For a moment, he thought she was still going to say no, and his heart thundered in his chest. He’d never let himself be so vulnerable, not since he was eighteen. In fact, he’d created his whole life to make sure he never felt vulnerable like this.
Hana took a deep breath.
“Yes,” she said quietly.
“You will?” Antonio felt a rush he’d never felt before. Every business deal he’d ever made, even the first one that had allowed him to lease a plane for little more than a promise of a percentage of future profits, paled compared to this. He needed Hana in his bed. Tonight. Knowing he would possess her, now and for always.
He needed her as his wife.
* * *
And so it was that an hour later, they were signing the document in a plain civil registration in a government office in the city. Hana seemed slightly bewildered, as if she wasn’t sure how it had happened so fast. But with Tokyo’s straightforward marriage laws, there was no need to wait. Neither of them had ever been married before. They’d just needed passports, his driver and Ramon Garcia as witnesses, and a simple document from their embassies. They wore the same clothes as when they’d left Tanaka’s hotel that morning, Antonio in a white shirt and black trousers, Hana in her pale pink sundress, clutching the tiny bouquet of cherry blossoms he’d impulsively bought from the flower shop across the street.
And just like that, it was done. They were married.
After a lifetime of being absolutely sure he would never, could never, marry anyone, he could hardly believe how easy it had been to marry Hana.
They left the small government office and came out into the fading afternoon light, Antonio holding the marriage document with one hand and Hana’s arm with the other. As they came out of the building, a beam of light fell on her, and he stopped.
Golden light caressed her long dark hair like a halo, frosting her soft cheeks, her pale pink sundress and sandals. She looked fresh-faced, sweet and innocent as a country girl—except for the big diamond ring on her finger, which he’d insisted on buying at Cartier en route to their civil ceremony. It wasn’t the biggest diamond in the store, but it had been the most expensive, because it was perfect.
Like Hana, Antonio thought, dazzled. Perfect in every way.
And now she was his—forever. He shivered. He couldn’t wait to get her into bed. He’d made love to her four times last night, but he still wanted her to the point of madness. It was insane, the grip she had over him. Normally that sense of lost control might have scared him. But that was nothing.
Not compared to the fact that he’d just married her without a prenuptial agreement.
He could hardly have asked for one, after his big speech about wanting to share his company with her. And the last thing he’d wanted was to wait for his lawyers, when he’d been desperate to marry her today before the municipal office closed. They’d barely squeaked in before closing time as it was. He hadn’t wanted to give her a night to think it over or change her mind—especially since he’d heard her call Ren Tanaka as they left the skyscraper in Marunouchi, leaving him a message about her hasty wedding.
But now, thinking of what he’d just done, Antonio felt ice slide down his spine.
He’d promised her half his company. He’d married her without a prenup.
Without his airline, Antonio was nothing. He was still that dirty, worthless little orphan no one wanted, no use to anyone, not even his own family—
With a deep breath, Antonio pushed the old fear aside. He could trust Hana, damn it. She would never leave him. She’d never try to wrest control of CrossWorld Airways from him. She would respect his decisions. At least she always had before.
Before he’d given her everything...
; “Congratulations, you two!” Ramon Garcia exclaimed, interrupting Antonio’s unsettling reverie. “How are you going to celebrate? Join the team at the bar? Wait until they hear!”
Antonio’s gaze traced from the delicate corner of Hana’s neck to the full curves of her breasts. “I have something else in mind.”
All he wanted to do was get back to his own lavish hotel suite—far from Tanaka’s hotel—and make love to his wife.
His wife!
“Oh, please.” Hana turned to him with her big brown eyes. “Can’t we meet with the others?” She added wistfully, “I’d love to celebrate with everyone...”
There was no way he could deny her anything right now.
“If you wish it, querida,” he agreed, and Garcia and Haruto Nakamura, the Japanese driver, cheered. His wife, with an adorable smile, lifted on her tiptoes to place her hands around his shoulders, one hand still holding her small bouquet.
“You’ve made me so happy,” she whispered, and Antonio’s fear melted away as his heart swelled with pride. All he wanted to do was keep the joyful light in her eyes, and know he’d caused it to be there, now and forever.
As Nakamura went to get the car, Antonio gripped Hana’s hand. In the back seat, even when they reached his luxury hotel—the biggest, most glamorous international hotel in Ginza—he never let go. As they walked into the hotel bar, which was sleekly black-and-white with high ceilings and modern art, the two of them were met with thunderous applause.