Heart of the Dragon

by Deborah Smith

  “No. Kovit called me frantically and said you’d tricked him and left the hotel. I thought this was the most likely place you’d go.”

  He cast a glance at the tall stone wall with its mysterious women/cat sentries and ornate iron gate. Inside was a courtyard, and beyond it, looking very traditional and exotic, was the thief’s home. “I know you wouldn’t be happy until you asked him yourself about his friendship with your father.”

  “You’re a mind reader,” she said bitterly. Rebecca studied him in morose silence. Casual white trousers and a simple white pullover met at his belted waist. The buckle, she noticed with distraction, was of woven gold, similar to the slender watch on his left wrist. On his feet were smooth white shoes, almost like slippers. His appearance was graceful and streamlined, but very masculine. His broad shoulders and muscular arms were a striking contrast to his lean, lithe build. She’d never seen such a unique combination of vivid physical power and the trim refinement of a ballet dancer.

  His dark gaze had returned to her too. He scanned the simple blue silk jumpsuit she wore with gold sandals. His anger was evident. “Did you think you could leave the hotel unnoticed? Good Lord, after what you’ve been through, weren’t you afraid someone other than me would follow you?”

  “I had to take the chance.”

  “If you’d been picked up by strangers again and hurt or killed, I’d have—”

  “Been rid of me for good, and happy about it,” she finished sharply. “Don’t lecture me about my safety.”

  The quick tightening of his face accented his unusual features. Suddenly she’d never been more aware of the hawkish nose and deep-set, alert eyes, the savage thrust of his lips. “You’re the one who’d like to run from temptations,” he told her, speaking very softly, like satin pulling across steel. “I can control mine.”

  “Bully them, you mean.”

  “You need bullying. Otherwise your foolishness might ruin you. Come with me. There’s a car waiting for us just around the corner.”

  He swept a hand toward the handsome road, with its sprawling, perfect homes and mantle of trees. Across it and beyond the thief’s villa, a dozen yards away, a side street peeked from behind someone’s courtyard wall.

  “You sat there in a car and just waited for me to arrive,” she said angrily, tears of frustration burning her eyes.

  “While my men were searching everywhere else for you. I’m efficient.”

  “And I’m stubborn. I’m not going back to the hotel with you.”

  “We’re not going to the hotel. Your things will be packed and brought to you. You come with me.”

  She stared at him in disbelief. “I’m through doing what you tell me to do.”

  Before she could pull back, he took one of her clenched hands and wound his fingers through hers tightly. “We’re not through with each other at all.” There was nothing gentle about his grip.

  “What’s changed, then?”

  “You’ve been invited to stay at the estate of Mayura’s aunt.” When she gasped softly, he nodded and gave her a slight bow. “I admire your persistence. The earring intrigued her. She wants you to be her guest. She wants to learn more about you.

  “Where will you be?”

  His eyes burned into hers with their mocking unhappiness. “With you. She’s afraid of barbaric foreigners, you see. I’m to instruct you in civilized behavior.” She yelped with insult and continued to look at him in astonishment, even as he began tugging her along beside him, to the car.

  “You, instruct me?” she said sardonically. “I’m not civilized?”

  He turned to her in the middle of the dark street, framed by the night, taking her breath away with the unsettling look he gave her. “You will be,” he promised smoothly. “When I get through with you.”

  Six

  In the moonlight the estate of Mayura’s aunt rose out of the forest in splendor, a collection of peaked roofs with gracefully upturned eaves, like a Thai dancer with her fingers upswept. Kash drove their car through high stone gates, along a winding drive bordered by lawns and trees, into a courtyard dominated by a shrine in the center, surrounded by colorful flower beds.

  Kash ushered her inside a bright, modern hall that took her breath away. Under bent ebony lamps that cast angular shadows, ornate teak furniture vied for her attention along with luxurious rugs, ceramics, jade statuary, and vibrant wall hangings.

  “Am I really welcome here?” she asked.

  He made a soft, deep sound of sharp amusement. The pure male confidence of it annoyed her, but made a heated pool in her belly. “Let’s just say that you’re an intriguing nuisance. Madame Piathip wants to observe you up close.”

