“I woke you,” she said.
I came out of the dressing room and smiled at her, pulling a hand through my hair again, my idea of brushing it. Daiyu laughed. Seeing her always made my body buzz—a visceral response vacillating between anxiety and desire. She was dressed in a pale purple suit and casually held her helmet under one arm. Her black hair was swept back in a ponytail. I studied her expression and posture, trying to see if she remembered anything. But then, why would she be here?
“Good morning,” I said. “I might have overslept. Mocha?”
“I’d love one.” She settled herself at the dining table and placed her helmet upon it, comfortable and at ease, looking as confident as ever.
My own shoulders relaxed, and I felt the tightness that had been in my chest loosen. The memory-wipe was holding. “Did you want anything to eat?”
“I’ve already eaten,” she replied. “But you can take me out to dinner after the tour.”
I smirked. “Are you asking me out?”
“You’d know if I were asking you out,” she replied.
I laughed and pounded a fist to my heart, as if I’d been wounded. “All right, then. Dinner together—but only out of convenience and necessity.”
She arched an eyebrow at me and I dodged into the kitchen, too easily captured by that gaze. I ordered two mochas and toasted three slices of thick taro bread as I wolfed down a banana. Even after six months, I wasn’t used to eating whenever and whatever I wanted. My body still remembered what it was like to be constantly hungry.
“Isn’t it a school day for you?” I set her mocha on the table as she waved a hand in the air.
“It’s my senior year. And I have an internship at my father’s. The school’s very flexible with my schedule.” She took a sip of mocha, licking the cloud of whipped cream from the top.
I tried not to stare.
“Besides I’m at the top of my class,” she said.
I sat down across from her and ate as her gaze wandered around the apartment. “No photos of family or friends?” She paused, then looked me dead in the eyes. “Why so Ro?”
Blood rushed to my head, pulse spiking. The same exact question she had asked me during her kidnapping. I reached for my mug, clasped it, and took a few long breaths, using the espresso’s rich aroma as an excuse to slow my racing heart. “I haven’t had the time. Guess I’m not sentimental,” I finally said.
“Not sentimental?” Her full mouth lifted into a smile. “And you have your mother’s favorite flower tattooed above your heart?”
I nearly choked on my drink, then wiped my mouth with a napkin. “Well. Exactly. Isn’t that enough?” I gave her a grin. “No one knows about that tattoo except you.” I didn’t even think Arun remembered it, he had been so drunk.
She looked truly surprised then, but said nothing.
I shrugged. “It’s new. So . . .” I crumpled the napkin with my hands. “I’ll suit up if you’re ready to go.”
“Why did you want me to wear my suit? The limo’s waiting for us downstairs.”
“Because we’re going to Jin Crop on my airped,” I replied. I wanted us to be alone, away from the prying eyes of her bodyguards. It gave me better control of the situation.
Her eyes widened, and she shook her head, her ponytail swaying. “I couldn’t. I came with three bodyguards, and they’re waiting downstairs too.”
“Come on. It’ll be fun.” I crossed the apartment and unhooked my suit, slipping it on, checking the places where I had hidden my knives. The light synthetic material conformed to my body, sleek beneath my palms as I zipped up the side, before grabbing my helmet. “I’m parked in the private garage on the nineteenth floor. We can go and they’ll never know.” I winked at her. “Let them wait.”
“My father would kill me,” she said.
“Don’t tell him, then.” I opened the door and cocked my head toward the elevators.
“What would the bodyguards think?” she added.
“Let them think what they want,” I replied. “We’re rock climbing for a few hours.” I couldn’t keep a corner of my mouth from lifting slyly. “Or whatever.”
A wide grin spread across her face before she laughed, then grabbed her own helmet. She swept past me, and I caught her scent—fresh strawberries—and I was suddenly brought back to my lab on Yangmingshan, when she had removed her helmet for the first time during the kidnapping.
“Yes,” she said. “Let them wait.”
I shut the door behind me, hearing the snick of the autolock, before accessing the nineteenth floor with a palm scan at the elevator. We entered it together, and now I was hyperaware of her scent in this enclosed space, and how she didn’t stand near enough to touch, but close enough that I imagined I could feel the warmth of her. I took a step away, pretending to be fixated on my suit’s zipper. The elevator, one of the fastest in the world, dinged soon after, and we entered the private residential garage.
It was massive, a wide-open concrete space filled with the most expensive airlimos, sports cars, and luxury automobiles. Quite a few residents owned airpeds, and I led Daiyu to mine. Airpeds were named after the mopeds that so many still relied on for transportation, but what Victor had purchased for me was really an airmotorcycle: a Yamaha Blade in black, silver, and red.
Daiyu whistled and ran her hand along the black leather seat trimmed in red. “This is gorgeous.”
“Your first time on an airped?” I asked.
She nodded, her eyes still studying the seductive curves of the motorcycle.
“I’m assuming your suit has the safety enhance?”
Her gaze flicked to me then. “And then some.”
“How many suits do you have, anyway?”
“I haven’t counted.” She shrugged. “Over a dozen? My father often has me testing new enhancements Jin Corp is considering bringing onto the market.”
“Like the Superman enhance?” I asked pointedly. Arun and I had gotten the details from Victor after our meeting; it was an enhance that gave the you X-ray vision, allowing them to see anyone they chose naked.
Daiyu’s cheeks reddened. Then she gave me a slow once-over, her mouth twisted in a mischievous smile. I fought the urge to cross my arms, but instead tensed my body and stance. If she could see me naked, she was welcome to take her fill. I had a lot to hide—and my physique being ogled was the last of my concerns.
Her gaze finally met mine and she laughed. “No. I never tested the Superman. I didn’t think much of that enhance, nor of the people who buy it.”
I narrowed my eyes at her for tricking me, but my posture relaxed and I walked around the airped, checking the tires, rims, and propulsion system as Vic had taught me. Daiyu leaned casually against the leather seat, a smug expression on her face.
“Looks good,” I said more to myself than to her, then lifted my helmet. “We’ll connect in helmet?”