Unexpected (7 page)

 “Well, well. Good morning
sleepyhead!” Young’s chipper greeting almost gave Kai an instant headache since
he’d no time for breakfast.

“Had a late night,” Kwan teased with a
knowing smirk.

“None of your business,” he said,
sparing a quick glance in G.K.’s direction. The other man’s body language
screamed annoyance.

“Ooh, someone’s in a bad mood,” Boom
chortled. “We’d better start rehearsing.”

As they each went to their marks for the
first number Kai overheard G.K. mutter to himself, but he ignored the
reproachful tone as the music was cued up.

After three grueling hours in which each
step was recreated to within an inch of perfection, the group finally adjourned
for lunch. They would have one last run-through then return to the hotel to
rest and relax until they would be due back at the arena for pre-show
preparations.

Drenched in sweat, the group were handed
towels as they headed towards the backstage dressing area.

“We’re trying to figure out where to go
to eat,” Kwan said as he rubbed the towel briskly over his sweat-dampened hair.

“I want to try that Bubba Gump place,”
Boom announced. “Remember we saw it the last time we were here.”

“How about Johnny Rocket’s,” suggested
Young.

As the three wrangled back and forth,
switching between Korean and English, Kai and G.K. were silent, both eying each
other in silent anger.

“Hey Kai, what about you,” Boom asked.
“Where do you want to go?”

Before he could say a word, Young
answered comically as he wagged his eyebrows, “What he wants to eat isn’t on
the menu anywhere ‘cause they don’t serve
Noel
.”

The guys—except for G.K.—laughed
uproariously at that. Kai grabbed Young and proceeded to put him in a headlock
and tickled him until his bandmate begged for mercy. Afterwards, Boom and Kwan
practically dragged their still breathless friend out of the dressing room,
having decided on of all things, P.F. Chang’s.

That left Kai and G.K. alone and on
opposite sides of a dressing room which was normally rather spacious, but the
simmering emotions between them made the room seem smaller and the atmosphere
more intense.

“Frankly, I’m surprised you didn’t
decide to go eat with
her
.”

“That’s Noel to you, not
her
.”

G.K. glared at him. “So, what is your fascination
with this girl?”

Kai drew in a deep breath. He would not
let his cousin goad him. “She’s the woman I care about, Gi Kwang,” Kai replied
in Korean, using his cousin’s actual first name. “It has nothing to do with
you.”

“It has
everything
to do with
me,” G.K. shot back heatedly as he began pacing back and forth. “You were late
to rehearsal today and if you start neglecting your duties, as the leader of
the group it all falls on my head, or have you forgotten that?”

“You always remind me of that in order
to get me to do what you want, but it’s not going to work this time, cousin.”

“I always have to remind you because you
are always so selfish! You need to think of the group!”

“Think of the group,” Kai mimicked
angrily as he clenched his fists. “I’m
always
thinking of the group! I
can’t speak a certain way. I can’t dress the way I choose. I can’t even choose
the woman I want to be with. Why the hell do you think I’ve been alone so
long?” He didn’t give G.K. time to answer. “I am sick and tired of putting my
life on hold
for the damn group
!”

G.K. said nothing as Kai continued to
rage. “I finally found someone who makes me happy and all you care about is the
group
! What about
me
? Do you hate me so much that you would
rather see me unhappy?”

The implacable mask G.K. had worn
instantly fell. “Hyunki, you are my only cousin and I could never hate you. I
only worry about your future. This relationship could affect you more than you
think, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“Life hurts,” Kai said softly. “Life
would hurt more without love. I don’t need you to protect me. I’m sorry for
being late, but I don’t regret the reason why.”

When Noel arrived, the arena was just as
packed as it had been in Vegas. She was led through a side door and through
several packed corridors to the backstage area. Her escort paused near a door
on the left, knocked quickly before opening it and ushering Noel inside.

She stood to the side as Kai and the rest
of the group warmed up their voices and stretched their lithe frames. Kai
glanced over and gave her a quick smile that made her insides all nice and
tingly.

Even now it amazed her how R&B-ish
they sounded; a few weeks ago she had no idea what K-Pop was or any interest in
it. The only difference was the lyrics were in Korean instead of English. They
easily ruined any preconceived notions she had about what an Asian pop group
sounded like. No wonder they had so many American fans.

“Hello
Jahgi
,” Kai teased as he
waved a hand in front of her face. “Having a daydream about me?”

Noel playfully wrinkled her nose at him.
“Why would you think that? I might have been checking out Young.”

At hearing his name mentioned, the
youngest member of T4L grinned hugely and sauntered over to where Noel sat. “Of
course she likes me. Why would such a pretty lady want an old man like
you
?”

Kai comically smacked his bandmate
upside the head, saying something in Korean that had the entire group
chuckling, save for G.K. who smiled thinly though the look did not reach his
eyes.

“I have to admit he does look nice,”
Noel said, giving Kai an appreciative once-over.

