Page 68 of Daigo

All right, she mused. This was not going to be easy. "How else am I supposed to apologize if you don't?"

His eyes narrowed. "You can apologize right here."

"Want me to beg?" she asked lightly. She had come armed, determined to prey on his weakness. With that in mind, she had chosen a thin lace nightgown of virgin white that clung to every inch of her body.

"That won't be necessary." Hauling himself up on the pillows, he carefully put the stuffed elephant on the table next to him. "I'm going to the guest room, as you suggested."

Not wanting to create a scene and wake the babies, she waited until he had finished checking on the girls and was making his way out before she followed him.

He was about to close the door to the blue and green guest room when he noticed she was right behind him.

"I don't have time for this," he told her tightly. "I want to go to sleep."

"Not until we hash this out. I haven't apologized yet." Pushing her way in, she slammed the door shut and planted her hands on her hips. "You were right. The dress was a bit too much, and I didn't notice that at first." She heaved out a breath. "That said, I don't appreciate the way you dealt with it or the tone you used when speaking to me. I'm your wife, not some floozy you picked up off the streets."

His lips twitched slightly at her words, but he was not prepared to forgive her yet. She had pissed him off royally, and it had taken some time for him to cool off. "I was angry."

She nodded in acknowledgment. "Fine. I'll give you that. The dress is going back. I'm not ashamed of my body or anything like that."

"I've worked damned hard to get back my shape after being pregnant with my babies. I intend to flaunt it, but-" She held up a hand when he opened his mouth. "Not like that."

"I respect my position as your wife and the mother of those beautiful babies. Nothing and no one means more to me than my family, and I'm not going to allow a little thing like that to get between us. Well?" Her speech was spoiled by the belligerent tone of her voice.

"You seem to have covered it all."

"Are you coming to bed or not?"

His brows lifted, and all he could do was shake his head. "You're a piece of work, aren't you?"

"What does that mean?" she demanded.

"It means you're aggravating and infuriating."

"You knew all of that before we got hitched."

"Yeah," he agreed with a sigh. "Pity I didn't turn tail and run when I discovered that."

"As if you could." Her dimples came as she launched herself into his arms. He caught her against him and simply breathed in her scent.

"I guess I'm stuck with you. I might as well learn to live with it." With an aggrieved sigh, he swung her into his arms.

"Stuck forever," she murmured, flinging her arms around his neck. "Now why don't you just shut the hell up and make love to me?"

His eyes darkened with a combination of passion and anger. Bending his head, he punished her with a kiss that bruised her lips and had her going limp.

*****

He looked on with indulgent amusement as his wife snapped another photo of their children tearing through the gaily wrapped presents. All three seemed to be more fascinated with the wrapping than the gifts. Keira, who was always intensely curious, was poking at a gigantic stuffed bear. Kaya was chewing on the ear of a fuzzy elephant, and Kai was ripping red and gold paper to shreds.

The nannies had dressed them nicely for the occasion. Both girls looked, or had looked, adorable in identical red velvet dresses with frills at the necks and hems. The white under blouses were now wrinkled and had evidence of their meals on the necks and fronts. His son's smart-looking navy suit was now a crumpled mess. The girls' red satin ribbons had long since disappeared.

"They're such a bunch of well-behaved children, aren't they?" Daigo remarked with a grin. Putting his eggnog on the cherry wood table, he rose to rescue the Ming vase from being toppled to the hardwood floor as Kai abandoned his paper shredding and pushed at the table. "Hey, none of that." Sweeping him up along with the vase, he handed the vase to his wife and delighted the boy by hoisting him up over his head.

Squeals of delight echoed inside the large living room, along with the crackling of the fire in the hearth and the sound of Christmas carols.

Yuna stared at the homely scene and could not help but compare it to so many holidays spent with her husband and son and how different they had been. The comparison was ridiculous. All those years ago, the holidays had been stiff and without enjoyment. Her husband had forbidden any of the traditions, stating that it was not the Japanese way.

But here in this household, joy and chaos reigned, and she was intensely happy she had lived long enough to experience it.