by Taylor Lee
He responded with a sheepish grin. “I know, I know. I don’t usually get involved with the students. But if you have no objection, Joey, I would like to work with Lei — particularly on some signature moves. She needs practical outlets to channel both her anger and her talent and to put the fear of God into other fighters. I also think with her aerial ability, she might be a good candidate for some of the washu moves I use.”
Joey shrugged, his eyes twinkling.
“I don’t have an objection, Wyatt. But you may need to talk to Wan. I’ve noticed that the fathers of girl fighters seem protective—you might even say possessive—about who teaches their daughters.”
Wyatt flushed. “Okay, Joey. I deserved that.”
Turning to Wan, he asked, “Do you object to me supplementing the work Joey does with her?”
“I would be honored. I know that Lei will be, as well. I ask you to remember that much of her anger comes from the way that she has been dismissed by teachers and other fighters because she is a girl.”
Wyatt smiled. “I can tell you, sure as hell, that no one who was in the dojo yesterday will dismiss her again.”
Wan bowed in appreciation to both men.
“Thank you both. I can leave here with a much lighter heart, knowing that Lei is in good hands.”
Wyatt got up to refill their glasses and offered additional cigars.
As he was lighting his cigar, Wan nodded to the picture of Vivian and Wyatt that was on the corner of Wyatt’s desk.
“This was your wife? She is beautiful. What happened?”
Wyatt said, “She died giving birth to the twins five and a half years ago.”
Wan shook his head in sympathy. “What a tragedy.”
He didn’t speak for several minutes, as if considering the similarities and differences in his family situation. When he spoke his voice was soft, grave.
“Lei’s mother also was a white woman, and beautiful. She left when Lei and Ri were just two and four years old. Ri has not been as angry, but Lei has never forgiven her mother for leaving.
“My wife couldn’t handle the ways of the Chinese warriors,” he added in a subtle reference to the violence of the Tongs. “She lives in California, but requested that I not tell the children where she is. She told me when she left that she never wanted to see any of us again—and she hasn’t.”
Wyatt, Joey, and Chief were quiet. They shared a look of aggrieved wonder that a woman would walk out and leave her children. How could anyone do that, Wyatt thought, unless she had died?
Wyatt excused himself to go up to say good night to Alex and Elena. Chief said good night, walked across the yard to his private residence behind the bunkhouse.
Joey and her father asked Lei to come into the office, where they told her that she could stay at the dojo as long as she obeyed the rules and continued to make progress. Lei was relieved and grateful.
She stood for a moment, gazing at the picture of Vivian and Wyatt on his desk. She said in awe, “What a beautiful woman. No wonder he is still in love with her.”
Joey nodded, “I’m glad you understand that, Lei. Never in my life have I seen two people who were more in love than Wyatt and Vivian.”
Wan Chang arched a brow glancing from one to the other, concern crossing his face. A troubled frown marred his forehead as he looked away.
The three of them stood together on the porch, waiting to say good night to Wyatt. When he joined them, he said to Lei, “I’ll walk you back to your quarters.”
~~~
As Joey and Wan left for Joey’s house, Wyatt and Lei headed in the other direction.
They walked quietly in the dark toward the dojo. When they were out of sight of the cottage, Wyatt edged closer to Lei. Like every man at the table, he had been entranced by her lovely face and enticing body. He reminded himself how young she was, that she was a student. But damn, no doubt about it, she was tempting.
He watched her throughout dinner and was impressed at her willingness to challenge both her father and Joey. He liked women with spirit. He smothered a wry grin, remembering her outrageous behavior in the dojo. Hell, he couldn’t imagine anyone daring to spit at him. Yet this dazzling sprite of a girl did just that. Then she marched away with her head in the air, as if she was the Queen of Sheba dismissing one of her lowly subjects. What he really should have done, he thought with a salacious grin, was to turn her over his knee and spank her bare ass like he warned her he would.
