Needed her away from the main island, away from whoever was feeding information to my father. The guards following us in a second helicopter were the most trusted of my security team—men who would die before they let harm come to my Tiger.
But more than safety, I needed time with her.
More uninterrupted time.
Time that wasn't about war, strategy, or death.
Just... her.
As she watched the view, I studied her. Those thick, soft braids framed her beauty without taming it. Each one shimmered from the oil she’d used. The faint smells of honey and citrus lingered in the air of the cabin and mixed with her already intoxicating scent of ripe plum and black amber.
When the wind from the vents lifted a few of the braids, brushing along her collarbone, I felt a strange pride rise in me.
Honestly, the other reason I took her away from the main island was because I didn’t want to share her anymore today. Hiro had cooked with her this morning. Reo would have found some excuse to be around her as well as the Fangs and Claws. They were all becoming too comfortable with her warmth, too drawn to her light.
My main guards, too.
After she fed them her damned banana bread, they’d looked at her like starving wolves who’d just tasted something holy. The scent of sugar and butter still haunted my corridors. It served as a bittersweet reminder that she’d fed men who should never dare to crave anything that belonged to me.
That was the problem with having a Tiger in the Dragon’s den—everyone wanted to pet her stripes.
So I did what any dragon would do.
I took my treasure and fled the world.
If I’d owned an empty volcano like Korin and his brother, I would’ve flown there with her—hidden her deep inside the molten heart of it, kept her safe where no human eyes could find her.
But all I had was this secret island, a smaller paradise.
It would have to be enough.
“This is so breathtaking.” Nyomi rested her head against my shoulder. The simple weight of her calmed the inferno roaring under my ribs.
I closed my eyes and inhaled her scent—black amber and plum.
All fucking mine.
Hiro had shared her laughter. Reo had shared her food. My guards had even tasted her kindness.
But none of them would have this.
Not the sound she made when she sighed into my palm.
Not the way her warmth melted against me when I kissed the inside of her wrist.
Not the part of her that reached into the darkness of me and stayed there.
Now we were suspended between worlds—the main island behind us where everyone wanted a piece of her, and my hidden sanctuary ahead where I planned to keep her all to myself for as long as the war would allow.
The helicopter dipped lower, and wind buffeted the cabin.
Through the window, I caught sight of the smaller island—my hoard’s hiding place.
The small, private beach curved in a crescent of bleach white sand. Dense forest rose beyond it, and at the center stood the elegant pavilion I had built years ago, a structure of black glass and stone.
Staff moved with quiet efficiency, finishing up preparations.
But my eyes caught on three figures standing apart from the others.
