Trancing the Tiger (Chinese Zodiac Romance Series Book 1) Page 26

  He stalked forward, his British accent intensifying with each earth-shattering declaration. “I want everything from you, Lucy. Everything.” He halted, his face inches from hers. The heated pants of his breaths mingled with hers.

  “Fucking Matchmaker.” He groaned, nuzzling her neck. “She told me to stay away from you. I tried, so bloody hard.” His brutal words slayed each of the doubts in her mind. The Matchmaker hadn’t set them up as she’d feared. Apparently, though, the woman had still interfered.

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. “Does it matter why? I couldn’t do it.” His hand combed through her hair to grip the back of her head. He tilted her chin and gazed into her eyes. The depth of devotion in his expression squashed every ounce of her trepidation. “I didn’t fall for you, Lucy. I was swept up in a fucking cyclone.”

  His words battered her heart, shooting her up and crashing her down, only to make her soar once more.

  His thumb stroked her cheek. “When you’re not by my side, I can’t catch my breath. If you don’t feel the same, tell me because, otherwise, I’m going to drown.”

  She smiled. “Isn’t it clear?” Why hadn’t he perceived how she felt about him? She was pretty sure every moment they’d shared, her heart had been splayed open.

  Yet a muscle ticked in his jaw. Dark emotions flashed across his features. There it was again, the part of himself he didn’t let anyone see.

  “Let me in, please. I won’t hurt you.” She lifted her hand to caress his cheek. Maybe he really needed to hear the words. “I love you, Sheng.”

  Her heart stilled, and she waited to determine if it would ever beat again.

  ***

  Sheng pulled back, enough to peer into Lucy’s pure golden eyes and seek the sincerity he desperately hoped to encounter. It was there, shining back at him. He swept down and claimed her mouth, unleashing the ferocity of his passion. Forcing her lips apart, he stormed her mouth, tangling his tongue with hers until she moaned in pleasure.

  She loved him. Her words echoed in his mind. He’d never been loved. Not by anybody since losing his family, and he barely recalled the sensation.

  Granted, Kassian, Fang, and Mei cared for him. That was different. They hadn’t chosen him.

  Lucy had.

  His cock hardened, stretching the fabric of his pants. He didn’t fucking care if they were inside the Council Chambers, he had to have to her. Now.

  He scooped Lucy into his arms, never halting the plundering of her mouth, and carried her into the nearest empty office. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs clamped around his waist.

  He kicked the door closed, locked it, and swept his arm across the half-moon table, shoving its contents—a flower vase and a statue of some god—onto the floor. Setting her atop the table, he shoved his hands up her skirt, skimming the wetness between her thighs before dragging down her panties and thrusting his fingers inside her.

  He braced his other hand behind her head, kissing her as he fingered her pussy, until she convulsed around him and her cries were muffled by his mouth. Hell yeah, he’d missed this. Badly.

  Removing his hand from her head, he fumbled with the buckle of his pants until she finished the job, freeing his rigid cock and tugging his pants down around his knees. Good enough.

  A quick interlude was all they had time for, but the second he brought her back home, they weren’t going to leave his bed for hours. Fucking days.

  “Wait.” She shoved a hand between them, gasping. “You haven’t said it.”

  “Said what?” The haze of his arousal made his words husky, slurred. Damn, he’d declare her the Empress of the World if she would welcome him inside her.

  Her cheeks flushing with a color deeper than passion, she raised a brow.

  That? He blinked. Hadn’t she listened to a fucking word he’d said?

  The tightness in his body and the fog in his brain faded as he clasped her chin with his thumb and finger to observe her. So strong, so vulnerable. The combination ensnared him. “I’ve declared my love for you in every way I know how. Yeah, Lucy, I love you.”

  The corners of her mouth curved in a feminine smile of achievement. Like she’d won the lottery. A grin tugged at his lips too, but he had other ideas of amusement in mind.

  Rocking his hips back, he thrust into her, burying himself deep. He groaned against the soft perfume of her neck. Crazy how much he’d missed this, even after such a small period of abstinence. If he couldn’t stand a day without her, how in the hell was he supposed to live without her?

  Never.

