Accepting the Dragon (Year of the Dragon)

by Malori, Reana

  Accepting the Dragon

  by

  Reana Malori

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews. This is a work of fiction. All references to real places, people, or events are coincidental, and if not coincidental, are used fictitiously. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only. eBooks are NOT transferable. Re-selling, sharing or giving eBooks is a copyright infringement.

  Copyright© 2012 Reana Malori

  Cover Artist: Shara Azod

  Editor: Stephanie Parent

  Glossary:

  Irezumi – term for the full-body tattoos of the Yakuza members

  Kumichi – overall boss of the Yakuza families

  Ninkyō dantai – chivalrous organization; name those in Yakuza call themselves

  Oyabun-kobun – explains relationships within Yakuza; foster child (kobun) owes their allegiance to the foster parent (oyabun)

  Ryūgū – dragon palace

  So Honbucho – headquarters chief

  Yubitsume – cutting off one’s finger to show apology or take responsibility for another’s punishment. Usually starts with the tip of the person’s little finger on the left hand. Perceived to weaken the person’s sword grip.

  Chapter One

  Sheila could not believe what she’d just seen. Her eyes must be playing tricks on her, because things like this just didn’t happen in modern-day America. Or at least that’s what she’d always been told growing up. She slowly backed away with the full intent of turning around and running back to where she’d come from, but there was just something about the scene in front of her that kept her riveted to her spot. Maybe it was curiosity—which her Momma said would one day get her in a situation she wouldn’t be able to explain her way out of—or simple stupidity. While neither option was ideal, she had to see if her mind truly was playing tricks on her.

  Replaying the events of the last five minutes in her head, Sheila tried to make sense of it all. She had driven out to the home of her boss and CEO, Takashi Nakashima, in order to discuss some paperwork for the acquisition of an international information technology company. For any other deal, she wouldn’t bother to come out all this way, but this particular deal was important to their company. She had worked with ARS International for more than five years, and been appointed Deputy CFO just under two years ago. As of three months ago, the CFO was on a leave of absence due to a serious illness, so she’d been forced to step into his shoes. In general, all of this would be fine, except for the hundred million dollar deal unfolding under her watch. Oh, and that pesky little thing called being in love with the boss.

  She knew it was dumb and for the life of her, she couldn’t understand how she had gotten in this situation. Sheila liked to say that she was no fool, but this time, she knew she’d messed up. When she’d decided to get in her car and drive out to Takashi’s home, she’d told herself it was strictly due to business. Well, she also wanted to show him she was on top of things and could be trusted. Although she had found some information in the other company’s financial records that could make or break the final decision to move forward, it hadn’t been necessary to deliver that news in person. Sending an e-mail or calling him on his phone would have worked just as well. It was Saturday afternoon, and even the great and powerful Takashi Nakashima needed a break every once in a while.

  Too hyped up to really think about what she was doing, Sheila walked onto the grounds as if she knew exactly where she was going. Well, actually, she did. Based as the number of times she had been called out here for impromptu meetings, she should probably move in. The place was big enough that she could have her own wing and no one would be the wiser. At this time of day, she knew Takashi would be getting his daily workout. He always did. It was a well-known fact that if anyone at the office tried to reach him at this time, he would be unavailable. He would swim for more than an hour each day in his oversized, custom-made pool. He said it gave him some much-needed peace and rejuvenated his mind and body, helping him deal with the stress of running a large organization at the ripe old age of thirty-nine. As she confidently walked to the special pool area that was reserved only for his use, she could hear water rippling as he did his laps. Being Saturday, she had on tennis shoes, so her steps were silent as she approached the entrance.

  What she saw caused her to stop in her tracks. Oh my God, what was that in the pool? It looked like some type of long, snakelike creature gliding through the clear water. But where was Takashi? In all the years she had worked for the company, she had never heard rumors about him having some type of animal at the house. The pool area had a retractable roof that was open to allow the sun into the area, and she could see the sun’s rays hitting the animal as it swam through the water. Its skin was glistening, almost like diamonds, and she could just barely catch glimpses of red and black as the sleek body seemed to move as one with the water.

  She couldn’t stop the whispered words that came out of her mouth at that moment: “My God, it’s beautiful.” But as soon as she said it, she knew it had been a mistake. The animal almost stuttered to a stop in the water and leisurely began to swim to the side where it could exit the pool.

  After what happened next, she was surprised that she was still standing on her own two feet. The animal started to change and shift right before her eyes. The body became shorter and the color changed from glittering red and black to a tanned hue. The water surrounding the “thing” almost seemed to glow as the change happened. And then arms reached up to grasp the stepladder. A scream almost escaped when, to her amazement, the person who emerged from the pool was none other than her boss, Takashi. This had to be a trick, because things like this just do not happen to people like her. Tempted to pinch herself, she settled for digging her nails into the palms of her hands, her mind screaming at her to “Wake Up!”

