Rebel Tempts the Beast Read online

  Rebel Tempts the Beast

  MINK

  Rebel Tempts the Beast

  MINK © 2022

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this e-book only. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from MINK.

  This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Contents

  Rebel Tempts the Beast

  Chapter 1

  Kazuo

  Chapter 2

  Mei

  Chapter 3

  Kazuo

  Chapter 4

  Mei

  Chapter 5

  Kazuo

  Chapter 6

  Mei

  Chapter 7

  Kazuo

  Chapter 8

  Mei

  Chapter 9

  Kazuo

  Chapter 10

  Mei

  Chapter 11

  Kazuo

  Chapter 12

  Mei

  Chapter 13

  Kazuo

  Chapter 14

  Mei

  Chapter 15

  Kazuo

  Chapter 16

  Mei

  Chapter 17

  Kazuo

  Chapter 18

  Mei

  Chapter 19

  Kazuo

  Chapter 20

  Mei

  Chapter 21

  Kazuo

  Chapter 22

  Mei

  Chapter 23

  Kazuo

  Epilogue

  Also by MINK

  About the Author

  Rebel Tempts the Beast

  MINK

  As one of the biggest players in the Yakuza, I do my duty and rule my syndicate with a hard but fair fist. I follow my own rules and adhere to my own sense of duty.

  Until Mei.

  When my mentor sends his daughter to live with me and instructs me to put her on the correct path, I try to use a strong hand to guide her. But that hand tends to gravitate to her rear end, especially when Mei runs her smart mouth. She’s young, fiery, and looking for love.

  Though I follow strict rules and enforce them in my life, Mei bucks them with ease. She’s a little rebel, one I never want to break. In fact, I fall for her just the way she is. She’s the one I never saw coming, and the one I can’t live without.

  When an enemy sees an opening and tries to use her against me, I’ll burn his lineage to the ground and salt the earth behind me. For Mei. For our future. For our family.

  1

  Kazuo

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know the Itos had any idea we were using that dock for shipments.” My soldier shakes, blood dripping from his busted nose.

  “I don’t think that’s true.” Toru shakes out his fingers, then slides on his brass knuckles. “I think you knew exactly what you were doing.” He swings, bone crunches, and my soldier screams.

  “No one can hear you.” I sigh and lean against the doorframe to wait for the screaming to subside.

  “Don’t lie to us, and I won’t have to hurt you.” Toru says it in a matter-of-fact tone as he wipes the blood from his knuckles. “I can make this quick, but that’s up to you.”

  I massage my temples. The quiet war the Itos have been waging against me is finally starting to rub me raw. They want to control all Yakuza in this city, but that’s not how this works. The founding families share the reins, just like they do in Japan. But Isamu Ito has already destroyed the entire Yoshiko line, fracturing the families, and now he’s set his sights on my empire.

  “What did he offer you? Money? Position?” Toru runs his hand along a table full of tools, all of them polished and clean … for now. He’s meticulous with his implements just like he is with all things.

  “Please,” the soldier blubbers. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything. I promise I-I-I would never–”

  “Enough!” I snap and advance on him. “Your actions got seven people killed. Seven! Two women who won’t be returning home to their kids. Five men who had families waiting for them, who depended on them! They worked for me. I took care of them. They were my responsibility. And you killed them with your betrayal!” My roar seems to echo off the walls and magnify just like my rage.

  He wails.

  I snatch a blade from Toru’s tray and slam it down into the soldier’s thigh. “Tell me the fucking truth!”

  He screams again, and I slap my palm over his bloody mouth, containing his pain and making him swallow it back down.

  “Damn, Kaz.” Toru nods appreciatively. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

  “I’m going to let you speak.” I glare into the soldier’s terrified eyes. “And the words that come from your mouth better be the fucking truth. Understand?”

  He blinks, shock and agony in his eyes.

  I release my hold on his mouth.

  He gasps in a breath, then another.

  “The next words from your lips better be the truth.” Toru bends over, his hands on his knees. “Because I’ve never seen Kaz this mad. I don’t know what he’s going to do to you if you lie again, but I’m dying to find out.”

  The soldier whimpers. Then his entire demeanor changes, his body going limp as he sniffles pathetically.

  Toru gives me a look, surprise and pride in his eyes.

  “Yes.” The soldier lets his head fall forward, his cowardice apparent when he can’t meet my gaze. “Yes, Ito said if I gave him information, he’d put me in charge of your holdings once he killed you. He said I’d have everything. All I had to do was …” He sighs. “Tell him about your business. The shipments. The money. Your movements.”

  I back away and stare at the traitor, my anger boiling inside me.

  Toru chooses a wide blade from his table. “How much did you tell him before we caught you?”

  “I—I’m sorry.” He starts blubbering again, but when Toru waves the blade in front of his face, he spills. “I told him about the warehouse and the drugs. I … I’m the reason they’re dead. I told him. I thought … I thought he was going to kill you tonight. I thought …” His words fade, and I can almost pity him when he finally realizes what a dupe he’s been. But I don’t have room for pity. Not when I have seven bodies to bury.

