Han watched as An Ning smoothed the comforter on the narrow bed. He noticed that her ankles were bare and that she was wearing a flimsy type of flip flops that exposed her pink toes. He frowned and walked over to a dresser. He opened it, found what he was looking for and told An Ning to sit on the bed."Whatever for?" An Ning was perplexed.
"Just sit and let me put this on you," he said, showing her the pair of socks in his hand. "The cave is a bit cold. I don"t like you freezing in here while you sleep."
He put the socks on her while she watched him with an unreadable expression on her face.
"Are you hungry?" he asked, patting the long dress down her legs so they won"t be exposed then standing up. "I brought some of Enxuo"s delicious chicken soup, pieces of ham you liked so much, bread, and pie and milk. Want some?"
She nodded, a soft smile on her lips.
"Okay. Just stay put and let me heat it all up."
Han busied himself in the small kitchen while An Ning slipped on the bed keeping warm as she watched him in silence. When the food was done and the table all set up, Han carried An Ning to the table and sat her on a chair. He ladled the soup, sliced the ham, put the bread on a plate then placed the warm milk near her hand. The pie was warming up on the stove, ready to be eaten whenever she wanted.
They sat on the table like an old married couple already familiar with each other"s habits. An Ning likes to dunk her bread on the warmed milk. She likes to shred the ham in pieces with her bare hands then picked at it like a timid bird. Han likes to slather the bread with mayonaise before slapping the ham on the bread and biting his teeth onto it. Instead of warm milk, he likes his cold with a little smattering of ice cubes on top.
When the meal was done, Han sliced each of them a piece of the apple pie. He also took out the whipped cream from the fridge and sprayed some on top of the pie which he then placed in front of An Ning.
An Ning sighed contentedly when she swallowed the last bite.
"Good pie," she said, burping a little.
"Oh huh..."
"So, what do I call you now? Han or Richard?"
The question came so unexpectedly that it took Han several minutes to understand what she was saying. His eyes met hers. His were wary and apprehensive. Hers cool and dispa.s.sionate.
"You heard," he said tentatively, as if frightened of her reaction.
"Wasn"t that the purpose?" she asked cooly.
"I"m sorry, Ning Ning. I should have told you but I..."
"How did we two meet?" she interrupted.
"You were walking down the street and I recognized you."
"You mean like a prost.i.tute?" she asked, startled.
Han gave an unwilling laugh.
"You were going somewhere dressed in an open blazer and skirt and black heavy boots. I was waiting for the light to change. Then I saw you and we talked and we had a drink and after that we just hang around more and more."
"Then we had s.e.x," she said, frowning.
"We made love," he corrected gently. "We both wanted it to happen. By that time, we both realized that the relationship was serious. I was already thinking of quitting my job and going into business with dad because I didn"t want to be apart from you. You were worried about Richard and your family"s reaction but I didn"t care. It was true what I told your mother. I would have taken you away from Richard even if you had been happy with him. You are mine, An Ning. You made me the happiest man on earth when you told me you and I were going to have a child."
An Ning stood up and scooped another bowl of soup. She returned to the table and met Han"s anxious eyes.
"I"m never getting back my memory again, am I?" she asked.
Han hesitated.
"You broke Yu Yan"s spell. I think the pay off is that the memory loss is final. One of her funny tricks."
"I had the feeling that would be the case," An Ning nodded. "What I want to know is what are you expecting to happen now?"
"What do you mean?" Han frowned, confused.
"Between the two of us."
"The two of us are getting married as planned. I"m not letting you go, An Ning. I don"t care about what your father"s opinion of me is. He can curse me or ask your mom to put a hex on me and I won"t even care. You"re my woman and I love you. I don"t see our lives ever parting. You and I, together with our child, we"re forever."
"What about Richard?"
"What about him?"
"Aren"t you afraid that he"ll come back and make problems for us?"
"The question should be, do you hate me for killing him?" Han said quietly. "I committed a grievous crime, An Ning. I willingly and with malice aforethought caused my brother to die. I hated him for realizing and finally admitting that he loved you. Would you have gone to him and leave me if he"d asked you?"
"What nonesense are you babbling about now?" An Ning frowned.
"He realized he loved you after all and that woman didn"t mean anything to him. He was coming back to beg your forgiveness and ask you to give him another chance. You"ve loved him all your life. Would you have given him that chance? Would you have chosen him over me?" Han"s voice was tortured.
"Memory loss, remember?," An Ning"s voice was dry. "How should I know what my reaction would have been? I don"t even remember growing up with him let alone loving him. Give me a break, will you?"
"But you don"t remember me as well," Han said, reaching across and holding her hand. "Ning Ning, how do you feel about me?"
An Ning looked away from the intensity of his eyes.
"I don"t know," she mumbled.
"Do you like me just a little?" Han persisted.
An Ning"s eyes fluttered around the cave like a nervous b.u.t.terfly.
"I guess," she said, the tips of her ears red with embara.s.sment.
Han laughed and gathered her gently in his arms. He could feel the soft beating of her heart, feel the slight trembling of her body, smell the familiar scent he would recognize even in the dark.
"An Ning," he said softly, "you haven"t answered my question yet."
"What question?"
"Do you hate me for causing Richard"s death?"
An Ning loosened the arms holding her so she could step back and see the expression on his face. The eyes staring back at her were dark with emotion. She realized with a pang that he expected her to feel repulsed at what he had done. He already judged himself guilty of the crime, worthy of contempt for sacrificing the life of his brother for her, the woman he loved. That must have been the weight that was holding him down whenever he embraced her and made love to her with an almost painful desperation.
