apartment by a chauffeur-driven car to the airport.

She was casually dressed in a peach cashmere sweater, black jeans and

heeled boots. All her luggage was in the trunk accept for her purse, briefcase

and laptop. As the arrived at LAX, she was surprised to find herself being

ushered by a hired bodyguard through the airport into a private VIP lounge to

await her flight.

The bodyguard exited the lounge and thankful for a moment without him on

her heels, Charlene eased down into one of the oversized lounge chairs and

accepted a glass of champagne from a proffered tray.

She waited for the liquid courage to soothe her frazzled nerves. She hadn’t

been able to eat breakfast before leaving, because of the choking fear that welled

up inside her. Of course, flying wasn’t something that terrified her to the point of

not flying at all, but taking off and landing is what she dreaded the most.

It has been sixteen years since she had lived in Japan. She spent her childhood

living in Yokosuka Japan because of her father a military medical doctor. She

was born in Hawaii, raised in Japan and after graduating from Nile C. Kinnick

High School in Yokosuka her family transferred back to the States to Los

Angeles California where her father retired from the military and became a

surgeon for a local hospital.

During Charlene’s first year of college, her mother finished law school and

opened her own practice, but her career was short lived because in Charlene’s

junior year of college her aging mother was surprised to find she could still get

pregnant and gave up the stress of her practice due to a difficult pregnancy.

Going into her senior year of college her baby sister and brother were born;

twins, Kayla and Jaycee.

Charlene tried not to think about being old enough to be the mother to her

own brother and sister. It was embarrassing enough that she couldn’t visit home

and hang out with her friends without the twins tagging along. Often she had to

explain to people who didn’t know her that they weren’t her children. It didn’t

help that the twins made life harder on her. Every time they were out and a guy

would flirt with her, they would wrap their arms around her hips and call her

mommy.

She smiled at the memory. It was humorous now that they both were grown

and in their prospective colleges, she could look back on those times with

difference between siblings.

fell on Charlene Alfred sitting quietly in a corner. There was a reflective smile on

her full lips. It brought a smile to his mouth. He had seen pictures of her on her

many fan based websites and there was a black and white headshot on the back

of her books, but none did justice to the real woman in the flesh.

Her deep brown skin appeared flawless from this distance. Classic

cheekbones, perfect proportioned features and those sultry dark eyes. She was

enough to tempt a man into doing something foolish, like taking her by the hand

pulling her from the seat and testing to see if her lips were as soft as they looked.

Kane shook his head as the fantasy in his mind turned explicit. He has spent

his life around women that wanted him for numerous reasons; none were because

they found him an interesting person, as much as they found what he did for a

living interesting. The few encounters he had were discreet and terminated by his

management team as quickly as they begin. It was impossible for any woman to

have a relationship with him and keep it entirely to herself.

He learned early on, part of the attraction for being with him was being able

to tell others they were seeing one of Japan’s leading entertainers, he almost lost

his career just because he was caught walking into a hotel with one of his band

members, girlfriend. It didn’t matter that the band member had walked in first.

All they needed was the illusion of impropriety and it nearly ruined him in the

public’s eye.

For him relationships have always been a joke. He would actually take bets

on how long it would take the female he was interested in to dump him once the

management team yanked her aside and shove a confidentiality contract in her

face before he could even ask her out on a real date. They’d escaped as quickly

as they could.

Therefore, the only sexual contact Kane had had with a woman in his twentyfour

years was with paid hostesses. His first sexual experience took place when

his personal manager hired a hostess to celebrate his twenty-first birthday along

with his first and last night of drunkenness. That was a memorable night: ten

minutes of sex and sixteen hours of feeling like shit.

His lovemaking abilities has gotten better, but he often wondered if there

would be a difference between having sex with someone that was being paid and

making love to someone that actually wanted to be with him because they didn’t

want to be with anyone else? The hands shoved into the Levi low-rise denim

pockets knotted into fists of frustration.

