Dearly Beloved (Siren Publishing Allure)
Dearly Beloved
Ebony Taylor jumps at the chance to go to Japan to teach English to kids, but after just two years she finds herself out of work and without money to return to her country. She becomes a hostess at a prestigious club and catches the eye of Tomio Nakamura. The man has a handsome face and refined manners. It isn’t until after she falls in love with him that she learns that he is from a Yakuza family.
It is love at first sight for Tomio Nakamura when he meets his brother’s new employee. Ebony can sing and has a great body and a gorgeous face. But he had no idea that his mother was prejudiced. Setsuko takes one look at Ebony and threatens to erase Tomio’s name from the family’s register. But Tomio doesn’t care. He wants Ebony and he will do anything, including leave his family, to be with her.
Genre:
Contemporary, Interracial
Length:
47,264 words
Imari Jade
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
DEARLY BELOVED
Copyright © 2015 by Imari Jade
E-book ISBN:
978-1-63259-802-8
First E-book Publication: October 2015
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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Dearly Beloved
by Imari Jade from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.
Regarding E-book Piracy
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This is Imari Jade’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Imari Jade’s right to earn a living from her work.
Amanda Hilton, Publisher
To my new grandson Aston Martin Briscoe…Welcome to the world!
DEARLY BELOVED
IMARI JADE
Copyright © 2015
“Good-bye, I’ll see you later,” Tomio Nakamura said to her when he was about to leave for work—or family business, as he called it. He leaned in and gently kissed her on the lips.
Ebony clung to him, not wanting to let go.
Tomio moved her away from him. “Don’t be silly. It’s not like you’re not going to see me again.”
She wasn’t being silly or foolish. Tomio lived a very dangerous life. She knew exactly what it meant to be yakuza…a member of the Japanese mafia. She knew it when she went into his bed willingly six months ago. During their times together, Tomio was tender and loving. But it was the times when they were apart that had her nervous. Ebony had heard rumors about his family murdering people who crossed them. They also shook down merchants in their territory for money and were active in gambling and drug activity. And Tomio had a lot of enemies. He’d been shot once or twice in his youth, only to survive and retaliate against those who did him harm. The scars could be visibly seen. He had one on his shoulder just below the left blade and another near the eye of one of the dragon tattoos on his back. Ebony fought to keep it all together as she realized that she wouldn’t be able to live if something happened to Tomio. She was so deeply in love with him that it frightened her. She had never met a man quite like him.
Tomio picked up his briefcase and left. Ebony hurried over to the window and peeked out. His bodyguards, Dai Kaburagi and Isao Ito, flanked him closely as he walked toward the black town car. His driver, Akira Lee, stood by waiting for the men to enter. Moments later the chauffeur drove away from the curb.
Ebony closed the curtains and headed toward the bedroom that they shared. The sun had finally set. She grabbed a suitcase and began tossing in clothing and personal items she would need for her trip. Her flight left at nine, which didn’t give her much time. Ebony dialed the only number she knew for a cab. Tomio had made her get rid of her car because he didn’t want her traveling anywhere alone. She still had some money saved from her job as a hostess. It should be enough for her to live on for a while if she was careful. The last things she grabbed were her passport and her purse. She was leaving behind all the pretty jewelry and dresses he had given her, and only took what she arrived with. This time tomorrow she would be safely back in the United States where she belonged. She had been in Japan three years too long. If she didn’t get away now, it would be too late.
The taxi driver blew his horn. Ebony exited the house after quickly penning a goodbye note for Tomio. She was counting on the fact that he knew nothing about her life back in America. She planned to blend back in with her American lifestyle, and forget Tomio Nakamura. He was a very handsome man and could easily find another woman to take her place.
Ebony was sitting on a cement bench at the Wilty Terminal, listening to the Korean pop-group JYJ’s “Be the One” through the black buds in her ears. Waiting for the Westbank Expressway bus, she noticed a long black limousine roll up. She squinted to make it out clearly, because it was hard to see with the cold wind blowing in her face, even though she wore dark sunshades to block it out. It was early April and they were experiencing strange temperatures for that time of the year.
The door opened and a Japanese chauffeur dressed in black livery stepped out and walked around to the other side of the car. Everyone nearby was trying to figure out what was happening. Seconds later, a well-dressed Japanese male stepped out of the car and looked in her direction. “Ebony,” he called out arrogantly.
Damn, how did he recognize her under the black coat, hoodie, knit cap, and shawl?
“Who is Ebony?” one of the waiting bus passengers asked.
Ebony rose. “That would be me.” She walked toward the car and stopped directly in front of him. She bowed respectfully.
“Get in,” he ordered.
“Don’t fuck with me, T,” Ebony said to him. “I’m not in the mood.”
The chauffeur, Akira, pressed his luck with her. “His name is Tomio Nakamura. Try to show some respect.”
Ebony rolled her eyes at him, knowing he couldn’t see the action behind the shades. In her book, respect had to be earned. “Are you going to let him speak to me like that?”
Akira Lee, aged thirty-one, had been Tomio’s driver for seven years, and she and he never saw eye to eye on anything, including her relationship to the rich investment broker.
Tomio ignored both of them. “Get into the car, now.”
Ebony knew it was useless to argue with him. She slid into the car and Tomio followed.
“Where to?” Akira asked from the front.
“I don’t know about you two, but I’m on my way to a doctor’s appointment,” Ebony answered.
Tomio glared at her from behind his dark shades. “Give him the address.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.” Ebony frowned. He was so goddamn arrogant. She wondered how she could have fallen in love with someone like him. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was movie star gorgeous and had a great body. She gave Akira the address. The man programmed the GPS. Ebony relaxed against the leather seat and fastened her seatbelt, trying to ignore Tomio’s cologne and the feel of his thigh pressed up against hers. Akira left the crowded Westbank Expressway and got onto the high rise at Stumpf Boulevard. Traffic flowed much faster up there. A few minutes later the driver exited at Barataria before turning left at the green light. The next thing she knew they were in front of the West Jefferson Medical Center.
Ebony opened the door. “Thanks for the ride.” She attempted to escape, but Tomio caught her hand. He continued to hold it as he exited behind her. He lowered his head back into the car.
“Park,” he told Akira. “I will call you as soon as we are about to exit.” He closed the door and Akira drove off. Once inside, they had the choice of taking the elevators on the south or north side. Tomio gazed over at her.
“South, fifth floor.”
Tomio tugged her down the aisle, pressed the button, and followed her into the elevator when it arrived. They rode silently until it stopped on the fifth floor. Tomio stopped in front of a glass door with her doctor’s name on it. The words Obstetrician and Gynecologist followed the name. He held the door open for her.
Ebony walked up to the desk and signed in. Tomio had to free her hand so she could dig her identification and medical cards out of her wallet.