Dearly Beloved (Siren Publishing Allure) (12 page)

Ebony pouted. “You think anyone will be looking at my legs?”

Tomio nodded. “A real man would.”

Ebony shook her head. Sometimes Tomio was too much to believe. “Are Eiji and Gina going to be there?”

“Yes, now you can stop thinking of excuses not to go. You and Gina can compare bellies.”

Ebony chuckled at Tomio’s silliness. “She is in her third month and she is beginning to show a little.”

Tomio kissed her on the head. “Everyone is so anxious to meet you. Maybe we should have that big fancy wedding my father keeps mentioning to me.”

Ebony scowled.
No way.
She doubted that others wanted to meet her. Older Japanese women would probably hate her on sight. No doubt, Setsuko had been bad-mouthing her around town. She bet Rika had, too. “Will the rest of the family be joining us?”

“No. My parents have other plans. Kazuhiko will be at the club, and Makoto is busy handling an important case,” Tomio answered.

Good. She didn’t feel like being bothered by them. “I need to do something with my hair.” At the moment, it was in big thick braids.

“Do you want to visit a salon?” Tomio asked, still messing with her stomach.

“Do they have one around here that caters to African-American hair?”

Tomio shook his head. “No, but I’m sure we can find one.”

“Don’t bother,” Ebony said. She’d been doing her own hair and makeup for years. Tomio stopped playing with her belly and moved down to the waistband of her panties. “What are you doing?

“I’m about to get busy with my wife.”

Since being around her, he had picked up a lot of American street slang. And since Tomio had been escorting her to her prenatal visits, he has wanted to have sex with her every night. Ebony didn’t mind since it also meant more orgasms for her. She had to lift her hips so he could remove her underwear. The next thing she knew Tomio had buried his face into her crotch. His tongue entered her and Ebony leaned back in a swoon.
The man’s tongue is magical, thick, and…
“Oh!” The intense orgasm snuck up on her just that fast.

Tomio came up chuckling. “That was quick. Why didn’t you tell me that you were horny?”

Ebony’s cheeks hated with embarrassment. “I can’t help it if I’m sexually attracted to you.” Tomio got out of his T-shirt, revealing all those powerful muscles.
Damn, he’s so fine.
He had a nice ass, too. She spread her legs as he crawled back on the bed.

“You know we can’t do it in that position anymore.”

Ebony pouted again and turned over on her side. Tomio moved next to her and turned to face her. Ebony draped a leg over his hip and Tomio entered her. She got a big cramp in her leg. “Ouch!” The pain worked its way up to her hip. “I have a Charley Horse.”

Tomio sighed, slipped out of her, and began massaging the leg. “We have to find a position that is comfortable for both of us.”

“I can always sit on top of you,” Ebony suggested.

“You’re too heavy.”

Ebony tried to kick him with her sore leg. “Are you trying to say that I’m fat?”

Tomio blocked the kick. “No, you’re just heavy.”

Ebony moved away from him. “That’s the same thing.” She turned her back to him. Tomio snuggled up against her butt. He was still erect. She leaned forward and Tomio spread her with his fingers. He entered, but this position was uncomfortable, too.

“Okay, I guess you’ll have to sit on me,” Tomio said.

Ebony chuckled. She rose and eased down onto Tomio. “Oh! This feels so good.”

Tomio gripped her hips and began moving her up and down on his cock. “You get your way this time.”

She smirked at him and Tomio pinched her on the butt. “Ouch.”

Tomio chuckled wickedly for a moment then his smile disappeared. “Oh!” He started thrusting. “I’m about to come.”

“Already?” She wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck and let him take the lead. He grunted once and came. “Damn, that was fast.”

“Sorry,” Tomio apologized as he recovered. “Your pussy is just too good.” He lifted her and eased out of her.

Ebony tried to move off of his lap, but Tomio’s strong arms held her in place. He stared into her eyes. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I love you,” he said.

Ebony smiled. “I love you too, Tomio.” She lowered her head and kissed him. Suddenly all of her problems seemed small.

