Trancing the Tiger (Chinese Zodiac Romance Series Book 1) Read online

  “What are you doing? We have to wait here.” He stepped in front of her, throwing an arm out to block her path.

  “Little girl’s room, okay?”

  “Fuck, no.” He narrowed his stare on her. “This whole place is crawling with people who might intend you harm. If you want to live, you won’t leave my side.”

  She arched a brow at him. “I’ll only be gone a second. If you must, you can escort me.”

  He wanted to kiss the smirk off her face until her body melded into his where he could keep her safe forever.

  Instead, he hauled open the door for her and followed behind. Tearing his gaze from the sexy sway of her ass, he assessed the wide corridor, ensuring no one was about to leap out at them. As she slipped into the restroom, he tried to follow.

  She held up a hand and blocked him. “Really? I’ll be fine.”

  “Be quick,” he emphasized, not liking her being out of his sight for even a second. No evil minions had jumped out at them so far, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t try. That shitty curse only covered the actual person who did Lucy harm, not the one who’d issued the command.

  Which made any underlings one thing.

  Expendable.

  ***

  Once inside the restroom, Lucy rushed to the window. Relief puffed her chest. No bars caged her in. Shucking her shoes, she climbed onto the ledge and braced herself in the window frame.

  This had better work.

  Closing her eyes, she inhaled and sought the Dragon. The most superior ability of this particular spirit?

  It could fly.

  “Show me your Master.” She dug down deep, raising the Dragon up and out to cloak her. The beast honed in on an energy in the alcove to the northwest, on the opposite side of the courtyard.

  Bingo.

  Releasing her grip on the stone window frame, she fanned her arms.

  “Lucy!” Sheng growled behind her.

  Guess she’d taken too long, but he was too late.

  She leapt off the ledge. Her body fell until the Dragon’s wings flapped and she evened out. A few more flaps, and she soared.

  Angling her body, she focused on her target and glided to him. She landed on her feet, the Dragon’s spirit pulsing as she approached the one it sought.

  “Delun.” She smiled.

  “D-dragon?” The man sputtered and gawked at her.

  The roar thundering behind them came from Tiger, a warning bell that time was running out.

  If Sheng reached them, he would stop her.

  Without wasting a minute to explain her purpose, she strode to the head of the Ghee Hin, pressed one hand against his chest, over his heart, and wrapped the other around his neck. The best way to confirm she was also a Spirit Thief was to put her powers to the test.

  Opening her mouth, she tilted her head back and seized Dragon’s essence. Dragon didn’t resist as she released the spirit from her body.

  Just like my dad. She was a Spirit Thief and this was the task he’d given her.

  Dragon’s essence drifted from her, smoky blue tendrils wisping toward Delun. He stood rock still, like a statue, but his heart pounded beneath her fingertips.

  Rabbit surged forth beneath Dragon, filling the space Dragon vacated. The spirit cloaked her as she broke apart from Delun.

  A tingling seized her muscles, jerking them with electrical pulses and making her double over. The zaps faded until just her left ear twitched. She squeezed the lobe. As she lowered her hand, she caught sight of her nails. Her silver nails.

  Whoa. The crimson polish from Dragon had given way to Rabbit’s natural hue. She combed her fingers through her hair, unable to find any trace of feathers. Instead, her long, light-brown locks shimmered in her hands with silvery highlights.

  Delun reared back then hunched, throwing out his arm to brace against a pillar. Lifting a trembling hand in front of him, he studied the cloaking of Dragon, then raised dark, questioning eyes to pierce her. The sharp angles of his face morphed, broadening into devastatingly masculine edges. One red-gold feather on each side of his head adorned his long ebony hair. The fabric of his navy suit stretched taut. Even more muscular bulk joined the man’s already brawny frame.

  Lucy inclined her head and smiled, examining how Dragon floated over Delun as though gleeful. Sharp fangs gleamed from its parted—almost smiling—mouth.

  An enormous Chinese Dragon, the beast’s body resembled that of a snake—long and thin—with two taloned feet at the front and two where its body narrowed into a flared tail. Pairs of brilliant red-gold plumes adorned its lionesque head and shot forth from its elbows and knees.

