Page 88 of The Dragon 1

And then there wasyubitsume. Members who broke rules got parts of their fingers chopped off—starting with the tip of the pinkie. More violations triggered more mutilation.

I’d also learned that Kenji didn’t even head the Yakuza until after his surprise retirement from soccer at twenty-eight.

I was no sports girl but his stats were insane—five-time AFC Player of the Year, Olympic athlete, even played in the FIFA World Cup.

And then. . .there was the Calvin Klein ad ten years ago. Black boxer briefs. Sculpted chest. Thighs like tree trunks. That bulge? Monstrous. I’d stared at that image like a pervert for the rest of the night.

Kenji had been twenty-eight in that ad and when he retired from soccer.

That made him thirty-eight now.

Just three years older than me.

Which was wild—because somehow, he felt like a different species. Older, yes, but not in years. In experience. In danger. In how the world moved around him.

Me?

I was thirty-five. A woman who’d built her career brick by brick.

“Tora?”

I blinked, returning to the moment.

“Have you figured out who I am?”

The word Dragon sat on the tip of my tongue but Zo had forbidden me to speak it in front of Kenji.

“Yes. I did my research. I know who you are.”

“Good,” He closed the distance and then his gaze drifted over my face again, soft and ravenous. “Does my reputation scare you?”

I didn’t hesitate. I looked up into his eyes. “Itterrifiesme.”

“Yet you came tonight.”

“I did.”

“Naughty tiger.”

“Naughty dragon.”

Well. . .there goes that rule.

To my shock, Kenji groaned like I’d just scratched an itch buried in his soul, “careful, Tora. You toldmeto behave but you’re not. . .”

I grinned. “I’ll be better.”

His voice dipped low. “Do you think you’ll regret coming tonight?”

“I might.”

“No, Tora,” he leaned in and placed his mouth near my ear. “You will regret it but only in the most delicious ways.”

A shiver traced down my spine pooling hot and needy between my thighs, “you speak in dark poetic riddles.”

He stepped away and motioned to the two gifts, “why did you bring them for me?”

“You sent me gifts. I should bring you gifts too. I was told that was the custom and a way to be. . .respectful and appreciative.”