  He pumped into her, his thrusts so hard the wall shook and anyone who passed by in the corridor would no doubt conclude—from the banging on the wall, his grunting, and her whimpers—precisely what they were doing.

  Who the hell cared? This was enough to ease the edge off his deep-seated yearning for her. Enough to allow him to function, to get through the Council meeting and, maybe, make it back to his place.

  He pounded into her, his lips skimming every inch of her bared throat and nipping at her mouth until the pressure built so tight in his balls, he had to release it. A few shallow thrusts, and the orgasm rocked through him. He slammed into her, sinking the full length of himself into her welcoming pussy. The jīng energy shot straight into his brain, giving him a high that left him buzzed.

  Slipping his hand between them, he stroked her clit until her slick sheath clenched around his still-hard erection.

  She sucked on his ear, her hands wrapped around his neck, and it was so fucking perfect, he hated to leave her. He’d rather stay like this for hours, making love to her.

  The beeping of his phone alarm reminded him their time was up. The Council awaited. She scowled at his beeping pocket, clearly as unamused as he.

  He chuckled. “I promise it’ll be over quick and, after, I’ll take you home.” Her smile pressed against his cheek and he nuzzled her neck. “What?”

  “Home.” Her shoulders lifted and dropped. “Sounds nice.” She brushed the hair back from his eyes. “You destroyed your home for me.”

  “Nah.” He nipped at her fingertips as she lowered her hand down his face. “That was a pile of wood and concrete. Home is wherever you and I are together.” He bent forward and sealed his promise with a kiss. He meant it too. He’d go anywhere in the world to be with her.

  His damn phone beeped again. “Time’s up.” He sighed, pulling out of her, belting his pants, and trying to calm his cock. With promises of later.

  She slid her panties back up her legs and straightened her clothes. “What about the mess?”

  By mess, she apparently meant the fractured pottery, spewed flowers, and puddle on the rug. He shrugged…until he took in the rest of the room. Wait. He’d been here before. Oh yeah. He knew exactly whose office they were in. His chest convulsing with laughter, he winked at Lucy’s wide-eyed expression. “This is the Matchmaker’s office, and we were never here.”

  He swept up her hand and led her into the corridor where, sure enough, one large painting hung askew on the wall while another, smaller one, had crashed to the floor. Shattered glass splayed across the Oriental rug. He closed the door behind them, whistled at the evidence, and tugged Lucy along down the hallway.

  The Matchmaker would be pissed when she walked into her office, and he planned on being far from here when she did. Served her right for keeping both him and Lucy from what he knew in his heart to be true love.

  Worst. Matchmaker. Ever.

  Two monks stood guard outside the Council’s central chamber. He squeezed Lucy’s hand as the sentries opened the hardwood doors. “Leave the talking to me, okay?” He pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head and led her through.

  Lucy dropped a hand to her fluttering stomach as she followed Sheng into the Grand Chamber. Despite their recent lovemaking, her nerves spiked with tension. The chamber looked the same as it had on the tablet’s screen, but bigger. More imposing. Around the circular, dark hardwood paneled room, dozens of eyes
bored into her, some scrutinizing, like those of the wrinkled man. A few burned with greed, like Snake’s.

  The friendly smiles belonged to Kassian, Fang, and Mei who sat behind the half-moon desk encompassing most of the room. Beside them, the Matchmaker arched a fine brow at Lucy before inclining her head a degree.

  Instead of taking a seat with the others, she and Sheng marched straight into the center of the circle. On display. Nowhere to hide.

  Rabbit thumped at its cage. She comforted the spirit, but her apprehensions were just as strong. Her free hand wrung the fabric of her skirt. The hand clasped in Sheng’s grew clammy though his was warm and sure.

  He sent her a quick nod of reassurance as he tilted his head toward the wrinkled man. She followed suit.

  “Li Sheng.” The old man’s voice rasped with age. The way he squinted through his thick bottle-lensed glasses made it doubtful he even made her out.

  “That’s Turtle,” Sheng whispered. “To his right is Phoenix. Beside him is the leader of the Eight Immortals, Lü Dongbin, and then the guardians of the gates of Dìyù—Ox Head and Horse Face. To Turtle’s left, the Matchmaker, Crane, and the Empress. Eight Elders in total.”