  “That makes me sound like a strange new species of wildlife.”

  “Wild? I’ll have to find out how wild you can be.”

  “I’m as tame as a hamster, by your standards.”

  “I’ve never known a hamster who could cause so much trouble.” Kash guided her by her elbow, his grip possessive and controlling, as they followed a smiling, elderly manservant up a long marble staircase. “Piathip Vatan is a little eccentric,” Kash told her. “Just give her your trademark smile and don’t say too much.”

  The tiny, white-haired woman sat among gorgeous silk pillows on a curved lounge with elephant heads carved into the armrests. Her doll-like body was swathed in miles of pink-and-gold silk robes, but her hair was done in a short, elegant Western style, and her makeup was as chic as a model’s. Rubies glittered at her ears and throat. Her dark eyes burned from a lined but youthful face. Behind her were arched windows that looked out into the tops of magnificent trees, and underneath her feet was a large Oriental tapestry rug.

  Rebecca listened to the sound of her pulse throbbing against her hearing aid as she and Kash crossed Madame Piathip’s chambers. Both of them made respectful wais to her. Rebecca felt the searing scrutiny of her narrowed gaze.

  “You’re so large and pale!” Madame Piathip exclaimed. “How can you possibly think you belong to my family?”

  Rebecca stared at her in surprise. “I only want to meet my half sister. I don’t mean to intrude on the Vatan family.”

  “Mayura couldn’t be your half sister. It’s impossible. Why, there’s no resemblance at all!”

  “I don’t think that means anything,” Rebecca said as politely as she could.

  “It’s certainly ridiculous, your story. Mayura’s father was a British Army officer. My sister married him when she was eighteen years old. He was killed in a military accident not long after she died.”

  “She died in a private hospital in Ayutthaya, of hepatitis,” Rebecca said calmly, nodding. “When Mayura was one year old.”

  Madame Piathip’s eyebrows shot up. “How do you know these things?”

  “My father told me. He was with her when she died.”

  “He was quite nosy, quite! How dare he investigate a stranger’s sad circumstances.”

  “He was her husband,” Rebecca said between gritted teeth. “I wish the family would acknowledge that. I don’t understand why you won’t. I can’t imagine what you want to hide.”

  Madame Piathip gasped dramatically. Rebecca thought of a Siamese cat that had just been goosed. “She’s truly rude and uncivilized!” Madame said to Kash. “You promised to instruct her!”

  “I apologize,” Kash answered smoothly, and Rebecca swore she heard amusement in his voice. “I haven’t had much time with her yet. She doesn’t mean to be rude. Forgive her. She’s a foreigner.”

  Rebecca swallowed harshly and met Madame’s wide-eyed gaze with a neutral one, though she burned with exasperation inside. Madame said primly, “Mr. Santelli says you’re sincere and harmless. I only invited you here to correct your confusion. I’m sure you’ll see that you and Mayura couldn’t possibly be related. You’ll see that her world is very different from yours. We’ll be patient with you, so you can learn.”

  Rebecca chewed her tongue, then nodded stiffly. “Thank you, Madame Piathip, f
or your consideration.”

  “You see, Madame?” Kash interjected quaintly. “Her manners are already improving.”

  Rebecca held her temper until they were downstairs, following another servant through a maze of short hallways filled with delicate furnishings, bamboo rugs, and tropical plants. “I guess it would be impolite for me to strangle you.”

  “Patience, barbarian. You’re in Thailand now. Be peaceful and open-minded.”

  The servant showed them to a large, carved door set in an alcove with white stone walls. Inside was a beautiful little bedroom done in rich silks and teak furniture. A lovely bed piled in pale, shimmering covers and pillows sat beneath a high, arched window. Outside, the feathery limbs of a tree brushed the window’s stone sill. Her belongings from the hotel were neatly stacked on a table. Through a door in one corner was a modern bath with luxurious scarlet linens and gold wall lamps.

