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“Like that, was it?”

“Yup. Ted, I really hope it was
her. Personally, that would be great, although it might not be good
for our business.” Matt told his brother the truth. He deserved to
know it all. “While Mr. Nakamura may have liked me, I’m just as
sure what we’d offer his daughter would change that in a fucking
heartbeat.”

“You always did have a thing for
the geisha look. I remember a Halloween party the club held one
year, and you were all over that chick in the corset and funky
makeup.” Ted laughed as he appeared to remember the event and Matt
did as well, until the truth rushed back to bite him in the
ass.

“I hope I didn’t screw up our plans
for the ranch. I know you’ve talked to her on the phone, but
believe me, if you ever get a chance to meet her in person, you’re
going to like Sakura Nakamura as much as I do.”

Matt walked over to collect his bag
from the baggage claim belt. The headache that had been building
lessened a bit. Personally and professionally, they were headed in
a new direction, and thankfully they were both on the same page.
Moving forward was going to be an adventure.

All they had to do was get Sakura
to come to Montana.

They made their way out to the
truck and Ted drove them back to the ranch. There were no secrets
between them, and eventually Matt told his brother everything that
had happened on his last night in Osaka. At one point, he pulled
out the comb with bells on it, and shook it so Ted could hear what
he had.

The more he talked about what
happened in that hotel room, the more he came to believe it had
been Sakura in his room and not just wishful thinking.

So intent on talking, he was
surprised at how quickly they made it home. A little over an hour
later, they were walking through the front door of the house they
shared on the Big W Ranch.

Matt went to his room and dropped
bags on the floor, then walked into his bathroom to take a shower.
He was tired and could do with a good night’s sleep. He’d go into
their office downstairs and see if there was anything he should
handle immediately. Maybe Sakura called and left a
message.

Once he felt clean and a bit more
human, he left his room. Halfway down the stairs, he was stopped by
his brother, who was sitting in the living room with a piece of
paper in one hand and a glass of whisky in the other.

“Did you say you spent time with a
geisha?”

“Yeah, she was fucking sexy,” Matt
confessed as he went to the bar and poured himself a drink before
joining Ted on the couch. “Those red painted nipples were the
hottest thing I’ve ever seen on a woman. They made me even harder
and more eager to fuck her, despite it being illegal. I thought I
was going to come right then. I’d like to see those cherry red tips
again.”

“I think you’ll have your chance,”
Ted told him as he handed over the paper he’d been
reading.

It was a single page fax on
Nakamura Enterprises letterhead. After a quick scan, he read it
through again to make sure he’d read it correctly.

“They signed the contract for us to
supply them with beef as long as we adhere to their tracking
system.”

“What else does it say, big
brother?” Ted asked with a smirk clearly marking his
face.

“Sakura will be coming here in two
months to handle the installation of the new tracking program.”
Matt looked over at his brother, searching for some type of answer
to the question racing around in his head. When none came, he put
it out there, hoping the other man could give him the confirmation
he was hoping for. “Do you think this means she was my
geisha?”

“Honestly, I don’t think it
matters. We’re going to be shipping Big W beef to Japan, which is
something we wanted. And, if I remember correctly, coming here to
do the installation was to be a volunteer job. She’s coming here,
Matt, voluntarily to our territory. We’ll be able to get the
answers you need and maybe, hopefully, much more.”

“You’re right,” Matt mused, feeling
less stressed about what happened.

“I’ll drink to that, and cross my
fingers she was the woman you were with. From what you’ve
described, that lady sounds like someone who could fit into our
lives perfectly.”

“I understand from her mother that
she can also ride a horse and that she likes it,” Matt offered
before he took another sip of whisky, then continued. “We have two
months to figure out how to encourage her to stay once the job is
finished. As good as it would be to have her in my bed, I want more
than a fuck buddy. I’m ready for more, and I think this is the
woman who can give it to us.”

“I don’t see why you can’t phone
her and ask if it was her in your bed or not. What time is it over
there?”

“Their day is just getting
started,” Matt said as he looked at his watch. He smiled at his
brother and he walked over to the phone. Bringing the portable back
to where they sat, he dialed the codes followed by her direct line.
Listening to the ring, he wasn’t sure what he was going to say, but
that would come once he heard her voice.

“Moshi-moshi, Nakamura Enterprises,
Sakura Nakamura.”

“Hello, Sakura, it’s Matt. Matt
Wilson.”

Complete silence greeted him,
although he swore he heard a slight intake of breath She was there
and he had no doubt that she had been his geisha. Why else would
she be tongue tied with him when she never had been before? He
didn’t want to scare her away by demanding answers, but neither
would he miss his chance to finally know the truth.

“Are you alone?” Even though she
had a door to enclose her office, there were days when it never
closed.

“Yes,” she eventually
whispered.

“Then, please, answer one question
for me. Were you my geisha? Were you Yuki?”

Despite being anxious to hear what
she had to say, he made sure his voice remained level and calm. It
wouldn’t help ease her doubts about the truth coming out if he
sounded eager.

“Yes.” He heard her insecurity as
well as her honesty. “Yuki is my second name.”

“Good,” he told her, letting his
desire for her seep into his tone. Inside, he howled with
excitement. The future was looking so much better than it had when
he left Japan.

“Really?”

The surprise in her voice made him
smile. Deep down, he knew there was definitely going to be
something more between them. To make that happen, he’d have to tell
her everything.

