Page 38 of The Dragon 2 (Tokyo Empire #2)

Chapter thirty-four

Coaching from the Sidelines

Nyomi

This date had become a whole lot—seduction, power exchange, hoe suites, twins, and the fucking Dragon making my pussy shiver like he’d already fucked it.

Holy fuck. I thought I was prepared for this night, but I wasn’t.

Slowly, I rose, my legs unsteady beneath the red leather. The high slit suddenly felt too sharp, too revealing. The Dragon had curled around me, and now I had to figure out how to breathe without turning into ash.

I turned to face Hiroko.

And there it was—the most disapproving expression I’d ever seen on another woman’s face.

She didn’t even need to speak. Her eyes said everything.

Stern. Sharp. Regal. Like I’d just committed a crime against the entire sisterhood by letting that man kiss me like he owned my mouth, my body, my damned birth certificate.

Her jaw was tight.

One brow slightly raised.

And her arms were folded in a way that screamed, I have been training you better than this.

I wanted to shrink. Or laugh. Or apologize. But I just stood there like a teenager who got caught sneaking a boy in after curfew.

And just like that, the heat in my body turned into something cooler.

Sharper.

Purposeful.

I lifted my chin.

Hiroko turned around and walked off.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I followed Hiroko, aware of Kenji’s gaze burning across my back the entire time. His stare was a tether, invisible but undeniable, dragging over my spine like a threat and an erotic promise all at once.

Hiroko didn’t say a word.

She just walked and led me out of the room, through a gilded archway, and into a private hallway lit with antique sconces.

Then she stopped.

Turned.

Closed the door behind us with a loud click.

And when she faced me, the transformation was immediate.

Gone was the poised club queen, the playful sadist. What stared back at me now was something older, deadlier, and infinitely more personal.

Less dominatrix.

More maternal assassin.

Her gaze sliced clean through the haze of lust still clinging to me. “You lost yourself.”

“I did.”

“You lost yourself from words, touch, and a kiss. Is that all you’re worth now?”

That landed harder than a slap.

Because she was right.

For a moment—just one—I had been willing to let all my boundaries bleed for that man. I had gotten swept up. Silken words. Hard lusty promises. That kiss that rewrote every rule I thought I had.

But I didn’t look away.

I squared my shoulders. “I think toward the end. . .I caught myself.”

“You did not catch yourself. Are you aroused right now?”

I swallowed.

“Panties wet? Heart booming in your ears? Nipples so hard you can’t think?”

“I’m aroused. I’m wet. I’m trembling.” I bit my lip.

“Why?”

“His words. His touch. His heat.”

“Is that all your desire is worth?”

“No.”

Her eyes held mine like a grip to the chin.

“Yet, you almost gave it away. Is that okay for you? Is that the life you choose to live? It’s fine if you want to be a woman that doesn’t know her worth, giggling just because a man smiles at her?

Opening her legs because he gave her flowers or a token of nothing? ”

I blinked.

“What happened, Nyomi?”

“He told me—”

“It doesn’t matter what he told you.”

I pursed my lips.

“Sure, Nyomi. The conversation appeared intense. I caught moments and saw you stand your ground, and then he overpowered you and took your heat, breath, softness—and for what? A kiss and the promise of his tongue? Is that the bargain you want to make with your body?”

Well damn.

She lifted her finger. “Understand this. . .my questions aren’t about shame. They are about sharpening your awareness.”

“I understand.”

“Your desire for him isn’t the problem. Your being desired by him isn’t the threat either. The danger is that you started forgetting that you held the match and you had the fire.”

I nodded, feeling like a player being reprimanded by their coach on the sidelines.

“He’s the Dragon .” She pointed to the door.

“Of course he’s going to make your head spin.

Of course, he is skilled with his tongue and whatever he is promising you with pleasure, understand that it will happen and the orgasm will probably be tenfold what you have experienced with any other man, because he is not a regular man. ”

I widened my eyes.

“He is the Dragon after all.”

“O-kay.”