The word
nice
truly did not do
the all-white stage wear justice. While similar to the outfit from the Vegas show,
there were a few noticeable differences. Differences that more than likely
would have the fangirls fainting in the aisles. Instead of the tank top, he
wore a white satin vest with no shirt underneath, which did wonderfully unholy
things to his sculpted biceps and chest. The white looked brilliant against the
almond alabaster of his skin and she couldn’t help the lusty look in her eyes.
The man simply took her breath away and once more Noel wanted to pinch herself.

His eyes were just as appraising. “You
look good too,
Jahgi
. Just remember I’ll be performing special for my
bay-bee tonight.”

Noel wore embellished flare-legged jeans
that sent Kai’s libido into overdrive as the tight denim hugged her hips. The
black V-neck blouse was close-fitting enough to give him a nice view of the
swell of those breasts he’d wanted to cup in his palms during the night, and
the silver necklace she wore with its red crystal rose pendant drew his
attention to that luscious valley.

“Ooh, did you guys hear that,” Boom
announced loudly, obviously poking fun at Kai. “He’ll be dancing like a crazy
man for his
bay-bee
. I think I should find a
bay-bee
to show off
for.”

Gathered around, the guys acted silly,
causing Noel to laugh in a most unladylike manner. It didn’t bother her at all
that G.K. ignored her; the rest of the group’s antics took away the sting.

A stage hand quickly entered the room,
looking harried and holding a bottle of water. “Fifteen minutes. We need to
check the wireless units.”

The guys nodded, made last minute adjustments
to outfits as Kai reached out for Noel’s hand, pulling her up. She was flush
against his body and God help her if they weren’t about to go onstage…

“Give me a good luck kiss,
Jahgi
,”
Kai whispered hungrily.

Noel gave him a quick peck on the lips.
Unsatisfied Kai complained, “What the hell was
that
? That’s not a kiss.
This
is a kiss.” Just as he was about to graphically illustrate what he meant, Kwan
butted in.

“Hey don’t I get a good luck kiss too?”

“Yeah I want one too,” Young chimed in.
Boom and surprisingly even G.K. made cute puppy dog faces at her.

Noel put a hand over her mouth and tried
to stifle her laughter as Kai whipped his head around and shot his band mates
an evil look.

“No way! Go find your own girl to kiss!”
And he kept one arm wrapped tightly around Noel’s waist as if they were
planning to snatch her away at any moment.

Kwan said something in Korean and Kai
responded in English. “I’m not being stingy. I just don’t want your grubby
hands on my girl!” That started another round of good-natured bickering again
and she decided to intervene.

 “It’s okay Kai, I don’t mind
kissing them.” She giggled. “It’s kind of cute that they want a one too. I just
hope I don’t jinx anyone.”

She gently extricated herself from his
iron grip and stepped over to Kibum. She could feel Kai’s heated stare boring a
hole at him from behind.

“Only on the cheek,” he warned them with
a growl that sounded like it meant business. “And make sure to keep your hands
at your sides. No touching!”

She just laughed at his silliness and
made quick work of giving each of them a chaste kiss on the cheek. Boom and
Young made a great show of swooning while Kibum grinned like an idiot. G.K. let
her kiss his cheek, but showed no response.

“Ten minutes guys!”

The guys began their trek towards the
stage but Kai remained where he was standing.

He pulled her close to him and
whispered, “I can’t have G.K. getting the last kiss.” His mouth slanted down on
hers and gave her the kiss that had been interrupted moments ago, but it was over
much too soon and he unwillingly tore himself away.

“Now I have something to look forward
to,
Jahgi
.” He blew her a kiss and followed his band mates as she waved.

T4L’s concert was even better than the
last time. For one thing, Noel was in the VIP seating area, with a perfect view
of the stage and of the group. She was surrounded by a few members of music
press, photographers, a couple of lucky fans who’d won some online contest, her
escort, assorted hangers-on, and a young Asian woman whom Noel hadn’t met.

While some of the other guests behaved
as if they were too cool for the show, Noel made quick friends with the fans
who couldn’t keep their excitement hidden and they all started dancing to the
group’s up-tempo bass beats blaring through the arena.

Kai was amazing and her heart swelled
with pride. His performance left her awestruck. He was so good with the
audience; they all were, and the crowd—mostly female—ate it up and asked for
more.

As if the concert couldn’t get any
better or the crowd even more worked up, right in the midst of one song, Kai
was surrounded by the rest of the group who danced around him. Suddenly he
stepped forward and slowly undid the buttons of the white vest in a slow,
methodical strip tease.

Noel was sure she was drooling all over
the place as her eyes literally popped out of her head as he teased the now
absolutely frenetic crowd with tantalizing glimpses of naked tan skin. That
same skin had been under her fingertips just that morning. Her hands tingled;
thinking about what she wanted them to do to him again.

He shouted something in Korean, and from
the near-fanatical way they screamed, she knew exactly what he’d said. Kai
smiled seductively, undid the last button and shimmied the piece of clothing
from his body. The arena went insane, but the man wasn’t through with them yet.

