I smiled softly. “And you do this family a great honour for assisting me. I never did thank you for contacting Josh that day when I doubted myself.”
Ryo tipped his chin down. “You’re welcome.”
Really, I would be lost without Ryo at my side. One day soon, I hoped to see him as happy as I was.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ruin
I’d gotten a text from Taro earlier about having dinner together. As I walked into the house, my gut filled with those damn butterflies at the thought of seeing him. I made my way into the smaller dining room and found Taro sitting at the head of the table, reading over some papers. I stopped and took him in.
His eyes scanned the sheet quickly, and he nibbled on the corner of his mouth in thought. He wore the same shirt he’d been in that morning, so I knew black pants covered his legs. The thought of his pants reminded me of his cock in my mouth, and my cock thickened.
At some point that day, he’d tied his hair back in a loose ponytail. Fuck, I loved his hair, more so when it flowed free around his face and shoulders.
“Are you going to stare at me all night, or can we eat sometime soon?” he asked without looking up from his work.
Grinning, I made my way over and stood beside him. I gripped the ponytail and tugged his head back. His smile was bright but quickly disappeared when I leaned in to claim his lips in a heated kiss. All while I removed the elastic from his hair and ran my fingers through his locks.
Pulling back, I asked, “Miss me?”
“Always,” he breathed, eyes glazed over in desire.
“Good.” After a peck to the lips, I sat next to him as he shifted the paperwork to the side.
“Katon,” Taro called.
Like magic, the old man appeared in the doorway and bowed. “Taro-sama?”
“We’d like dinner now, please.”
“Coming right up.”
“Thanks, Katon,” I added.
Katon smiled and went to bow at me, only to still. His smile grew as he walked off. Taro drew my attention back to him when his hand covered mine on the table.
“How did it go today?”
I grinned. “I’m gonna take it. The place they’re buyin’ is not far from here. It’s gonna be a twenty-four-hour club. Figured I’ll take the day shift since you’ll be workin’ as well. Someone else can do the night shift, but if they’re in a bind, I’ll help out.”
“Sounds perfect. How many days a week? Or will it include weekend work?”
“Since I’ve got the experience in managing a place, they’ve given me the first choice on days. I’ve picked Monday to Friday. Since you were talkin’ about taking the weekends off, I wanted to do the same.”
His eyes softened. It meant something significant to him that he was behind my decisions. I wanted this to last between us, so would do all I could to make this work. There’d be struggles like in all relationships, but we’d pull through. Even if I had to strap him down to the bed and make him see reason or beg for forgiveness if I’d done something stupid to piss him off. It could happen. I did tend to annoy people.
“Are you happy you found something?” Taro asked.
“It’s like a weight’s been lifted off my shoulders.”
His gaze shifted down to our hands clasped together. His lips thinned. “You don’t miss Ballarat?”
I shrugged. “I might at some point, but I don’t right now. If I do, we’ll head there for the weekend or somethin’. I mean, that’s if you can without a mountain of security comin’ with us.”
“Hopefully they won’t.” He nodded. “If you miss anyone, they’re welcome here.”
Lifting our hands, I kissed his knuckles. “I know, baby. I’d just worry that once Rayne sees this place, she won’t want to leave.”
He laughed lightly. “I’ll be okay with that.”
I snorted. “I won’t. We’d never get any privacy.”
When the food arrived, I gave his hand one last kiss before the plates were placed in front of us. My stomach growled from the aromas hitting my senses. Taro thanked his people, and they disappeared.
“I could marry your cook,” I mumbled around a mouthful.
Taro glared. “Not that it will happen, but I’ll let the cook know you enjoy her food.”
Grinning, I devoured more food and then asked, “How was your day?”
“Same as always. Though, I heard from my uncle in Japan. He’s already complaining about Akio since Akio doesn’t like the changes Uncle has made.”
“I remember you and Ryo sayin’ something about this uncle. How’s he changed things?”
Taro smiled. “My uncle is fifty and has only just come out of the closet. Discrimination in the family held him back.”
Snorting, I shook my head. “Akio definitely won’t like that.”
“He doesn’t. Which is why he’s moving to the United States and starting his own faction. Not that he’ll get any support from my uncle, nor me. I don’t think Jiro or Akio understood how hard it is running a family and all the businesses that come with it. They enjoyed the money they received each month, but it was their children who helped out working.”
“I doubt they know the work that goes into it. You mentioned your father didn’t share information a lot.”
He nodded. “There was a lot I never knew until he knew he was dying and had to pass on the information. I doubted he confided in Akio or Jiro since he never trusted them with the basic business things.”
“Your dad’s a fool for not havin’ the help. Thank fuck you have Ryo, but you know if you need more help with shit, I’m here. I know I got a job, but that’s only gettin’ started on renovations. Even if it wasn’t, I’d still make time to help you.”
Taro’s hand slid across the table and rested on my arm, where he squeezed. “You do understand that if we stay together—”
“There ain’t any if involved.”
His eyes lit. “Sorry, my mistake. You do realise that since we’re together, everything I have is yours also. The house, the people in it, even the workers. There will be times I’ll reach out to you if the pressure is getting too much, but for now, I have things handled.”
Wait…. “Are you sayin’ I run this place as much as you do?”
“Yes.”
The thought of being equal in this place and businesses kind of freaked me out, but it was sweet Taro wanted that between us. Like we were already married and not starting out. I’d see down the track how it went, if I could adjust to the knowledge of being seen by his people as an equal beside Taro. For now, all I could think about was… “Meanin’ I could fire someone?”
His brows dipped, and he said hesitantly, “Yes.”
“Then I’ll inform Botan it’s his last night here.”
Taro chuckled, shaking his head. “Josh.”
“Do I need a list of who else there was?”
“We’ve been over this. There has been no one as important as you are. Before you, it was all a fog, and it only lifted when you came into my life.”