The Grandmaster’s Legacy: Masters of Love and War (A Taylor Lee HOT Historical Romantic Suspense Collection) (The Grandmaster's Legacy)

by Taylor Lee

  “Let’s cut through the bullshit, folks,” said Tom. “You know why we’re here, Wyatt. There is one person in this state who can and should be governor. That’s you. Before you protest, you know that I have been telling you for the last ten years that you are going to be governor. Either of one of four territories, or, now that Wyoming is a state, the governor here. This is your time, Wyatt. Arthur, Charlie, and I are here specifically to convince you to run.”

  “Come on, Tom, let’s get serious. A half- breed as governor? In a western state? You know my history. How long do you think it will take Grant and his sycophants to dredge up every fight I’ve been in? Find every guy who no longer has his balls, because of me, or, run down more than a few who no longer have scalps? I know it’s in the past, but damn, Tom. I killed a man two years ago with my bare hands—in a kung fu death match. One of us had to die and I’m happy as hell it wasn’t me. What do you think the scandal sheets will do with that? You know what they’ll say. ‘Wild Savage running for Governor.’”

  “I know all of that, Wyatt. Remember I’m a Caballero. There’s another side to each of those incidents. There’s not a single case where you killed or mutilated a man who didn’t deserve it. Christ, this is the Wild West. How many gangs are still as active as ever and it’s 1892? People in Wyoming know the bad men you came up against. To most people, you are a hero, not a villain. Christ, you cleaned up the marshal service almost singlehandedly. Don’t think the powerbrokers in Washington didn’t notice. Two years ago you stopped Martin Kendrick, who came within days of stealing four million acres of public land, while he was fuckin’ running for Governor of Wyoming! Once again, the Washington big boys sat up and noticed. The downside of putting Martin in jail opened the door for Grant Forrester. Thank God, Bernie still beat him, thanks to you.

  “Add to that you are the wealthiest man in four states, and you accumulated that wealth without cutting a corner or participating in a corrupt deal. To the contrary, in each deal you’ve done, you have exposed corruption, not participated in it. And, yeah, those assholes are out to get you. Why do you think Alono has to arrange for at least six armed men to accompany you wherever you go? How long has that been necessary, Chief? Since the guy was a nineteen year old kid, if I remember right.”

  Everyone at the table nodded their agreement. Wyatt leaned back in his chair, puffing on his cigar. He looked to the other end of the table and exchanged a smile with Lei.

  Lei nodded, and broke in. “Tom, I agree with you. Wyatt would be a superb governor. But let’s talk for a minute about me. I am not an asset to any politician. You know that to most Americans, Chinese are subhuman, second class citizens at best—although we are not allowed to be citizens.”

  Tom interrupted. “Nobody in world looks less second class than you do, Lei. You would be a stunning asset on the campaign trail.”

  “Thank you, Tom. Let’s not forget who my father is. I’ve dealt with that fact all my life. It can’t be ignored. Wan Chang is the leader of the largest and most vicious Chinese gang in the country. Do you think people will overlook that because I am beautiful? Or do we brazen it out. Do we go out to the world and say: ‘This is who we are. Wyatt is an Indian. I am Chinese. My father is the leader of the Sing Leon Tong. Our children are all mixed race. And there is the small issue that we are not married.”

  “Any chance we can remedy that last issue?” Tom asked with a wary glance at Wyatt.

  Lei blushed and looked down. Her refusal to marry Wyatt was well known. It was also the cause for every argument and flare up between the two of them. Of which there were many in their tumultuous relationship.

  Wyatt stepped in. “That’s a personal matter, Tom. No, it can’t be remedied so that I can run for office. Put that aside. Lei is right. In addition to my personal baggage and the things that we were born with, such as her race and mine, and her father, you have to admit we have a lot of strikes against us.”

