Even though Rin hadn't said a word, that single nod must have meant something.
Kaoru took a step to the side and then another as if he were conceding territory.
O-kay. What’s going on?
Rin’s eyes never left Deja.
Deja looked him up and down—slow and assessing. "Yeah. I would add you to my stable, baby, but too bad I can't."
Rin quirked one eyebrow.
I nearly gasped. That was a new facial expression. Rin always looked bored. Always. But now there was something else in his face. Curiosity, maybe. I didn’t know. I was just happy to see him not appear bored.
Alright. This is interesting.
"Yeah." Deja shrugged and headed away from him. "Unfortunately, I don't dateworkers. I only datebosses."
Kaoru actually gasped, like. . .loud mouth open and hand to lips gasp.
Rin's gaze went back to Deja’s ass as she strolled away.
I saw another new expression on his face that was clear as day, and it declared,challenge accepted.
A few of the guards in the back snickered.
Rin's gaze cut to them.
The room went silent.
I thought about what I knew about Rin. About how he descended from royalty and more important. . .how he only fucked women if they had a silk bag over their faces.
Next, I looked at Deja. At the way she loved her face. The way she invested in herself. Make-up. Hair. The look-maxing.
No way. I don’t see it. Deja would never let him put a bag over her face.
Zo scooted his seat next to me and leaned in close. "Five hundred says Deja breaks him."
I looked at Zo. "What?"
He pulled out a wad of cash from his jogger pocket and peeled off five hundred-dollar bills, fanning them out between his fingers. "You heard me. Cash bet. Deja versus the man in white."
I glanced at Rin. He'd settled back into his usual stance against the wall. Arms folded. Face blank. That bored expression firmly back in place like the last two minutes never happened.
"Zo, no. That man is too crazy and too royal to be one of Deja's victims. He puts silk bags over women's faces. He carries a sword on his back. He looks like he descends from emperors and kills people for fun. Deja can't break that."
"Five hundred." Zo waved the bills. "Come on. Humor me. I'm nervous about Hiroko going off with your Dragon. I need some entertainment."
The humor drained out of me.
He was right. We were all sitting here pretending to have fun while the people we cared about were walking into danger. The twerking, the music, the weed. . .it was all just noise to cover the fear.
I sighed. "Fine. I'll take the bet."
Zo grinned and tucked three bills back into his pocket, leaving two out. "Cool. You're good for the money. I say Deja has Rin in her stable before she leaves the island."
"No way." I shook my head. "I say Deja heads back to New York with nothing else occurring between them."
Zo laughed. "You clearly don't know what it looks like when a man is about to snatch up a woman."
