Page 171 of The Dragon 2
Kenji hadn't pulled away from me.
Not physically.
But his eyes had drifted to the base of his cocktail again. His fingers traced the rim, slow. Contemplative.
He was about to say something that he didn’t think I would like.
I knew that look.
That quietprelude to an ugly truth.
That slow inhale a man takes when he's about to crack open something real.
And yet. . .I didn’t feel ready for it.
Which was ridiculous. This wasexactlywhat I wanted. Connection. Honesty. A man who didn’t lie to me with his silences.
Still, I shifted in my seat and tucked my hands beneath the table. My palms were starting to sweat.
Even with all the perfect pacing of the evening—even with the warmth in his touch, the softness that peeked through his control—I couldn’t stop the whisper in the back of my mind.
What if you’re not enough for this man?
What if he saw through all the cleverness, the banter, the flirtation?
What if he decided the woman in the red leather gown was a fantasy he no longer wanted to feed?
I flicked my gaze to Hiroko.
She stood just beyond the shadows, watching from her position near the kitchen arch. For a split second, our eyes met. She gave me the smallest nod and then smiled.
The flicker of reassurance anchored me and settled into my chest.
You’re in control. You were made for this.
I looked back at Kenji and moved away, forcing him to remove his arm from my shoulder. “Kenji. . .you’re quiet.”
My nerves flared.
His jaw clenched, then unclenched. A shadow of something like regret passed over his face before he answered. “I should have told you this before, Tora, but I didn’t know that we would end up being this. . .”
“This?”
“I can’t even tell you what this means. I just know that I will never letthisgo. Thatthisis important to me.Youare important to me.”
I swallowed. “Just say it.”
The waitresses left with the bowls.
His breath hitched—barely audible—but I heard it. That quiet inhale men take when they’re about to drop a truth that might cost them everything.
Oh damn. This is going to be a lot.
And in that moment, I saw it. Not the Dragon. Not the untouchable menacing gangster.But. . .just a man trying not to lose the one woman who made him feel alive.
“Kenji. . .tell me.”
“Tora.” He frowned. "I may have twins on the way."