  Kash stood behind her in silence. She felt his eyes on her as she wandered around, touching the dark, sleek furniture and rich fabrics. When she turned to him, feeling flushed and aroused for reasons she couldn’t define, he said softly, “This room might corrupt you before I do.”

  “As long as you’re not here to ‘instruct’ me, I’m sure I’ll be able to resist.”

  That comment didn’t sound the way she’d meant it. He smiled wickedly at her obvious dismay. “Good night. I’ll be in a room just around the corner. If you need anything.”

  “I’ll order out for a pizza, thank you.”

  “There are dozens of servants, and most of them speak English. They’ll bring you whatever you want.” His eyes flickered coyly. “As soon as you admit what it is.”

  “Hmmm. That reminds me, I have a gift for you.”

  She rummaged through her things and found her drawing paper. Rebecca handed him a carefully folded sheet. Giving her a somber look, he opened it and studied the coiled, cruelly smiling dragon. The dragon’s bulbous behind was covered with a baggy piece of cloth fitted like the one Kash had tied around himself.

  Kash said drolly, “This isn’t accurate. My teeth are more pointed.”

  “I’ll capture the real you eventually.”

  “The ‘real me’ is beyond your reach.”

  “I have a long reach.”

  “And a vivid imagination.”

  “It’s working overtime, trying to figure you out.”

  He went to the door, his expression troubled, his chin raised in the intractable but somehow appealing way she was coming to recognize. His eyes met hers in a challenge that made her knees weak. “In the Orient, mysteries are best left unsolved,” he warned.

  After a breakfast of fruit and rice they walked outside into the lemony morning sun and strolled side by side down a pebbled garden path. It led away from the sprawling house among magnificent trees and flowers, all as neatly arranged as the landscape of a bonsai dish. Rebecca clasped her hands behind her back. The dappled light caressed her bare shoulders above a modest but formfitting white sundress. The appreciative look Kash had given her when she stepped out of her bedroom made her vividly aware of her body. Even the faint stirring of a flower-scented breeze made her skin tingle.

  Kash’s arm brushed hers as they walked, and she darted glances at him. His white pullover and pleated white slacks gave him a breezy tropical attitude, especially in combination with his black hair and golden skin. She felt his presence in her blood like the warm breeze, stroking her from the inside out.

  “You said you were only eight when you left Vietnam to live in America,” she said, searching for casual conversation. “And that you come back to this part of the world often.”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you must have had at least few good memories from your childhood.”

  “The people and their customs will always be a part of me.”

  Rebecca sighed. She suspected that vague answers were the best she’d get. “How many languages do you speak?”

  “I speak Vietnamese and Thai fluently, and I can manage fairly well in Chinese.”

  “I love Chinese script. Can you write Chinese?”

  “A little.”

  They entered a glade by a small brook. Rebecca inhaled softly in wonder over the stone bridge across it and the perfect lawn under a drooping willow. Even the rounded stones at the water’s edge seemed to have been artfully set there. “Everything has its place, and there’s such harmony in the arrangement,” she said breathlessly. “That’s at the heart of Eastern philosophies, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. There’s serenity in knowing your place and fitting in well.”

  “Do you have serenity, then?”

  He laughed darkly. “I admire it. I understand it. That’s a start.”

  She sat down on the smooth cushion of grass and tucked her feet under her. Kash dropped to his haunches beside her. When she glanced at him, he was watching her. “You have serenity,” he said. His eyes searched hers as if he could find the reason and absorb it.

  “I don’t think so. I want so much.”

  “What?”

  “A combination of wild excitement and cozy routine. Adventure and safety.” She smiled. “Dorothy loved the land of Oz, but she was glad to get back to Kansas. I’m like Dorothy, except I want to take Oz home with me.” The intensity in his eyes made her look away and pretend to study a blade of grass. Rebecca smiled pensively. “How do you write ‘greedy’ in Chinese?”

  He sat down close to her, picked up a twig, then took her hand and held it palm up. Slowly he drew invisible Chinese symbols in her palm. Trickles of sensation slid through her blood. Without thinking she dipped her head closer to his, watching the twig move across her skin, feeling every fiber of her body react to his hand cupping hers. Warmth flooded her cheeks and made the breeze feel fiery on her lips.

