Free Loving Jiro by Jordyn Tracey Page A

door. Upon opening it, she found Jiro standing in the hall with a waiter and a covered cart beside him. Gesturing for them to enter, she turned away.
    When the waiter had finished setting up breakfast, Jiro pulled out a chair at the table in the corner for her to sit down. “Have something to eat. I'm told you were ill before I arrived. You must be starving."
    She hesitated. Here was a man completely different from Odell. She imagined he would not dream of having a woman take care of him, pay his bills. Jiro would consider himself the most dishonorable of men not to see to the needs of the women in his life.
    Instead of sitting down, she stood where she was, lost in thought. “Before I got involved with Odell, I was independent. I knew early on that my cousin resented having to take care of me, so the first chance I got to get away and stand on my own two feet, I took it. Money my parents left me went to my getting my Bachelors degree in fine arts. I did okay with that for a while."
    Tears filled her eyes, and she tried her best to blink them away only to have them flood her lids and spill down her cheeks. “First I had to work like a dog for nothing because Odell took away everything, including my dignity. And now you want me to depend on you. Admit it!"
    He strode over to her, took her hand and guided her to the table. “What I want you to do is eat something, even if it's only a small bit of egg.” He poured out a half glass of orange juice and sat it in front of her. “I want to you drink this. It's delicious, fresh-squeezed without pulp.” He smiled.
    Only the rich.
    Glancing pointedly at her plate, he dipped his head forward. “And then we will talk."
    She would never win. There was no use trying to fight against him. Resolute, she filled her plate. Jiro had been right of course. Not only was the juice delicious, so was everything else she sampled. And before she knew it, her belly was full. She had been more hungry than she realized. When she finally placed her fork beside her plate and wiped her mouth with her napkin, Jiro nodded in satisfaction.
    "I want you to know, Kiara, that whatever decision you make today, I will honor your wishes.” He compressed his lips a minute before speaking again. She got the impression the one decision she might make that he didn't like, was a hard one for him to swallow. “I will do whatever you ask. However, I want you to be sure that you will have no regrets."
    She started. “Regrets? So you expect me to ask you to kill Odell, since he didn't die from me hitting him over the head?"
    "That is merely one possibility."
    "And the others?"
    "You could go back to your present life, working in that diner where you were.” She gasped, but he continued. “As all the other failed attempts, you could try to start somewhere new, expecting that he won't find you. And yet he does."
    A shiver ran through her, and her tears threatened to start up again. She waited silently, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. She wouldn't have know what to say at that point anyway. Better to just sit and listen to what he had to offer. Asking him to kill Odell was most certainly off the table. Wasn't it?
    "Another option might be...” He cleared his throat. “Another might be if you were to become my mistress. I would take care of you. You would live on my property and be guarded by my men. This would entail a complete removal from the lifestyle that Odell is used to finding you in. We move in vastly different circles. In essence, you would be safe from him forever."
    His mistress! In truth, she couldn't have expected more than that. They hadn't known each other long, and the only sure thing between them was that they were sexually attracted to one another. She let her gaze roam over his taut muscles, clearly defined after he had removed his jacket. A woman could lose herself in a man as strong—as magnetic—as Jiro. That's what she was so terrified of.
    Still, unreasonably, she felt