Page 26 of Her Fearless Ronin

She shrugged, her gaze distant. “I don’t care. I’m not into sex. I’ve never… felt that way, not like others seem to.”

“You’re not into…” I shook my head; I had to have misheard.

She sighed. “Jiro, I’m not going to discuss that with you. I don’t like it.”

I felt like the devil possessed me, and I took one step after another toward her until she had her back pressed against the wall and I was looking down at her.

I stepped closer, my voice dropping to a whisper, the confidence in my eyes challenging her. “Trust me, with the right man, you would. I saw how you reacted with just a brush of my hand, how you responded to our kiss.” I brought my hand up and trailed a finger along the column of her neck. “I can confidently say, Hope, that if you were in my bed, I would make you scream in ways you’ve never even dreamed of.”

She met my gaze challengingly. “Prove it.”

“No,” I let out a little too vehemently. I took a step back in surprise just as a redhead, middle-aged man who I assumed was Ronan opened the office door.

“Ah, the sister and the yakuza.” He gestured us in. “Ihope you enjoyed the show.”

Hope shrugged, despite the pink hue on her skin that I knew was not due to the couple having sex but just to my proximity.

“Was it for the shock factor?” she asked, walking into the office. “I’m sorry to say it was a failure.”

Ronan chuckled, rounding his desk and gesturing to the seats across from it.

“So, Doyle said you had some questions. I’m listening,” he said, resting his hand on his soft belly and looking at Hope.

Hope threw me a side look, and I jerked my head toward Ronan. He wanted her to lead the conversation.

I sighed, extending her the gold coin.

“It’s about my brother, Leo.” She put the coin on his desk. “He’s been gone for over a week, and that’s the only lead I have.”

Ronan nodded, pulling the coin closer to him. “It’s a real one.”

I inhaled deeply and rolled my eyes. “We know,” I let out on a loud exhale.

“I’m not sure what I can tell you that you don’t already know. We’ve not seen Leo Myers in a while, and he would not be welcome without this,” he added, tapping his finger on the coin.

I had a lot of experience in interrogation; we could even say I was a master in the art, and I recognized political cant from a mile away. The only way to make him talk was to tap into his price.

“You know, I have to say, I’m quite impressed with theway you’re running this club. It’s far more inclusive than Boston is. Good on you for being more open,” I offered with a smile.

He frowned, turning slightly on his seat to face me, taking the bait I threw his way. “What do you mean?” he snorted. “Don’t you know how expensive the joining fees are?”

I leaned back in my chair, extending my legs and crossing them at the ankles. “ I know that, but for Boston, money is not enough; you need a name and connection, and, no offense to Hope here, Leo Myers is a nobody.”

Hope was far from being a nobody, at least not to me. Fuck, it was the opposite! The woman had the potential to become my everything.

“But it’s all good though. I think it makes sense for smaller clubs to be less exclusive.”

Ronan’s mouth ticked up with annoyance. “Is that what you think? Well, I’ll ask you to rethink that. By accepting Leo Myers’s money, we’ve got a direct line to Manuel Valdez.”

Gotcha!

His eyes widened a little at his slipup, and his previous placid, almost amused expression turned into a scowl. “I think we’re done here.”

“No, I don’t think we are. Doyle said we could ask what we want about Leo Myers.”

“He did, but he also said as long as it doesn’t impact other clients’ privacy.”

“Is Valdez a client?”

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