Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 161615 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 539(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 161615 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 539(@300wpm)
To my men.
To my children.
To my home.
My mother had been showing me what to look for all along, and I'd dismissed it as insignificant female babble.
But there was nothing insignificant about this.
The way Nyomi moved through this ritual—unhurried, intentional, gentle with herself—revealed everything.
She knew how to nurture.
How to heal.
How to take something the world called difficult and transform it into something beautiful.
That was the woman I wanted beside me.
Not just in bed.
Not just in this criminal world.
But in life.
I knew she was my heart but. . .I don’t think I understood what that meant I had to do until now. . .
More time passed. When Nyomi finally finished the last braid, she stood and stretched.
The towel loosened slightly at her waist.
She caught me staring—again—in the mirror. "I can’t believe you watched the whole time."
"And I will do it again and again." Time had stopped meaning anything when it came to moments with her.
She turned to face me fully. Her braids swayed with the movement. She walked over until she stood barely a foot away from me.
I caught one of her braids gently, felt how soft it was, how alive. "I realized something this morning."
“What?”
I met her eyes. "The greatest intimacy isn't always physical.”
“Then, what is it?”
“It's in being allowed to witness. To learn. To understand the small sacred things that make your lover who they are." I pulled her into a kiss.
Her lips met mine with a softness that was as luxuriant and intricate as the ritual I'd just witnessed.
My fingers twined around the ends of her freshly braided hair, pulling her into me as warmth spread between our bodies.
There was an intensity in the way we kissed, a depth that was matching our rising devotion.
I felt myself drowning in her.
Fully submerged.
Engulfed in her overwhelming love.
Lost in her embrace.
And in that moment, everything crystallized.
Yeah. I’m not just going to give her a baby before the war ends. . .I’m going to give her a ring.
This morning, I couldn't bear an hour without her.
Now, I couldn't bear a lifetime.
The only questions now were. . .when I would propose, where, and if she would say yes.
Chapter twenty
The Hidden Island
Kenji
An hour later, the helicopter’s blades cut through the air, carrying us away from the main island and toward a smaller piece of paradise I'd kept hidden for years.
Nyomi sat beside me, her hand in mine, her eyes wide as she took in the view through the window.
The helicopter's cabin hummed with mechanical rhythm—a low throb that vibrated through the seats and into our bones. It was loud enough that we'd had to lean close to speak, intimate enough that her breath warmed my neck when she turned to ask questions.
The air inside carried the faint smell of aviation fuel mixed with her scent—black amber and ripe plum cutting through everything else.
She'd changed into island clothes before we left—a loose linen dress in cream that fell just above her knees, the fabric so light it shifted with every breath. Underneath, I could see the thin straps of her swimsuit at her shoulders, burnt orange against her skin. Her braids framed her face.
I'd dressed similarly casual—white linen shirt with the sleeves rolled to my elbows, lightweight khaki pants, and my own swim trunks underneath.
No tie.
No cufflinks.
No dragon armor.
The ocean stretched below us, impossibly blue, dotted with small islands like emeralds scattered across silk.
"Where are we going?" she asked over the noise of the rotors.
"Somewhere safe." I brought her hand to my lips and then placed it in my lap, holding it firmly. "Somewhere the spy can't reach us."
Understanding dawned in her eyes, followed by tenderness.
I needed this.
Needed her away from the main island, away from whoever was feeding information to my father. The guards following us in a second helicopter were the most trusted of my security team—men who would die before they let harm come to my Tiger.
But more than safety, I needed time with her.
More uninterrupted time.
Time that wasn't about war, strategy, or death.
Just... her.
As she watched the view, I studied her. Those thick, soft braids framed her beauty without taming it. Each one shimmered from the oil she’d used. The faint smells of honey and citrus lingered in the air of the cabin and mixed with her already intoxicating scent of ripe plum and black amber.
When the wind from the vents lifted a few of the braids, brushing along her collarbone, I felt a strange pride rise in me.
Honestly, the other reason I took her away from the main island was because I didn’t want to share her anymore today. Hiro had cooked with her this morning. Reo would have found some excuse to be around her as well as the Fangs and Claws. They were all becoming too comfortable with her warmth, too drawn to her light.
My main guards, too.
After she fed them her damned banana bread, they’d looked at her like starving wolves who’d just tasted something holy. The scent of sugar and butter still haunted my corridors. It served as a bittersweet reminder that she’d fed men who should never dare to crave anything that belonged to me.