The Frenchman's Revenge (36 page)

To her chagrin
,
and
likely
due to
a surfeit of
excitement
and fatigue, Elena
was overwhelmed
by
envy
.
She ha
d
fought
her jealousy
since she first met Bai.
Even before she had
an inkling
that she liked him
,
much less loved him
,
she had been burdened by jealous
emotions
.
He was magnificent.
She understood why women acted the way they did around him
;
what could
she
expect
?
Not only was he beautiful to look a
t
,
he
was
instinctively
se
xual
,
a powerful knowing animal
.
She
heard from
others and
from
Bai himself that he had
prodigious
experience with women of every stripe.
Ther
e
wasn’t a
brothel in
all of
California that hadn’t welcomed
the
sensual
wonder
known as
t
he Frenchman
,
and that was only California.
At the various balls and dinner events they attended
,
Elena met woman after woman who obviously knew Bai and at least
implied
by actions
and simpering looks
that
their knowledge was
an intimate one
.

Bai teased
her
about
her concerns
. He
warned her
that
if
she
was not careful
,
she would
become
a possessive freak like him. But as much as Elena loved him and trusted
him
,
and
as much as she
gloried
in their rampant sexual
escapades
,
a small part of her worried
. She knew she was young, inexperienced. She was
r
aised on a ranch
far from the
worldly
ways of the big city
,
only now learning the ways of
a sexual woman
.
She believed Bai when he lavished praise on her
. When he insisted
that in
the entire
world there was not a more beautiful or
more
sensual woman
than she
. T
hat
no one
ever had or ever would compete wit
h
her.

She knew how much Bai loved her
,
but
Jeng Ming stirre
d up her dormant insecurities. K
nowing the extraordinary pain Jeng Ming had
endured
,
Elena was
ashamed
and chided herself for her childish suspicions. B
ut seeing
the practiced way
Jeng Ming
held
her body
,
her challenging eyes
,
and
the way she was looking at Bai
,
Ele
na
couldn’t quell
the
rush
of jealousy that
struck her
--
a direct hit to
her
gut
.
Elena gasped when
Bai
smiled
at something that Jeng Ming said and
to
ok
both of her hands between his
in
an intimate
gesture.

~~~

Bai thanked Jeng Ming
for her
courage
and
the information she had given
him
a
nd especially
for her trust
. He pro
mis
ed
her once again that he and his men had made a sacred
pledge
to protect her
and
took
her hands in
his and
bowed
,
a
gesture of friendship and admiration. He
heard Elena’s
gasp
and looked up to see Elena
st
anding
on the path
,
staring at them both.
Her face was pale
,
her eyes wide
,
and
her lips were trembling
.
Bai
frowned
,
thinking what he and Jeng Ming must look like
to Elena
and called out to her as he extricated h
is hands
from Je
ng Ming’s.
Elena blushe
d and shook her head and stumbled back away from them.

She hesitated then said,
“I… I’m sorry, I didn’t
mean
to interrupt.
I
…”

She turned to leave when Bai called out, “
Elena
,
wait,
come here.
”

“
I can’t
.
I…
L
ei needs me.
” She turned and ran back across the
garden path
out
to the courtyard.

Bai said
good bye to Jeng Ming and followed
Elena out
of the garden
.

He called out to her, “
Elena, come her
e,
cherie.”

She looked back over her shoulder and he
saw the tears
in her eyes,
the pain on her face.

He calle
d
out again
, his voice cajoling, humorous.

“
E
l
aa na…
, come
here
,
come to me,
bebe
.
”

She broke out in a run and he ran a
fter her and quickly caught her,
sw
ung
her around
in
his arms
,
and held her tight
against
his chest.

“Ah
cherie, m
a
petite amie.
You misunderstand
, mon amour.
”

She pushed against him
,
trying to break free
,
but he caught her arms and pulled her close to him and lifted her chin
,
smiling at her fierce expression.

His voice was sweet, teasing.

“
Cherie
, you know the rules
. Y
ou come when I call
you, yes?
Or think of what I might do to you,
oui
, ma petite
fille
?”

He was laughing, teasing her, trying to make her
smile
. She jerked away from him
, her eyes flashing with fury.

“
Fuck you
,
Bai.
”

He laughed and his eyes twinkled.

“
Mon
p
laisir
, cherie
, as that is what I intend to do to you. We will take turns,
oui
?”

She jerked out of his arms and
said, “L
eave me alon
e, Bai
.
Lei is waiting for me
.”

She turned and ran across the courtyard
toward the dojo.

Like a sleek panther
,
Bai ran after her and easily caught her
fr
o
m behind
. He
pulled
her
back
side
tight
up against hi
s
chest
and reached
around to cup her breasts.

“Goddamn it
,
Bai.
Stop that!”

He ignored her angry words and held her tighter.

“
Hmm,
is Lei sparring?
Is that why you are running to the dojo?
And how do you
intend to
practice
in th
e
se
clothes,
hmm
,
ma peti
te
amie
?”

He chuckled and murmured
in
her ear, “
I
s
ma petite putain
fibbing?
Trying to get away from me?”

Elena shook off his arm
s
and tried to run
,
but Bai caught her and
tossed
her up over his shoulder with a
hearty
laugh
.

Elena shrieked in horror and cried out, “Bai, damn you! What are you doing? Put me down.
Now
!
I mean it
. P
ut me down.
I’m angry!”

“Ah,
cherie
, i
f it
is
the dojo you want
,
it is the dojo you will have.
And as I know that Lei is with your father
,
I can only presume that it is me you w
ish
to
fight
,
oui
,
mon amie
?
”

He turned and walked toward the dojo
,
ignoring her thrashing legs and
pounding fists
.

She shrieked, “
Thi
s is not a joke
!
Bai
,
p
ut me down!
NOW!”

Bai said, “A
bsolutely
not
.
You have challenged m
e
,
mon amour
,
to what I presume is a
k
ung fu match
.
That is a serious
challenge
and one
I cannot ignore
at the risk of being
perceived a cow
ard--
u
nable to manage
my
feisty little
woman.”

He walked in the dojo and grinned at the Sing Leon fighters inside who looked up in surprise
t
o see
Elena
hanging
upside down
,
pounding
furiously
on his back
.

Bai laugh
ed
and sa
id
to the men,
“
Please forgive us.
Elena is
insisting
that we practice how I am going to
carry
her off tomorrow
.
Apparently
,
she has always dreamed of being carried
away
by a handsome
prince, so
we
must practice
and she wants to do it in the dojo--amazingly enough!
”

“That’s a lie!
Don’t listen to him.
I
do not
want to do anything with him anywhere
, ever
!
Bai
, damnit
,
put me down
!”

Bai nod
ded
to Nianzu
,
who quickly gather
ed
the
other fighters and headed toward the door. They all were
accustomed to Elena and Bai’s antics
and
left
smiling
and shaking their heads in
amusement.
More than a few
threw Bai
envious backward glances
,
nodding
at the luscious woman hanging over
his
shoulder, her face flushed with anger, her curvy ass high in the air.