Walking beside her in the dark starry night, he breathed in her exotic spicy smell. A fleeting image of her stretched across his lap, her naked ass spanked rosy pink and smarting, was all it took to bring his faithless prick raging to attention. He forgot his resolve and forged ahead. Acknowledging that his cock was in charge, he shook his head with a rueful smile. “Come here, Lei.”
She looked up at him, startled, and stepped back at the teasing invitation on his face. He reached down, took her hand and pulled her up to him. He lifted her face up to his. Smiling, he ran his finger around her full soft lips. She trembled and started to speak. He shook his head, then pressed his finger against her mouth.
“Uh, uh. No words. Just… this.”
He began to kiss her softly, gently at first. Then more insistently he licked the corners of her mouth, pressing his tongue inside. “Mm hmm, you smell good. You taste even better.”
Lei was surprised. At first she tried to pull away. Her heart began pounding faster. It was hard to breathe. Oh, God, she had to stop him. This meant nothing to him. He was playing with her. She tried to push him away. “No, no. I don’t want you to do that!”
His voice was soft. “What don’t you want me to do? This?”
He pushed her hands down and held her against a nearby shadowy elm tree. He thrust his tongue deep in her mouth while he ran his hands possessively over her hips, her thighs, her ass. She tasted the bourbon on his lips. The smell of tobacco and a strong earthy male smell sent shivers up the inside of her thighs with a jolt that startled her.
“Or, this?” he asked in a husky whisper.
He spread her legs apart with his strong thighs and pressed his hard erection up against her. As a rush of heat flooded over her she moaned and her legs shook. She dug her fingers into his back, shoving her hips forward. She wanted to feel him, more of him, hard against her. He groaned a hard male sound and drove his tongue deeper in her mouth. He wound his tongue around hers and sucked on it, demanding, possessive. She gasped, trembling in response.
They heard a chorus of voices coming from the student quarters moving toward the dojo. The sound of footsteps and voices came closer.
Wyatt muttered under his breath. “Damn!”
He pulled her closer and held her up against the tree. They stood plastered against each other, breathing hard as a group of students passed within twenty yards of them on their way to the dojo.
He held her tight against him. When the voices grew dimmer, he reluctantly moved away.
She looked up at him in surprise, her body and voice trembling. “Why… why did you stop?”
He shook his head with a grim smile. “A better question, and one I can’t answer, is why did I start?”
She looked down to hide her disappointment. She was surprised that he had kissed her again, but was glad she had kissed him back. It felt amazing. She’d been frightened, but excited, when he pushed his hard body against her. She hadn’t wanted him to stop and didn’t understand why he pulled away.
“Did I… did I do something wrong?” she asked in a shaky voice.
“Oh, no, Princess,” he said. Reaching down, he ran his fingers lightly over her lips. “You can’t help that you have the most kissable mouth I have ever seen. Or that smelling you makes me want to taste you. Or that my dick gets hard just looking at that ass of yours. It makes me want to find out if a girl or a woman resides in that sexy body of yours.”
She gasped, blushing at his brash words. She looked up at him expectantly, anxious to see what he would do next.
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He hesitated, then, as if remembering his resolve, he shook his head no.
“C’mon, little Warrior Princess. Let’s get out of here before some of the students tell Joey that a strange man is assaulting one of his students.”
He took her hand, leading her toward her sleeping quarters.
Wyatt was quiet for a moment. “How old are you, Lei?”
“I’ll be twenty-two next spring.”
She felt him pull away. “Why, what’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, I guess. You are about the same age my wife would be.”
He shook his head, then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
“I should go now. Good night, Lei.”
~~~
Wyatt turned and walked back toward the cottage. Damn, he thought, that was a mistake. But goddamn, she tasted good — as spicy, as intriguing as she smelled. Christ, why not admit it. He had been lusting after her since that first day in the dojo. As angry as he was when she spit at him, he was aroused by her hot sweaty body when she struggled against him. She was strong and soft at the same time; stunningly arousing, but fascinatingly innocent. Remembering her soft moans and trembling body, he felt a rush of heat making his cock throb. Hell, no, this wasn’t good. Or, he thought with a wry grin, it was too damn good. It served him right. He probably deserved to lust after a woman he couldn’t have. Not that she wasn’t interested. It just wasn’t right, he reminded himself. Once again, he resolved to keep his distance.
