Authors: Marian Tee
But he hadn’t. He was just his normal rude self, with a surprising tendency to take her unawares with his kiss.
Park lifted a brow at her. “Aren’t you going to count your money?”
She was already happily tearing into her pay envelope before he finished speaking, making Park laugh. Violet started counting. “So this one I set aside for food, rent, tuition, emergency money…” She took out her wallet and placed several bills inside a hidden side fold. Violet looked up and beamed at Park. “And now, what I have left here is money I can spend without guilt!”
He peered at the contents of the envelope and snorted again. “You only have 2000 yen left there.”
She glanced down immediately and grimaced. “You’re right. That’s about twenty-five dollars, I think.” Then she brightened and smiled at Park. “I know! Let’s spend your money instead?”
“What?” Park pretended to be outraged.
She batted her eyelashes at him. “Pretty, pretty please?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“No.”
But by the time their shift ended, Park found himself walking with Violet, not at all sure how she managed to get her way again this time.
Violet handed him her 1,000 yen. “My contribution,” she told him cheerfully.
He rolled his eyes. “This will barely buy us anything.”
“But at least I still contributed. You can pay for the rest,” she said magnanimously.
The way she acted, Park knew it should have made him think of her as some kind of gold digger. But for some reason he didn’t. There wasn’t an avaricious bone in her body. She was just being herself, the way only Violet could be.
They took the train this time, Violet wanting to check out a popular grocery store in another city that supposedly sold the cutest bento boxes and ingredients for hot pot soups. Even at a little after ten, the train was still incredibly crowded and with the jostling going around them, Park had to keep a firm hold of Violet, one arm wrapping around her while he held on to one of the rails above him to keep both of them steady.
Park glanced down with a frown when Violet lifted one side of his trench coat to burrow close to him.
Then she looked up at him with a mischievous smile.
Park stiffened. “Violet,” he said warningly, not liking the twinkle in her eyes. “Don’t—” He inhaled sharply as he felt the soft, gentle brush of her hand against his dick, just before her fingers curled around his length and squeezed.
He sucked his breath in harder.
“Do you want me to stop?” she asked innocently. It was so fun teasing Park like this! It had been such a long time since she had allowed herself to be like this again. And if she were honest with herself, she had never actually been this playful, this forward, with any other guy, not even with…him.
He glared down at her. “Don’t you fucking dare.”
She laughed, but it died halfway when he suddenly pulled her with him, even with her fingers around his dick, taking them near the door. He leaned back against the glass partition next to the doors, and as he hugged her tightly with both arms this time, one hand made its way to her breast and squeezed before pinching her nipples.
She gasped.
He pinched again, twisting and pulling her nipple as well.
Violet closed her eyes, fearing she’d moan if she looked up and saw Park’s gorgeous face.
“More?” he whispered in his ear. Normally, Park didn’t do this kind of thing with a woman—not even with his ex—but something about Violet made him want to do something reckless. Besides, he was sure that no one they knew was around, giving him the confidence to act a little more on his urges.
And right now, all his urges had to do with fucking Violet. He was dying to sink his dick into her again and take her sweet cunt again and again.
Shit! The thought alone had him hard and aching already.
Violet’s fingers curled more tightly around him all of a sudden, making him jerk, and he looked down at her with a little shock when she started stroking him.
She smiled up at him, the smile sexy and wicked. “More?” she asked innocently.
“Fuck yes,” he answered hoarsely.
She laughed, the sound breathless, even as her fingers moved even more surely and faster.
He stopped the sweet movement of her hand when he felt he was about to come, the same time the train stopped at their station.
“Park?” He was dragging her with him, walking so fast she had to run just to stay close to him.
She let out a little cry when he suddenly made a turn, taking them inside an empty restroom. He kicked the door shut and locked it. Her eyes widened and her voice was a mixture of trepidation and excitement as she called his name again. “Park?”
“I need a taste of you,” Park growled, sinking to his knees. In seconds, he had flipped her skirt up, pulled her panties to the side, and tongued her.
Violet fell back against the wall, panting. “Park.” This time, the sound came out strangled.
He answered by pushing her folds wide open so he could slide his tongue inside, taking a deeper taste of her.
She moaned, not caring who would hear her. “Please…” Her legs shook at the effort to stay upright and somehow her fingers found their way to his head, threading through his hair and then gripping it hard to keep his head there, kissing her the way she had never dreamt was possible.
Park moved up, sucking her clit the same time he slid two fingers into her.
Violet screamed, the lightning-bolt of pleasure taking her by surprise. He didn’t stop sucking, didn’t stop thrusting his fingers into her as she continued to come against his mouth, her body shaking uncontrollably.
It felt like an eternity had passed when Violet managed to look down, still a little dazed. Park was fixing her panties before pulling her skirt down. He glanced up, meeting her bright eyes with his own hooded ones.
Violet started. Somehow, even though she had been the one to come apart in Park’s arms, Park seemed to be the one feeling more exposed.
She pulled him up by the lapels, and he let her. On his feet, he towered over her easily, and she raised her hands a little higher so she could cup his face. “Hey.”
Park didn’t say anything.
“Why is it like this feels like I’m guilty of statutory rape?”