“However, you are you. And your softness is a weapon when wielded right. And your pleasure is not a weakness. It is a kingdom. No man—no matter how powerful, how precise, how perfectly obsessed—should be able to take that without your permission.”

I straightened my spine. “Alright. So. . .I tried to push him away, what should I have done?”

“What should you have done?” She sighed. “You should have owned the moment. Not resisted it. Not surrendered to it. Owned it.”

I frowned. “I thought pushing him in that moment was showing him he didn’t have control. Should I have leaned away or left the table.”

“Left the table?” She gave a small, amused breath. “You’re not a scared girl in a horror movie, Nyomi. You’re not supposed to run. You’re supposed to command. If you wanted space, you don’t push him back—you make him beg for another inch of you.”

“How do I do that?”

“Next time he steps in close, don’t shove. Don’t shrink. Look up at him. Unblinking. Say nothing. Let him feel the weight of your silence, your knowing, your restraint. Let him realize you are not prey. You are a goddess deciding whether to bless or burn him.”

I stared, heart pounding.

She touched her own throat gently. “Your voice is powerful. But so is your silence. Your breath. Your gaze. Your stillness. You have the power. That means every inch of your body—even your damned pulse—is a command if you choose it to be.”

“Okay.”

“Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve been doing excellent, and you are moving fast. If he were a regular man I would have clapped for you and said congratulations, but he is the Dragon.” She snapped her fingers. “Catch up because he already has plans to trap you.”

“Yeah. He told me that he won’t let me leave Tokyo.”

She stared at me like I was crazy. “What? You thought you would be leaving Japan after this night?”

“Yes.”

“Why would you think that?” And for the first time, she laughed. “I am going to need a lot of alcohol this evening.”

I didn’t even want to unpack the not leaving Tokyo part just yet. I cleared my throat, and she stopped laughing. . .a little. “So. . .I want him and. . .I’m a bit horny.”

“You are more than a bit horny, Nyomi.”

“Well. . .if I want him tonight. . .? Like. . .want to kiss him or touch him. . .”

Her smile curved. “Then you take him. But you mark him first.”

I raised a brow. “Mark him?”

She leaned in like she was about to whisper a sacred rite.

“You kiss him back harder. You tug his hair. You put your hand on his chest and feel his heart stutter under your palm—not to push him away, but to let him feel who owns it now. You take the pleasure, yes—but you let him know exactly who’s running the scene. ”

“Okay.” I bobbed my head, finally understanding this power dynamic stuff even more.

“Remember. There is power in softness, yes. There is freedom in surrender, yes. But not if you forget who you are. Not if you forget the difference between being claimed—and being caged.”

I said nothing.

But something in me hardened.

And then, just for a moment, her eyes softened.

Not much.

But enough to feel it.

“The reason why I took you to the side, Nyomi is because I want you to understand that you cannot let the Dragon devour you. Seduce him. Tame him. Reign over him if you must. But don’t disappear inside him. That is not what women like us do.”

“I’ve got it.”

“We still should figure out what happened.”

My voice was barely a breath. “He confessed something and then it got emotional.”

“I thought so with the snippets I gathered. And. . .whatever he confessed that is good for you.”

“Well. . .it was a secret.”

“Secrets are good. The Dragon sits on a throne, and that throne is Japan. That means he doesn’t have to tell you anything.

He can keep and fuck you without saying anything.

. .if you are a. . .regular woman. Therefore, if he shared anything, then he sees you as important and powerful within his heart. ”

“Yeah, but this wasn’t a good secret.”

“Not all secrets are good.”

“But he did apologize for not telling me sooner.”

Hiroko blinked once. Then twice. Her painted lips parted, and for a beat, she looked like I’d told her the moon had bowed to me. “He apologized?”

“Yes.”

“The Dragon?”

“Yes.”

Then a slow, dangerous smile curved across her face. “Kenji Sato does not apologize. Not to his enemies. Not to his men. Not to women. Never. ”

She stepped back like the news physically startled her. Then, her eyes gleamed, not with envy, but with delight. “With this dinner tonight, you didn’t just seduce the Dragon. You’ve unspooled him. Do you understand what that means?”