Lei watched him walk away. Her legs were shaking. She felt queasy, uncertain. She stood outside her sleeping quarters, struggling with the emotions and fears raging in her brain and in her body. She was afraid she might start crying again. She realized with surprise that she had cried more since she met Wyatt than she had since her mother left her nearly twenty years ago.
~~~
The next morning, Wyatt went to Joey’s house to say goodbye to Wan Chang. Wan, Joey, Ri, and Lei were sitting down to breakfast. Wan and Joey insisted he join them. Wyatt’s presence quickly filled the room. As he moved from person to person, greeting each of them, he caught Lei’s eye and smiled at her. She flushed and peered at the table. When Wan saw the exchange, a shadow passed over his face. He glanced away not speaking.
Joey also noticed and saw Wan’s reaction. He made up his mind that he was going to speak to Wyatt, but knew he had to be careful. Wyatt was fiercely protective about his private life – the life he didn’t share with either Chief or Joey. Joey knew that Wyatt, Alono, and some of the other Caballeros went to Cheyenne regularly, frequenting the many establishments that were a consistent part of Western frontier life. They ranged from the slut hut saloons and beaver barns to expensive brothels run by educated, cultured women. Even as a teenage boy, Wyatt had made no secret of his active sex life. Whenever Joey went to a brothel, at least five or six women came up to him and asked where Wyatt was. That was Wyatt’s business.
But Lei was different. Joey felt responsible for his student. He also knew Wan was depending on him to keep Lei safe. They both had in mind how to keep her from getting hurt fighting in the dojo. Keeping her safe from the most powerful and attractive man she was likely to meet was another story. He assumed that, like him, Wan was privately rethinking his decision to have Lei stay at the ranch. But at least for the moment, the decision had been made.
As concerned as he was about Lei, Joey also worried about Wyatt. It was more than five years since Vivian had died, but Wyatt’s grief had not lessened. He kept it to himself, never showing it to the children or Joey or even Chief. But Joey knew that the countless hours he spent in the dojo were Wyatt’s way of trying to quiet the raging wolf of grief that had eaten into every fiber of him. Joey was sure it would have consumed Wyatt without his daily hours of fierce warrior practice.
Lei reminded Joey of Vivian in some ways – her youth and innocence. He didn’t know if that would help Wyatt or hurt. But when dealing with the daughter of the leader of the most violent Chinese gang in the country, the situation was more complicated, more precarious. Teaching a woman their kung fu arts would be considered a minor infraction compared to the fury that would be unleashed if they thought one of their women had been dishonored. Joey sighed — by an Indian, no less.
~~~
While Wan said good-by to Ri and Lei, Wyatt went out to the horse barn to check on Jesse’s horse. He nodded to Wan’s men, who were saddling up. Like Wyatt, Wan Chang travelled with a coterie of men with hard eyes and few smiles. It was a given that they were loaded down with weapons. What these men carried that the white gangs didn’t was their knowledge of the kung fu warrior arts. Unlike their counterparts in other gangs, if these men were stripped of every gun, knife, or whip they owned, they would still have their most powerful weapon — their killing machine bodies. Fortunately for Wyatt, at least in that respect, he was one of them.
Chapter 7
It took three days for Jesse to get up the courage to ride over to Blue Canyon Ranch. She knew she had a legitimate reason to go to the ranch, but she was sure at least one person knew her real reason. What was she thinking? That she could go over to his ranch and ask him to screw her? She thought with a rueful smile, she probably could with Wyatt. He hadn’t been subtle. The way he looked at her let her know that he was available any time to do anything she wanted. Better yet – to do what he wanted. She found herself paying attention to her underwear when she dressed this morning. She loved wearing frilly drawers under her riding pants. It made her feel outrageous. Or more likely, just silly, she thought with a grimace.