  “Lucy Yeoh.” Turtle pegged his squinting gaze on her. As did the rest of the people in the chamber. Her natural instinct was to flee, to hide. Today, hiding wouldn’t save her.

  Exposing herself would.

  She dipped her head to his scrutiny. He grunted and whispered to the tall man on his right. They spoke in such hushed tones, she couldn’t detect a word. Fighting the urge to fidget, she kept still until the man beside Turtle rose and strode to face her.

  “I am Ming Tao, known as Phoenix. Do not fear me, child.”

  As she lifted her face, the towering man’s striking features warped into the image of a phoenix. Long and graceful, its feathers blazed a burnished bronze with accents of crimson.

  Rabbit was lured in immediately. The edge of control Phoenix possessed over her warrior spirit was different from Sheng’s.

  A command, not a request. Her acquiescence was of no question. She couldn’t disobey. Rabbit cloaked her, bowing in deference to this higher presence, to the hierarchy of the Council of Elders.

  Despite the churning in her gut, Sheng’s calm presence soothed her. He appeared to trust in their plan so she set her shoulders and attempted to do the same.

  “Humph.” Phoenix studied her, a shimmering reddish-gold glint in his eyes. “I sense no Dragon in this woman.”

  His declaration fanned across the room, stilling every open mouth.

  Until the shouting began.

  The pair to her right shot to their feet, bickering with each other. A man on her left boomed across the room to someone behind her.

  Sheng crushed her against his chest, enveloping her in his arms. Harsh words fell from his lips as individuals pecked at him from every angle.

  Delun—now wearing a tailored black suit—stepped forward. The Dragon cloaked his body so fast, the effect was like a vacuum sucking the oxygen from an opened portal on a spaceship. The arguments decompressed right on everyone’s tongues, lolling from their gaping mouths. Delun winked at her, and the pressure in her chest eased.

  They had this under control.

  Sheng’s heart beat steadily beneath her fingertips, his composure settling Rabbit.

  “The Jade Emperor has graciously bestowed the Dragon upon me.” Without elaborating, and therefore becoming ensnared in a tangle of lies, Delun bowed before the Council Elders.

  Phoenix stepped to him and inspected him with the same intense scrutiny as he had her. “He speaks the truth. Delun is the Chosen of the Dragon. You have been misinformed.” He bowed to Turtle, but glanced across the chamber to Snake and Boar whose tersely exchanged words brimmed with hostility.

  Snake glared as though he’d love to throttle Boar, until Boar whispered next to his ear and Snake cast his slithery gaze upon her.

  Before she could analyze his stare, Sheng gripped her arm, dragged her before Turtle, and murmured a farewell. He hurried her out of the chamber, not that she required encouragement.

  Any further inspection of her qì might reveal the Dragon’s footprint or her Shèhúnzéi gift. Imagine if the Council had evidence she could steal and possess spirits. How many could she host at once?

  She shuddered over possessing the kind of power men would die for.

  And kill for.

  ***

  Every speck of tension eased from Sheng’s shoulders as he rolled them. Lucy’s small hand warmed once again in his, the chill gone. Good. He hated seeing her upset. The unease of Rabbit unsettled Tiger, urging him to sweep her away into his protective embrace, so he did.

  “Lucy,” he murmured against her hair, leading her through the hallways, cutting across the temple into the courtyard to the back entrance, hoping no one would follow them.

  The stiff hairs on the back of his neck told him someone already did.

  He spun around, sliding her behind him, and scanned the opposite end of the corridor.

  A hundred feet away, Snake slithered into view, Boar at his side. Sheng growled in warning, but their attention wasn’t focused on him.

  Snake glowered straight at Lucy.

  “What the fuck do you want?” Sheng redirected their attention to him. “The Council released us.”

  Snake cocked his head. “That bunch of preening bureaucrats wouldn’t notice true power if it fucked them. True power like yours, Lucy.” His brows shot up. “Oh, you thought your little trick fooled everyone in that chamber? Well, you were both wrong.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “I know who gave you the Dragon, Lucy, and how you transferred it to Delun. Fucking turncoat.” He jerked his head to his left where a figure emerged.