Kane’s contract would expire on his twenty-fifth birthday and he would be

free of Takusa Entertainment Group. He had an idea of what direction he wanted

to take his career but in order to make it work he had to surround himself with

the right people. Charlene was one of those people at the top of his list that he

had always wanted to work with musically. Her getting a movie deal for one of

her novels was an added bonus.

He had expected her to be attractive, but he had no idea until now just how

his knees before her. He wanted to bury his nose against the side of her neck and

know what she smelled like. Would she be powdery soft or pungently floral? Was

she the type that enjoyed being nibbled behind an earlobe in which a set of small

diamond studs and a silver loop was embedded or would she find it irritating?

Gee. What was he thinking? This was not some potential date to fantasize

about, this was a potential employer and she was older and more experienced. It

probably wouldn’t even occur to her to see him as anything more than just

another portfolio among the hundreds she probably go through everyday.

He rolled his shoulders under the washed leather-racing jacket and removed

his hands from his pockets to make room for the semi-erection his meandering

thoughts had aroused while gazing at Charlene Alfred.

Kane’s dark eyebrows arched mischievously as he drew in closer and saw

Charlene leafing through his portfolio pictures in the briefcase on her lap. His

mouth curved into an unconscious smile.

“I hope the real thing can stand up to the photographers artistic skills.” At the

sound of his voice, the heavy lashes that shadowed her cheeks flew up. She lifted

her head and her mouth dropped wide in obvious surprise.

“Kane!”

His dark eyes hypnotically stared down into hers. “What do you think,” he

asked softly. “Do I do those publicity photos justice or were the photographers

being kind?”

She snapped her mouth shut, apparently stunned by his forward behavior

before she rewarded him with an impish grin and said, “I thought they did a lot

of airbrushing. However, now I see I was wrong.”

New and unexpected warmth surged through him at her compliment.

Embarrassed he was the first to look away. Obviously, he had a lot to learn about

older women. She hadn’t shied away from his open flirtation but met him head

on with a little flirting of her own. He liked it and felt as comfortable meeting her

in person as he had while speaking with her on the telephone.

early in the morning, but in order for me to meet you here personally, I had to

make sure I returned for a radio interview on time.”

“Good morning, to you too.” Charlene returned his greeting, tucking his

pictures back in her briefcase and zipping it shut. “I must say this is a pleasant

surprise. I hadn’t expected you to fly all the way here just to turn around and fly

with me to Japan.”

“I told you I was handling our meeting personally, with the acceptation of my

assistant calling you to confirm the time for the driver to pick you up. I hope your

ride here was comfortable.”

He took a seat in the empty chair beside her.

She nodded her head. “Quite comfortable, however I don’t have any problems

making my way through airports, so the bodyguard escort was unnecessary.” She

smiled at him and added, “That’s the good thing about being a writer and

composer, you can maintain a fairly anonymous lifestyle.”

Kane’s cleared his throat somewhat embarrassed that he had made the

assumption she would be mobbed at airports like he was. In Japan, he only

needed one good bodyguard, since the media and fans were usually content with

pictures from a respectable distance. When visiting Taiwan and Hong Kong, he

had to have an entourage of guards surrounding him to keep the paparazzi and

fans from crushing him.

“An anonymous lifestyle,” he said smoothly, with no expression on his face.

“I envy you being able to do what you love, yet being able to live normally.”

Charlene sat aside her briefcase. “You know, it would be a shame if you

hadn’t shared your talent with the world.”

“Do you really believe that or are you just being nice?”

Charlene spoke with quiet firmness. “The one thing you will learn about me

Kane’s eyes bathed her in admiration. “I will try to remember that.”

Every time her gaze met his, he felt a strange feeling in his stomach. He liked

her; the way she spoke her mind. Even after hours on the phone until she started

to nod off on him, he felt there was so much more she could tell him about her

life.

The one subject he wanted to discuss was her highly publicized marriage to

rock star Jason James.

Kane felt her hand on his and realized she was speaking to him.

“Are you okay?”