“Yes, it’s great.” Before he had
his hopes for a future together blasted, he needed to set her right
on a few things. “Do me a favor, Sakura, and forget the image of
cowboys you’ve seen in movies. That isn’t me. I live on a ranch,
raise smelly cattle, and sell the beef wherever I can, but I’m also
a kinky son of a bitch when it comes to sex.”

“Our night together was
wonderful.”

“What we had together was great and
very tame.”

“Tame? What do you
mean?”

“Well, if I’d known it was you and
not a prostitute I spent the evening with, I would’ve fucked your
sweet pussy until dawn. The next morning I would’ve asked you to
come to Montana. For over a month we sat together and talked
business, while all along I worked very hard to hold back what I
really felt and wanted from you. It wasn’t easy to do. You, Sakura,
I liked you from our first phone conversation, then we met in
person. I was excited by your brains but even more, you turned me
on with your beauty.”

“I didn’t know you felt that way
about me.”

“You weren’t meant to. I was there
on business. We were working together. I would never do anything
that reflected poorly on the Big W or Nakamura Enterprises. My
hiring a prostitute crossed that line.”

“No, Matt, you didn’t do anything
wrong. I misled you into thinking you were with a sex worker. My
only excuse is that I saw that night as my only chance to be with
you as I wanted. Our flirting only went so far and my desires
remained unfulfilled.”

“You could’ve told me all this
while I was there,” Matt muttered and looked over at his brother.
If he’d been with her when the truth came out, they’d already have
her with them As soon as he made that conclusion, he kicked it
away. She didn’t know everything and when she did, she might still
change her mind about coming to see them. “There’s more you should
understand before volunteering to come over here.”

“Nothing can keep me away from the
Big W Ranch.”

“Just listen to me, Sakura.” Her
voice had sounded firmly set and he remembered she could be
stubborn, but what he had to say was completely outside her realm
of experience. He was sure of it.

“I’m listening, but I won’t change
my mind.”

“Remember a few minutes ago I said
I was kinky?”

“Yes, not that it bothers me, but
what did you mean by that?”

“I meant that I would like to tie
you up so you couldn’t move, put a plug in your ass, and play with
it while I fuck your sweet pussy.” Her groan reminded him of the
sounds that came from her during their passionate night together.
“Your nipples are hard, aren’t they?”

“Yes,” she quietly
admitted.

“Have to tell you that I loved how
you painted them red. If you come over, will you do that for me
again? For us?”

“Us?” Sakura sounded
unsure.

“Yes, us. Have you ever thought
about being the center of more than one man’s lusty
attention?”

“I have since you mentioned it,”
Sakura confided.

“What do you think about
it?”

“I don’t know. It’s not like
anything I’ve ever done before, although I admit it makes me hot
just thinking about it.”

“Well, it’s almost time for you to
make a choice, my beautiful geisha.”

“What do you mean?”

“In a couple of months you’ll be
coming to us and the Big W. If my memory serves right, you had to
volunteer for handling the project. Am I right?”

“You’re right.”

“Okay, then I need you to take some
time to seriously think about what we’re offering. I want you,
Sakura, very much, and I think my brother will as well. I’ve told
him all about you, those delightful candied nipples, and easily
excitable clit. But we want a partner, someone who wants to settle
down on our ranch to work hard and fuck even harder.”

“Oh, yes, I think I
understand.”

“If you come here, we’ll do
whatever we can to keep you satisfied. However, if having two men
pleasure you isn’t something you want, then no harm, no foul. Send
someone else to oversee the installation.”

“What about love? I’m also not
looking for a playmate or two without there being something more
involved. I want to know I’m still loved when I’m no longer young
and eager to experiment with sex.”

Her words and tone of voice gave
Matt a hint that she was already emotionally invested in him.
Hiding behind a geisha’s makeup and acting like a prostitute in
order to have him suddenly made more sense.

“I care a great deal about you,
Sakura. Is it love, a lifelong love? I don’t know, but I can
already see myself with you when we’re old and grey. However, I’m
all about being truthful and upfront before getting into anything
that involves sex. I don’t want any confusion about where we’re all
headed together. So, I’m all in, it’s between you and Ted. The
Wilson brothers are a package deal. Take one, take us
both.”

“What about, I mean, could we, is
it…” Confusion had taken her over.

“Take a deep breath and relax.” He
tried to calm her down, and himself as well. It hadn’t been optimal
to have the serious conversation over the phone, but he knew life
wasn’t always perfect. “You don’t need to do anything right now,
there’s plenty of time to think it through. That’s all we ask, and
that you come over only if you think you could be with us both.
Fair enough?”

“Yes, sounds fair.”

“Don’t worry so much, everything
will work out the way it’s meant to. Now hang up and get on with
your day. Time is ticking.”

After saying goodbye, he
disconnected and downed the last of his whisky. He set the glass
down flopped back against the couch. He closed his eyes and
pictured the beautiful woman sitting behind her desk over five
thousand miles away.

“She’ll be ours,” he assured Ted.
They were all meant to be together, why else had he held onto the
desire to possess a geisha for so long?

“We’d better fix up the room at the
top of the stairs for her. Every woman needs a place to call her
own.”

“I think she should stay at the
cottage to start. We can’t pressure her, no matter how much we want
to keep her here.”

“Can you believe we’re doing this?”
Sakura looked out the passenger window at the vast stretch of open
land they drove through and was awed. Everything, from the sky to
the grass-covered hills, seemed more beautiful and oversized than
she’d imagined.

Then again, there was one thing
many people she’d asked what to expect with her trip to America had
all agreed upon. They’d claimed it was a big country, bigger than a
person could ever envisage and full of grand, open spaces. They
were right.