The Frenchman's Revenge (11 page)

Elena stared at him in surprise
. C
ertain that he was joking,
she
said, “My father and grandfather gave up long ago trying to push me to do anything. Greg
. Y
ou have no idea how much I love Bai. He is the most extraordinary man I’ve ever known
. And ….
without a doubt the sexiest!” She laughed at the blush staining the serious young man’s face, delighted that she embarrass
ed
him with her
outrageousness.

At that moment
,
t
here was a rustle at the door
to the courtyard
.
Elena turned to see
a group of Chinese men
stride in
.
She saw t
heir
cold eyes darting from side to side
,
missing nothing
. They
separat
ed
, leaving a path in the middle
,
allowing
Bai
to enter
.
The
music stopped
with an abrupt squea
k. S
ilence
settled
over the room
,
broken by
Elena’s lu
scious
laughter
when she
saw Bai.

Elena felt her face heat with excitement.
Her tongue crept out of her mouth
. W
ithout thinking
,
she licked her full bottom lip, a nervous excited gesture as her laugh froze
in mid air
.
She met
Bai’s gaze
and it was as though the ballroom receded
. F
or a fleeting moment
,
there were only the two of them
,
their magnetic connection,
their own personal force field of energy
locking them together.

Elena watched
him
fill the room with his
presence
. Within seconds
,
i
t was
a different
room
than
it had been
moments
before
.
Bai gave a slight nod to the orchestra
leader, who
had stopped the music in mid-note when Bai entered.
With an embarrassed
nod
,
the flustered man gathered his wits
,
turned back to his musicians
,
and raised
his baton
,
urg
ing
them to play.
Little by little
,
sound returned to the room. Conversations resumed
. T
he clatter of silverware and ping of glass
ware
were heard. O
ne by one
,
dancers began to
move
again
as Bai walked forward
.
He was holding one of his slim Bolivian cigars
in one hand
. H
e sp
oke
graciously
to the throng o
f
important people lining the room
,
each
of
whom
reached out
eager
to touch him,
hoping
to
hear
their names
spoken.

Elena’s stomach clenched at the sheer
magnificence
of him. His
elegant suit in the latest men’s fashion was made for his lean,
sinewy
frame. The slim trousers accented his height
. T
he patterned waistcoat, flared jacket
,
and ascot tie pushed the boundaries of high fashion to its limits.
His white silk shirt contrasted with his darker skin
,
his
coarse black hair
.
He was st
rikingly
handsome.
Every feature was an exotic mix of
Oriental
and European influences
. T
he result was arresting.
Only his
amber
eyes, gleaming
like
gold in the flickering lights
,
added a streak of danger
marr
ing
the perfection of his face.

The
quiet,
sophisticated aura that surrounded him made the glint in his eyes more
threatening,
more dangerous.
He moved smoothly, every muscle taut,
tight
with the c
oiled power
of a cobra ready to strike
.
Elena
observed
t
h
e powerful men
reaching for his hand, eager for his acknowledgment
. They
looked soft in comparison.

“Jesus fucking Christ
,
” Alex growled
,
his face flushed with angry disbelief. “
D
oes he walk on water
,
too?”

Wyatt and Wan exchanged a glance and Wyatt responded with a grin
.
“I haven’t seen him do that, have you, Wan?
T
hen again
,
I
’m not
with him twenty four hours a day.”

Alex was not amused
. He
met his father’s grin with a stony silence. His face tightened more when he saw Bai give Elena an imperceptible nod
. W
ith a slight
flick of
his hand
he
motioned to her to come to him.
She smiled her glorious smile and moved eagerly toward him.

Alex was furious and said in a harsh whisper to Wyatt, “What is that, an invisible leash he keeps on her that he
jerks
to make her
obey?”