  Dragon folded its leathery wings. Not all Chinese Dragons could fly but, because of the spirit’s rank, the Jade Emperor had bestowed this Dragon with unique powers. Flying. Creating rain. And breathing fire.

  Delun grinned, a wickedly sexy smile. “How did you discover it was meant for me?”

  “It chose you. Just like Rabbit chose me.” She lowered her voice, increasing her serious tone. “You don’t have to listen to Snake anymore. You can rise above him. The Dragon gives you the strength.”

  He stared again at his hand, his lips parted in awe.

  “What the fuck have you done?” Sheng landed between them and slammed Delun aside, shielding her with his body.

  Delun didn’t stumble. The surging strength of Dragon’s new host would be an equal match for Tiger’s fury. If the two hotheads collided, they’d kill each other in the detonation.

  Using Rabbit’s agility, she hopped over Sheng, planting herself between the two powerful males.

  “Enough!” She thrust one hand against each of their chests.

  “This isn’t your fight, Lucy.” Sheng shrugged off her hand, nudging her aside as he shifted to strike a punch at Delun’s face.

  Delun ducked the blow and returned one of his own.

  She leapt out of the way, tumbling and crashing onto her ass.

  “Stay down, Lucy.” Sheng growled the command, not tearing his attention off Delun.

  Damn him. Fighting Delun wouldn’t change a thing, wouldn’t erase what she’d given him—the Dragon.

  Sheng had to grasp this and yet, he seemed hell-bent on squeezing penance from Delun who appeared just as stubbornly opposed to paying it. Why? Delun might belong to the enemy Kongsi, but maybe it wasn’t by choice.

  Or perhaps Sheng attempted to force the Dragon into submission to the Tiger? Was that even possible as the two were perfectly opposite? Yin and yang.

  Yin and yang. Her mind stumbled over those words as Sheng engaged Delun in battle. Neither one landed a single blow against the other, as though they anticipated each other’s moves before they’d even devised them. Sheng kicked his leg and twisted through the air, his grace astounding her. Those gorgeously flexing muscles clenched her core, making her ache with need.

  They were so well-matched, it was unlikely either of them would harm the other. Her anxiety eased. Delun’s blows were defensive, while Sheng tore at his opponent, attempting to slash him to pieces with Tiger’s claws.

  Close enough to get a good look at him, she studied Delun. Why did he seem familiar to her?

  The two men clashed, rolling onto the ground side by side. Delun swung his arm in defense, and his too-tight suit jacket and shirt ripped at the shoulder seams. A patch of dark ink caught her eye, peeking through the slit of torn cloth.

  His yin-yang tat, bearing the same Chinese character as Sheng’s.

  They’re from the same Immortal lineage—Iron-Crutch Li.

  She regarded Delun closer, scrutinizing his features and comparing them to Sheng’s.

  Those same high cheekbones. Identical square jawlines. Though Delun wore his hair longer than Sheng and stood an inch taller, too much similarity existed between them to be perfect strangers.

  In fact, she rather believed them closer, much closer.

  She blurted the truth as soon as it settled in her mind. “You’re family.”

  Lucy shouted
above the roar of his brawl with Delun, but Sheng tuned out the words. Half of him experienced cool relief that she really was a Spirit Thief and they didn’t need the Council’s help in extracting the Dragon. The other half erupted because she’d delivered his ally into this fuckwad.

  Damn, couldn’t she have chosen someone else? Someone not the leader of their enemy Kongsi, perhaps? Delun was as bad as Snake. Worse maybe, since Delun was Snake’s lapdog.

  Lucy shouted again, and Delun angled toward her. Rolling atop his enemy, Sheng drew back his fist, preparing to strike.

  “Wait,” Delun rasped.

  Sheng glared at his opponent below him, a genuine plea for peace shadowing his features. His hand wavered mid-air, poised to drive forward a devastating blow.

  “Brother?” Delun’s thick brows slashed together. “Is it you?”

  Sheng reared off the bastard, fury and shock warring inside him. “My family is dead.” He snarled as he shoved away from the man, disgust curling his lip. Rage burned in his veins over how anyone would dare to mock the family he’d lost.