  Toru looks at me, his eyebrows raised, his blade at the ready. I give him the nod, then turn and climb the stairs. “Send his head to Isamu. Let him see what his treachery got him.” I push through the door to the main house and stride toward my office.

  My men don’t bat an eyelash despite the gore on my hands, the blood splattered on my shirt.

  “Sir.” One of my men hurries along at my heels.

  “What?” I bark.

  “The package you were expecting from Mr. Nakamura is here.”

  “Package?” I don’t recall expecting a package from my old mentor. “What the hell are you talking about?” I whirl on him.

  He blanches. “At the front door,” he says meekly.

  I bypass my office and storm down the hallway to the foyer.

  When I get there, I stop. Dead.

  A girl stands there, her wide eyes on me–more specifically, on the blood all over me. Her perfect pouty mouth drops open, and she shrinks back against the door. She’s beautiful yet out of place, like a flower blooming in the middle of a battlefield.

  I stare.

  She shivers.

  I finally find my voice. “Who the hell are you?”

&nbs
p; “Mei?” She says her name, but it’s more of a question. Then she tilts her chin up and tries again. “Mei Nakamura.”

  “You’re … you’re Hideo’s daughter?” What in the fuck is she doing here of all places?

  “I was.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “But I disown him. He’s mean.” A faint meow comes from the luggage by her feet. She gasps and bends down to unzip a small carrying case. “I’m sorry, Kuzi. I just got distracted.”

  She pulls a fluffy kitten from her bag, then stands there, kitten in hand. “So where’s my room?”

  Fuck. Me.

  2

  Mei

  I do my best to keep my face neutral. Kazuo caught me completely off guard and not because he’s covered in blood. Sure, I’m not used to seeing people covered in it. My father tried to shield me from that part of his life to a degree.

  He didn’t exactly hide it, but he also didn’t put it right in my face either. I knew what went on in the giant outbuilding in the back of our property, but Father never had blood on him when he came back inside. But if I had to guess, I highly doubt my father ever got his hands dirty.

  I was more caught off guard by how damn hot Kazuo was when he came into view. I thought he was going to be my father’s age, with graying hair and maybe a belly on him that he tried to hide with his expensive suit jackets. That’s how a lot of the high-ranking men of other families my father deals with look. That was my experience. The soldiers were usually younger and in good shape. That’s what Kazuo reminds me of. But yet he exudes power and confidence you don’t usually see in someone his age.

  The man is a giant, even by American standards. I bet I barely come to the center of his chest. A chest that is covered in thick muscles. I can’t take my eyes off him. They continue to roam over every inch of him, stopping when I get to his large hands. Why can’t I stop staring at his blood-covered hands? They’re massive. They are also without a wedding ring.

  I bet he could snap someone's neck with one of them. I guarantee it would be as easy as snapping a twig for him. My mind begins to drift like it usually does, wondering why my father never offered Kazuo to me as an option for marriage when he did it with a few of the other men in power. Maybe he did, and Kazuo said no. That thought sours my mood a bit.

  “So?” I lick my lips when he doesn’t respond. “I have a room, right? Maybe in the pool house?” That would be so cool. To get my own place. Somewhere that I don’t have to worry that my every move is being watched.

  “Shouldn’t you be away at school or something?” Kazuo asks. Kuzi wiggles in my hands. I think he’s scared of the big guy.

  “I didn’t want to go to university, and I got kicked out of my last boarding school.” I roll my eyes. “I finished my classes online.”

  “Kicked out?”

  “Yep.” I smile proudly at myself. It takes a lot to be given the boot when you’re the daughter of Hideo Nakamura.

  The school was horrible. It was impossible to make friends. Everyone ignored me. I was finally able to get the reason why no one liked me out of my roommate one night when she found me in tears. She took pity on me. She explained that it wasn’t that they didn’t like me. Their parents told them to stay away from me. I couldn’t blame them. Not with my last name. My father can be a scary man.

  “Why?” he asks, taking a step forward, looking intrigued.

  “Show me to the pool house, and I’ll tell you.” I swear his eyes widen in surprise, but he quickly hides it.

  “You think you can barter with me, little girl?” Whoa. A thrill runs through my body at his stern tone.

  I shrug my shoulders and try to play it cool.

  “You’re not staying in the pool house.”

  “Why not?” I huff. His eyes drop to my mouth. I thought they had before when I licked them. I think back to my stepmother and how she acts when she wants something from my father. “What if I’m a good little girl?” I jut my bottom lip out. “Then can I stay in the pool house?”

  “No.” He growls the one word.

  “You sound like a shifter.” I laugh, but Kuzi shivers in my hand. “And don’t scare my baby, you big brute.” I tuck him under my chin. “You’re okay. He’s a giant teddy bear. He’s not going to hurt you,” I try to reassure him.

