Snowblood

Chapter 5: Intimacy

Matthew Darrow got out of the taxi in front of the Imperial Hotel, glancing up at the winter sky as he hefted his overnight bag. He was a tall and muscular man with the sort of build that came from a great deal of working out, not because he was vain but because in his profession he needed to be both strong and fast. The Chimaeras were.

His hair was a few shades darker than his daughter's, threaded now with silver, but where her eyes were green, his were brown, and there was an olive undertone to his skin. He was not a bad looking man, but he was harsh looking, hard-faced. Those who heard him speak were always struck by it, for his voice was dark and raspy. He was there to see a woman, however, and that meant that his mouth was less grim than usual.

Yukie had suggested a rendezvous, so she also chose the place. Rm. 1625 Imperial, she had texted, and here he was.

On the face of it, their liaison was exactly what all men supposedly want and women supposedly do not—no-strings-attached sex without demands—outside of the bedroom, that was.

Yet he had nothing else in his life approaching a relationship, even if it was a relationship that took place in a series of hotel rooms. His ex-wife was all but dead. His surviving child, Kari, wanted nothing to do with him. Since Drew's death, his friends and his peers among the Pursuants were avoiding him, for a man who kills his own son is not a man with whom people want to share a beer. Even though it had to be done, or he would have spread a biohazard. Even though it spared his son a drawn out, painful dying. But he had Yukie.

He might not have permitted himself to have a relationship with her, once the initial attraction was sated, but she did fill a deeper need than just the physical. She did not blame him or judge him for doing what had had to be done. She didn't shrink away or flinch when he touched her. She was a scientist; she understood how he could have done what he did.

The hotel was engineered from modified redwood DNA, the wood of choice for skyscrapers. He had always liked the way they smelled. Entering the cool modern lobby, he ignored the doorman and maitre d'hôtel, heading directly for the elevator. Yukie met him at the door in a long white robe. "Shower first?" she suggested, smiling.

"Certainly," he replied. They were two adults who knew each other well, and knew what to do for each other. After the shower, and what went on in there, and then in the bedroom, (enhanced strength and stamina came with distinct advantages),Yukie laughed, low and throaty, and they rolled apart. Their exertions had brought a rose-pink flush to her face and other places which was very becoming. He smiled at her, enjoying the moment, studying her face.

A narrow oval face with a high forehead, large and expressive dark eyes, shining at the moment. Then a nose which was simply a nose with nothing remarkable about it, except that there was very little space between it and the upper lip. Moving south, the mouth, which was small but full-lipped, with corners that curved upward slightly, as though there was always a smile lurking there. The chin had more strength than one would expect from such a full and tender mouth. 

 Not a perfect face—one cheek was a little hollower than the other, the chin was a little too square and there were other asymmetries. The skin was perfect, though, palest ivory, without acne or scars. Not a face that had been altered much, if at all. That said a lot about Yukime Kuwano, given that she worked for Oscar Salazar, one of the top alterists in the world. She liked herself. To him, that was a very attractive quality too.

"So," he said, reaching for the whiskey on the bedside table, and pouring each of them a splash, "you said there was something you wanted to ask me?"

"Yes," she said, taking a glass from his hand. "I'm taking a leave of absence from the clinic soon, and among other things, I want to go back to Japan for a few weeks. Can you come along? On me, of course. We have never done anything of the kind, and I would like to."