In English he said, “I don’t need this
anymore, so…” and with a flourish tossed the vest into the crowd, which might
have started a near-riot as fans rushed to get even the littlest piece of the
more than-likely shredded fabric. Without missing a beat Kai stepped back into
the choreographed moves as Noel fanned herself. The place was treated to the
glorious sight of Kai’s naked and sweat-shimmering chest bathed in the heat of
the multi-colored stage lights. The lucky fans sharing the VIP section with her
hugged each other, cried tears of overwhelming excitement as they jumped up and
down like demented jackrabbits.

Noel suspected but kept the wicked
thought to herself that Kai’s little “show” had been for her benefit, and she
planned to reward him big time for the thrill.

For a split-second their eyes met and it
felt as if they were the only ones in the arena. Noel heard hundreds of “I love
you Kai’s" along with chants for the other members of T4L, but when he
blew a kiss in her direction, Noel grinned hugely as if she’d won the lottery.
The fans may not have known whom the kiss was directed towards, and it didn’t
bother her that they assumed it was for them. She knew better and her heart
skipped a beat. Kai was all
hers
.

Once the song ended—and if anyone had
asked Noel what the name of the song was, she wouldn’t have been able to tell
them—Kai disappeared offstage for a moment while Young, Boom and G.K. took
turns at harmonizing, then Kai reemerged—wearing a black tank top so tight it
looked spray-painted on—with Kwan, their voices blending perfectly.

Noel just swayed and hummed to the
melody. A part of her couldn’t get enough of watching her man onstage tearing
it up like a Korean Maxwell. Another part caused her nipples to harden against
her blouse and her thighs to dampen and she couldn’t wait for the show to be
over because she wanted Kai so badly.

A light touch on her forearm snapped her
out of her naughty train of thought. Her escort beckoned her to follow him.

For a moment she was confused.
“Shouldn’t I wait for the encore or something?”

His face was inscrutable, but she saw
something in his eyes like a flicker of amusement. “It’ll be easier to get you
outside before the crowd.”

Noel shrugged, gave the stage one last
look of longing at the man whose bones she planned to jump this night come hell
or high water, and followed her escort out of the arena.

The drive back to the hotel was for the
most part silent. Her escort, whose name was James, told her that Kai didn’t
want her to be stuck waiting around while they did the meet and greet with the
fans.

Having been there for the last meet and
greet after the show that had literally changed her life, she understood Kai’s
reasons. T4L would not leave until every fan had their moment with the band.
How the guys could rock out on stage for hours then spend another few signing
autographs, taking pictures and chatting away without falling dead from sheer exhaustion
amazed her. Hell, overtimes at the diner had her practically crawling into her
bed.

As she walked through the lobby, Noel
made her wicked plans to get Kai naked—and not just his top—and ride him nice
and slow so that he wouldn’t have to ‘work’.

For a moment as the elevator made its
trek up to her floor, the voice of the old Noel chastised her for acting like a
slut. The old Noel warned her that it had been one thing to sleep next to Kai,
but sex would be a huge mistake.

The new Noel brushed those concerns
aside. Kai had been nothing but a gentleman, even though his desire for her was
clear. Kai wanted her; he liked her and he’d treated her like a queen.

But all of her lingering doubts fell to
the wayside as she opened the door and nearly swooned in the doorway.

A trail of red, pink and violet rose
petals had been scattered in a delicate and fragrant trail from the doorway
through the living room area before disappearing into the bedroom. She followed
it slowly, amazed and giddy with anticipation. Noel gasped at the sight that
greeted her once she entered the bedroom.

How the hell,
she couldn’t even finish the thought as
her eyes took in a sea of flickering pink candles. A large striped pink box sat
patiently on the bed topped with a matching pink bow.

With shaking and excited hands she
carefully undid the bow and opened the box. Beneath pink and white tissue paper
scented and scattered with rose petals lay something extremely satiny. Noel
slowly lifted it from the box, and her breath caught in her throat as the hem
of a flowing nightgown of what seemed to be acres of black silk and edged in
delicate lace, fluttered to the floor.

The gown with its lace-trimmed neckline
and spaghetti straps was quite demure from the front, but oh mama from the back
it dipped down so low that she was sure it wouldn’t hide much of the top of her
butt. There was also a thigh-high slit cut along one side. It was a sexy and
seductive little number that wasn’t meant to be left on for any longer than
necessary.

“You like surprises, huh Kai,” Noel
murmured to herself, feeling naughty and giddy as she rapidly shed her concert
clothes and padded naked to the bathroom to take a quick shower. “Oh baby, I’ll
give you a surprise you damn well won’t forget.”

Kai had no idea what awaited him when he
used the extra key to Noel’s room. As he quietly let himself in, he gave a
quick appreciative whistle. Everything had gone according to plan, and he
wished he could have seen the look on her face as she caught sight of the roses
scattered upon the floor.

He made his way to the bedroom, eyes
adjusting to the dim of flickering candlelight. For a moment he paused at the
threshold. In spite of last night, he still wasn’t certain how Noel felt about
all this, if she was
really
ready to take things further.
He
was
most certainly ready, but it would all be up to her.