Lei tugged on his arm
. Her voice was soft, troubled.
“Alex, please stop.”

~~~

Bai
over
heard the remark and turned to see Alex with Lei, Wyatt
,
and Wan.
It had been a number of years since he had seen Alex
,
but his resemblance to Elena was striking
. It left
no question that th
e
young man
glowering
at
him
was
Elena’s twin
brother.

Alex was not as tall as he and Wyatt
were,
but
he
had Wyatt’s broad shoulders, strong arms
,
and the
poised stance
of a Kung fu fighter
. His
coloring was radically different than Elena’s and Wyatt’s
. H
is dark blond hair streaked with sunlight hung to his shoulders
in careless curls. His eyes were d
ark brown
and they were flashing with anger as he glared
at Bai
.

Bai saw
Wyatt’s influence in both of the twins.
Elena had a feminine version
of Wyatt’s
high cheekbones and strong chin
.
Alex had claimed the masculine version
.
Alex
was handsome
,
almost pretty
. T
here was a softness
,
a hesitancy about him
.
He was missing the resilience that Bai had seen in Elena from the first time he met her
.
Alex
looked
sensitive, vulnerable
, l
ike he could be easily hurt
.

Seeing
the barely controlled anger on the young man’s flushed face
, Bai
exchanged a quizzical look with Wyatt.

At that moment
,
Elena approached
.
Bai
reached out and pulled her to him.
Elena’s eyes sparkled a
s
she pressed against him.
He leaned down and kissed her lightly on her cheek
. His voice was soft.
“Ah,
cherie
,
ma
belle femme
.
‘
Ta
beauté
q
ue vous
me couper le souffle vous
me faites, me rend
muet.
’
Your beauty leaves me breathless, speechless
.
”

She
gazed
up at him
,
her eyes glowing.
He
met her
eyes
and his expression hardened
,
then
quickly smoothed.
In a husky voice h
e whispered to her, “I will
show
you how I feel about all of them
--
later,” he said with a slight nod to the crowd of men across the room that had faded back against the wall when Bai entered. Elena blushed and looked down.

Recovering her composure and with a defiant lift of her c
hin, she put her arm around Bai’s waist
and
pressed
her hip
against his hard body
,
sparking a hot glow of lust in his eyes.
He
grinned
at her sauciness
. Easing
his hand down the small of her back
he
gave her
bottom
a quick sharp pinch. She started and looked up at him blushing.
A knowing smile tugged at the corner of his mouth
. Leaning down
he whispered
next to her ear
,

“Late
r…
cherie
…later.
”

He pulled her closer to him
. T
ogether they moved to speak to each of the important guests who were pressing forward to greet him
.
After several minutes of polite
conversation
,
Elena
saw Alex and her face lit
with pleasure.

“
Oh
,
Bai, quick
,
look who is here
!” she gushed, excitedly grabbing Alex’s
hand
and pulling him forward to meet Bai.
“Alex, darling, come here.
You remember Bai?”

Bai nodded to the young man and bowed respectfully.
He smiled and his voice was cordial
,
but
he
didn’t miss the hostility
radiating from Alex, seeing what
Elena didn’t see.

“
Enchante, m
on plaisir
,
Alex. I haven’t seen you in – what has it been?
Ten
years? You are a grown man. I’m honored that you came back for the wedding.
Your presence
means everything to you
r
sister.”

He extended his hand
,
but Alex stepped back
,
his face tight with anger
,
and refused to shake his hand.

Elena
looked
startled
. “
Alex
,
what’s wrong?
”

Bai s
miled slightly and let his hand drop.
Looking
hard at Alex
, he
held his gaze until the young
er
man looked away.

Elena presse
d forward and grabbed
hold of
Alex’s
arm
. She pulled
him toward her.
She whispered to him, “Alex, what
is it
? Is something wrong? This is Bai.”

Alex removed her hands from his arm
. G
laring at Bai,
he
said in a strained voice, “I’m quite aware of who he is, Elena. Apparently more aware than you are.”