Masahiro: Her Japanese Billionaire

By Alexandria Kaine

A BW/AM Romance short story

On her way to Japan on a work assignment, adventurous travel writer Mina Patton meets endearing mild-mannered businessman Masahiro Okuma in an airport when he outsmarts the pickpocket who is eyeing her luggage. When he offers to be her tour guide, she agrees, but both Mina and Masahiro have a feeling the cuisine and scenery in Japan won't be the only things they'll be exploring...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Renee LaRuse
• Release date: Jan 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311991102

Book preview

MASAHIRO

Her Japanese Billionaire

BY ALEXANDRIA KAINE

Copyright 2014 Alexandria Kaine

Smashwords Edition

****

Also written by Alexandria Kaine

Managing the Mayor

The Caribbean Affair

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Being a successful travel writer affords you some interesting luxuries: lavish hotels, crazy parties, multilingual assistants who know all of the area's hidden gems, and access to those fancy-pants lounges in the nice part of the airport. Being an unsuccessful travel writer mostly means sleeping in crowded airport terminals because you missed your connecting flight, which is exactly what I was doing when I opened my eyes to see a sharply-dressed Asian man handing me a steaming Styrofoam cup of what appeared to be some kind of tea.

I rubbed about two hour's worth of sleep from my eyes and lifted myself off the floor into a semi-vertical position. After a quick check of my belongings (purse, carry-on, sticker-covered duffel bag, half-eaten bag of Twizzlers: everything accounted for), I took the cup from the man's hand. Do I know you?

The man shook his head. No, but you might consider pretending that you do.

I pulled the matted curls off my forehead to give my eyebrows more room to look confused. And why would that be?

He tossed a furtive glance over his shoulder before meeting my eyes. The man in the blue hat has been watching your purse for a long time. Is there perhaps something valuable in it?

Sure enough, a dark-haired man with a hat pulled low on his head appeared to have a very keen interest in my belongings. Taking another look at my purse, I realized that the corner of my tablet was poking out: an easy grab for someone with quick fingers, and an expense that my editor was not likely to be very sympathetic about. I nudged the tablet deeper into my purse and fastened its buckle. The man in the blue hat rose from his seat and walked quickly down the hallway, suddenly very interested in anything other than me.

Thanks. But how do I know you weren't coming over to do the same thing?

The man nodded, as if impressed by my cynicism. I know the Japanese have a reputation for being polite, but I don't think our criminals serve tea before committing a crime. He smiled a broad, white smile that nearly pressed his light brown eyes shut. Maybe it was the jet lag or the sleep deprivation, but I wondered why I hadn't been immediately struck by how handsome he was. His jawline and cheekbones were strong and pronounced; none of that androgynous business you get sometimes with Asian guys. His thick black hair was styled into a surprisingly professional faux-hawk that perched above his glowing brown eyes. He was a few years older than me: probably in his mid-thirties, but it's always hard to tell with Asian guys. His smile was so sincere that I couldn't help smiling back.

I'm Masahiro Okuma. He leaned forward and stuck out a hand, which I shook somewhat sleepily. My American friends call me Masa.

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