Page 15 of The Oyabun's Boy

And respond he did. Joy’s hands, which had been suspended in indecision, found their way to my shoulders. Not pushing me away but pulling me closer, fingers digging into the expensive fabric of my suit.

I kissed him like a drowning man finding air, like a starving man finding sustenance. Each slide of his tongue againstmine sent electricity down my spine, pooling hot and insistent between my legs.

I wanted to devour him. I wanted to lay Joy out across the leather seat and take him apart piece by piece until that defiance crumbled into desperate need.

When we finally broke apart, both breathless, his lips were swollen and wet, his eyes dazed. I kept my hand in his hair, unwilling to relinquish control just yet.

"This is kidnapping," Joy murmured, the words lacking any real heat.

I brushed my thumb across his bottom lip, feeling it tremble slightly beneath my touch. "I prefer to think of it as aggressive courtship."

"Is that what you call murder and abduction?" Joy’s voice was steadier now, some of that fire returning to his gaze. "Courtship?"

"The murder was protection," I corrected, tracing the curve of his jaw with one finger. "The abduction is... complicated."

"Un-complicate it for me." He pulled back slightly, creating space between us without fully breaking my hold. "Why me? What do you want?"

I studied him for a long moment, weighing truth against strategy. In my world, honesty was usually a liability. But something about those green eyes demanded it.

"From the moment I saw you dancing in the rain," I said finally, "you were the only thing that made the noise in my head stop."

Confusion flickered across his face. "What noise?"

"The constant calculations. Threats, opportunities, contingencies." I released his hair to brush a strand away from his forehead, the gesture gentler than I knew I was capable of being. "My brain never stops. It's always ten steps ahead, planning, assessing, evaluating weaknesses to exploit."

He swallowed, the movement drawing my eye to the vulnerable line of his throat. "And I... stop that?"

"When I look at you," I continued, surprised by my own candor, "everything else fades. There's just... quiet. Peace." I leaned closer, until our foreheads nearly touched. "Princess, you are the only one who makes the noise in my head stop. I won’t let that go."

Something shifted in his expression—wariness giving way to a confused sort of wonder. "That's... either the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me or the most terrifying."

"Why not both?" I let my lips brush against his again, just briefly. A promise. A threat. "I never claimed to be a good man."

"No," he agreed, a trace of that defiant humor returning to his eyes. "You really didn't."

The SUV slowed as we approached the gated entrance to Kotei Tower. Through the tinted windows, I could see the imposing silhouette of my home rising against the night sky. Soon we'd be inside my territory, where my word was law and nothing happened without my knowledge or consent.

Joy's hand found mine in the darkness, his fingers surprisingly steady as they twined with my own. Not submission, but a truce.

For now.

"Just so we're clear," he said, voice low but determined, "I still don't belong to you."

I lifted our joined hands to my lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles as the gates swung open to admit us. "We'll see, Princess," I murmured against his skin. "We'll see."

Chapter Five

~ Joy ~

I watched through the tinted windows as we approached Kotei Tower, the monstrosity of glass and steel that apparently belonged to my kidnapper. The building sliced through the night sky like a blade, all sharp edges and threatening elegance.

Not exactly the cozy brownstone with cat hair on every surface that I was used to, but I supposed if you were going to be abducted by a dangerous, impossibly attractive man, at least he had good taste in real estate.

The SUV glided to a stop beneath a covered entrance where two men in identical black suits materialized from the shadows. They opened our doors with synchronized precision, their faces so expressionless they might as well have been carved from the same stone as the building.

Kenji exited first, buttoning his jacket with a single fluid motion that somehow made my mouth go dry. He extended his hand to me, waiting with that infuriating patience of his.

I considered refusing it, just to be difficult, but the memory of his lips against mine was still burning through my system like high-grade whiskey.