  Focusing her eyes on him once again, she also realized that Takashi’s entire upper body was covered in tattoos that started under his navel, continued up to his collarbone, and ended just above his wrists. Recalling his normal attire when in the office, and even on the weekends, it dawned on her that he always had on long-sleeve shirts or workout gear. Until that moment, she hadn’t really taken much notice that he never showed his arms to anyone.

  Although her brain couldn’t grasp what had happened in the pool, it could clearly wrap itself around what those tattoos meant. Yakuza. As her eyes traveled the length of his body, she also realized that he was bare-assed naked, and all of his glory was out there for her to see. And oh boy, what a glorious sight it was. Even in its relaxed state, she could tell it would be a thing of joy once fully awakened and ready to play. At that thought, her mouth began to water and her core began to clench, as if reacting to the visual stimulation in front of her.

  That was when she knew it was time to leave. Her brain needed to process what her eyes had just seen. There was no way the man she had lusted after and desired for so many years had just shifted from a water creature into man. Not just any man, but one with potentially more secrets than she could have fathomed. Plus, she’d just had an up-close and personal glimpse of her fantasy man naked as the day he was born. What the hell was she supposed to do now? If she tried to drive away, he would hear the car or see her leave. But could she really stay and fake this and act as if nothing happened? The logical part of her brain said this could not be happening. On the other hand, Sheila had always known, or felt, that there was more to the world
than what we could see with our naked eyes.

  First things first. Get back inside the house and go into his office and wait for him. On the other occasions she had come out to his home for work, the office was the only place she had really ventured on her own. Leave it up to her that the first time she goes outside of her comfort zone, she sees some shit that blows her damn mind. Damn curiosity.

  *****

  Takashi knew she’d arrived before she’d even stepped out of her car. Damn woman and her unexpected visits. How the hell would he explain what he knew she had seen? Sheila Graves, the bane of his existence and the reason he needed his regular routine of an hourly swim, had shown up unannounced at his ryūgū. His emotions never failed to run high whenever she was around, and it was becoming more and more difficult to control his urges around her. When at the office, he could constantly feel the dragon clawing at his skin, begging to be let free to claim her. The dragon had known its mate before Takashi even knew what hit him. Fighting what was natural for him was driving him crazy, and five years was a long time to desire someone who should be strictly off-limits.

  The reasons he should stay away from her were too many, and too daunting to even try and overcome. The main reason was due to his own misgivings about the “what ifs” of managing a relationship with her. He was part of the ninkyō dantai, chivalrous organization, and he could never see his family allowing them to live together in peace. Not without a decree from the Kumichi, which he was certain would never be granted. She deserved so much more than a short-term fling, and he would never stoop so low as to even attempt it. His heart and mind, and his dragon, would never allow that.

  Plus, there were many misunderstandings about his family, and he wasn’t sure if she would even understand why he chose to be a part of that world. There were those in America who would call him Yakuza, but only those who did not truly understand. Since he was a young street thug of sixteen and had been taken in by his older brother, Toshi Watanabe, he had accepted and strictly followed the oyabun-kobun. Not once had he strayed from that, for any reason. However, over the last five years, on more than one occasion, he had considered walking away from it all in order to have her in his life.

  Sheila’s honey-brown skin and beautiful smile was like an addiction. She had captured him the very first day he saw her, and unknown to her, he had belonged to her ever since. When he looked at her, he wondered what they would look like together as they made love, arms and legs intertwined together. What would their children look like? Especially a little girl who had the personality of her mother, or a son who had his own stoic and protective personality. Sheila was his One, and even though there were plenty of reasons why they shouldn’t be together, none of them truly mattered. He would move Heaven and earth to hold her in his arms.

  There was no way she could sneak up on him, and his soul reached out to hers as she walked toward the pool area. While he had enough time to change skins and allow her to see only the person she knew, he hesitated. His dragon realized this and took that brief moment of uncertainty to fight him for dominance and win. While in the water, his dragon was extremely strong, and it had taken this opportunity to show itself to its mate. At her whispered exclamation at its beauty, it had finally let go, at peace with what had occurred. Understanding, but not caring about the potential consequences, Takashi quickly shifted into his human skin as he began to exit the pool. Though he prayed she would walk away, there was a war raging inside of him. A part of him wanted her to know him, to see him as he truly was. On the other hand, he almost wanted to yell at her to run away, as fast as she could. Steady and still, her presence remained by the entrance for a few more seconds before he felt her slowly start to back away.

  He was proud of who he was, of both his dragon and the tattoos that proclaimed his heritage and who held his loyalty. He had served his Oyabun proudly over the years, and as he grew and wanted to venture out, he was given the opportunity to run the largest legitimate business held by his family in the United States. Although the company headquarters was located in New York, he spent most of his time in Washington, DC and Chicago. He had to be legitimate in all ways, and nothing he had done, up to this point, would give anyone a reason to say otherwise.