  “Fuck. It’s true. Isn’t it?” Delun twisted his head to question Lucy.

  She nodded, biting her lip. “You have the same character on your tattoo.”

  Delun shook his head. “I thought they had died, in that fire.”

  At the mention of fire, Sheng exploded. Launching on top of Delun, he ground out, “What do you know of a fire?”

  How had this man guessed the way his family had died?

  His hand snagged around Delun’s throat and the asshole wheezed. “Let me go.”

  Sheng tossed him aside, pacing a circle before facing him again.

  Delun rose and attempted to adjust his torn suit. “My father kept a mistress. They had two children together, a son and a daughter. I never knew of them until I read the letter he left me. By that time, I believed you dead.” He tugged at his collar and pressed his palm to the red print Sheng’s hand had left on his neck. “When my mother discovered the affair, she couldn’t bear the shame. She hired an assassin to murder my father’s mistress and her children. After he learned of what she’d done, my father killed her and then committed suicide.”

  Sheng shot backward until his back slammed against a pillar. No. All these years, he’d never learned who or why. Was it possible this man offered the truth at last?

  “The night my father was told of their deaths, he killed himself too.” Delun’s grieved frown triggered the same anguish inside Sheng’s soul. “I lost my entire family because of lies, secrecy, and betrayal.” Tearing the sleeve off his shirt, he exposed his yin-yang tat. “I am of Iron-Crutch Li’s line. If I speak the name of my father’s mistress and she is not your mother, swear you won’t mock my grief by pretending to be that which you’re not.”

  Sheng didn’t want to believe it, any of it. Was it possible the old woman who’d encouraged him to flee had been aware of his mother’s position as a mistress?

  Run, lad. Run and never look back. Never tell anyone who you really are.

  New meaning echoed along her Mandarin words. He’d never had a clue. His mother told him his father had died. He recalled a man who’d come to visit, but he’d called the man “uncle.”

  A man who resembled the one before him in ways he’d rather not admit.

  The air rushing out of his lungs, Delun murmured, “Her name was Li Lanfen.”

  Sheng gaped for a second before sinking to his knees. The muscles in his body seized, the shock overwhelming his senses. A hum droned in his ears, and he barely registered the tender grip on his arm.

  He lifted his face and stared at Delun, unable to absorb the shock.

  I have a brother.

  Orphaned, but not alone. He couldn’t breathe for the joy bursting through his chest. A brother, a family. The truth behind his family’s deaths. Every question about his past, answered. He managed a jerky nod.

  Delun shot forward and snared two steel arms around Sheng’s body, hauling him to his feet.

  Sheng shook his head, unable to accept that neither he nor Delun had discovered this on their own. Hell, they’d clashed enough times, passing each other in crossing and never guessing the history they shared.

  The blood.

  He might be a bastard, but his father had cared for his mother, enough to ensure their living. At least, while he’d been alive.

  Enough to kill himself over their deaths?

  But…Sheng hadn’t died in that fire. The injustice snagged in his throat. His father’s rash actions had left Sheng an orphan. Instead of focusing on that bitter truth, he soaked in the embrace of his brother until the man pulled back to peer at him, then ruffled his hair.

  “I should have sensed it and I will never forgive myself that I didn’t.”

  “Neither of us did.” Sheng braced his hand on Delun’s shoulder. “Except for her.” He jerked his chin at Lucy, for the first time taking in her presence through the fog of his shock. She’d done this for him. She’d given him the one thing he’d yearned for his entire life.

  Fuck. If she’d told him of her plans, he’d never have let her hand Delun the Dragon. Now, he’d finally gained his long-awaited ally. Inside his long-lost brother. His wide grin broke into a chuckle. Together, they’d be unstoppable.

  Delun clapped him on the back and sighed before releasing him altogether. “I never dreamed of this day. Or this…Dragon.” He laughed. “Looks like the Council has lost their objection against you, Lucy.”

  She worried her bottom lip. “Have they? I’ve just proven I’m a Shèhúnzéi.”