  “That says ‘greedy’?” she whispered.

  His eyes met hers with dark, almost feverish, attention. “It’s more of an abstract idea. ‘Eager to be pleased’ is what I wrote.”

  She was hypnotized. “That sounds better.”

  “There’s no harm in wanting to be pleased, Rebecca. Sharing pleasure doesn’t mean you’ve given up your ideals. It’s not selfish. It’s human. You’re a vital, passionate woman, and you shouldn’t ignore what the world offers you.”

  “What am I being offered?” she asked, her tone full of meaning. They looked at each other for a long moment, unanswered questions churning in the silence.

  “Just … pleasure,” he whispered. “Pure and simple. As innocent as it is uncomplicated. With no hidden motives, no games, no manipulation. And you control it. You let the pleasure serve you, and when you want to stop, it will stop.”

  Her breath shattered in her throat. “That sounds too easy.”

  He raised a hand and stroked a fingertip along her lower lip. “Thais believe in moderation, not self-denial.”

  “This is one of the lessons you intend to teach me?”

  He nodded. “If you’re willing to learn. Open your mind. Relax. Trust your instincts as well as your self-control.”

  “I’ve never been less certain of either.”

  “I disagree. You know exactly what you’d like to do at this moment. Take a chance. Indulge yourself a little. Trust yourself. Trust me.”

  With a broken cry of confusion she kissed him. His muffled growl of encouragement exploded in her senses just as his welcoming caresses drew her into his arms. He lay back on the grass with her beside him. Still kissing with infinite care, they slowly stroked each other’s faces and hair.

  Rebecca was stunned by his tenderness. It was even more profound than before, unhurried, exquisitely tuned to her sighs and the smallest shiftings of her body. She braced herself on one elbow and leaned over him. His chest was a broad, enticing hardness under her sensitive breasts.

  She drew a hand down his shirtfront, mesmerized by the swift rise and fall of his stomach, tingling at the thought that he was hers to enjoy, but afraid of the reckless urges rising inside her like a
tornado. “Your touch is the most exciting thing I’ve ever felt in my life,” he told her. “Just feeling your fingers on my face makes me fall apart. Don’t stop.”

  Shattering emotion curled around her. His strength attracted her, but his gentleness won her. It always had. She could no longer doubt that under the layers of defense was a man with needs as fragile as her own. The kisses they shared held wonder and hope. She caressed his jaw with the backs of her fingers, and he sighed happily against her parted lips. This man couldn’t hurt her, it was beyond him to do that. She knew it in her soul.

  His hands were stroking small ecstasies on her bare shoulders. They slid down her back, tracing the zipper of the sundress’s snug bodice, trailing down to the swell of her hips, then back up, with luxurious light caresses, then harder, deliciously rough ones. Her legs tangled in his, and suddenly he rolled her onto her back. She drew him down to her for one devastating kiss after another, and his arms went under her in a tight, possessive embrace.

  Rebecca’s senses were swimming with desire and the blinding knowledge that she would never meet another man who tormented her with wild passion but made her feel safe at the same time. “I do trust you. I do,” she said raggedly, stroking his sides with trembling hands. “And I want to know more about you. Whatever you can share.” She hesitated for a fraction of a second, then added in a low, emotional voice, “If it’s easiest for you to share your body first, then I’ll start with that.”

  She kissed him but felt stillness sliding through him. He held her tightly and kissed her back, twisting his mouth on hers as if he couldn’t get enough of her. He pulled his head back, his breath warm and coming fast on her lips. Surprise and a troubled frown shadowed his face. “Touch me,” he said gruffly.

  He took one of her hands and guided it to his stomach. Her heart pounding, she stroked the shirt for a few seconds, then her hand drifted down to the edge of his trousers. Her eyes remained riveted to his as her hand moved lower. When it settled lightly on the thick ridge, the flash of reaction in his half-shut eyes and the quiver that ran through his body made her kiss him suddenly. A small, fervent moan sounded in the back of her throat.