Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 101427 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101427 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
"Also, Reo put Hiroko and her assistants on another helicopter," Eye One added. "They’ll be meeting you at the safe spot."
Kenji gave him a tight nod of approval.
The Eye gave a half-bow, and then vanished through the door like mist.
Kenji turned to me.
I raised an eyebrow. "The safe spot?"
“It’s time for me to go to war, Tora.”
A cold drop hit the center of my chest. “War?”
“Yes.”
“With whom?”
“My father.”
I tensed in shock.
Kenji Sato—the most powerful man I’d ever seen, the most composed, the most untouchable—was going to war with the man who made him.
“W-why are you about to go to war with your father?”
“It’s about vengeance for my brother. Safety for us, and legacy for our kids.”
Our. . .kids?
I tried to steady my voice, but it cracked anyway. “Are you ready to battle against him?”
His gaze didn’t waver. “I am.”
My heart beat harder. Faster. “That was what Paris was about, wasn’t it? You went there due to something dealing with this war?”
“Yes. I planned to discuss this all with you during dinner. . .but your surprises blew my mind. I became distracted.”
“War. You’re going to be in danger?”
He chuckled.
I frowned. “That’s not funny, Kenji.”
He tilted his head. “Tora, I am always in danger.”
It wasn’t bravado. It wasn’t drama. It was reality, etched into the lines of his body, his scars, his instincts.
Still, a thread of panic started to unravel within my core. “So what happens now?”
“Once everyone is at the safe location, the war begins.”
“And what is this. . .safe location?”
“It’s an island I own. Off the coast of Japan. Private. Hidden. My men have villas scattered across the cliffs. My mansion is in the center. It’s a fortress of glass, gold, and stone. The floors are heated obsidian. There’s a private onsen fed by volcanic springs. No one gets there unless I say so.”
Jesus.
I wrestled with all of this information and then spoke, “Your Eye said that Hiroko and her assistants are going there too.”
“When my father and brother realize that the assassins didn’t get me, they will search for Hiroko so they can torture her for any information.”
“Dear God.”
“So she’ll be with us until the war is over.”
My nerves were on edge.
“Your friend will be with us too.”
“What?”
“Zo. My father may have learned of his location and would go after him next if they can’t find Hiroko. I’m sure Reo probably has men grabbing him.”
All I could imagine was Zo pissing his pants when he opened the door to Kenji’s men. “Holy shit.”
Kenji smiled. “Everything will be fine, Tora.”
“How can you guarantee that?”
“Because I am the fucking Dragon.” Then he seized my waist with both hands—no hesitation, no gentleness—just raw, unfiltered claiming. He yanked my body against his like we were two magnets that had fought too long to be apart.
And then he kissed me.
No. He obliterated me. His mouth didn’t just crash against mine. It conquered. It consumed. It tore through whatever fragile barrier I’d been pretending still stood between us.
I tasted rage and obsession. Fire and death. The promise of pleasure laced with the threat of being utterly undone.
His grip was iron, one hand curling into the base of my spine like he was anchoring me to this moment, this choice, this war. The other slid up my back, fingers fisting in my hair, tugging just enough to make me gasp.
He swallowed the sound like a starving man drinking holy water.
And inside my chest, something split open.
A slow, delicious detonation.
I swore I could feel his heartbeat pounding into mine, drumming a rhythm that only the broken or bewitched could hear.
My knees trembled.
My thighs clenched.
The heat between my legs pulsed into a drumbeat made of need.
The earlier explosion outside now meant nothing because the real one had just gone off inside me.
I kissed him back with everything I had—my panic, my longing, my surrender. And in that moment, I understood. This moment wasn’t about choosing to go with him.
It was about choosing not to live without him.
And I had chosen to stay.
Therefore, whatever battle he was about to fight, I wouldn’t be watching from a safe distance.
I would be the fire at his side.
I would be the flame that fed his war.
Chapter four
Totoro
Nyomi
I held my present while Kenji carried me up the stairs—one powerful arm beneath my knees, the other curled tight around my back. His grip radiated both protection and possession.
I was sacred in his arms.
Untouchable.
Too rare for gravity.
Too exquisite for violence.
I let my head rest briefly against his shoulder. And honestly, I was grateful. My pussy was sore from earlier, and those ridiculous heels—while stunning—were absolutely not made for climbing stairs.
And behind us?
His Eyes followed.
Silent.
Watchful.
Deadly.
Scanning every corner and shadow.
Behind them, more armed men stalked forward. Each one dressed in black and strapped with rifles and blades.
A full death squad.
It felt like being in the middle of a damn crime saga. But it wasn’t fiction. It was my life now. And that realization terrified and thrilled me in equal measure.