Encore (Stereo Hearts Book 2) (17 page)

Aria gasped under his weight as he gave her all of it, spreading her legs to the hilt. Their lips met, wide and without fear, tongues sweeping with their most honest intent, so ripe with need that Yoshi’s hand was between their sealed bodies, releasing himself from his boxers without breaking the embrace.

Their gasps warmed each other’s lips as he parted his own legs gently, letting the backs of her splayed thighs rest on top of his as he opened his eyes.

He buried his fingers in her thick hair.

She cupped his jaw. “When did you know?”

He frowned softly, his chest still heaving with evidence of his desire, hardness pushing against her pelvis, inches away from respite, peace, and pure bliss.

“What?” he smiled, running the tip of his nose against hers.

“I knew I loved you when you stood up for me that night.” She swallowed. “That night my eye went bad.”

“Your eye isn’t bad. It’s beautiful. Both of them are beautiful.”

As if recalling that night, his gaze jumped to her blue eye, running his thumb under it gingerly, catching the tear that escaped.

“When did you know?” she asked again.

Stealing another kiss with his eyes wide open, holding hers, Yoshi reached between their bodies and claimed his hardness, pressing it into her slick opening. He didn’t enter her, brushing his lips against hers until the ticklish sensation became unbearable. His eyes fluttered as her pussy opened for him, taking the head in slowly, nearly debilitating his ability to think one thought.

“When you came with me,” he said, coming down from his knees, giving her every pound of his weight, allowing himself to sink all the way inside. “When you kept me, instead of the Keys.”

Aria’s head fell back as he filled her to the hilt, her lips parting at the shock, nails digging into his back at the pleasure, and a groan splitting her lips at the pure, unadulterated joy.

“That’s when I knew,” Yoshi whispered before pulling out, ever so slowly, and driving back in without relent. His mouth spread wide and his fingers clawed at the sheets on either side of her head. Their foreheads met as he pulled out again, and he whimpered softly. “God, you’re so tight,” he gasped, looking between their bodies, almost in disbelief. When his eyes shot back up to hers, they widened. “Are you…?”

She pressed her finger to his lips, shushing him. “Just kiss me, okay?”

Yoshi searched her eyes, an amazed smile parting his lips before his mouth zeroed in on her in the same moment as his hips, slamming into her desperately, as if trying to climb inside her every orifice and stay for life.

He fucked her slow, soft, pulling the sheets and duvet from their corners when their lovemaking grew fierce. They soaked every inch of the bed in their sweat, each pulling at the sheets a little harder as they rolled and shifted, until all that remained was their thriving bodies and the bare mattress, dangerously close to sliding off the edge of the box spring as their orgasms sent them into overdrive, pushing them to the limits of control, making them blind with need.

“I love you.”

The whispered words were the last thing Aria remembered as her body thrived with her release—though she couldn’t recall who’d said them—before she fell into a blissful sleep.

--

Aria tried to fight her smile, but it trembled on her lips. She tried to keep her eyeballs still, but they darted under her lids. She tried to keep her breathing slow, but it hitched every time his fingers brushed that
spot
.

That sensitive valley between her waist and the curve of her hip.

Until last night, she’d been the only person alive who’d known that dip was there.

Now he knew it too.

If her carnal reaction to Yoshi’s touch alerted him that she was only pretending to be asleep, he didn’t show it.

So she lay there for what felt like ages, enjoying the soft touch of his fingers as he trailed them all over her naked body. The sound of his breath deepened whenever he brushed a few of his favorite spots—the dark circles of her nipples, the deep curve of her waist, and the triangle of trimmed hair between her thighs.

She let his fingers drink her in until she was no longer pretending to sleep, feeling herself falling into a deep vat of unconsciousness.

“Will you marry me?”

Her eyes flew open before she could even think to stop them, the words catching her just a moment before she found the sweet release of sleep. Her stunned gaze locked with his. Leaning one arm on the pillow next to her, as naked as she was, his eyes shone with the soft smile on his face, which only grew the moment hers flew open.

So he had known she was awake. And here she thought she’d been doing a phenomenal job pretending.

Her heart relocated to her throat, pounding so ferociously she was sure he could feel it under his fingers, which were circling her areola gently.

Head still cradled on her pillow, she searched his eyes. “What?” she gasped.

“I lied,” he said. “When I told you that I knew I loved you the night we left The White Keys. I knew I loved you way before that.” He breathed deep. “When we were ten, and we had the house all to ourselves? And you used the last scrap of ingredients Miss May had in the kitchen to make a pot of fried rice….”

Aria’s face lit up, her laughter so quick and deep it seemed to get trapped in her stomach.

He chuckled. “It smelled so fucking good, and we were so, so—”

“So hungry,” she finished.

“We filled our bowls to the brim with fried rice, so excited, and practically drowned it in soy sauce. Then, right when we were about to dig in… Roaches….”

“Roaches!” she cried, covering her face with her hands.

“Dead roaches at the bottom of the bottle. Dozens of them.”

She screamed into her hands.

“To this day, I have no idea how the fuck they got in there. And I’ve asked around.”

She brought her hands down and covered her heart, laughing hysterically.

A slow smile grew on his face, and he pressed his forehead to hers. “I didn’t want you to think I was disgusting for wanting to eat it anyway. I was
starving
, but I was ready to throw it out, just so you wouldn’t look at me differently. I was ready to go to bed on an empty stomach. Then, you said ‘fuck it’ and took the first bite.” He matched her gut laughs, stroking her hair. “That’s when I knew I loved you.”

“God,” she whispered. “I swear I was waiting for my stomach to cave in for like a week after that. I was waiting to be hospitalized for flesh-eating bacteria. I
cannot
believe we ate that rice.”