* * * *

“You look beautiful,” Tomio said to her on the night of the party. Ebony had just exited their bedroom and found him waiting in the living room. The blue and black sequined dress looked just perfect on her statuesque frame. The seamstress had designed the dress to draw attention away from her stomach, and put it on her cleavage and legs. Her hair and makeup was impeccable, too. The blue eye shadow, black eye liner, and deep red lipstick showcased her round face. Ebony had flat-ironed her hair and curled it so that it hung down around her shoulders.

“Thanks,” she said. “You look fantastic, too. I like a man who looks good in a tuxedo.” She walked around him, checking him out. “Maybe we need to stay home and snuggle.”

“Nice try,” Tomio said, leading her out of the apartment. “We’re going to the party and we’re going to have fun.”

Akira waited at the curb for them.

“Damn, look at you,” Ebony said, checking the driver out. “You almost look good enough to date.” He wasn’t wearing his usual black livery, but a nice navy tuxedo. He’d combed his hair a little differently, too. She sighed. The man was simply too gorgeous to be believed.

“Dream on,” Akira said as he held the door open for her. “You can’t handle me.”

Tomio chuckled at them. “Stop flirting with my driver or he won’t bring us any more steaks from the butcher.” Ebony slid into the backseat. Tomio went around to the other side and got in. Akira closed both doors and then got in behind the wheel. They drove for several minutes and then arrived at their destination. The party was being held at the home of Yamaoki Azuma, a local politician in their area. The reason that he was so popular was because his campaign focused on justice for everyone, and not just the rich. Yamaoki also didn’t interfere in yakuza business, but he did stand up for them when other politicians talked against them. In return, the local yakuza provided security for him at political events and social functions.

“Tomio,” Yamaoki said as he approached with his pretty wife, Yuri. Yuri was considerably younger than the forty-five-year-old Yamaoki, and rumor had it that their marriage had been arranged by their fathers. Not everyone still kept to old traditions, but it seemed to work for them.

Tomio shook hands with the older man.

“You remember my wife, Yuri,” Yamaoki said.

Tomio bowed to the man’s wife.

“And who is this?” Yamaoki asked.

Tomio pulled Ebony forward. “I’d like you to meet my wife, Ebony. Honey, this is our host, Yamaoki Azuma, and his wife, Yuri.”

Ebony bowed to both of them and spoke to them in Japanese. “It is an honor to meet both of you, and thank you for inviting us to your home.”

“You speak our language well,” Yuri said to her.

“I’ve been studying it since I was a child.” Ebony paused. “That is a lovely dress. The color makes your eyes sparkle.”

That got a huge smile out of Yuri. “You really think so?”

Ebony nodded. “You must tell me the name of the designer.”

“His name is Henry Clay,” Yuri said. “I picked it up on my last trip to France.”

“It’s beautiful,” Ebony said. “I like the way it makes your waist appear so tiny.”

“I like her, Tomio,” Yuri said. “I couldn’t believe it when my husband told me that you had gotten married. There are a lot of women here who are going to be disappointed. And you lucked on a beauty.”

“I’m the lucky one,” Ebony said. “Tomio is a wonderful husband, and he has gone out of his way to make me feel comfortable.”

Tomio led his wife away from the hosts and found their seats. Tomio looked toward the door and frowned.

Ebony picked up on it. “Who is that?”

“The enemy,” Tomio answered.

“Whose?”

“Yours and mine,” he answered. “The man is Ren Ayase. The woman on the right is his wife, Chieko, and the one on the left is his sister Eriko.”

“Your old girlfriend?”

Tomio nodded. Gina and Eiji came through the door behind them. Tomio stood up and got Eiji’s attention. He escorted Gina over to them. The two sisters-in-law hugged. The action caught the attention of Ren Ayase. Tomio pretended not to notice.

* * * *

“You’re prettier than I expected,” Eriko said to Ebony when Ebony exited the powder room.

“Thanks,” Ebony said. “Do I know you?”

“No, but you might have heard of me,” Eriko said. “My name is Eriko Ayase. Tomio and I dated a long time ago.”

