Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 161615 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 539(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 161615 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 539(@300wpm)
Then he kissed me.
Intensely.
His mouth claimed mine with a hunger that had nothing to do with breakfast and everything to do with dominance.
Holy fuck.
His lips were demanding, his tongue sliding against mine in a rhythm that made my toes curl. He tasted like morning, want, and barely controlled need.
I melted into him, my hands sliding up his bare chest, feeling the heat of his skin, the rapid beat of his heart beneath my palms.
When he ended the kiss, he growled against my lips. “Mine.”
I shivered. “Yours.”
When we finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard.
He licked his lips. "I'm still pissed, Tora."
"Why?"
"You cooked with my brother? What the fuck does that even mean?" His hand slid down to my ass and he squeezed it. "You left my bed. You fed my men and then claimed a portion of them for yourself. You probably smiled at Hiro, giving him joy that was only mine—"
“I think you’re exaggerating and being a bit of a drama king.”
His other hand cupped my face. "I'm sure my guards enjoyed walking around with you this morning in a way I wouldn't have liked. Your time is mine. Your fucking presence is mine too."
I shivered. “Kenji, while I lowkey like you being possessive of me, we need limits—”
"Tora. . ." His thumb traced my lower lip. "I woke up and every scent of you in this space was gone. Your scent was barely on my pillows and sheets—”
“I feel like that should be good enough—”
“Your warmth and softness wasn’t there. Do you understand what that did to me? Waking in an empty bed, not knowing where you were?"
I swallowed.
His voice went lower, more obsessive. "Next time, I'll find you by scent alone. I'll track you through this entire house, this fucking island, if I have to and I will pound my cock into you hard until your pussy aches.”
I blinked. “My pussy already aches.”
“Then, it will ache some more. You are mine, Tora. And I always find what's mine and punish when necessary."
The promise in his voice wasn't a threat.
It was absolute possession wrapped in worship.
And God help me, it made my nipples stiffen.
With that, he let me go and headed off to the table. "Did my brother really help you cook?"
"Of course." I sat down at the table and lifted the top of my plate.
He lowered to his seat and raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
"Sure did."
He took the top off his plate, stared down at the food, and grinned. “This looks amazing.”
“I hope you like it.”
“Thank you, Tora. I’ll love it.”
“Good.”
We began to eat.
Kenji cut into his Eggs Benedict with the focus of a man approaching something sacred. The moment the poached egg broke, golden yolk spilled across the English muffins and bacon.
“Mmm.” He took his first bite, closed his eyes, and made a pleasurable sound low in his throat. "Fuck, Tora."
I couldn’t help but smile.
He opened his eyes and looked at me. "This is incredible."
He tried the potatoes next, then reached for the extra container of hollandaise and poured more over everything. “I’m probably going to fire my chef.”
“You can’t do that.” I dipped one of my potatoes into the hollandaise sauce on my plate,
Kenji paused mid-bite and watched. Then he did the same, dragging a crispy potato through the rich, lemony sauce. Once he popped it into his mouth, the loud groan that came out of him was obscene. "That's. . .mmm. . .delicious, Tora."
“Yay. I’m glad you like it.”
He ate three more potatoes that way, each one followed by sounds of appreciation that made heat pool low in my belly.
Then he reached for his slice of banana bread—the biggest piece, as promised—and took a bite.
His expression shifted.
To my disappointment, he frowned.
I looked at him, shocked. "What? You don't like it?"
"My guards got this." He gestured toward the door with his fork, actually pouting as he took another bite. “So there won’t be any leftovers because of them?”
"Oh my God."
He chewed, swallowed, then looked at me with those dark, intense eyes. "They didn't deserve this."
"They did. They kept us safe last night."
"I kept us safe last night."
"Oh my God."
“Back to my brother. He cooked with you?"
“Yes, Kenji. For the hundredth time, and he's actually pretty good with a knife."
Kenji laughed—a real laugh that made my chest feel too full. "Hiro being good with a knife is an understatement. My brother is a master with any blade."
"I can tell." I took a bite of my eggs.
“How did you even end up seeing Hiro.”
"He was sleeping when I walked into the kitchen."
Kenji stopped eating. He set down his fork and looked at me. His expression shifted from amusement to dark terror.
"He was asleep? You. . ." His voice dropped. "Didn't get close to him, did you?"
I paused, fork halfway to my mouth.
Should I tell him?
I didn't want to keep secrets from Kenji. But I also didn't want to ruin this moment, didn't want to witness him spiral into protective fury. Hiro also didn’t need to get yelled at for his mistake.