“Um…A bit jet lagged but I’ll be okay,” he stumbled over an explanation.

“I’m sorry what were you saying?”

She removed her hand but he could still feel the soft warmth of her touch.

“I was saying that you never did tell me what time my flight was supposed to

leave. I guessed my plane tickets would be waiting here, since I didn’t receive

them with the itinerary you sent.”

Sitting closely, he found her facial bones were delicately carved, her mouth

fuller than he thought from across the room. Her skin seemed to glow with deep

gold undertones. His fingertips itched to reach out and touch her face, to see if

she was as soft as she looked.

“Kane. You’re doing it again.” Her warm brown eyes gazed at him with

amusement.

“I was listening this time.”

“Maybe, but you’re staring.” She said, raising a hand to her cheek. “Do I have

something on my face or lipstick on my teeth?”

Seizing the opportunity, he reached out and caressed the corner of her mouth

with the padding of his thumb. She lowered her thick, black lashes and grew very

still under his touch. He was happy that she hadn’t shied away from his touch.

Her skin was as soft as he suspected. Not even one wrinkle marred her features;

it was hard to believe she was fifteen years older than he was.

Her eyes caught and held his. “What is it?”

Clearing his throat, Kane withdrew his hand quickly and stood up pushing his

hands deep into his pockets. “You…uh… a little smudge by your lips,” he lied.

“Thank you.” She mumbled and rose fluidly from the chair.

His smile widened. At 5’8”, he found himself coming up short to non-Asian

women, but Charlene was perfect. As she turned to grab her purse from the chair

he caught a nice glimpse of her rounded buttocks, and he truly liked what he saw.

“Let me.” Kane removed his hands from his pocket and rushed forward lifting

her soft leather briefcase and laptop bag from the floor beside the chair.

“Thank you.” She smiled up at him. “You never did say what flight we were

taking. Do we still have time to grab a bite to eat? They have some finger foods

here, but I’m not one for caviar style appetizers and champagne at six in the

morning.”

Kane chuckled. “You’re more a coffee woman?”

“Nope, herbal teas. Especially mint tea,” she replied. “I have my own

specially blended brand with me and all I need to do is find some hot water.”

“I think I can handle that and I can also offer you a more substantial

breakfast.” He placed a hand on the small of her back and ushered her out the

VIP lounge ahead of him.

Once more, he found his eyes admiring the way her black jeans hugged her

firm bottom and looked away as she turned to see what was keeping him. He

caught up with her and shortened his longer stride to walk by her side. They

continued to walk in companionable silence until she realized they were heading

into a more private sector of the airport.

“I’ve never been in this part before.”

“It leads to the private runway strip where my jet is awaiting us.”

“You flew all the way here on a private plane? I know you’re trying to

impress me but stuff like this isn’t going to make me—”

“That wasn’t my intention at all, Charlene. This is the best way for me to

travel because it’s a nightmare being booked on a flight that happens to have an

Asian high school girls volley ball team aboard.”

Charlene laughed aloud. “Ah, so it’s the voice of experience.”

“It is and I don’t want to talk about it.” He cut a side-glance at her and saw

the curiosity on her face. “What I will say is, it’s very hard to open an airplane

door open when four people are stuffed inside.”

“Kane, you didn’t!”

“No, I didn’t, at least not what you’re thinking.” He gave her a wicked grin.

“If I had done that than it would have been so worth it.”

Charlene gave him a disapproving look until he explained.

“I was coming out of the toilet when I was rushed by four overanxious female

fans.” He was laughing at the same time. “Any other time, it would be a

nineteen-year-old male’s dream come true. However, for me, trapped in an

insufferably small space with four touchy-feely sixteen-year-olds equipped with

camera phones, it was a nightmare.”

Charlene continued to giggle and he shook his head with a mock-serious

expression.

“Yeah, I can laugh now,” He smiled, “But at the time I could see the

authorities waiting for me when the plane landed. Can you imagine the

“How did you get out of the bathroom?”

