Page 10 of Bound By the Yakuza

I kept a straight face. “What do you want? Are you following me?”

“Didn’t I say I’d be keeping an eye on you?” He plunked down in the chair across from me.

“I’m flattered.”

“Don’t be,” Tatsuya said flatly. “I was just here collecting protection and saw you, so I figured I’d come bother you.”

My tutors always told me when a boy bothered a girl it meant he had a crush. This was something that I never understood as a child and I certainly didn’t now - especially when the boy in question was a blood-thirsty yakuza soldier.

“Well, consider me successfully bothered.” I sighed and shoved the paperback book into my purse.

I stood up. I’d rather let my latte go cold than waste another minute of my time with this annoying and yet intoxicatingly sexy yakuza. I couldn’t look into his eyes without getting a chill up my spine and butterflies in my stomach.

Tatsuya stood as well, attempting to block me.

I shouldered myself around him and left the cafe as fast as I could without raising suspicion and didn’t stop or look over my shoulder until I was back upstairs at the parlor.

The massage parlor was small, taking up the second floor of a tiny square building. There was enough space for private massage rooms, my office, and a tiny bachelor apartment at the back. I locked the door behind me and pulled the chain tight.

My shoulders were tense. I could feel the frustration tearing me up in side. I let out a long breath.

Why did he get me so worked up? Why couldn’t I just shut off these feelings? What even were these feelings? I had never been like this before. Men would fall over themselves just to learn my name and I wouldn’t even give them the time of day. Now, this arrogant guy shows up and suddenly I’m blushing like a schoolgirl?

I shook my head. “Get it together,” I whispered to myself.

I was here to do one thing - make money. When my father finally got his head out of his ass, then I would go home to Russia with nothing more than a big suitcase of cash. I knew how to play the game; I was born into it. No one would stand in my way. Even him.

There was a knock at the door.

I rubbed my temples and sighed. The sign said closed, anyone could read that. My girls didn’t even get here until 6:00 PM. There should not be any clients stumbling their way up the stairs yet, especially on a Sunday.

The knock came again.

I gritted my teeth and stormed out of my office. “What?” I demanded, flinging the door open.

Tatsuya. It was him. Of course it was.

I looked up at Tatsuya. “What do you want?”

“Why did you run away?” He glared at me. “I wasn’t finished our conversation.”

“Well, I was,” I said. “Now if you excuse me, I have a business to run.”

Tatsuya grabbed the door before I could slam it in his face and forced his way into the parlor. “Ah ah, you’re forgetting who calls the shots in this neighborhood.”

I glared at him. He really was getting on my nerves. He had no idea who I was, what I was capable of, my bloodlines, my training. I wasn’t the dumb foreigner he took me for.

He stepped towards me again and I lost it. I pulled back, jabbing at his face. He caught my fist. He was fast. I tried again with my other hand. He grabbed me and I used his weight against him, twisting and pushing him to the ground.

Tatsuya lay flat on his back, blinked a few times and then laughed. “Wow, you’re stronger than I thought.” He looked up from the ground. “That’s pretty sexy.”

I glared down at him. “Great! Now get out.”

Tatsuya jumped to his feet. “Really? You’re going to dance with me like that and then tell me to leave?” He straightened his leather jacket. “Where did a girl like you learn moves like that?”

“None of your business.”

Tatsuya’s expression sobered. “Listen, you know I have to watch this area, you could at least make it interesting.”

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