He blinked as her words sank in, then he smiled slightly. But he still didn’t say anything. She let one of her hands drift down, pressing it against his heart. It beat madly, knocking hard against his chest.
Her eyes widened in realization. “Is this the first time you’ve done something like this?”
Park’s upper lip curled.
She started to laugh. “It is, isn’t it? And that’s why you’re bothered.”
Park’s face became cold. “I’m sorry if I’m overreacting,” he snarled, his voice sharper than usual. “I guess I’m just not as used to kissing my friends as you seem to be.” He said the words with a part of him hoping she would take offense because then it would make Violet like the rest of the women he knew.
But she didn’t.
Violet only shook her head, a soft smile on her lips. “I’m only like this with you.”
Park let his eyes do the talking. Ha! Like he’d believe her.
Violet almost felt defensive. “It’s the truth!”
“Then tell me why it’s so, if it’s the truth.”
She opened and closed her mouth several times, with nothing coming out.
He raised an arrogant brow at her.
Violet threw her hands up. “Oh come on, Park, I have the same reasons as you do,” she burst out. “I’m like this…I’m doing this with you because I know you’ll…we’ll…” She lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug, feeling terribly exposed as she uttered the next words. “All this is okay because I know we aren’t in love and we’re going to fall in love with each other.”
The truth of her words couldn’t be denied, not with the way her voice shook. Park was never the type to pry but with Violet, he had this crazy urge to find out everything about her and now was no different. “Why?” he asked baldly. “Why are you against love so much?” Most girls tended to embrace it, and especially with a guy like him. He wasn’t being conceited about it. That was just the way the world worked, with most girls preferring to fall in love with a guy who was loaded, and if possible, reasonably attractive, too.
Violet was still smiling at him. “I could ask you the same thing, Park.”
That got a chuckle out of him. “Touché.”
Even now, hearing Park chuckle when he was taciturn most of the time, did something weird to her. What they had now was surreal, something she had never thought she’d be lucky enough to experience after everything that had happened.
Violet hesitated at what she was about to say, knowing it could ruin the friendship she had with Park. She took a deep breath. “Park, look. I’ll be the first one to admit it.” With her hand still on his chest, it was easy for Violet to feel him stiffen at her words. “I’m attracted to you.”
Park stiffened even more.
“But,” she added quickly, “that’s it. There’s nothing more. It’s been two years since I was in a…relationship.” She looked away, not wanting Park to accidentally see anything in her eyes. The memories still burned because they reminded her of her old self, the pathetic Violet that allowed herself to be defined by someone else.
“It’s been two years since I last allowed myself to be close to a guy in any way. I just didn’t want to risk any guy misunderstanding. I didn’t want to risk myself trusting the wrong guy…again.” She swallowed hard. “But with you, I know I could be assured that either won’t happen.” Violet forced herself to look up to Park. “Right?”
Park didn’t hesitate. “Whatever you want out of our friendship, it’s yours.” He closed his hand over hers, pressing it closer to his chest. “And whatever you don’t want will never happen, I promise.” He still didn’t quite understand what happened to Violet in the past, but he understood enough that she had been hurt by it, maybe as hurt as he had been, and that kind of hurt wasn’t easily healed. It certainly didn’t make you want to love again, and for now that was good enough for him.
Her fingers entwined with his. “Thanks.” Her voice was a little wobbly with emotion. Somehow it felt like they had crossed another barrier and when they were still reeling from what happened last night. Everything seemed to be moving too fast, but at the same time it was as if everything was moving to something right.
Chapter Ten
Park was on his way to Violet’s classroom when the musical sound of her laughter reached him. As he turned around the corner that led to the hallway of her class, he caught sight of Violet’s professor leaving in a hurry. He checked his watch with a frown, wondering if he was late, but his watch told him he was indeed fifteen minutes early.
As he walked nearer to her class, the conversation became more defined, and he easily recognized Violet’s voice together with the other people in her class.
“Wait up, Vi.” Without a doubt that was Hiroshi. Park tried not to bristle at how familiar that ‘Vi’ sounded falling from the younger man’s lips. Violet had told him about the dark haired half-Japanese half-New Zealander, who had shamelessly declared his undying love for her in front of the entire class a few days ago.
Park was pretty sure Hiroshi wasn’t the only one who had fallen under Violet’s spell. Every time he found the time to drop by at Violet’s class, he noticed that more and more men were openly scowling at him, a sure sign of jealousy.
“What is it?” Violet’s voice made him stop dead in his tracks.
“I was thinking I could walk you to work today…that’s where you’re heading, right?”
There was this smallest pause, and Park could picture Violet’s smile becoming strained. It still and always did whenever any guy, even someone as harmless as Hiroshi, tried to get close to her. There would be this crazy look in her eyes, as if any overt gesture from men made her feel suffocated.
It made Park see red, but even he knew it was impossible to keep men away from Violet all the time. It wasn’t just because she was beautiful and sexy. She certainly was that. But Violet also had the kind of charm and allure that attracted boys to her like moths to flame. The bottom line: she was enjoyable to be with, and it was her company that most men found difficult to resist.
Park was getting ready to intrude when Violet answered. “Sorry. But I’m already walking with Park. I always do,” she reminded Hiroshi. “You know that.”
Hiroshi let out a deep sigh. “It’s unfair. Why does he get that privilege all that time?”