  “Yes, you do. But you have significant virtues and accomplishments. They far outweigh the negatives. Christ, Wyatt, you are the goddamn most handsome man that any of us have seen. People in Wyoming love and admire you. If you chose, you could buy this election outright. You can’t deny any of that. And, let’s not forget who Grant Forrester is. Are you willing to sit back and let those corrupt cocksuckers out of the New Mexico territory come in and swallow up this state, as well? They’ve already taken over the Arizona territory. If our intelligence is right, and you know it is, they are about to capture the Utah territory, as well. Being governor here would give Grant the platform he needs to become legitimate. Wyatt, that is bad for citizens and it sure as shit is bad for business leaders like you. Let’s face it. Every one of us knows that if you don’t run, Grant Forrester is the next governor of Wyoming.”

  There was silence around the table.

  Wyatt flicked an ash from his cigar. “Maybe you should run, Tom. You sure have the lingo down.”

  “Wyatt, I haven’t said one thing that you don’t know and haven’t thought about. You are the smartest man I know, that any of us know. You are also the most strategic. This is it, Wyatt. I think you are running for governor. We just need to hear you say it.”

  Chapter 2

  Lei excused herself to put the children to bed. When they were safely tucked in, she escaped to the dojo. Like Wyatt, she found peace in the strenuous ancient choreography of kung fu. She knew Tom and the others were correct. If Wyatt didn’t run, Grant Forrester would become governor. But the thought of subjecting Wyatt, the children, and herself to what she knew would be a brutal campaign, was daunting. Putting it aside, she threw herself into the fierce strikes, kicks, and aerial acrobatics of her practice.

  Joey saw her leave the cottage and came over to the dojo office to work while she practiced. Lei moved with grace and power across the center of the ring. Her intensity and concentration were apparent. She was caught totally off guard when a strong arm caught her leg and reeled her in. Before she could scream, a huge hand clamped across her mouth. He brought her to her hands and knees, her ass up in the air, and held her with an iron grip. She heard her sparring pants rip as a rush of air hit her bottom.

  Kneeling up behind her, his powerful thighs pressed against her bare ass, he said in a harsh whisper, “How do you want it, honey? Hard and fast? Or hard and slow?”

  “What if I don’t want it at all?”

  He laughed a hoarse sound. “Sorry, baby, not one of the options.” He added, his voice gruff, “Did you have my permission to come in here tonight?”

  “Why do I need your permission? I do what I want, when I want. As long as Joey knows I’m here, that’s all that matters.”

  “Oh honey, you’re asking for it, aren’t you? Those are fighting words, baby. Joey’s not the master here. If he was, he’d insist you keep your pants on. He wouldn’t allow you to show off your bare ass like this—no matter how beautiful it is.”

  With a rough laugh, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Her ass was in the air, her head hung down his back. To her shock, they headed out the door of the dojo.

  She shrieked furiously. Pounding helplessly on his back, she demanded he put her down. “Don’t you dare take me outside without any pants. God damn it, put me down!”

