Second Chance (6 page)

“Why are you
doing this? Is it because I slapped you? Is that it? I hurt your ego and now
I’m paying for it? Didn’t know you to be the vengeful type. Then again, I
didn’t really know you, did I?”

He didn’t respond
but still had his hold on her.

“What is it that
you want? Closure?” she asked looking up at him.

No response. He
was looking at the elevator door and glanced to see which floors they had
passed, but he didn’t turn to her or say a word to her. Not even a grimace or a
smile. Not even a scowl.

“Hearing loss? Oh
my, yes, I remember now. It’s a horrible side effect of all that ego of yours,
isn’t it? That must be it,” she said, continuing her one-sided conversation.
“Since you can’t hear me anyway, I might as well talk to myself.” In mocking
delight, she said, “Well Sue, at least, you can claim you were talking to
someone even if that person suffers from selective hearing loss. Did you lose
your hearing completely?” she asked, reaching up to take his face into her free
hand.

Sue turned Jae’s
face to her. When he was finally watching her, she pointed to her lips and
began, “Do…you…un…der…stand…me?” she asked, pronouncing each word very slowly,
sounding out every syllable, emphasizing her lip’s movements. His eyes still
upon her, she pointed to her ear. “Can…you…hear…me?” she asked very slowly.

No response.

She smiled
sweetly. “All that loud music you must still be listening to has finally taken
its effect on your hearing. Don’t worry you poor, poor man.” She patted his arm
like a child. “You see, the thing with selective hearing is that eventually,
you’ll choose to listen again. Till then, I’m afraid there’s very little I can
do.” Unable to provoke a verbal response from Jae, she mumbled, “I see you’re
still the strong silent type.” Feeling defeated, she gave up making a fool of
herself.

She heard a chime
and the elevator stopped. She hoped for the elevator to stop in the lobby but
when the doors opened, it was a hallway that greeted her, not the lobby. Of
course not, she silently said. That elevator ride was the longest one she ever
had to endure.

Sue refused to
move from the elevator. “This is kidnapping.”

Without so much
as a word from Jae, she was swept of her feet again and carried out of the
elevator. Infuriated, she elbowed him in the chest, but Jae continued walking.
“Put—” Jae had his mouth on hers and she bit him.

Jae jerked his
head away, licking his lips. She had bit him hard enough to draw blood. “Sharp
teeth you have,” Jae said.

“The better for
you to remember me by.”

He gave her a
lopsided grin and continued walking with her in his arms.

Sue was so angry
that by the time she noticed they were no longer moving, she was on her feet
again, and already out of the corridor. She was about to make another escape
then she paused. In front of her was a breath taking view of New York City.

The panoramic
view of the busy city was stunning and she stared, mesmerized by the beauty. Time
seemed to have halted and all she could see was the splendor of the lights and
the architecture.

She remained at
the door while she stared out the floor to ceiling windows that made up the
wall in front of her.

Jae started to
unbutton more of his shirt as he walked toward the bar. He was about to pour
himself another drink when he realized Sue hadn’t moved from the door.

“Why didn’t you
look for me?” Jae asked casually.

“Why would I want
to do that?”

“We are married.”

“Married?” Sue
scoffed bitterly. “Is that what you use to pick up girls? Stay with me, marry
me—hump them, dump them? How many actually fell for that? Let me guess, I was
the only one stupid enough to fall for it.”

Jae leaned
against the bar and crossed his arms. He watched her for several seconds before
spoke again. “Is spending the night with me so horrifying?”

Sue didn’t answer
him.

“We haven’t seen
each other in almost nine years and you are not curious about how I am?”

“Not
particularly,” she said.
Liar, liar shirt on fire
.

Jae made his way
gracefully toward her. “Oh? But I am very…very interested in my little
temptress. Broken any hearts lately?”

Seeing Jae
progress toward her, Sue turned toward the door. He had a hold of her before
she touched the door knob.

“Have you
collected more Korean men since me or have you moved on to the Japanese
market?” he continued casually. “By the look of things tonight, it seems you’re
still in the Asian market.” He tilted her chin up to him. “Did I ruin your
plans tonight?” he asked brushing her lips with his thumb. “Were you planning
to spend your evening with Michael? Looks like you shaved your legs, so why not
spend the evening with me instead?” He took off the blazer he had placed on
her.

