A heavyset Japanese man cut through the crowd and helped Naomi to her feet.
Amery and Naomi glared at each other, hatred burning the air between them.
A hand landed on the back of Amery’s neck. With adrenaline coursing through her, she just about started throwing elbows, when his hard body pressed against hers.
Ronin.
Naomi’s eyes stayed on Ronin. Her lip curled when he placed a soft kiss on Amery’s burning cheek. “You’ll never keep him.”
“Luckily he doesn’t want to be a kept man.”
Her face turned red and she shook with rage.
“Oh, and for the record? I am Ronin’s rope model. His only rope model. In private and in public. Someone at the club fed you what you wanted to hear. So next time get your facts straight before you start offering your”—Amery gave Naomi a sneering head-to-toe perusal—“second-rate services to my man. We will be doing a demonstration soon. And trust me; it’ll be something they’ll be talking about for years to come.”
Ronin’s hand tightened on the back of her neck.
Shiori stepped forward. “And also for the record?” She waggled her cell phone. “You’re not the only one with videotape capabilities. If a single image from tonight ever shows up anywhere—and trust me; I’ll know since I have teams of computer techs who live for this kind of shit—I will upload this to every media outlet. You’re done fucking with my family forever, Naomi.”
Her bodyguard or whatever he was stepped between them and ushered Naomi out.
After Naomi disappeared into the crowd, Shiori launched herself at Amery. “You are the shit! We are drinking to celebrate.”
“She’s had plenty to drink. I’m taking her home.”
Before Amery could remind Ronin he didn’t speak for her, Deacon tugged her away from Ronin and hugged her.
“I am so freakin’ proud of you, darlin’! You reacted to the situation calmly and showed adaptability. Score one for Black Arts and the girl who paid attention in class.”
“Don’t you mean the flavor of the month who paid attention in class?”
“I only said that to get you to punch harder.”
“You are a sadistic asshole.”
“Yep, but it worked, didn’t it?”
Ronin gently maneuvered Amery away from Deacon and slanted her head back to scrutinize the raised welt on her face.
“I’m fine.”
His eyes were black with fury. “She marked you.”
“I marked her back worse.”
“We need to get you home and ice this before it swells.”
“Killer here,” Deacon said slyly, “ain’t leavin’ until we get to toast her victory. The girl deserves it.”
“One drink.” Then Ronin hauled her body against his, right there in the middle of the bar, and pressed kisses over every inch of the red mark. Twice.
After the toast, Ronin towed her to the dance floor. He entwined their bodies, and they swayed to the sultry song. He kissed her with sweet heat and the urgency that made her girl parts tingly and her panties slick.
“I’m sorry you had to deal with her.”
“I’m not. Now she knows I’m not afraid of her.” She nuzzled his neck and inhaled Ronin’s scent: salt and clean cotton. “How much did you see?”
“All of it. Deacon kept me from jumping in. I saw some of the self-defense training stuck with you.”
“I can’t believe I won my first fight.”
“Got the fever now?” he whispered in her ear.
“Just for you.” Amery kissed him. “Because you are worth fighting for.” She whispered, “Aishiteru wa.”
His eyes softened, turning that beautiful liquid gold. “Baby.”
They danced in silence for a while, just holding each other.
Then Ronin said, “Were you high on victory when you threw down the gauntlet about doing a rope demo at the club?”
“Maybe. She pissed me off. I’ve been mad at her since this morning when I heard what she said to you last night. And her look of shock when I informed her she was wrong? Totally worth it.”
Ronin stopped dancing. “What won’t be worth it? Your look of shock in the club when I’m binding you in front of a crowd. Letting her push you into doing something that scares you gives her power.”
“No, I took the power. I talked to Shiori about my concerns about a public binding.”
At first it looked like he might protest about her choice of confidante, but he said, “I’m glad you talked to someone.”
“Shiori also said depending on the type of technique, maybe I wouldn’t have to be naked.”
He gave her that patient Sensei stare.
“Aren’t demos more about the completed rope configuration instead of the individual knot techniques?” She swallowed hard at the coolness in his eyes. “In a few of the books you had me look at, the rope models were partially clothed. The clothing even adds to the rope configuration.”
“But you are serious about letting me bind you at the club?”
Amery inhaled and exhaled before she spoke. “I’m willing to take it situation by situation. I don’t want to lose you, Ronin. And I meant what I said to Naomi. I want to be your only rope model. Giving people a glimpse of the passion between us, the sensuality of how you tie me . . . maybe that’s not a bad thing to show off, since I know you respect the intimacy between us.”
His mouth crashed down on hers hard. The blistering kiss set every nerve receptor in her body into overdrive. “Need you.” He barely brushed his lips over hers. “Come home with me.”
“Yes.”
“I may fuck you in my car just to take the edge off.”
Amery smiled against his lips.
“You like that idea.”
“Actually, I’ve always wanted to fuck in a limo, and your sister has one parked outside. What do you say we ask if we can borrow it?”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“AMERY is really letting you bind her at the club?” Knox asked.
“Yes.” Ronin stared out the window at the falling snow. The sky remained a murky gray even at two in the afternoon. An abrupt temperature change always wreaked havoc in the dojo—put the kids on edge, made them energetic and sometimes careless. Thankfully his instructors were clued in enough to pay attention to those types of changes so he didn’t have to warn them about his extra safety concerns.
“Do you know which binding you’re demonstrating?”
“I know what style and components I’ll use, but I’m still working out specifics.” Specifically why Amery insisted she’d wear a traditional kimono or a bodysuit and not be bound naked.
You let your student dictate the rules to the master, pussycat?
He shook his head, trying to exorcise Naomi’s phantom voice. The thought of anyone but him seeing Amery’s bound beauty, the glow of her skin, the serenity on her face when she was at his mercy, the constriction of her nipples and ropes framing the secret heart of her, didn’t bring him a sense of pride but a fierceness to protect it. He’d never felt that way. And he sure as fuck didn’t know what to do about it.
So the irony was, now that Amery had initiated a demo night at the club, he was the one feeling unsure about going forward with it. But there was no way to stop it.
“Ronin?” Knox said behind him.
He turned. “Sorry. Lost in thought. What did you say?”
“Naomi has always fucked you up. I wanted to throw a freakin’ party when you said you were done with that psychotic bitch. I never trusted her. I hated the way she’d burrowed herself into your life, with her controlling, needy bullshit.”
Ronin studied Knox.
“What?”