Safe Haven | Yuzuru Hanyu

36.

Did it shock Emma that he was speaking of marriage when they could barely call what they had a relationship? Maybe, but her poker face was pretty great.

Or that's what she thought.

"No need to look so shocked, love." He said with a chuckle.

"Don't mess with me." She begged him this was not a matter to mess with that way.

"I'm not. I mean, I won't marry you now, but in the future, I want to"

"You seem very sure."

"Well, Miss Anderson, I have never met a woman quite like you."

"And you're willing to marry any woman that happens to be different?"

"Just the ones that are good in bed."

The snarky comment earned him a decent punch. It was becoming a habit of them and it seemed like he either enjoyed being punched by her or he enjoyed seeing her squirm every time he said something like that.

Emma's face turned red, and her eyes shot daggers at him.

"You're disgusting," she spat out.

He chuckled again, his dark eyes sparkling with amusement. 

"What? You know it's true. And don't act like you don't enjoy it as much as I do."

Emma shook her head, turning away from him. She couldn't believe how easily he could say things like that."I want more than that," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I want a real relationship, with love and commitment."

He reached out, grabbing her chin and turning her head back towards him.

 "And you don't think I can give you that?"

Emma let out a sigh, feeling like she was in a trance. His touch sent shivers down her spine, but she couldn't let herself get lost in it. She had to be rational.

"I don't know," she admitted, her voice shaking a little. "You're always so...casual. I can't tell if you're serious about anything."

He let go of her chin and leaned back, a frown marring his face. "I understand where you're coming from, but you have to trust me on this. I may be casual about a lot of things, but you're not one of them."Emma's heart skipped a beat at his words, but she still had doubts.

 "Why do you even want to marry me?"

He grinned, a mischievous glint in his eyes. 

"Because you challenge me in ways no one else has. Plus, you're hot as hell."

Emma rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the blush that rose to her cheeks. Despite his crude comment, she couldn't deny the attraction she felt towards him.

"I'll think about it," she finally said, still unsure but willing to consider his proposal, even if he didn't want an answer right away and this was nowhere near an actual proposal.

He leaned in closer, his lips brushing against her ear. "Good. Because I'm not giving up on you that easily," he whispered.

Emma shivered, a mix of excitement and nervousness coursing through her veins. She knew it was a risk to get involved with someone like him, but the thought of being with him was too tempting to resist.

As he pulled back, she met his gaze, her heart racing as she saw the intensity in his eyes. She knew that whatever happened between them, it was going to be one wild ride.

"There's something else I want to talk to you about."

"Yes?"

"I don't want you to be my bodyguard anymore."

The way he said that was confusing as hell. One second they were talking about marriage and the other he was speaking of distance?

"What do you mean? I thought you wanted me to go back to Japan."

"I do, but let's be honest, I don't need a bodyguard. Not in my day-to-day life."

"Your team thought you did."

"They always overreact. What I do want is to have you by my side whenever I go to a competition"

"How is that any different?"

"Because you're not going because you work for me. You're going to watch me."

"You're not making any sense right now. I would be there either way."

"yes... but it's different if you're there as my girlfriend."

Emma didn't know whether to laugh or think too much about this.

"Yuzu... I have to make money somehow."

"You don't have to worry about money."

"Never in my life have I been dependent on a man, and that's not changing now."

Yuzuru had the nerve to chuckle and smirk at those words, obviously entertained by her apparent rage on the topic.

"What were you even doing in the last months? You weren't bodyguarding, were you?"

"Actually..."

"Emma...Please tell me you weren't."

"Why? Are you jealous?"

"Depends on how your job was."

"You know how it was... I worked for you, remember?"

"Yes, I remember you in my bed... several times."

She was actually enjoying seeing him squirm more than she probably should have. Yuzuru was fun to mess with every once in a while, especially when his possessive side came to play. It looked so freaking sexy on him. And well, he started the whole thing.

Emma kept the act for a few more minutes, Yuzuru staring at her with his intense gaze, almost challenging to answer. 

Eventually, it became too much and she was quickly throwing herself into a fit of laughter with a very confused Japanese staring at her.

"You should see your face from here. It's hilarious."

"Emma! It's not funny."

"Yes, it is. Who would have guessed that Yuzuru Hanyu was the jealous type?"

"I'm not jealous."

"You are, superstar."

"No." he answered with that resolute tone that made it all even funnier.

"You are, and it's ok. I find it cute when you're like that."

If there was one thing that Yuzuru didn't want was to look cute in her eyes. He wanted to be sexy and drive her crazy, just like she did to him. The frown on his face told her more than enough.

"Love... I didn't work in the past months. There are no other guys, not now and not before you. Only casual stuff every now and then, and never with someone I was protecting."

"Not until me."

"Yeah... Guess that should tell you everything you need to know."

"I'm different?"

"Very."

"Good different?"

"Absolutely. The best different"