The Frenchman's Revenge (45 page)

~~~

Bai and Elena
saw
Alex approach Jeng Ming and while they couldn’t hear the conversation
,
they saw the shocked expression on Alex’s face when Jeng Ming left him standing alone.
They
were
amused and not surprised that Alex was smitten
with
the
lovely
girl
,
but
now t
hey both saw the pain on his face.
Elena
frowned and
started to go to him
,
but Bai held her back.

“Let me, Elena. It’s time I start act
ing
like a
n older
brother and
,
g
oddamn it
,
your brother looks like he could use a friend.”

Bai walked over to Alex and put out his hand.

“I know this
is
hard for you, Alex. Soon I hope you will be
pleased that Elena and I are married.
”

Alex
t
ook his hand
with an absentminded start,
occupied with his own thoughts
.

Bai saw the
distraught
expression on
the young man’s
face and tried
a different tack
to break through
.

“I could use your
skills,
Alex. Your recent experience in China could be a b
oon for
me.
I need to decide which of the
young
girls can be
returned
to Chin
a
safely and which ones don’t have families who will accept them.”

Alex shrugged and said with a slight sneer,

“Are you trying to get rid of me,
send me back to China,
Bai?
Only want people around who think you walk on water
?”

Bai grinned.

“Hell
,
no. Your sister w
ill
kill me if she thought I made you leave. She won’t let you out of her sight for a long time to come. No, this is something you could do here.
Perhaps
Jeng Ming
will
team up with you.
She is a beautiful woman and as courageous and smart as she is beautiful.”

Alex
’s
cheeks flushed
and his
eyes dark
ened
with pain
.

“Unfortunately, s
he hates white men
and
,
apparently
,
me in particular
.”

Bai
saw the
raw
anguish
on his face.

“Hmm.
I see.
W
yatt seems to be making inro
a
ds
with her
.
You might want to hang on to his coattails. If anyone knows how to sweet talk a woman
,
it’s that father of yours.”

As he turned to leave
,
he looked back at the pale young man
and saw his
despair
.

“
It’s not hopeless
, Alex. Remember, you
are a
k
ung
f
u warrior.
Patience
, courage
, honor
.
”

~~~

Bai walked over to the orchestra leader and
requested a Viennese waltz.
He
stepped to
the middle of the courtyard and
bowed to the audience
. W
ith
a graceful
bow to Elena
, he
turned to the audience and said
, “
Ladies and
g
entlemen, I want to dance with my wife.
Elena
,
will you give me the
honor
of this dance?
”

The audience roared their approval and
Elena held out her hand her face alight with
joy
a
s she
eagerly skipped
to her husband.
Bai
smiled at her
,
then removed the pins
,
the orchid
,
and the train
from her hair
. When
her hair
fell in
a
cascade of glorious curls down her back
,
he
tucked the orchid
behind her ear
and
reached in the pocket of his trousers and pulled out a red garter
.
Holding it
to his nose
for a moment
,
he breathed in deeply then rolled it up on his sleeve
and grinned at Elen
a
’s
surprised gasp
.

He
took her in his arms and for the next magical moments
,
they whirled
a
cross the courtyard in graceful circles
. Their
bodies flow
ed,
dip
ped
,
and twirl
ed
as one.
They never took their eyes off one
another; t
he
ir glowing smiles lit the night
.
When t
he
music whispered to a close
, Bai lifted her high in the air and twirled her in a dizzying circle
. He
brought her down to his lips and kissed her as they slowly circled to a stop.
When
the audience clapped
and cheered
in delight
,
B
ai picked her up in his arms and
,
with a raffish grin and
a
wink
,
turned and
carried her off to
their quarters.

Chapter
20

Bai held her tight to his chest
,
reveling in her soft luscious body
,
wondering how it was possible to love a woman
as much as he
loved Elena
.
The flickering lights and the music from the party faded in the distance as they neared their chambers.
He kicked the door open with his foot
,
closed it behind him
,
and stepped
into the
beautifully prepared
room
.

Rose petals were scattered across the floor and their delicate aroma combined with
the
piney odor of the
l
ogs
burning in
the fireplace. The gas lamps
flickered
low
,
casting
mysterious
shadows on the walls. T
he room glowed with the light of dozens of candles and the
soft flames
from the fire
.

“Ah, I
d
o believe the rumors were correct.
I think there is a married woman in this room tonight.”

“And a husband
,
as well?”

“Very much a husband
.
One who is
grateful
to be married to the most beautiful woman in the world.”

He bent over her and kissed her, then carried her into the room
. He
set her gently on the floor in front of a
small
table spread with lavish food and bottles of chilled champagne.

Elena
laughed
an excited trilling sound.

“Oh
,
look, Bai, there’s food. Thank God! I’m so hungry. I don’t think I have eaten anything today.
I’ve been too excited to eat.”

“Ah yes,
cherie
.
I also am hungry.
As hungry as I have ever been.
”

He poured
two
glass
es
of champagne and handed one to her. He dipped a strawberry in the golden liquid and
bit
off the end then held
the rest
to her lips.

“Here,
cherie
,
you need to eat something.
”

H
e grinned
, his eyes twinkling.

“You
will need your
energy.
This is no time for girlish faints.”

“Ha! I don’t faint.
And I don’t think I am girlish any more
,
now that I am married, correct?”

He
took a deep breath
,
trying to quiet the raging
lust
he felt looking at her lovely face. Her eyes were shining and he saw
a
reflection of what he was sure she saw in his
--p
assion and
o
verwhelming gratitude
,
knowing that this beautiful woman was his wife.

“Not girlish, but innocent.
Amazing, Elena.
The sexiest, most sensual woman in the world and you still make my prick throb with your innocence.”

She blushed and smiled at him, a shy tenuous smile.

He went over to the Victrola and rifled through a stack of phonograph
albums.
He chose one and put it on the turntable and smiled when the poignant sounds of Elena’s favorite
syncopated
music filled the air.
H
e turned back
and saw her leaning against
the edge of the table
,
her eyes sparking as she nibbled delicately on the strawberry.
Catching his eye, w
ith a saucy tilt of her head
,
she
licked it slowly
,
then
took
small erotic n
i
ps out of the bright red flesh
of the fruit.

Bai chuckled in
appreciation
at
her antics
. He
loosened his
cravat
and took his time lighting one of his Turkish cigarettes and poured himself a glass of his rare imported cognac.
Sinking
down in one of the overstuffed chairs by the fire
,
he
sprawled back in the chair
, crossing
his feet
languidly
in front of him.

H
is
eyes
raked
over her body and
he nodded
knowingly when she blushed
and gripped
the edge
of the table with both hands for support
.

“Dance for me, Elena.”

His voice was soft, commanding and his eyes were narrow, dark.

She smiled and trembled slightly
,
then stood up and
moved to stand
in front of him. He flicked his cigarette ash with the end of on
e
long slim finger
.

“Take your clothes off
as you dance
—slowly
, one piece at a time
.”

Elena
’s cheeks flushed a rosy pink and she bit her lip, a nervous gesture that made his cock swell. She c
losed her eyes and
her body sway
ed
as
the music
reverberated
through
her slender frame
. She looked up
at him
with an uncertain smile
. H
e held her gaze and motioned for her to
take off her dress
.

She r
eached behind her and
one by one unbuttoned the row of tiny buttons down the back of her dress.
As she
strained to
reach the lowest buttons she caught her bottom lip between her teeth and Bai couldn’t hold back his groan.