When she got to the ranch, she rode up to the training ring. She saw Wyatt leaning with one leg up against the railing, his back to her, talking with two of his men. His casual pose accented his tight ass and powerful thighs. Oh, God, what was she thinking? She panicked, all her erotic thoughts fleeing in the face of reality. If she wouldn’t make a complete fool of herself, she would turn and ride away as fast as she could.
It was too late. Wyatt turned and saw her. He smiled that half smile that made her heart pound.
He tossed his cigarette to the ground. “Hey, Jesse, I was wondering when you were going to come by to see your mare.”
He walked over to her and reached up to lift her down. She felt the muscles in his strong arms tighten as he swung her easily to the ground. No one had done that to her since she was a little girl learning to ride twenty five years ago. Her heart pounded with excitement and she felt her face get hot. He grinned at her. She knew with a rush of embarrassment that he could tell what she was thinking.
Wyatt glanced over at Alono. “Do you mind bringing the sorrel out here? I want to show Jesse the difference three days can make when people know how to handle horses.”
He said to Jesse, “I think you’ll be surprised. She is almost ready to go home. That’s how fast she’s recovered. Good thing you didn’t listen to that asshole you’re married to or you would have killed a beautiful mare.”
He smiled at her confusion. “Someday, I’m going to figure out why beautiful women hook up with assholes like Martin. What’s the attraction, sweetheart? Is his dick that good?”
Jesse was shocked at his audacity. She jerked back, unable to think how she could possibly reply.
“Forget I said that,” he chuckled. “There’s no way that insufferable bastard could have a prick worthy of someone like you. That still doesn’t answer the question of why you married him.”
Jesse shook with embarrassment, afraid the other men had heard him. She was sure they were laughing at her the way they had at Martin. Almost running toward her horse, she said in a fearful voice, “I better go home.”
He caught her arm, hauling her back. “Okay. I’ll stop embarrassing you. You came to see how your horse is doing, right?”
He paused, a grin tugging at his mouth. “That is why you came, right?”
Jesse felt like she might throw up. How could she have been foolish enough to think she could deal with someone like Wyatt? That sh
e could handle him. He could see right through her. He knew her better than she knew herself. Good God, she hadn’t had sex in three years and the time before was two years earlier. She wouldn’t know what to do if he did make a pass at her.
She realized he was waiting for her to answer him. She took a deep breath. “I came to check on my mare.”
He raised an eyebrow and said with a grin, “Well, let’s go see her then.”
He walked into the center of the ring and waited as Alono brought her mare out to him. He clicked softly and the horse neighed in response. Jesse watched him in amazement as he walked up to the mare. In words she couldn’t hear or understand, he spoke to the mare.
He motioned to Jesse to come over to them. He took her hand and walked her around the horse. He ran her hands over the mare’s flanks, legs, then her neck and face. Jesse couldn’t believe this was the same mare that had thrown her a few days before.
“When we brought her here, no one but me could get near her. She was wracked with nerve pain. Thanks to the miracle herbs Chief uses, she is almost as good as new. You should be able to take her home in a couple of days.”
Jesse gazed at him in wonder. “How did you learn how to do all these things, diagnose and heal horses the way you do? I have been around horses all my life and have never seen anyone do what you’ve done with my mare.”
He smiled. “I love horses. I got attracted to them when I was a kid. Along the way, I realized I could talk to them and they understood me. For some crazy reason, when they talked to me, I understood them.”
She stared at him in surprise. This was the first thing she had heard him say that was the least revealing. She realized there were more layers to this man than anyone she had met. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen, and without a doubt the most arrogant. But there was this other side, this quieter, healing side. Most striking was how he affected her. She couldn’t get by her need for him. She wanted him. Not to heal her or quiet her like he did her horse. No, she wanted him to grab her and make fierce passionate love to her. With a start, she realized he had asked her a question.