Pure Harmony (12 page)

Okay, yes, so he had thought she should have something bigger, as well as a car. And he’d told her so repeatedly. She did have some good points, though. Especially about the yard. What disturbed him the most was how she’d said she’d never give up what she had for what he did. Did that mean she wouldn’t live in his place when he asked her to marry him?

Whoa! Where the hell had that thought come from? Marriage? To Harmony?
Well, it sure as hell wouldn’t be to anyone but her. Still he shook his head and ran a hand down his face. It didn’t matter—he wanted her to wear his ring, carry his last name as well as his child.

Good luck having that happen.
She wouldn’t even take his calls lately. It had been two weeks since she’d kicked him out of her place. She hadn’t even been home when he’d gone to see her. Nor had she been teaching when he’d gone there.

So much for my theory on ‘she can’t hide from me in McKingley’.
She’d damn near vanished.

Rising to his feet, he pressed the button to reach his assistant. “Elisa?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Cancel and reschedule the rest of my day.”

“Right away, sir.”

He knew he’d surprised her. He wasn’t a man who skipped and ran. Hell, he was one who usually took on extra work. However, his productivity, which had increased after Harmony had moved in, had decreased over the past two weeks. Moreover, he’d got much surlier.

He grabbed his suit coat, draping it over his arm, as well as his briefcase and headed for the door. With a brief nod to Elisa, he hastened down to his coupé. Tossing his things on the seat beside him, he smiled as he recalled his sister using it and what had happened after. Then he pushed her to the back of his mind and got on his way.

At his destination, he pulled up and parked. Looking up at the apartment complex, he loosened his tie before getting out and heading to the door, locking his car with a push of a button.

He’d been here once before and knew where he was going. Still, his belly clenched a bit as he progressed. This was his last shot, really. If she wasn’t here, he didn’t know where else to go.

He took the elevator to the third floor and stepped out into the quiet hall. Tan carpet lined the floor and he moved with soundless steps to the apartment he wanted. After another deep breath, he reached out to press the doorbell.

A few moments passed before it swung open and he found himself staring into a pair of black eyes. Lana Kanseah stood there, watching him with a blank expression.

“Yes?”

“Where is she?” As he blurted out his question he was well aware of how gruff he sounded. He didn’t care—he didn’t have either time or patience to eventually work his way up to asking.

“If she’d wanted to tell you where she was, she would have.”

Damn, and he’d thought he was cold in the courtroom. Her voice would have given a polar bear frostbite.

“Lana, come on.” He leaned against her wall and stared at her. “I don’t know where else to go.”

She was obviously unmoved by his plea for she barely blinked. Inspecting her nails, she shifted her weight. “You’re a lawyer so you know what it is when someone tells a person something and that person can’t share it.”

“Like attorney-client privilege.”

The smile she gave him told him that was exactly what she meant. She wasn’t going to tell him anything.

“Is she okay?” Yes, he may have sounded like he was begging, but at this point he didn’t care.

Her phone rang and she walked off, door remaining open, to answer it. He didn’t move. Her conversation wasn’t anything he could understand and soon she hung up. Peering over her shoulder at him, she placed another call.

“Hey, hon. He’s here and wants to know where you are. Do you want to talk to him or should I slam the door in his face?”

His heart rate escalated at the thought of hearing her voice again. It had never been so hard for him to stay still before. Normally he was the cool cat but this time, he just wanted to run into her apartment and jerk that phone away. She mumbled, still watching him.

“Okay. I’ll let him know.” She pulled the phone from her ear and his heart sank. Then she held it out to him. “She wants to talk to you.”

He began walking towards her only to stop and ask, “May I come in?”

“Sure. Shut the door behind you.”

He did and made his way to her side where he relieved her of the phone.

“Harmony?” he said, almost not believing it was true.

“Hi, Jonathon.”

Relief swamped him. “I was so worried about you. Where are you?”

“No need to be worried. I’m fine. I’m in California—my parents are in the country.”

He frowned at the stress in her voice. “What can I do to help?”

