Page 20 of The Dragon 2 (Tokyo Empire #2)

Chapter seventeen

The Tiger’s Moan

Kenji

I left the box and entered the elegant hallway.

The phone stopped buzzing.

A few Corsican men lingered near a marble arch. One shifted, as if to approach, but I gave him a glance that turned him back toward the wall.

I called her back and found a statue at the far end of the corridor. It was an alabaster rendering of Tristan and Isolde , their mouths nearly touching, their eyes closed in eternal ache. The legend of love so deep it killed them.

Beautiful.

Brutal.

Eternal.

The line picked up.

"I hope I'm not bothering you." Her voice melted into my bones like warm honey poured over a blade.

I licked my lips. "You can bother me whenever you want."

“Whenever?”

“Whenever.”

“That’s sweet.”

“That’s exactly what the world thinks of me, Tora. Kenji, the sweet Dragon.”

She laughed, low and wicked. “I called for two reasons. The main one was to say thank you for breakfast.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“I did.”

“But you didn’t enjoy my other gift?”

A pause came from her, and then she asked, “What other gift?”

“The suite.”

“That wasn’t a gift, Kenji. That was a suggestion in case I ever felt uncomfortable on the futon. And I don’t.”

My jaw tightened. I looked up at the statue’s stone lips, still chasing each other through time. “You should be in the suite.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s where I want you.”

“Naughty Dragon.”

I smiled, but there was no humor in it. Just hunger. “I think about you there right now. In that bed. Alone. Naked. The silk slipping along your body. The scent of your pussy singing in the sheets. . .”

She exhaled like she felt it too. “That’s not fair.”

“I’m not fair. I’m territorial. And I’m trying—very hard—not to fly back tonight and put you exactly where I need you.”

“And where’s that?”

“Underneath me. Begging me to stop. While clawing at my back so I never do.”

Her breath caught.

And in the silence, the statue behind me seemed to lean closer, like it was listening.

I got closer to the lovers. “I had the suite prepared just for you. Sheets pressed. Silk steamed. Curtains drawn. Music curated. The staff was instructed to spoil you.”

“That is so sweet. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me with words, Tora. Move into the suite.”

“I am comfortable here, Kenji.”

“Yet, you’re mine.”

“Am I?”

“Yes, and that means, you sleep where I say. You wear what I send. You come when I command.”

She let out a low laugh—throaty and beautiful.

My jaw clenched, even as my cock twitched. “Is something funny?”

“I’m not yours.”

“You are. You just haven’t admitted it yet.”

She didn’t respond.

And that silence?

It wasn’t rejection.

It was consideration.

A pause filled with slow-burning temptation.

She was playing with fire—and loving the heat.

And I was the fool lighting the match.

How had I just outmaneuvered the Butcher of France, secured three planes’ worth of firepower, and walked away without a scratch—only to find myself in the hallway desperate and completely unarmed against a woman half a world away.

The Butcher didn’t rattle me.

The Corsicans didn’t shake me.

Even the Lion’s threats tasted like ash on my tongue.

But her ?

My naughty tiger?

She wrapped one word in silk and sent it across the ocean, and I was already coming undone.

It wasn’t just her voice.

It was the way she held her ground.

Refused to bend—even when she wanted to.

Still, I lowered my voice, letting it fall rough and low. “If you walked into that suite right now, I’d make you forget every reason you ever had to fight me.”

“I think that’s exactly why I’m not walking in.”

“You’re afraid?”

“No,” she whispered. “I’m tempted.”

That.

That right there.

I stilled.

My whole body tuned to the frequency of her honesty. Her confession wasn’t for control. It wasn’t for dominance. It was a gift.

And I treated it like one.

“Tora, the suite is there. The door is unlocked. The sheets are warm. I’ll be patient for now because I’m in Paris.”

“And when you’re back in Tokyo?”

“You’ll know it’s over.”

“What is over?”

“Your resistance. My waiting. The space between us.”

She didn’t answer.

But her breathing had changed.

I could feel it—like heat through the phone. My blood stirred—hot, dark, thrilling.

And just like that, I saw it, a flash of her dream. Me. Bound. Licking her pussy. Begging to be free so I could fuck her the way I yearned.

I leaned against the wall, loosening the top button of my shirt with one hand while gripping the phone tighter with the other. My voice dropped even lower. “Do you want me to beg?”