  Joey stood in the doorway to his office smoking a cigarette, watching them. He nodded to Wyatt. They traded grins, then Joey shook his head and went back in his office, closing the door behind him.

  ~~~

  “Wyatt, so help me, if you don’t put me down…” Lei was whispering now, not wanting to make a scene if anyone was in the yard.

  “What are you gonna do, baby? Pull my pants down? Spank me? Hmm, that’s kinda what I had in mind for you. I thought first I would take your pants off. If that’s your bare ass I feel on my shoulder, that’s done. Then I planned to…”

  “Wyatt, for god’s sake, be quiet. What if someone is out here?”

  “Honey, all they would see is a sight that would make them smile for the rest
of their lives. I know. Maybe I’ll fuck you right here in the middle of the yard. Give any visitors we have a real show. How about it, honey? Want my dick up in you from behind? We can pretend we’re barnyard animals.”

  “Wyatt, damn you, stop it!”

  To her relief, Lei could see that they were almost at their retreat room, well hidden behind the dojo. It was where they came when they wanted to be alone.

  Her father had ordered the room built for her when she came to the ranch three years ago to train with Joey. Not only was she the daughter of Wan Chang, but she was the only girl in a class of forty students. She needed a place of her own. It was where she and Wyatt had fallen in love. Where they conceived Nicolas Deshi. When she had found out she was pregnant, and that Wyatt had continued to be unfaithful, she left him and the ranch. They reconciled when Nicolas Deshi was born. Wyatt brought her and the week old baby back to the ranch. Now with Alex and Elena, Wyatt’s seven year old twins from his first marriage, two year old Nicolas Deshi, and a busy household, their need for privacy was acute.

  Their love life was tumultuous at best. When they weren’t arguing about Lei’s unwillingness to marry him, they were making fierce passionate love. It often lasted for hours and was anything but sedate. They redid the room to be their special haven, the place where they came together to live out their passion. It was where they loved, tormented, and cherished one another.

  When they got inside, Wyatt put her down roughly on the table, and pulled up a chair. He spread her legs, put her feet up on his shoulders, and pulled her ass up close to the edge of the table.

  He spread her legs and held them apart. His breath hitched at the glorious sight of her pussy, already puffy and glazed with her fragrant cream. Gazing at her, his voice was husky, deep, “Hmm, baby, I haven’t had any dessert tonight. I’ve been dreaming about this feast since dinner. Didn’t think I was ever gonna get out of there. Do you think it was obvious? First you left, then twenty minutes later I did. Hmm, think anyone knew I was out to get some of this honey ass of yours?”

  She moaned and pushed her hips up, seeking his fingers and his mouth. She craved him touching her as much as he loved doing it. Their hours of lovemaking had taught them the secrets of each others bodies and their own. Even after all this time, they treated one another like a hidden treasure to be discovered.

  “God, Lei, you are so beautiful. I will never be able to get enough of you. Christ, just the smell of you makes my cock hard. When your pussy is wet like now, there isn’t a sweeter taste in the world.”

  “Wyatt, I need you bad tonight. I need you inside of me. I want to feel you hard and deep.”

  “Oh, yeah, baby, I’m gonna come up into you, but first I gotta taste you.”

  He ran his tongue up her slit. With his expert fingers he found her clit. As she writhed and twisted beneath him, he rubbed the sensitive nub, rolling it between his fingers and thumb. Burying his tongue deep inside of her, he licked and sucked her swollen pussy lips. She groaned and began to pant, arching her hips up to drive his tongue deeper. She tangled her hands in his hair and pulled him tight against her—begging him not to stop.

  “Christ, Lei, I’m like you tonight. I need to get inside of you. Here, darlin’, sit up. Kiss me, honey. Suck on my lips and get a taste of your pussy. Have you ever tasted anything sweeter? Mm hmm. Now, baby, how about you crawl into my lap and climb up on top of this.”

  With a groan he lifted her up. Securing her feet on either side of his thighs, with a deep growl he lowered her onto his swollen erect cock. She cried out as she opened to receive him.

  “God, yes, honey. That’s how you like it, don’t you? Mm hmm. You want it higher, baby? Deeper?”

  She was trembling. Waves of passion began to flood over her. She moved up and down on his cock with a loud groan, begging him to make her come.

  “Hang on, baby. First we’re gonna find that place that drives us both crazy.”

  Keeping her impaled on his hard cock he stood up. Holding her hips he twisted her around and tipped her upside down dropping her hands to the floor, her feet pressing against his shoulders. Their extraordinary athletic prowess and nights of kung fu had allowed them to find positions like this. Bending his knees, he drove the sensitive ridge of his cock up against that special place inside of her. Her passionate shrieks confirmed he had struck gold. Thrusting, he brought them both to an excruciatingly erotic climax, his deep guttural groans filling the room.

  Long after their lovemaking ended, they lay in bed, wrapped in each others arms whispering words of love and passion.

  Finally, Wyatt said, “What do you think, Lei? Should we do it?”

  Confirming that she also had the decision on her mind all evening, she sighed. “Yes, Wyatt, I think we should.”

  He smiled. “You’re the boss. Done.”

  A little later, as they lay snuggling together, touching, and stroking various sensitive places, Lei turned to him, as if remembering something she had meant to say.

  “Wyatt, I can’t believe you ripped another pair of my sparring pants. I’m going to have to start buying them by the dozen.”

  “Hmm.” He leaned down and nipped at the sensitive spot on the inside of her upper thigh, smiling when she shivered in response. “Honey, there is something about that ass of yours when you fly through the air that makes me want to see it bare.”

  She rolled her eyes and said with a wry smile, “I guess I should be thankful for your restraint. At least you haven’t stopped me in the middle of a match to rip off my pants and expose my bottom to the other fighters.”

  His eyes twinkled as he pulled her closer. “Only a matter of time, baby, only a matter of time.”