Goose bumps rose
on her skin and her body trembled when he touched her bare skin. His lips
gently brushed against hers while he lightly caressed the nape of her neck and
her knees buckled. She grabbed onto his arms for support. She didn’t hear what
he was saying until she heard the name Michael, and then it was too late. His
lips was on hers, tenderly kissing her.

Her mind told her
body to move but her body refused and she couldn’t find the strength to push
him away. Her lips slightly parted and his tongue brushed against hers. She
gave an involuntary moan that came from the back of her throat, a low, almost
inaudible sound of pleasure that scared her tremendously. Her treacherous hands
traced his muscular arms, up to his neck and encircled around him, lacing her
fingers into his hair, drawing him closer, pressing her petite body into his
embrace.

Surprised by her
response to his kiss, Jae tightened his hold on her. His own hands roamed her
body with longing memory, and while his mind said to go slowly, his marauding
hands moved from her waist to her breast. He felt the heat of her body through
the thin material of her dress and his hand itched to feel her skin. His tongue
explored her sweet mouth and his body ached with desire for her.

Sue pulled back
abruptly. “We can’t do this,” she whispered, panting, removing his hand from
her breast.

“Why can’t we?”
he asked, his voice husky, his own breathing heavy. His brown eyes were
darkened with passion when he looked into hers. For a brief moment he saw her
looking at him with the love he had been searching for and his heart yearned
for her. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her, he was sure. At that
moment, all his anger toward her vanished and his heart ached for her love.

“Jae, I…we
can’t…” she stammered. Five of his shirt buttons were loose, exposing his bare,
muscular chest. Lord, he was still so handsome. She could see the rapid rise
and fall of his chest with every breath he took. She could feel his heart
beating rapidly against her skin, beneath her palm, as if it was hers, as if it
belonged to her in some way. She looked away and shook her head to clear her
thoughts. She needed to focus. He said something, something about… Sue’s eyes
narrowed.

Perplexed, she
asked, “Collect more Korean men? Asian market? What did you mean by that?”

“You know what I
mean,” he said in his low, seductive British voice, as he leaned toward her
neck.

“No, I don’t.
Please explain,” she demanded turning her eyes back to his, glaring, willing
for him to explain.

“You know exactly
what I meant.”

“No! I don’t!”
she said with anger, freeing herself completely from his arms and backing away
from him until her back touched the door. “I’m not a fricking mind reader!” she
snapped at him.

“You little
flirt!” He trapped her between the door and himself. “I was informed you have a
thing
for Korean men.” His voice lowered seductively. “I naturally
assumed you would get bored and move on to flirting with…” He placed a hand on
her right thigh and moved his lips to her ear, “…other men.” He nipped her ear
lobe as his hand moved up her silky thigh, caressing her. “How many have there
been since me? Looks like you have been practicing by the way you’ve just
kissed me,” he said, placing kisses along her neck.

Sue’s hands
clenched into fist as he spoke.

Practicing?
Whore. Slut
. Did he think that of her, too? She hadn’t let any man touch
her besides handshakes. Anytime anyone went too far, she reacted as if she’d
been scorched.
Stiff
, she’d been called. She could tolerate insinuations
from others, but not from the man whom she had given herself to so freely.
Stupid,
stupid girl
. 

All these years
and the slightest touch from him still made her knees weak. One kiss and she
submissively surrendered her body to his groping.
Slut. Whore. Shame, shame,
shame.

“You arrogant—”
she bellowed, pushing his hand away from her and kicking him in the shin. He
stepped back and gave an obscenity. “Insufferable—” she punched him, aiming for
his jaw but got his shoulder, “—excuse for a man! How dare you!” she roared.
Her chest tightened, her throat burned and she fought back the tears taking
another swing at him, hitting him in the jaw before he caught her hands. She
pulled her hands free and went for the door. She shouldn’t have let her guard
down.
Stupid girl
.