Silence.

Then—a sound.

So soft.

So raw.

Her moan.

She caught it too late. Tried to breathe through it, to bury it, but it was done. She hadn’t meant for me to hear it.

But I did.

Now I knew it wasn’t just my dominance that made her wet. It was the idea of me —the Dragon—on my knees.

A grin spread across my face. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“You heard nothing.”

“I heard that , Tora.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“You moaned in the most delicious way.”

“I did not.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“Oh, but you did. Somewhere deep inside, you want it. You want the Dragon to beg.”

“Kenji. . .”

“You want to hear me say please .”

Her breath hitched again.

“You want to be the only woman in the world who could ever make me bend. The only one who could look down and see me—feral, restrained, undone—begging for the taste of your pussy.”

“Mmmm.”

That one word unraveled something deep in my spine.

Fuck.

“I’d do it, you know.”

She inhaled sharply. “Do what?”

“I’d fall to my knees for you, Tora. Just once . Just for you. I’d spread your thighs with my face and stay there until you soaked every inch of me. I’d murmur how sweet you taste while you use my mouth until you forget your own name.”

Another moan.

Softer.

Needier.

“You like that image, don’t you?” I pressed. “Me. On my knees. Tongue out. Voice hoarse. Needing nothing more than your permission.”

She didn’t answer with words.

Just another breathless sound.

I exhaled into the mouthpiece, letting it wash over her like smoke and silk. “Say it.”

She was quiet, trembling at the edge.

“Say you want me to beg.”

Nothing.

Then. . .

“I want it.”

My cock throbbed and then hardened.

Fuck, Tora.

I closed my eyes and imagined it all. Her hands, in my hair. Her thighs, clamping around my head. My voice, hoarse and ragged from whispering yes, please, more.

I let that silence stretch—thick with power, dripping with lust. Then I smiled against the phone. “Good. Because next time I see you. . .”

Her whimper came, and it wrecked me.

And in that moment, I didn’t care about wars or weapons.

All I craved was her.

My Tiger.

The only one who could bring the Dragon to his knees.

"Tell me, Tora. Did you have another dream of me kneeling and licking your pussy?"

A flirtatious chuckle hit the line. "No. Not this time."

"What did you dream of?"

"A dragon kidnapping a woman and flying off with her in the sky."

My eyes shot open. I stood straighter, stunned. "Have you been reading the book?"

"I have."

"I'm surprised."

"You shouldn't be. I'm a writer. Of course I would be an obsessive bookworm."

"Do you like it?" My voice faltered, just slightly. My earlier confidence cracked. It was insane but. . .I realized I desperately wanted her to like the book.

More than I wanted blood.

More than I wanted victory with my father.

She sighed, dreamy and soft. "I love the book, Kenji. A lot."

My grip on the phone tightened.

Pleasure.

Real pleasure vibrated through me. "Tell me what part you’re on."

"Korin was in his human form but then he shifted back into a dragon and took her away. He’s fucking scary, but so. . .sexy."

"His kidnapping Sol is one of my favorite parts."

"Of course it would be." This time, she gave a soft, throaty laugh. "Korin is terrifying."

“But you love that about him?”

“I do.”

I let the silence draw long and low between us. “And Sol? What do you think about her—the mysterious woman that stopped a dragon?”

“Sol.” Something in Nyomi’s voice had changed. She let out a long sigh. “For some insane reason. . .I relate to Sol.”

I smirked.

“And I know I sound crazy. She’s a magic woman with cold powers who got born out of a blue egg and chased through a forest by a shapeshifting god, but.

. .that’s now my ride-or-die. I feel for her.

I want her to win. I want her to know her powers and history and.

. .I want Korin to be her little bitch. I want her to have power over him in the end. ”

It was my turn to laugh.

“I’m being serious.”

“I know you are, Tora.”

“Will Korin be her little bitch?”

“I’m not going to spoil the book. That is a crime in my family.”

“He’s taken her away and I am just freaking out. I had to get some admin things done today, but the whole time I had the damn story in my head.”

She really loves it.

My heart warmed.

“And I have so many freaking questions, Kenji. What is she? Does Korin know? You can tell me that part. Right?”

“I’m not telling you that part.”

“Oh, come on. And the ice flowers. I feel like that means something. She created them by accident near his feet, but does that mean that her magic is attracted to his magic?”