  ~~~

  The next morning Wyatt met first with Chief, Joey, and Alono. None of the three were surprised by his decision. Although they knew the obstacles he faced, they were convinced Wyatt would overcome them. How could he not?

  These three men and Lei were Wyatt’s greatest supporters and wisest advisers. They knew and accepted the complicated man he was. They had seen Wyatt at his best and his worst. They knew he could be as ruthless and cruel as he was charming and kind. They never stopped marveling at his intelligence, uncanny insights, and courage. And they never underestimated him. It was a mistake many others had made. But those who dismissed him as an upstart half-breed did so at their peril. Wyatt was arrogant for a reason. He was a dangerous man and he didn’t lose.

  ~~~

  Tom, Arthur, and Charlie were ecstatic. Tom, in particular, couldn’t hide his glee. He loved politics: the challenge and the sport of it. Several months later, he would try to remember why he had been gleeful. The campaign turned out to be the dirtiest, most outrageously racist, painful, and dangerous one he had ever been involved in.

  But that sunny day in March, when Wyatt agreed to go forward, none of them knew what lay ahead. It was just as well. Who would have known that their side would commit murder, multiple murders to be precise? Given what the stakes turned out to be, murder was a small price to pay.

  When Wyatt told him his decision, Tom grinned. “I heard Grant Forrester and his cronies have scheduled a major event today at the Back Door Saloon. They’re going to announce what they’re billing as the winning candidacy for Governor of Wyoming. What do you think, Wyatt?” he asked his eyes twinkling.

  “If it’s a party to announce the winning candidacy for governor, then we sure as hell should be there, don’t you think, Tom?”

  Chapter 3

  Grant Forrester and his team were salivating. The men in the room had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Years, in fact.

  Grant’s smile cracked wide, his heavy jowls twitching with the effort.

  “Well, Clarence, it’s only taken us fifteen years, but this time we’ve got Wyatt by the balls. I’m not letting go until he is as neutered and useless to that Chink cunt of his as that gelding out there at the hitching post.”

  Clarence and the other men in the room laughed loudly,
grinning at the thought of taking Wyatt down. No wonder, thought Grant. The four of them had been outsmarted by Wyatt so many times they’d lost count. Time after time, just when they thought they had beat him, he made an unanticipated move. Once again, they lost out on a deal or were embarrassed when one of their schemes was exposed. Wyatt was never satisfied taking their money, winning the bid. He always twisted the knife. If they had cut a corner or two, paid a bribe, he exposed that. An article would appear in one of the scandal sheets. Or conversation would stop, when they walked in the Saloon. The other investors would look away, not meet their eyes, and they would know that once again Wyatt had not only outfoxed them, but made sure everyone who was anyone knew it. The last time Grant was in Washington, greasing the palms of a few of the Congressmen he kept in his pocket, one of them asked slyly how many times the half- breed had scalped him that month. Everyone at the table guffawed at his expense.

  It was an intolerable situation. Grant hated Wyatt with a visceral, physical hatred. He knew Clarence, John, and Will hated him as much.

  “Goddamn, Grant, if we don’t get him this time, we never will,” said Clarence with a despairing sigh.

  Grant’s puffy lips curled in scorn. “Look, the one thing that fuckin asshole knows is how to make money. He isn’t gonna throw away a quarter of a million dollars trying to elect one of those sorry asses who think they’re gonna run against me. We all know how goddamned smart the prick is. He didn’t become the richest fuckin asshole in the West by throwing good money after bad. He knows how many people despise him as much as we do. He also knows that every one of them is gonna contribute to my campaign.

  “Besides, who’s strong enough to stop me? That asshole Slem Phillips? Or Pete Carter? Christ, those two couldn’t stop a crippled coyote with a load of buckshot and a repeater rifle. How about Dickey Peters? If there ever was a guy who’s a little dick, it’s him. Fuck, I think the only person who knows better than I do how hopeless they all are is Wyatt.”