imagined. They fell asleep.
She woke up disoriented and peeked over Ronin’s shoulder to check the time on the alarm clock. Seven a.m. Wow. Neither of them had stirred all night.
Ronin murmured, “Where you going?”
“Nowhere.” She snuggled back into him and closed her eyes.
But now that she’d awakened him, he trailed his fingers up and down her spine. “Guess we both needed rest.” He kissed the top of her head. “I didn’t sleep worth a damn last week.”
“Because you missed me?”
“Could be. Or could be the extra hours working out. Or a combination. How about you?”
“I slept like a baby.”
He made a displeased noise and quickly pinned her arms to her sides. “Is that so?”
“Yes, because babies wake up several times in the night and need comforting. Or food. Since I didn’t have anyone around to comfort me, I cracked a pint of Häagen-Dazs at two a.m.”