I grinned.

“And when Korin melted the ice rose, everything got dripping wet and I thought. . .one day she is going to be dripping wet too.” She chuckled. “Are they going to have sex?”

“I’m not telling you.”

“Kenji, you better not have given me a book where they don’t have sex.”

I laughed some more.

God, I wanted to be with her.

Not in silk sheets or gilded suites.

Not even in control.

Just there.

Even on that stupid futon .

I would trade this opera house—every crystal chandelier and velvet-wrapped box, every ounce of bloody mafia capital—for a night lying on that creaky futon beside her.

No power.

No guards.

No weapons.

Just us, tangled up in limbs and words.

I closed my eyes and tipped my head back against the wall, letting her voice keep me afloat.

“I can see why you love this book, Kenji. There’s mystery, magic, and the possibility of love. Thank you for sharing it with me.”

“Tora. . .you know what I want right now?”

“What?”

“To hold you,” I swallowed. “To curl behind you and read the next chapter of the book out loud. Right into your ear.”

Her breath hitched.

“I’d trace the words along your skin with my fingers. Make them yours before they were hers. Pause in the good parts to ask you how it made you feel. Make you read your favorite line back to me. Let it settle in the space between us.”

“That sounds dangerously cozy and absolutely addictive.”

“Does it?”

“Reading books with a sexy man next to me. . .that’s my love language.”

I grinned and opened my eyes. The statue of Tristan and Isolde stared back, lips still reaching. Tristan had killed kings for Isolde. I was realizing right now that I would do worse for Nyomi.

Her voice went low. "When are you coming back to Tokyo?"

"Tomorrow evening, for you."

“That was my second reason for calling.”

“To know when I would return?”

“To schedule our next date. I’m hosting it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m setting up the place for our date, organizing everything, and putting it all together.”

“You?”

“Yes.”

“I always take control of dates.”

“Well, guess what. I’m in control of our second date, so. . .get used to that fact.”

“Reo would want to talk to you about that.”

“Your Fang?”

“No. My Roar.”

“Oh. Sorry about that. Your Roar. Why will I need to talk to him about the date?”

“Security details.”

“Because I’m a dangerous Tiger?” She chuckled. “I totally get it.”

My heart didn’t race. It prowled. It stretched out like something ancient waking from sleep. “You are going to plan our date?”

“Yes.”

“What sort of date will we have, Tora?”

“You’ll see.”

“I want to know now.”

“Too bad. It’s a surprise. Don’t you like surprises?”

“It’s been a long time since I was surprised.”

“Who did it last?”

“My brother. For my birthday.”

“That sounds awesome. See. Surprises are fun, and. . .I think you will like this one. At least. . .I hope so.”

“Will we at least be in your suite when you surprise me for this date?”

“No. We will not be in that suite, but you will be begging by the end of the evening.”

My body hummed. "You're going to destroy me, Tora."

"Only if you let me."

I licked my lips.

“So. . .”

“Yes, Tora?”

“Did you get my panties?”

“I did and I jacked off with them.”

She shrieked.

Lust stirred through me. “I may send a courier to get the panties you are wearing now.”

“Don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because the next time, I want you to take off my panties yourself.”

A low groan left me.

Her words electrified the air between us, even though we were separated by vast oceans and time zones.

“Tora, you say you’re not mine, then you say things that will have me trapping you to me forever. I would tell you to be careful, but it is too late for that.”

“I’m starting to see that fact. . .”

We stayed on the line long after our conversation dwindled into comfortable silence. Each breath she took over the phone was a lifeline that kept me grounded and yearning for more.

I could have stayed like that for hours and hours but then she whispered. "Goodnight, Kenji."

"Goodnight, my naughty Tiger." I hung up, breathless and in no shape to go back to a space crowded with killers.

All I wanted—no, needed—was her. Every breath she gave me tonight wasn’t enough. I wanted the taste of her voice on my tongue, the heat of her body under my palms, the shudder in her spine as I took her slow and deep until her soul cracked open and let me inside.

Nyomi thought she was planning a second date, but what she was really doing was building a trap. And like a good, feral beast—I’d walk straight into it, lower to my knees, and get ready to worship.

Because she wasn’t just my obsession.

She was becoming my ruin.

And I was starving for the fall.

I might have been the Dragon but her claws were buried in my chest gripping my heart.

What is going to happen on this date?