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)
Kenji’s nostrils flared. Then, he leaned down until his mouth was at my ear, his voice was a growl decorated with knives. “If you touch them, I will kill them. Not after. Not later. I’ll kill them the moment your hand leaves their skin.”
My breath caught. “But they’re your Fangs. You trust them. You know it won’t be anything sexual.”
He blinked and leaned back, studying me again. “Why do you think they are my Fangs? I never said they were. Is it because Kaoru is with them?”
“No.” I shrugged out of his hold. “It’s just. I have this feeling that they’re not just soldiers. They’re your Fangs.”
The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut.
Kenji’s head tilted. “Well. . .you’re wrong. They’re just two guards that I grabbed on the way to getting Reo. Kaoru just happened to be talking to Reo when I found him, so I brought him along too.”
Lies.
But, I wouldn’t boldly call the Dragon a liar in front of his men. I would need to. . .politely infer it.
“That’s interesting. . .” I gestured to the three men. “I guess I was. . .fooled.”
“You were.”
“It’s just. . .the way they stand. The way they breathe. Plus, you brought them into your bedroom with your Tiger who is. . .naked under a silk robe. That makes them trusted, intimate men from your inner circle. It makes me think that. . .these men would die for you, not because you order them to, but because they couldn’t stand to see you bleed.”
The man in the middle shifted slightly, and there was the barest tightening at his jaw.
He loves Kenji a lot. I definitely have to get his name. He’ll always keep Kenji safe.
“But. . .” I nodded. “If you say they’re not your Fangs. . .who am I to question that?”
Kenji’s lips curved—not into a smile, but into that dangerous sneer that was half denial, half pride. “They’re just Scales, Tora.”
I frowned. “Respectfully, I must disagree. They’re your Fangs.”
Reo smirked and scribbled a note.
Kenji crossed his muscular arms over his big chest. “Regardless, don’t touch them.”
“I won’t.” I nodded, rolling the rules through my head until they stuck: Three statements. One lie. One question per statement. They must give truthful answers. Two minutes per man. No touching. Like. . .NO TOUCHING.
I looked at the men. “What happens if I’m wrong about a statement being a lie?”
“Then, you fail the whole test.”
Reo raised his hand holding the pen. “Actually, it will only be a fail if she gets it wrong for two men. I think she can have one incorrect guess.”
“No.” Kenji shook his head. “She should have it correct for all three men. That is the only way she can pass.”
Reo pushed it a little bit more. “I’m not sure if that would be fair, Kenji. The first man may need to be a warmup.”
“She won’t get warmups in the real world.” He frowned at Reo. “Not when this is life or death.”
I blinked.
Of course, the Dragon didn’t hand out warm-ups, not even for the woman he was falling in love with. Instead, he tossed me into the fire to see if I would burn or become the flames.
He returned his view to me. “You get one wrong and you fail the test. Do you understand?”
“Yes, but what happens if I fail?”
“Then, they leave and we go back to bed.”
“And if I pass?”
“Then, they still leave and we go back to bed, but later we will need to have a discussion about a. . .strategy Reo has in his foolish mind.”
A shiver raced down my spine.
Reo thinks I should do something and Kenji disagrees.
I looked at the men again, trying to strip them down with observation and leave my fear on the floor.
“Are you ready, Tora?”
Only two minutes for each man.
Tick.
Tock.
Already I could feel the walls pressing closer.
I swallowed. “Yes. I’m ready.”
Chapter three
The Playboy
Nyomi
Tests were interesting because they weren’t really about questions and answers.
They were usually mirrors showing you a side of you that you didn’t know about.
Who you were when the mask slipped, when the clock ticked too fast, when the eyes watching you didn’t blink.
Tests never truly measured knowledge.
They measured how still you could hold your pulse when a blade kissed your throat.
And maybe that was why Kenji believed in them so much. His whole empire had to be a series of tests—loyalty tested in blood, honor tested in silence, courage tested in the dark.
Fail, and the man died.
Pass, and the man had the Dragon’s loyalty forever.
I have to beat this test. I don’t know why he is doing this but. . .I have to win.
I knew he was falling in love with me.
I knew he enjoyed fucking me.
But I wanted to be important to this part of his life too. And I had no fighting skills to brag on, and I didn’t know what to do with a gun so. . .if this test revealed some other strength that he and even Reo would value. . .then I had to win.