I stared at her. “I don’t know what it means. Not fully. He got even more intense after the apology.”

She exhaled sharply and stepped closer again. “It means you are no longer flirting with control—you have it. Even if you don’t know how to hold it yet.”

I swallowed hard. “He still tries to dominate everything.”

“Of course he does. He’s the Dragon. It’s in his nature to conquer. He will never stop. But tonight, he didn’t just let you see his underbelly, he exposed it willingly. A man like that only bares his throat when he wants to be ruined by someone he believes is worthy.”

“I’m not trying to ruin him.”

“You already are ruining him. Every meal. Every word you say, and yet. . . he’s not pulling away. He’s leaning in. Dragons don’t kneel, Nyomi. But they do circle what they can’t stop burning for.”

“Then why does it feel like I’m the one being consumed?”

“Because you are.” She didn’t blink. “But here’s the secret—power isn’t about never being devoured. It’s about choosing how to be devoured. Minutes ago, you weren’t choosing to be devoured, you were just letting him.”

My body was still trembling with the echo of his kiss. “He told me that he’s rearranging his empire for me.”

Hiroko let out a short, stunned chuckle—then covered her mouth like it had betrayed her. “ Rearranging his empire? ”

“Yes.”

She muttered something sharp in Japanese before looking up.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means Tokyo may not be safe in these next days.”

I blinked. “What?”

Her expression turned serious again. “His statement is an extraordinary thing. But it is not an easy one. You must now move like a queen. Not a regular woman. No more trembling in his hold.”

“Okay.” This thrilling desire surged through me. “God. . .this is getting addictive.”

“Don’t get high off that yet, because there is a reason why I had to take you to the side. Why did I do that again?”

“I got lost in him.”

“And you let him take the lead too long. You forgot what I taught you. That softness should be offered, not stolen by his words or his mouth.”

“He was just. . .so intense.”

“Dragons are always intense. That is their nature. But you’re not here to be prey, Nyomi. You’re here to be his match. Do not waste my time. I’ve seen too many women lose themselves in dangerous men.”

I nodded.

“Do you think you’re an imposter?” She narrowed her eyes. “Are you wondering if you belong at that table? Are you thinking you may not be enough for this firestorm of a man?”

I didn’t respond.

She raised her hand and took my chin in her fingers. “Let me be very clear. You are not some passing meal for Kenji Sato. You are the feast he didn’t know he would starve for. But if you don’t believe that, then he will turn your insecurity into his throne and I can go home and read a book.”

“When I return to the table. . .how do I regain control?”

“Mirror him. Not his dominance, but his intensity. Make your softness sharper. Make your gentleness the weapon.”

I breathed out.

A small shiver rippled through me as my head spun with all this information. I wished she’d offered this as a course so I could take time with all her statements and study them.

Then she leaned in and whispered. “That kneel he keeps dancing around? The devotion he’s offering you like a gift? It might be real, but it might also be the first step of your imprisonment. Be very careful. Sometimes a Dragon kneels not in surrender, but to lower your defenses before he strikes.”

My chest tightened.

“Take control. Can you do this?”

“This is a lot.”

“But can you do this?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” She adjusted the bodice of my corset slightly and looked at me like I was a soldier going back to war. “Then, make him beg to survive this night.”

“Alright.”

“Get through the entrée and to the dessert. We have dragged this out long enough.”

“You’re right.”

“And once we get him upstairs. Be prepared.”

“Fuck.”

“Fuck is right, Nyomi.” She walked off.

I followed.

We returned to the dining space, right as the waitresses glided out with silver trays balanced in elegant choreography.

Entrée time.

I strolled back over, watching Kenji. He hadn’t realized I had returned to the space. His gaze was on that food and his mouth was open in shock and his entire posture shifted with anticipation, like an eager boy waiting for a birthday gift.

I thought about Hiroko’s words.

You’re the feast he didn’t know he would starve for.

I held my head high.

But could I really do this?

Take control of a man like him. . .a man who didn’t bend, didn’t bow. A man who would only kneel when he’s plotting to devour you?

I can do it. I can get control.

I just prayed I was right.