“Oh,” Ebony said. “Tomio never mentioned you.” She knew all about this woman, too.

“I can’t believe he didn’t tell you about me,” Eriko said. “We dated all through high school.” She walked around Ebony. “You’re tall.”

“And pregnant,” Ebony announced.

“So I’ve heard. I can see why your mother-in-law hates you.”

Ebony smirked. “Is that common knowledge?”

“Yes,” Eriko said. “It’s no secret around town that Tomio married below him.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Everyone is gossiping about how he married a foreigner that has no family or money,” Eriko said.

Ebony felt like knocking that smug look from Eriko’s face, but she didn’t want to make a scene. “Ah, but I still have Tomio, so apparently being Japanese and rich isn’t everything.”

“You’re so uncouth,” Eriko said. “What can you offer Tomio? I bet he only married you because he got you pregnant.”

“You’d lose that bed,” Ebony said. “We were married before I got pregnant, so you can’t go around telling folks that my child is a bastard.”

“Tomio can’t possibly be in love with you,” Eriko said. “Your skin is dark and your hair is thick. He likes women with porcelain skin and tiny bodies.”

Ebony laughed. “How well do you know Tomio? The man likes women with a little more meat on their bones. He likes my big ass, too.”

Eriko frowned at her. “And how long do you think he will stay with you when you get stretch marks and your ass starts to sag?”

“Even if he does leave me, I doubt that he will pick up with you,” Ebony said. “Rika Fukushima, maybe, but not you. Tomio likes powerful women, not those who let their best friend steal their man away.”

Eriko hissed at her. “What do you know about that?”

“I know everything. Tomio and I have no secrets and Rika has bragged to me about the incident.” She chuckled. “You better pick your friends better because a bitch like her can’t be trusted.” Ebony turned and walked away from Eriko. She looked back once to see Eriko stomping off toward her family.

“Where have you been?” Tomio asked her when she finally returned to the table.

“Powder room,” Ebony answered. “Where are Gina and Eiji?”

“They just left,” Tomio answered. “Gina was tired. Too much dancing.”

“I’m kind of tired too,” Ebony said. One knife in her back this evening was enough.

“But we haven’t had our dance,” Tomio said, rising.

“Just one,” Ebony said, no longer in the mood to party. Tomio took her hand and led her to the dance floor. Ebony did not fail to miss the fact that everyone stared at them as they walked by. She just decided to ignore them. The music sounded good, and her favorite guy was dressed-up and wanted to boogie. He pulled her into his arms—careful of her belly—and slow danced with her to Nat King Cole’s “Mona Lisa.”

“You are the prettiest woman here this evening,” he said after he dipped her.

“I am not,” Ebony said, suddenly feeling excited for the first time that she had agreed to accompany him. Tomio was an excellent dancer, and he had no problems adjusting his body so he wouldn’t put much pressure on her stomach.

“Yes, you are,” he said. “All the guys were checking you out when you left the table, including Yamaoki and Ren Ayase.”

“But they’re married.”

“That doesn’t mean that they’re blind or can’t appreciate a beautiful woman.”

Ebony pressed her head against his chest. She didn’t care about other men. She only had eyes for Tomio. The song ended, and Tomio escorted her back to their table. But before the evening ended, other couples had come over to the table to meet her, and she even got a chance to dance with Yamaoki. Of course his wife gave her consent.

“That was fun,” Tomio said on the drive home. “We will definitely have to go dancing again after my child is born.”

Ebony squeezed his hand affectionately. “Whose child?”

Tomio chuckled. “Ours.”

It had been a month since Yoshi had last seen Ebony Nakamura. Yoshi saw her as soon as she walked in carrying a box. She had to maneuver a little to get her, the box, and her growing belly through the door. Wakame saw her too and made a beeline over to her. He took the box away from her and escorted Ebony over to a table. Yoshi went into the kitchen and called Daiki’s office to let him know about Mrs. Nakamura’s appearance. It surprised him to see Wakame in the kitchen a few minutes later with the box. “What do you have there?”