Page 75 of The Dragon 1
I took another sip of the champagne.
I may have fucked up by saying yes. . .
I wasn’t used to wanting this deeply.
Wanting someone who scared me.
Someone I respected.
Someone I could lose myself to.
That’s what made this dangerous.
That’s what made this real.
My mother had always warned me about men with too much power but she'd never told me what to do when that power called to something equally dangerous within myself.
Shit. I’ll have to stay on my toes and not let the damn dragon devour me.
As the car turned onto a private road flanked by cherry trees, their petals illuminated by hidden lights, I understood that whatever happened tonight wouldn't just change my relationship with Kenji—it would redefine who I believed myself to be.
Chapter twelve
To Be Kept
Nyomi
We continued.
Lights blurred.
Streets thinned.
The air grew still.
Tokyo’s chaotic pulse softened into a whisper as we climbed higher into the hills. Somewhere behind us, the neon fever of Shinjuku and Shibuya kept dancing.
But up here?
Time held its breath.
Only the hush of tires on ancient stone roads remained.
We’re almost there.
My champagne flute was nearly empty.
I set it back onto its cradle with trembling fingers, still half-buzzed from the massage seat, the music, the scent of sandalwood and power saturating the air. My skin tingled and my body hummed with anticipation.
What sort of date will this be?
We continued to go up the hill.
Through the tinted window, I watched the world transform. Cherry trees lined the road, their soft pink petals caught in the subtle gold of hidden lights.
It looked like we were driving through a dream.
I pressed my fingers against the door again, needing the coolness to steady myself.