  What the hell?

  Xiaodan stepped out of the shadows, relinquishing none of their sinister darkness.

  “Shūshu?” Lucy shot out from behind Sheng and, though he blocked her by holding out his arm, she scooted under it to tread forward a few steps.

  “Who else did you expect?” Snake’s nose wrinkled in a grimace. “How pathetic.”

  Sheng matched pace with Lucy, stalking toward this new twist that sent the hairs on the back of his neck on another roller coaster ride. “What the fuck are you doing here?” He took charge of the situation, desperate to prevent her from becoming ensnared in this serpent’s coils. Already, he detected the constriction of the lies these bastards spewed.

  “I came for you, Lucy. My dearest niece.” Xiaodan held out his hands, his offer of an embrace apparently genuine…if Sheng discounted the greedy gleam in the bastard’s eyes.

  He seized her arm. “Stay with me.” Even as he uttered the words, the trench of fear inside him cracked wider, making him helpless if she should choose any side but his.

  “Always,” she whispered back.

  Thank fuck for that. His insides eased. They’d combat this. Together.

  Xiaodan’s hands dropped to his sides, a huff of unsurprised exasperation puffing from his chest. “You’re so like your father, Lucy. Even thieving that which doesn’t belong to you.”

  “Explain yourself.” Lucy’s small body coiled at the insult to her dad, and Sheng’s indignation bristled at the dishonor to her family.

  “Why, the Dragon, of course. The Dragon was mine.”

  “Yours?” Her legs faltered a step back. “No. My dad gave it to me.”

  Xiaodan nodded. “Yes. Indeed. After he stole it from me.”

  “Why would he—” She bit her tongue, but not before the dots connected in Sheng’s mind.

  Because Xiaodan had other plans for the Dragon. Plans her father hadn’t agreed with.

  If Lucy’s father went to such extreme measures to weaken his own brother, Xiaodan must be into some seriously evil shit.

  “Well, Lucy no longer has the Dragon so we’re going to walk away. Don’t even think about following us.” Sheng snagged her arm to his chest, hauling her against him to exit the courtyard together.<
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  “You don’t really imagine it’s that simple, do you, Li?” Snake’s taunting tone crept under Sheng’s skin. His fists clenched and he fought the urge to knock the asshole through all eighteen layers of Dìyù.

  “I’m asking you to return what is mine.” Xiaodan stepped forward, hands raised in a pathetic peace offering. “All I seek is the Dragon, child. Afterward, you will be free to leave, and I do suggest you venture very far.”

  “Never.” She spun and hissed at the men. “I will never give it to you. The Dragon belongs to Delun.”

  Xiaodan cocked his head. “What makes you think I want to host the Dragon? No, sayang, I no longer require the spirit’s powers, merely its cooperation. You will send the Dragon into a host of my choosing. I’m afraid the notion of freedom has quite gone to Delun’s head. If you won’t help me remove the Dragon from him, I shall have to kill him.”

  “We’re proposing a solution without violence. I suggest you accept our offer,” Snake added, sneering at them.

  “No.” Sheng answered for her. “If Lucy’s father removed the Dragon from you, he had good reason and good judgment.” He glared at them, hatred rising in his chest. “If you ever dare to threaten my brother again, I will hunt you down and slay you, myself.”

  Snake tsked. “Li, Li, Li. After all these years, do you still not fathom what you are up against? You’ve been nothing but a pawn. Our pawn. Admittedly, it was a shame when Lucy’s father refused to join with us, but his rejection is of no consequence because, now, we have her.”

  Snake’s serpentine scrutiny slithered across Lucy who shuddered in Sheng’s arms. Sheng cinched her tighter against him. “You’ll have to go through me first and I’m damn hard to kill.”

  “What did you do? Why did my father seize the Dragon from you?” Lucy snapped through the tension of their exchanged taunts, directing the conversation back to her uncle.

  Xiaodan smirked. The power-hungry glaze in his eyes warped his features. How had this man once championed the gift of a spirit from the Jade Emperor? Then again, how did Snake?