Branded
Ted.
They were all meant to be together, why else had he held onto the
desire to possess a geisha for so long?
    “We’d better fix up the room at the
top of the stairs for her. Every woman needs a place to call her
own.”
    “I think she should stay at the
cottage to start. We can’t pressure her, no matter how much we want
to keep her here.”

CHAPTER ONE
    “Can you believe we’re doing this?”
Sakura looked out the passenger window at the vast stretch of open
land they drove through and was awed. Everything, from the sky to
the grass-covered hills, seemed more beautiful and oversized than
she’d imagined.
    Then again, there was one thing
many people she’d asked what to expect with her trip to America had
all agreed upon. They’d claimed it was a big country, bigger than a
person could ever envisage and full of grand, open spaces. They
were right.
    “What?” Molly asked for
clarification because there were a few things she couldn’t believe
they were actually doing. “Driving ourselves around rural America,
a foreign country neither of us ever visited before? Or are you
more surprised your parents actually said yes?”
    “It’s work,” Sakura claimed, and
eventually finished the thought. “I was the best person for the
job. Besides, the idea of me starting a satellite consultancy
company helped bring them around. Dad liked it when I explained I’d
be doing the same thing I do now, only in America. Even though it
wasn’t specifically said, I’m sure he believes I’ll set it up, hand
it over to someone he recommends, and return home.
    “It would suit him fine to have a
foothold over here. He thinks the more ranches brought in line with
the Japanese government’s import requirements, the more quality
beef will be made available,” Sakura added. “As a result, the
prices will be kept down. No matter how he looks at it, more
business will appeal to him.”
    “True, although I know you hope our
time here will be much more than work, or have you changed your
mind about the personal bit?” Molly was her best friend and knew
what was in her mind sometimes better than she did.
    Memories and fantasies filled with
passion and lust flooded Sakura’s head. They were always there,
making her horny, but right then she vividly remembered every bit
of detail. The heat of need exploded inside her, making her squirm
in the front seat. She squeezed her legs even closer together in a
bid for comfort.
    There was no doubt in her heart or
body she wanted more of Matt. She had to discover what her feelings
for him actually were, and she also wanted to meet Ted, very much.
They’d spoken quite a few times over the past couple of months, and
she believed she already knew him.
    However, she didn’t know if she was
ready to delve into a relationship with him and his brother. She
needed more time to discover what was between them, if anything,
before they took the next step.
    Lust alone wasn’t enough to keep
her on their ranch.
    “No, I haven’t, nor will I. But…”
Sakura wasn’t sure how to finish what was in her head. There were
no second thoughts, which was odd. No, what she felt was nervous.
Excitement and one big question raced through her mind: what if
Matt didn’t want her as Sakura as much as he’d claimed, but
preferred her as Yuki, the prostitute geisha?
    “Look, the GPS says we aren’t too
far away from their ranch. Why don’t we stop at the next place we
see, get something to eat? They don’t have an exact time of when to
expect us. We’ll call when we’re ready and tell them we’re here.”
Molly always knew exactly what to do to make a situation easier to
handle.
    Sakura decided if she ended up
staying, then she needed to find a way to keep her best friend in
America as well. It may have seemed selfish, but she’d be lost
without the other woman. Who knows, maybe the men in this rugged
state would appeal to her since none had in England or
Japan.
    “Good idea.”
    They’d driven for at

Similar Books

A Compromised Lady

Elizabeth Rolls

Baldwin

Roy Jenkins

Home From Within

Jennifer McCartney, Lisa Maggiore