  Sheng blinked once. Lucy’s features had morphed… No longer was her hair streaked with red and gold, but with silver. Her nails too. He grinned. She lifted her glittery lashes and smiled. She’d finally accepted Rabbit. Her locks shimmered over her shoulders to her waist like a cascade of downy silk. His hands itched to test their softness, so he stepped to her and smoothed his hands through those—hell yes—satiny strands. Embracing her back against his chest, he rested his head on top of hers and let his actions speak before the presence of his brother. “I’m not ready to share her ability. With anyone.”

  “Understood. The Council is full of stuffy bureaucrats who wouldn’t know what to do with true power if it slapped them on their faces. I’ve dealt with Snake and Boar for so long, it’s a relief to finally have the power to cut them down.” Delun folded his arms and dropped his voice. “Who said Lucy is a Shèhúnzéi or that she ever carried the Dragon? Impossible, because the Jade Emperor bestowed the spirit upon me.”

  ***

  Lucy gaped at Delun before shifting around in Sheng’s grasp to angle her face toward his. Was he suggesting they lie to the Council?

  “None are aware of the truth besides the Matchmaker and Boar, who, poor soul, was so injured in that fire, he likely hallucinated the whole thing. Right?” Delun winked. Already, the Dragon’s sensual energy poured out of the man. Aside from his emerald-ringed irises, most notable was the increase in his swagger.

  She snuggled against Sheng. His were the only flirtations she craved. The tension eased in Sheng’s body and his arms relaxed around her. “Right.”

  “Will they really buy it?” She regarded both brothers. Well, half-brothers. Not that the distinction seemed to matter to them, for which she was glad.

  “Delun is right. Without proof, they’ll have no choice but to believe us,” Sheng agreed. “Present yourself to their scrutiny and, when they find no trace of the Dragon within you, they’ll have to release you. Chalk it up to Boar’s delirium. They might not like it, but they can’t dispute the facts, either.”

  Trepidation shuddered through her body. An examination by the Council? Those minds, poking and prodding into hers. Delving for secrets. The ultimate invasion of privacy.

  It would keep her alive. Both of these men seemed convinced this was the best course—the only course—of action. She nodded against Sheng’s chest.

  “Don’t worry, Lucy. I will be present to manifest the Dra
gon for the Council. They will let this go.” Delun tilted his chin. “Eventually.” Chuckling, he left them.

  Alone. She burrowed into Sheng’s embrace. Her breasts molded to the hard planes of his chest, her nipples aching to rub against him.

  Showing him his brother meant the world to her. She’d lost her family; he’d gained his.

  She tried to shift away, but those steel arms held firm. Sheng dipped one hand lower, sliding it over her hips and crushing her lower body against his where a large, straining ridge confirmed his desire.

  He swept his thumb across her lips. “You’ve given me something beyond my gratitude.”

  “I didn’t give you anything.” Heat rushed into her cheeks, and she struggled not to flick her tongue across the spot he’d just brushed. “Delun was always your brother.”

  “Maybe.” He shrugged. “We’re both pretty stubborn. I’m not sure we would’ve ever seen it for ourselves. Besides,” he bent to whisper into her ear, “you gave him the Dragon. I could never have done that for him.”

  She shivered as his hot breath fanned across her skin. The simplest of touches from him set her body ablaze and the cure was to delve deeper into the flames. Her fingers pressed against his pecs and she delighted in the hard, flexing muscles. Temptation speared through her, but she set her jaw and determined not to surrender, not without defining this passion between them.

  It had to be more.

  Her heart demanded it.

  As his lips feathered across her neck, she flailed for the leash of her control. Seizing it, she pushed him back a step and whispered, “What is this? If I’m not the Dragon, what are we together? Where do we stand?”

  Voicing her darkest fear took every ounce of courage she possessed. From the moment they’d met, he’d wanted her to be the Dragon. Yang to his yin. Now that she wasn’t, did they even have a future together? Baring her heart left her standing here, slinging one arm across her chest, protecting the organ from exposure.

  He arched a brow, scrutinizing her with an intensity that stripped through to her soul. “We stand exactly where we always have. Every word. Every glance. Every fucking moment I’ve spent with you, I’ve given you more of myself than I’ve ever shared with anyone.”