"No, I don"t hate you at all," An Ning said, shaking her head. "You know something?"
"What?" His frown was starting to ease. The handsome face was starting to regain a contagious vitality that surprised An Ning. It was different from his usual frown, the usual anxious look he wore, the sadness that, she realized, always seemed to hover over him whenever they were together.
"I think I would have done the same thing," An Ning answered. "My father spent 20 years of his life married to a woman who was a fraud but he put up with her because of me, because he loved me and wanted to protect me. I would have done the same for my child. Kill, if possible, to protect him. Put in a bizarre situation as you were, I would have killed Richard, too. Fought him viciously for the right to his physical body until he was gone and I"m left to take over."
Han slowly smiled, bent down and kissed the tip of her nose.
"Do you believe what my mother said and that he"s coming back?" An Ning asked.
"I don"t know. All I know is that he can"t have you and our child. I don"t care what happens then. I"ll do whatever I can to protect you both, An Ning," Han promised, his eyes gazing pa.s.sionately at her lovely face.
Han cleaned up the dishes while An Ning went to the small bathroom to wash up. When she was done, Han took some clothes from the bag and went to the bathroom to change. An Ning was already in bed when he came out.
Han turned down the lights and climbed into the bed next to An Ning. She turned naturally towards him and cuddled against his warmth. He cradled her in his arms and buried his face in her thick, l.u.s.trous hair.
"Han?" she asked, her voice soft and unusually tentative.
Han tensed, surprised by the sound of the name on her lips. Then he exhaled a breath and a huge smile suddenly cracked his face.
"Hmnn...?"
"I"m sorry that I lied to you."
"What about?" he said, tigthening his arms around her.
"That thing you accused me of."
"Why do it then?" he asked, his gaze pa.s.sionate under the dim lights.
"Somebody bugged the office."
"What?" he said, his hand stopping its light caresses on her cheek and neck. "Why didn"t you tell me?"
"And tell them what they want to know? Not a chance."
"Is that why you faked the kidnapping?"
"I couldn"t think of anything else to do so I figured why not hire a professional? So, I found Taey. Believe it or not, I found his card in my wallet. Taey West, specialist. Rather spells it out, don"t you think?" An Ning laughed.
"He was always a flamboyant a.s.shole, that rascal. When I saw him that day in the library, I knew you were with him. It was easy then to follow his movements and find out where you were. How did you know about the island?" asked Han, his hand fondling An Ning"s now bared b.r.e.a.s.t.s. An Ning"s breathing became ragged.
"Another coincidence. Du Lu was talking about a location for a movie shoot. It was supposed to be on an abandoned island but was cancelled due to some problems. It gave me an idea so I checked it out. Stop that..." she said in a gasp as Han bent his head and let his open, hungry mouth roam An Ning"s naked skin.
"It"s been a long time, baby," he groaned. "I haven"t held you in my arms in weeks."
"It"s only been five days," she protested, her lips were tingling as he expertly opened her lips and ravished her tongue with his. They both groaned in unison as his hips nudged her legs apart.
"I can"t help it," he said, ripping her panties off her body. He groaned when he felt the softness of her inner thigh. "You make me feel so hungry every time I look at you, breathe you."
"Han, the baby," she said, trying to keep some sanity from his pa.s.sionate onslaught.
"There are other positions we can do so it won"t hurt him," Han laughingly teased, raining kisses on her long neck.
"What?" she asked, appalled by the suggestion yet intrigued by it at the same time.
Han"s laughter was sensuously lecherous as he gently turned her back against his chest while his hands again roamed greedily on her body. "Does that feel better?" he asked, his lips nipping kisses on her smooth shoulders.
"Hmmm..." An Ning breathed shakily.
Han"s hand slipped between their bodies and settled on the juncture between her legs. He gently raked his fingers on damp, warm flesh until An Ning was moaning and squirming in his arms with pleasure. He positioned her legs until his hard c.o.c.k nudged against her wet opening. Han continued to stoke her rising pa.s.sion by playfully thrusting the head of his c.o.c.k inside her then immediately withdrawing.
An Ning became so frustrated that she grabbed a chunk of his hair, turned her head, then forcibly thrusting her tongue in his mouth. She then ground her hips against him while sucking l.u.s.tfully at his tongue. Han felt his c.o.c.k harden even more at her aggressive action. He took over by forcefully slamming his mouth against hers while at the same time finally giving in to the almost painful urge of thrusting inside her with his full, hardened c.o.c.k.
Han swallowed the scream that erupted from An Ning"s throat when their bodies finally merged together. They started a dance, slow then fast, gentle then fierce. Han"s naked chest was drenched with sweat as he held An Ning"s naked pregnant body against his. An Ning"s moans echoed around the cave, the auditory sensuality of the sounds inciting Han"s hard thrusts even more.
When An Ning reached the end, she collapsed in a tired heap against Han. He felt her body tighten even more around his hardness, milking him greedily so that with a last hard and accurate thrust, he spilled everything and surrendered to her.
A long time after they regained their senses, An Ning turned to Han and softly her lips fell on his lips.
"Han?" she asked, a finger stroking the small dent on his chin.
"Hmnn?" Han playfully captured her finger and put it between his teeth, licking the soft pad with his tongue.
"I love you."
Han stiffened, as if afraid of not hearing the words correctly. An Ning raised up her upper body and whispered the words in his ear. Han felt his body tremble and tightened his arms around An Ning. They held each other all night and into the sun-filled morning of the following day. Han woke up first. And like every morning that happened since that moment he first loved her, his eyes immediately sought and found An Ning"s sleeping face. This time, however, she was awake and gazing at him with the same beaming, foolish smile he was wearing on his own face.