Her laugh wasn’t at all humorous. She muttered something he assumed was Japanese before switching back to English.

“You’ve done enough.”

“Bullshit!” he ground out only to take a deep breath when Lana arched a black brow at him. “Stop hiding from us, Harmony. This isn’t fair.”

“Isn’t fair?” she echoed. “Fine. You want to know where I am? Get a pen and I’ll give you the address.”

He did and soon he jotted down in California where she was staying. There was so much to say to her and yet it wasn’t anything to be done via the telephone, so he kept it inside.

“I’ll be there soon,” he promised.

“Let me talk to Lana.”

He ran his tongue over his lips and nodded. Lana had her hand out expectantly and he reluctantly gave the phone to her. “Thanks.” He spun on his heel and left her place—he had things to do and a plane to catch.

* * * *

His plane had departed at seven that night and he reclined in his first class seat, a drink in hand, as they streaked towards California. He’d called his assistant and told her he would be gone, then he’d handed off some of his most important cases that couldn’t wait until his return. Normally he would have put the law first, but not this time. Deep down, he knew if he didn’t go after her he would lose her forever. And that wasn’t something he was willing to do.

After landing, he retrieved his rental and drove to the hotel where he had a room on the same floor as Harmony. It had been on the tip of his tongue to ask for the penthouse suite, but he’d remembered her final words to him.

Right before she had kicked his ass out of her place.

He blew out a pent-up breath. After signing in, he went to his room and unpacked. Once that was done, he freshened up a bit and went to the room she’d told him she was in and knocked on the door.

It opened and he found himself staring directly at the woman he’d come to see. And yet, she was totally different. She wore a black, long-sleeved, knee-length wraparound dress. It moulded to her in ways he wanted to. The V-neck showed off hints of her cleavage. It was not casual but not over the top formal either, although it leaned more towards formal.

“Hello, Harmony.”

God, he couldn’t get enough of her. Her hair was held up by a comb of some sort that had a flower design on it. With it drawn back like that, she looked more severe than he remembered.

“Jonathon.” She gave a slight bow and stepped back to allow him in.

Christ, his hands itched to touch her. Kiss her. The moment he had stepped past the entryway and she’d shut the door, he reached for her, his heart splintering when she shook her head and stepped out of his grasp.

“Are you still mad at me?”

“No. I… I just have to get going. I have dinner to go to with my parents.”

“Where are they?”

“They were at Papa’s business thing. They’ll be here in about fifteen minutes. I’m supposed to meet them downstairs so we can go to the restaurant.”

“Fifteen minutes?”

She nodded, looking entirely too delectable and enticing as she stood there, her hands clasped before her.

“Not quite enough time, but it’s a start.”

She blinked, her confusion apparent. “Not enough time for what?”

He loosened the knot of his tie. “For me to give you a proper hello. I’ll just have to make do with the time we do have.”

He saw the moment understanding set in, for she shook her head and began to back farther away from him. “No, Jonathon. I have to meet my parents.”

His tie fell to the floor and he unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it from his slacks. “You still will.”

There was no disguising the raw hunger in her gaze and it spurred him on. The shirt went next and he undid his belt.

She shook her head. “I can’t.” Her tongue sneaked out and licked her lips, his groan slid free.

“Why?”

She reached out to him only to drop her hand back to her side. “Meeting my parents.”

“I’d love to.”

Her eyes widened and her gaze flew to meet his. “What?”

This time he did touch her. Curled his fingers around her wrist and drew her flush to his bared chest. Dropping his chin so they could be staring at one another, he smiled.

“Meet your parents. I’d love to.”

He could see her gearing up for a big argument so he stopped it the best way he knew how. He kissed her. Lord, he’d missed this woman. Rejuvenating energy poured through him as her taste reawakened his senses.

She hesitated for about two seconds. Then responded with the fiery passion he’d come to crave from her. She wound her arms around his neck and he lifted her. Like usual, she hooked her legs about his waist, pressing them even closer together. He loved how tightly she held him.