  “A giant teddy bear?” Kazuo grumbles under his breath. He massages his temples like I’m giving him a headache. My stepmother always did that when she got frustrated with me.

  “I’m telling him that so he’s not scared,” I whisper.

  “Follow me,” he orders before he makes his way up one of the two curving staircases. It’s actually really neat. They both go up and meet in the middle at the top. I stand there. He doesn’t realize I’m not following him until he is halfway up.

  “I’m not a dog,” I say tartly. I’m not sure what's gotten into me. It might have been the whole little girl comment. Now I’m testing the boundaries.

  “No, you certainly are not, but if you want a bedroom, you’d better move your little ass up the stairs.”

  Thinking I’ve pushed enough, I go up the stairs but take the set on the other side. He grumbles something under his breath and meets me at the top.

  “Get her things,” he tells the two men standing at attention at the front door.

  “Thank you, Ritsu and Ken. You’re both gems,” I tell the two men.

  Kazuo's eyes cut to me. I think he’s about to tell me not to speak to his men. I wasn't allowed to speak to my father's men beyond asking a few questions. They all did their best to ignore me. With Ritsu and Ken, they’ve been polite to me while I waited for Kazuo and even told me their names when I’d asked.

  I have to admit I was a bit giddy about having a conversation with them. I never get to talk with boys or men. The boarding school I attended was all girls. Whenever I get the chance to speak to someone of the opposite sex, it’s exciting to me. All my life I’ve wanted a boyfriend. My stepmother insists that I’m boy crazy. I can’t help it. My best friends come from books, and I adore romance novels. So why not add a boyfriend into the mix, too?

  As fun as it was to talk to the two men and the driver I met when my plane landed in the States, none of them checked off any of the boxes I required in a boyfriend. I have a very specific list. One I’ll be adding to when I get to my new room. Giant hands are definitely going on it.

  “This way.” He motions for me to walk ahead of him. “To your left.” The house is massive. I’m guessing one way leads to Kazuo’s quarters and the other side is the wing for guests to stay in.

  When we pulled up to the tall iron gates of the estate, there were five men manning it. From what I could tell, there’s a giant stone wall that surrounds the whole property. This place is a fortress. I think it might be bigger than my father’s.

  “Is your bedroom on the other side of the house?” I peek down the hallway to the right. It looks the same as the left. The walls are lined with art and beautiful details.

  “You stay on this side,” he says, not answering my question. I walk down the long hallway, passing a few doors. At the end are two large double doors. I'm guessing they are to enter the master suite. “On your right. You’ll take that room.” It’s the last door before the double doors.

  “What about that room?” I point to the double doors. “I bet there is a giant soaking tub in that room.”

  “There is, but that’s my room.”

  “Oh.”

  “I’m going to shower. You get settled in.” He opens my door but steps back. “In you go, Mei.”

  The way my name rolls off his tongue has me nodding my head in agreement and stepping into my bedroom. The second I do, he grabs the handle and shuts the door behind me.

  “Hey!” I grab it and try to open it, but the knob doesn’t budge. “What the hell? You bastard!” I shout through the door. When Kuzi wiggles in my arms, I stop shouting.

  “I’ll return for you later,” he says through the door. I want to shout more, but I don’t because of Kuzi. I do
n’t want to frighten him any more than he already is.

  I glare at the locked door. If Kazuo thinks he can keep me locked in my bedroom he’s going to learn, the same way my father did, how well that works for anyone.

  3

  Kazuo

  The blood runs down the drain, coloring the white tile pink until it flows clear. I lean my forearm against the wall and rest my head against it.

  To say I have questions is putting it lightly. Why the hell would Hideo send his daughter to me? And without warning? It doesn’t make sense.

  More than that, why is she so … I can’t put my finger on exactly what she is, but my cock certainly has an opinion. It’s so hard I can feel my heartbeat pulsing through it.

  I close my eyes and reach down, stroking myself slowly while I remember her face, the way she stared at me with her big, beautiful eyes. Her pink skirt. The white sweater hiding small, perfect breasts. She’s like a flowery daydream, a soft cloud that I want to bury myself in.

  It doesn’t take long for me to come on a groan. I thought of her the entire time. Mei. Sweet and sassy Mei. What the hell is she doing here?

  I need to figure this out. Soon. There’s too much death and war going on here with the Itos. Hideo must not realize he sent his daughter straight into the tiger’s mouth. I should send her back.

  Lathering up, I think about her leaving. It shouldn’t bother me. After all, she just got here. If anything, she’s a burden. I don’t need anything distracting me from serving up vengeance on the Ito family. But just the idea of her walking out the front door and getting on a plane back to Japan rubs me wrong. Not because I want her. I mean, maybe I just came hard while moaning her name, but that’s just a weird side effect of seeing her right after I committed violence. Has to be. I’m under a lot of stress.