Page 121 of When Worlds Collide
His eyes searched mine. I couldn’t tell what he was looking for.
“And this is what upsets you?”
“No.” Yes. “I understand why you said it. I guess I just wasn’t expecting to have to confront the public denial today.” I tried to smile, to pass it off as no big deal, but my emotions felt too tangled to properly articulate.
“Jagiya,” he said softly, “what exactly did she translate?”
I frowned, trying to remember. I repeated as much as I could remember, which, on reflection, was most of it. Turns out, more of it had stuck than I realised.
Jihoon pulled back, his mouth tightening. “That’s not what I said.”
I blinked. “Which part?”
“Well,” he amended, “it’s close, but it wasn’t so… brutal. Not so final.”
“Okay,” I said slowly, “maybe she got it wrong. What did you say?”
“I said that I understood the curiosity, and how much I appreciated all the support I’ve been shown by the public. I said that I chose this life, but other people had not, and it was not fair to pull them into my life. I said that my focus has always been on the music, and our fans, and that wasn’t going to change. I said I cherish the love from our fans, and asked that they not try to speculate on the footage that was illegally obtained.”
I mulled it over. It was close, but the meaning wasn’t quite so bleak. It felt like it wasn’t quite a denial, but not a confirmation, either.
“Are you sure this person is a friend of yours?” Jihoon’s mouth was pinched in a tight line.
I shrugged. “Sometimes, I wonder,” I admitted. “It was probably just a mis-translation. You said it yourself – the meaning was close.”
He made a noise in his throat that was like the real translation of his words; neither confirmation, nor denial.
Chapter 37
February 21st
Iwoke up as Jihoon ran his hot tongue up the length of my throat to my jaw.
“Hmm, good morning.” I smiled, opening my eyes slowly, enjoying the feel of Jihoon’s large hand stroking its way up my sternum between my breasts to lay over my heart.
“Saengil chukha, jagiya.”
I grinned.
Happy birthday, indeed. Twenty-three was already off to a good start, I thought lazily to myself as I stretched.
“I love when you do that,” Jihoon murmured as he pressed butterfly kisses to my pulse point.
In reaction, I arched my back, bowing like a violin string under his masterful hands. His fingers lightly danced across my breast, thumbing my nipple a little harder, making me gasp.
I reached for him, any part of him, needing to feel the smoothness of his hot skin under my greedy hands, but quicker than I could jump from one thought to the next, his hand shot out to grasp my wrist, holding it gently, but firmly as he placed it above my head.
“Ah, ah, ah,” he chided me. “Today, you just lie here.” He pressed a kiss to my pouting mouth. “Like a princess.”
“But I want to touch you,” I whined. He grinned, but it was a predatory sort of smile.
“I know.”
I moved my other hand to cup his face, running my thumb over his full bottom lip. He turned his face slightly, catching my thumb gently in between his teeth. He gave me a slight nip.
I gasped. “Ow.”
Jihoon plucked my hand away from his face and lifted it to where my other hand lay above my head. He held my hands caged in his hand, pressing them down firmly enough with his body weight that I knew I’d struggle to get free. If I wanted to.