Cupping her ass, he continued to devour her mouth. Their tongues danced and stroked along one another, tastes mingling. With one hand, he freed himself and jerked off her panties before sliding into her with a single, smooth stroke.

Her gasp was as potent as the feel of her tight sheath around his cock. He spun them, so her back was against a wall and began to thrust up into her. Hard and fast, he took her. Her nails dug into his back as she rode him.

In and out. Back and forth. She kept up with him, moving in the perfect tandem he knew and hungered after from her. He could admit it—she meant more to him than a random fuck. This woman made him see the future he had always wanted. But not with anyone other than her.

Her muscles clenched and legs tightened as her internal muscles gripped him harder, milking him. He couldn’t hold out anymore and flicked her clit with two fingers. Her back bowed and her breasts were thrust forward as she came all over his shaft with a scream into his mouth. The feel of her coming on his uncovered cock was all it took. He drove home three more times before he unloaded deep within her core, bathing her channel with his seed.

Only once her shaking had stopped did he break the kiss they’d shared. Her eyes were hazy and glazed with passion, lips swollen and yet slightly turned up at the corners in pleasure.

“Hi,” he murmured.

“Hi yourself.”

“I missed you.”

She glanced down to where they remained joined and grinned. “I see that.”

Jonathon carried her to the bathroom where he cleaned them both up. He watched in silence as she threw away her torn panties and put on another pair before checking her reflection in the mirror.

“You’re beautiful.”

She gave him a soft smile in the mirror but didn’t respond, just continued to fix the small bit of makeup she wore.

“I want to meet your parents.”

Her small body stiffened again, and not for a good reason this time. “To what end?”

“Because I’m dating their daughter. And I want to meet the people important to you.”

She uncapped her lip gloss and applied a light layer. “Dating?”

He crossed his arms. “What the hell do you call what we’ve been doing?”

“I thought after I moved out…” She trailed off with a shrug.

He narrowed his eyes. “You thought what? We would just end it? Go our separate ways? Because of the disagreement?”

“Disagreement? Is that what you call it? You constantly shoving down my throat how I should be living?”

“I said I was sorry.”

“Not to me you didn’t. And if you were truly sorry, it wouldn’t happen over and over again.”

He frowned, frustrated. “So you’re mad at me because I don’t want you living in a small place?”

She spun to face him. “No. I’m mad because you don’t think I know what I want. How I want to live.” A slash of her hand through the air. “Or what makes me happy.”

“Didn’t you like living at my place?”

“Sure. You have a very nice condo. But it’s not me, Jonathon. Like I told you before, I’ve done the gilded cage. I don’t want that. I don’t need huge, expansive places. My little apartment had more warmth and feel to it, for me, than your whole place.”

“You could decorate it.”

“Why? I don’t live there anymore. I am getting my place how I want it.” She moved closer to him and touched his arm. “I’m sorry, Jonathon. I don’t fit into your world. Look at how you live, your friend Deyon lives. Your older brothers. Hell, even your oldest sister. All of them have huge places. Arissa and Lis have smaller ones, but still. And your parents.” She shook her head. “It’s just not me. Not anymore.” Harmony stole a glance at the delicate watch on her wrist. “I have to go. It was great seeing you.”

Jonathon stood there in disbelief as she turned and walked out of her hotel room, closing the door silently behind her.
Not belong in his world?
He’d never cursed his family name or the money he had until just now. Then he jerked open the door and went after her. He couldn’t let it go like this. Hell no. Not on his life. And that’s exactly what she was to him, his entire life.

Harmony rode the elevator down alone. Her heart hurt from what had just transpired between herself and Jonathon. It hadn’t been easy at all telling him those things, but she’d had to be honest with herself. And with him.

The doors slid open and she walked out, shoving Jonathon and that issue to the back of her mind for the time being. Right now, she had to focus on the dinner with her parents. Smoothing her hands down her sides, she took a deep breath and continued on to where they were supposed to meet.

Sure enough, her parents were there, early like usual. At least she wasn’t late. She pasted a smile on her face and walked up to them.