“My bodyguard, Alfred-san, came to check on me after I was gone for a bit.

I swear that was the longest four minutes of my life.”

“Only four minutes!” Charlene giggled and playfully punched him in the

shoulder. “I thought you were in there for a long time being squished to death.”

Laughingly grasping her wrist he said, “Oh, so you think four minutes isn’t

long? How about I get four of my bodyguards to crowd you into the plane’s

bathroom and we can see how you like it?” he said playfully opening an exit door

that led out to the concrete runway.

“I don’t know, I’m not a public figure and if they are cute, it may not be a bad

thing,” she teasingly replied, skipping away from him towards his awaiting

plane.

“I can’t believe you said that,” he yelled after her, hoisting the dislodged

shoulder strap back up. “Since you have so much energy maybe you should carry

your laptop case.”

Charlene laughingly shook her head without looking back at him.

Kane liked this more playful side of Charlene and looked forward to spending

time with her. The only way he knew that would be possible was if the media

assumed she was there to finalize the role of Blu. Problem was that he didn’t

know how Charlene would feel about that considering her initial opposition.

Waiting patiently at the entrance of the plane stood his two regular Japanese

pilots and a six-foot-four African American bodyguard along with a couple of

LAX employees, who had been waiting for autographs.

Settling on the comfortable leather sofa and buckling in for take off Charlene

smiled at him and said, “I see I’m not your only fan in the United States.”

“Don’t let that fool you, they probably want to sell the items on one of those

online auction places.” He grinned impishly. “I believe that is the second time

you implied you were a fan of mine. If that is true what is your favorite song?”

“Oh, that’s difficult to say.” She played coy with him, but her answer was a

surprise.

“Are you serious? I think that was on my second CD.” For some strange

reason Kane was hoping to catch her in a lie, considering it was his first big hit

and released as a single before being released on his first CD. If she were truly a

fan, she would know this bit of J-pop trivia.

Japanese television drama and released as a single, which is how I discovered

seemed to linger in my head and I found myself singing it all the time.”

“You know, I think the drama got better reviews than I did for that CD.”

“Yeah, well probably because that was the only good song on it,” she said

bluntly and paused. “I’m sorry, that was rude.”

Kane grimaced but could not deny it. He’d only been seventeen years old,

singing about losing love and passion and had no clue what the songs were about

until he started writing his own music.

“No, you’re right. Back when I started, I just sang what was put in front of

me. Not much has changed except I write my own stuff.”

Charlene shrugged. “Your last CD had a lot of feeling in it, but for some

reason it seemed very sad.” She downcast her eyes and he marveled at how long

her eyelashes were.

Her honesty was obviously as genuine as her beauty. He was flattered that she

honestly appeared to be a fan. All the dreams he had been having for so long had

been turned into music. Unfortunately, his dreams did leave him lonely, sad and

frustrated.

“You still don’t think I’m capable of playing Blu.”

“I think you’re capable,” Charlene replied softly. “I just don’t think you have

enough personal experience to do some of the scenes.”

“Such as?”

“Your experience with women for one,” Charlene answered bluntly. “We

don’t have enough money to spend trying to get the perfect onscreen kiss.”

She might have been teasing him or testing him, but Kane wasn’t as

inexperienced as she thought. “Maybe we should find out for the sake of the film,

of course.” His voice thickened and instinctively he leaned forward, her sweet

moist lips beckoning him to kiss her.

A deep voice interrupted the perfect moment. “Excuse me. Kane-sama, as

soon as we are cleared breakfast will be served.”

“Stuart-san, perfect timing as usual,” he groaned, leaning back in his chair,

regaining control of the emotions that surfaced from being in close proximity

with the one woman he felt a strange kinship with. Disappointment and relief

swept through him. In spite of wanting to explore his attraction to Charlene, he

didn’t want to ruin any developing friendship between them by making unwanted

advances.

Still, all he could think about was how he was feeling and what he wanted.

How stupid could he be? Maybe she was right. Maybe he wasn’t ready for the

role of Blu.