  By the time he’d fully exited from the pool and was reaching for his towel, he knew she had withdrawn into the house. Good. Her desire for him was rolling off - her in waves, and it took everything in him to keep from throwing caution to the wind and claiming her right there in the pool house. No. Barbaric actions like that would never work. He wanted to feel her desire reach out to him again, as it did each time he was in her presence. To say that he craved her was an understatement. His dragon was angry with him for not doing something and almost whimpered in pain as the scent of her desire departed with her.

  Takashi had some decisions to make, and he needed to make them quickly. Time was running out; waiting much longer was not an option. Glad to be alone, he knew that he could dry off and get changed quickly, and meet her in his office without too much time passing. Since he still felt her presence in the house even as he stood there contemplating his options, he realized she must have decided to ignore what she had seen. Well, that was not something he was willing to let happen. It was high time that she realized exactly who and what she was dealing with. After waiting so long, he was tired of denying that he needed her, desired her. Ms. Sheila Graves was in for the surprise of her life. His only concern was whether she could truly accept all of him.

  Chapter Two

  “So, you see, as long as we use the information I found in this financial report from three years ago, we have them over a barrel. They’ll have to accept our price if they don’t want this to go public.”

  Sheila was bursting at the seams as she explained to Takashi what this find meant to the acquisition. When Takashi had first walked into the room, she’d felt her body tense and her brain had gone into overdrive. Was it real? Could she have really seen what she thought she had? Standing in front of her with his long-sleeved jogging suit on, he looked exactly like the man she had been dreaming about for five years. At just over five feet six inches, she was dwarfed by his height of six feet two inches. Their height difference was especially noticeable today since she had on tennis shoes instead of her customary three-inch heels. Plus, after seeing him climb out of the water and having the opportunity to admire the man beneath the suit, she had a whole new appreciation for the restrained power that was always just under the surface.

  His smile seemed almost predatory as he listened to her prattle on about the deal. He was sitting behind his desk in his oversized chair, and she stood next to him pointing out the financial numbers that had given them the edge. The cologne he wore was light and crisp, but underneath, she could smell the man, and his scent seemed to awaken something in her. It had never been like this before, and she didn’t know what had changed. It was as if his natural scent was making her dizzy with desire. Her sex continued to pulse and ripple the entire time she spoke to him, her desire for him almost making her risk everything.

  Why today? Why now? She had held on for this long and had managed to maintain their professional relationship. There was no reason she should lose her mind now. Unless…

  “So, were you swimming when I arrived today?” She looked over at him as he leaned back in his chair and folded his hands on his lap. Damn, stop looking at him like he’s dessert! “You showed up shortly after I arrived even though no one had been sent to tell you I was here.”

  “Why do you ask? Don’t I always know when you arrive? It’s that car of yours.” She had a sneaking suspicion that he was avoiding the question. “Don’t I pay you enough, Sheila? Don’t you think it’s time to get a new car? You can even have one of mine if you like. I don’t drive all of them.”

  Yep, definitely avoiding the question. “Takashi, we’ve been over this before. I like my car. It was my very first brand-new car, and while I could buy another one, or use one of yours, I feel comfortable. She�
�s not ready to go yet.”

  His leg brushed up against hers as he turned his chair slightly to look at her straight on. Something in his gaze seemed to shift, and the look went from one of professional and friendly banter, to something much deeper. His voice was rough as he made his next request.

  “Stay for dinner tonight. Spend the day with me. No more business talk, just you and me.”

  Fingers poised to type something on the keyboard, she stood and turned to him. “What do you mean, stay for dinner? We’ve never had dinner alone.” The first thought that entered her mind was, Please, Takashi, don’t do this to me. Her breathing increased, and she knew he would be able to tell how his words affected her simply by looking at her.

  “I know. But that doesn’t mean we can’t.” Rising from his chair, he stepped closer to her, almost a hairsbreadth away. “Just tonight. I know this may seem out of the blue, but I think you want to stay just as much as I want you to.”

  Her breathing faltered, because it was absolutely true. The moment of truth had come, and she could either walk away from the man she loved or she could take a chance. But her mind couldn’t help but go back to the scene at the pool earlier today. The tattoos weren’t a figment of her imagination, and she knew there could be no future for them. Right? A Japanese Yakuza and a black woman from a lower middle-class family in Northern Virginia just don’t live happily ever after. But should she give up the chance to spend time truly getting to know the man beneath the tattoos?

  And what about that other thing? Maybe if she just told him what she saw in the pool area, there would be a simple explanation. Maybe he was an illusionist, like that magician who made the Statue of Liberty disappear, or the one who levitates in the middle of the street. Yes, that must be it! Okay, even she thought that seemed a little farfetched. Decision made, she decided to jump in with both feet, and her eyes wide open.