The exterior of the Ryokan was a two-story building with a wooden-carved gate. A woman greeted us at check-in, and escorted Mr. and Mrs. Ward to their guesthouse. We followed a path through a perfectly manicured winter garden, over a tiny red footbridge, and into our private bungalow.
My eyes went wide as she showed us the space after we’d removed our shoes. The interior was classic Japanese with the tan matted floor and paper doors. The back wall of the room was all glass with a view of our own private garden courtyard. In one corner, two narrow mattresses sat side by side on the floor. They were called futons here, not the fold-and-fucks from college that word typically brought to my mind.
A glassed-in room was located in the corner opposite the futons, the bamboo shades drawn up to give us a view of the large soaking tub. The woman explained in English that dinner would be served in our room at seven.
“This must have cost a fortune,” I said to him after she’d gone. “This place is beautiful.”
Dominic gave me a seductive smile. “Want to take a bath? We’ve got lots of time before dinner.”
I followed him into the glass room, admiring the tile work over the tub. A traditional scene with Mt. Fuji and a blue wave cresting beneath Japanese characters. This place . . . it wasn’t just beautiful, it was romantic.
“Dominic.”
He’d yanked off his shirt, but my sharp tone made him freeze.
“I know what you’re up to,” I accused.
He returned to life and went to the tap, turning on the water that flooded the deep, rectangular tub that was the size of a four-man hot tub, and continued to ignore me.
My words were supposed to be strong, but they faltered. “It won’t work.”
I thought maybe he couldn’t hear me over the running water, but he straightened and put his focus on me.
“What exactly am I up to?” He unbuttoned his pants and yanked them down, kicking them away so he was only in a pair of gray boxers.
“You brought me here to get me to say it back.”
His gaze warmed until it was hot as a sauna in the room. The steam rising from the tub didn’t help. I stood my ground as Dominic strolled up to me. There was no denial in his face. His eyes didn’t leave mine as he lifted my sweater up over my head and cast it away.
“It won’t work,” I repeated, this time stronger.
Cold fingers unsnapped my jeans and tugged them off, and he returned to stand over me. The intense gaze bore down, like he was looking for a way into my heart.
“I can’t make you say you love me.” He blinked and the aqua in his eyes darkened. They filled with determination. “But I can make you feel it.”
I expected him to pull me against him and kiss me, but his attack was subtler. He turned, dropped his boxers to the floor, and stepped into the water. He came back around to face me and sank down onto the ledge seat in the tub.
I was aware I was fighting a losing battle. The hour in the coffee shop had been scary as hell, but well spent. Dominic had planned this trip to get the words from me, but I’d made plans of my own. I could make sacrifices to get what I wanted.
“I went to the Imperial Palace yesterday.”
The only sound was the water splashing. The eyes fixed on me through the steam didn’t blink.
He blew out a long breath. “How was it?”
“It was nice.”
I undid my bra. It fell onto the floor silently. My heart raced and the blood rushed loudly in my ears. I hooked my thumbs under my lace panties and pulled them down. “I’m going to need a favor.”
My shaky tone made his eyes go wide with alarm. “What?”
Oh, god, was I really doing this? I’d been flooded with relief when I’d made the hard decision yesterday, but I was still nervous. “I need you . . . to cancel my ticket.”
His expression shifted from alarm, to relief, and to confusion faster than a snap of my fingers.
“You’re giving me another week?”
“No.”