Pain radiated
from her right ankle and she cried out in pain as his strong arms took hold of
her waist, turning her to face him one brief second before hoisting her onto
his shoulder. He carried her like a sack of rice toward the bedroom. “Let go of
me!” she screamed. She let out another cry of pain as he took hold of her
ankles to stop her from kicking him. “You’re hurting me!” she cried out louder.
Her ankles throbbed from the pressure of his grip. She reached for his bottom
and pinched him as hard as she could.

“Ow!” he
bellowed. He released her ankles and shifted her body in his arms in such a
manner that her arms were pinned to him, restricting their movements.

“Serves you
right! Let me go, you big oaf!” she shouted as loudly as she could in his ear.

Scowling, he
tilted his head away from her. He finally released her by tossing her onto the
center of his bed, ripping her dress strap.

Sue landed on her
back, her strapless bra exposed, and her dress scrunched up, just barely
covering her underwear. Tears she could no longer fight back trickle down the
side of her face, dripping into her ears. “Jerk,” she painfully said in a low,
raspy voice. She wiped her tears and turned away from him, not caring that her
underwear was now fully exposed. She curled onto her side and cried. “God, I
hate you,” she whispered brokenly.

He could see her
shoulders shaking violently and waited for the crying that usually proceeded.
But what he heard was different. She was crying softly, muffled by the blankets
on the bed. He was so furious with himself for hurting her, he started for the
door to try and compose his temper. At the door, he heard her. “God, I hate
you,” she whispered those words so softly they were barely audible.

He stopped and
turned to look at her. He had heard women cry before. He had heard all sorts of
cries but not like this.

Sue cried herself
to sleep while Jae tried to calm his temper.

That woman made
him daft all right. One thing was for sure, she still had feelings for him. She
told him with her fist. He rubbed his jaw. Damn, she had one hell of a punch.
And that pinch, right on the sensitive flesh of his bottom was going to bruise.
He stared at his bedroom door. That cry.

When he saw her
with another man at Shinobu, laughing, joking, he had his answer. She had moved
on. She was fine. That knowledge made him angry. While he looked for her, she
never bothered to look for him. She didn’t look like she missed him. She played
him a fool. Yes, he was a fool to have fallen for such a flirt. He meant
nothing to her. He was just another guy in her life.

But she had
fought him. He glanced at his left hand then rubbed his sore jaw. She had
fought him and that cry.

CHAPTER
8

Sue awoke in the
middle of the night with a start. It took a moment for her to register where
she was. She brushed hair off her face and rubbed her eyes. Forgetting she had
contacts, she inadvertently rubbed one loose and had to readjust it. Her eyes
were sore from her contacts and from her crying. Crying, she was crying. She
had not allowed herself to cry for years and to her surprise, it felt…good.

The lights were
off and according to the clock by the bed, it was 3:35 in the morning. She was
underneath the covers and her heels were off. As she moved to a sitting
position, she felt something on her right ankle. She touched it with her hand.
It was an ice pack but it was no longer cold and she removed it. She rubbed her
ankle. It was swollen but the ice pack minimized it and it wasn’t as painful
when she moved her foot.

She felt a sharp
ache in her chest, remembering a similar moment like this long ago. Her eyes
adjusted to the dark and she saw that the bedroom door was slightly ajar. It
was quiet. She wondered where Jae was and if she was alone.

She made her way
to the side of the bed and carefully lowered her feet to the floor. Slowly, she
stood up and tested the pressure on her ankle. She flinched in pain, closed her
eyes and shifted her weight onto her uninjured foot. She limped toward the
door, grabbing a sweatshirt that was draped over the back of an armchair. She
put the sweatshirt on before she reached the door then carefully opened the
door and stepped into the living room. The shades were still open and the room
was illuminated with the lights from the city. She heard soft steady breathing
before she saw him lying on the couch.

Jae was lying on
his back. His head slightly tilted toward the window with his black hair
falling freely over his forehead. His left arm rested on his chest and it
raised and fell with his steady breathing. He was too tall for the couch and
his long left leg draped over the arm while his right arm and leg draped over
the side of the couch. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt with gray sweat
pants that reminded her of the youth she fell in love with. He looked so
unguarded, so beautiful. He was so close, so…too good to be true.