His gentle fingers moved her hair away from her face, away from her blue eye. “Marry me,” he said again, softer, slower.

She frowned, and didn’t even realize a tear had fallen until it raced into the crease of her lips and she tasted the salt. “Are you serious?” she breathed, feeling her eyebrows tighten even more.

Yoshi sat up, never breaking their eye contact.

Aria shifted so she was on her back, her arms over her head on the white pillow behind her.

Yoshi’s gaze ran across her body, drinking in the angles from the new position she’d just rolled into. Then, his eyes fell to his wrist. He eased his lime-green bracelet off, the thin piece of string still holding on by a safety pin, some super glue, and a piece of duct tape that was on its last leg.

“Yosh…” Another tear jetted down her cheek, soaking into her hair when he took her left hand.

“Say yes,” he whispered.

She didn’t say yes. She couldn’t. Vocal cords paralyzed, all she could do was nod frantically, laughing out loud when he tied the bracelet around her ring finger. He wrapped it several times, until it was on as tight as he could go, and then he leapt for her, catching her jovial laughter in a passionate kiss.

And he was between her legs in moments, spreading her thighs with the strength of his own. Entering her with his whispered words of love sealing her lips, his hardness—as well as his heart—finding its home with the only woman it would ever fully belong to.

--

Many would believe Yoshi had chosen a resort in the Maldives for his and Aria’s first vacation as a couple because, well, it was the Maldives. The once-in-a-lifetime ocean views, the secluded locale, and the undeniable romantic vibe would surely make it the perfect vacation spot. The truth was Yoshi had chosen that hotel in Maldives for one reason, and one reason only.

It was the only hotel in Asia with free breakfast.

He found himself breathing in the delicious scent of eggs, bacon, and carbs as he trudged to the breakfast buffet. It had been set up outside, right next to the pool. Several couples, most of them older, were already situated in the white tables and chairs that had been set up ocean-side, enjoying pastries and mimosas while carrying on calm morning conversations.

Yoshi smiled to himself when his stomach growled with need, swiping up two plates from the end of the buffet. He thought about Aria, still naked as a jay bird in their villa, fast asleep with his lime-green bracelet wrapped around her ring finger.

His stomach rolled with joy at the very thought, still unable to accept that she’d said yes. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but hearing the word leave her mouth had left him overcome with relief, surprise, and pure, unadulterated joy.

The terror that had been plaguing him—the success of his album, his upcoming tour, the fact that he was beginning to be recognized and he was slowly losing control of his life—no longer seemed significant. All that mattered was the chocolate angel who awaited him, and surprising her with a plate full of morning sustenance so they’d be ready and raring to stay in bed all day, all over again.

“Well, well, well….”

Yoshi turned his head and caught sight of Carmen sashaying over to him. She wore a pair of glittery gold bikini bottoms and a beige bikini top. Her blonde hair was in its usual perfect spirally ringlets, and Yoshi could already see her skin was a few shades darker than when they’d arrived, giving her an Egyptian glow.

“Good morning, Carmen.” He smiled, watching as she picked up her own plate.

“I wondered if you two were ever going to come up for air,” she said, nudging him gently while filling her plate with a few of the more healthy items at the buffet. “My God, you’ve got that glow. Glad to know you’re finally getting it in. Where’s the woman of the hour?”

“She’s still asleep.”

“I’m sure she is. Looks like she’s had a busy night.”

Yoshi stopped filling the plates and met her eyes.

“Since she’s asleep…” Carmen added a few more pieces of fruit to her plate, grabbed one of the mimosas that had been lined up at the end of the bar and nodded towards an empty table, sitting at the edge of the pool, one step away from the ocean. “Why don’t you come sit and have breakfast with me?”

“Nah. I should get back to Aria.”

“And I should tell you that we’ve been spotted.” She nodded to her left.

Yoshi followed her eyes and immediately caught sight of an elderly couple smiling at them from one of the tables. The woman, with white hair halfway down her back, waggled her fingers at him.

“Love your music,” she said, giving him a glorious smile, followed by a wink.

Yoshi waited for her to approach him, and when she didn’t, he moved his eyes back to Carmen.

“How did you know they recognized me?” he asked.

“Years of dating powerful men have left me very keen to people and their ways. They’ve been eyeing you since the moment you got out here. They’re keeping their distance, but word will spread. Maybe even a few of them will take photos of us, thinking they’re slick.” She nodded towards the table again. “So come sit with me. Just a few minutes. A quick photo op for our very
not slick
fellow vacationers, and then you’ll be free to go balls-deep in your lady once more.”

“I was so sure no one would recognize me up here. The Maldives? Aria’s already pissed…” He stopped himself.

But it seemed Carmen didn’t need him to finish. “You continue to underestimate yourself. That beautiful album you wrote has changed your life irreversibly. There isn’t a corner of the world you will ever be completely alone in again.”

Raising an eyebrow, she turned away and began towards the table.

With a sigh, Yoshi followed her, eyeing the building with each step he took, hoping Aria stayed asleep. She’d been genuinely upset with him—hurt—the night before because of Carmen. When he’d told her that the vibe she’d been giving him was reminding him of his tumultuous childhood, he hadn’t been lying. Never in his life had he hurt Aria the way she’d seemed to be, and he knew he’d only fixed it by the skin of his teeth.

How would she feel to wake up the morning after he proposed to find him sitting at breakfast with the very woman they’d been arguing about?

The frown on his face grew deeper every moment, even as he sat across the table from Carmen.

He produced his lighter from his pocket and flicked it on. Then off. Then on again.