Owned by the Yakuza: A Japanese Mafia Bad Boy Romance by Ariel London Read Free Book Online Page B

either he was very inexperienced or very good at covering his tracks. If he had been named the kumichō, chances were good that it was the latter.
    “Text Masaru and let him know that as soon as he’s done helping Kaoru with that bomb, I want all of his guys hitting the pavement, the internet, the fucking library, I don’t care! I need every scrap of information that they can find on him.” Gangs didn’t die easy, not when entire families were involved. We had two options: give in or hit them so hard they’d never dare strike at us again.
    “Oh, and Tatsuya, you will have to collect protection money by yourself tomorrow.”
    Tatsuya shrugged. “Oh, but why?”
    “I have something else to attend to.” I wasn’t about to tell them about a date with Oriana. “Don’t forget about the manager from that bar, whatever his name is. Try to go easy on him.”
    Tatsuya grinned. “No promises.”
    #
    I wished that I hadn’t stayed up all night trying to clean up the Shimazu-kai’s mess. I was exhausted and I wanted to be my best when I picked up Oriana for our … date.
    I wanted it to be perfect. I had pulled some strings to get a table at Tofuya Ukai, an exclusive high-end restaurant with private rooms. I parked in front of her apartment building at exactly six and only had to wait a minute for her to come to the lobby.
    Just looking at her left me breathless. Oriana was dressed in dark green, a shade that enhanced the colour of her hair. She stopped a pace away from me, holding her hands in front of her nervously and smiled. Her eyes lit up when I held out a single red rose.
    “Good evening, beautiful,” I said and closed the space between us. I kissed her lips. Her fingers brushed mine as she took the rose.
    “Thank you,” She said shyly.
    “Well, you said you wanted it to be a date, and I aim to please.” I gestured to the Mercedes. “Shall we?”
    Once we were driving, I noticed that I was nervous too. How could that be possible? After everything we had done together, the last thing that we should feel was nervous. I had already seen, touched and tasted every inch of her, but coming together under the premise of a date – it felt different.
    I cleared my throat. “So, I hope you like tofu.” I broke the delicate silence.
    “Oh, I do,” Oriana nodded.
    We parked and walked the last block to the lavish restaurant. It was like a haven in the middle of Tokyo; a traditionally styled building complete with gardens and a koi pond. Even the sounds of traffic didn’t manage to take away from the beauty of it all.
    I glanced at Oriana. Her eyes were wide. “Wow, it’s so beautiful. I’ve heard about this place, but I’ve never eaten here before.” She turned and held my hand tightly. “Are you sure it’s ok? How did you get reservations?”
    “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Come on, let’s eat.”
    We were seated in a private room that had a perfect view of the koi pond. Oriana sat down at the low table, running her hands over the tatami mats and humming with appreciation. We ordered the main course and, aside from the waiter trying to speak to Oriana in English, the meal was perfect.
    “That’s one thing I hate,” Oriana said as she sipped her green tea. We were waiting for the next course. “When people assume that I’m just some dumb gaijin.”
    “It’s bound to happen,” I said. “People will always assume. And besides, lots of western people come to this restaurant. He was just trying to make you feel comfortable,” I paused with a chuckle. “But it backfired.”
    “I suppose you’re right,” Oriana went quiet as the waiter appeared with dessert. He bowed and left quickly. “I should apologize to him for getting offended.”
    I shrugged. “I’m sure he’s over it.”
    “Anyways,” Oriana said and steered the conversation back to something more important. “Please don’t let anyone at the hostess club know about this.”
    I raised my eyebrows. I was going to tell her the