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

by Taylor Lee

  “You don’t understand, Chief. You just don’t understand.”

  “ Alono, help me understand. I know how upset you have been, but you won’t talk about it. For once, why don’t you tell me what is wrong. Let me see if I can help.”

  “Doesn’t it bother you, Chief, what Wyatt has done? Doesn’t it make you angry?”

  “Of course, it does. It also makes me sad. Wyatt is my son. I love him more than my life. Yes, I am angry at what he did. That doesn’t mean that I don’t love him or that I will stop talking to him. How will that help, Alono?”

  “What about Lei? Don’t you care about her? Don’t you care that once again he betrayed her? Shamed her? Hurt her? Don’t you think she deserves better than that?”

  “Alono, Alono. Yes, I care a great deal about Lei. She is the daughter I never had. I grieve to see her in such pain. I agonize over it. But I also know how much Lei loves Wyatt and that he feels the same way about her. Somehow they will work through this. I know they will. My prayer is that this terrible incident will be what it takes to make them both see how important it is that they close the door on the past. Make a full commitment to each other. Get married. That is my hope and my prayer.”

  “Chief, I am leaving the ranch.”

  “What do you mean? You are leaving? For how long? Where…”

  “No, I’m leaving forever. I, I…”

  Unable to finish his sentence, Alono burst into tears.

  “Alono, son. What is this about? What is wrong? I have never seen you like this. Please let me help you.”

  “No one can help me, Chief. No one! You don’t understand. I have to go. Lei and I… We… We never meant for anything to happen… we…”

  “Oh my god! No, Alono, no! God in heaven! Alono, how could you? It’s Lei. It’s Wyatt. My God, Alono!”

  They both heard the gasp at the same time and turned to see Wyatt standing in the doorway. His face was ashen, his body was shaking. As if a wave of icy water had flowed over him, his face changed from shock to cold hard rage. He stared at Alono, hesitated, then turned and walked toward the cottage.

  ~~~

  Lei sat at her dressing table brushing her hair. She had managed to get rid of any vestiges of her emotional crash. Even her eyes were no longer swollen.

  She looked up surprised to see Wyatt in the doorway. She whirled around and couldn’t hide the excitement she felt, until she saw his face. He was pale. It wasn’t so much fury that she saw. It was rage.

  “I, I didn’t know you were coming home tonight.”

  “Obviously.”

  She frowned. “What’s wrong, Wyatt?”

  “Is it true?”

  “Is what true?

  “That Alono fucked you?”

  Her face blanched. She grasped the edge of the dressing table to keep from falling over she was shaking so hard. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Then she opened them and stared at him.

  “No, that’s not true. I… I fucked him, or to be more precise, I tried to, but he wouldn’t let me.”

  He smiled a sardonic smile. “Yeah, right, honey.”

  “I wanted to see what it feels like to fuck someone besides you.”

  “What did it feel like, baby?” His voice was low, ominous.

  “I don’t know, he wouldn’t let me,” her voice broke with a sob.

  The smile left his face. Only the anger remained.

  “He was comforting me, Wyatt. I decided I wanted to do what you do, to see what it was like, to see how you feel.

  He stepped toward her, looming over her. She moved back, clutching the arms of the chair for strength. She thrust her chin in the air and met his gaze.

  “It was me, Wyatt, all me. I told him I wanted him to come in my mouth; to fuck my mouth. But he wouldn’t do it. He pushed me away. He said he couldn’t do that to me.

  When he didn’t answer, just glared at her, she wavered and her voice shook. “I… I… wanted to know how you feel when you fuck someone else’s pussy; when someone else sucks you off.

  Wyatt blanched. His voice was harsh, grim. “Lei, be quiet. Stop, I don’t want to hear any more.”

  She lurched forward, her eyes flashing. “Why, Wyatt? It doesn’t mean anything, right? It’s just fucking, right? Only for me it wasn’t—because he wouldn’t do it.”

  She burst into tears, her sobs deep, gulping, wrenching.

  “I thought I could do it if he gave me a chance. I was pretty sure I could go through with it. But he wouldn’t let me.

  “I… I… even showed him my breasts, Wyatt. He was crying. He said I was more beautiful than he imagined. Then he pushed me away. He said he couldn’t do that to me.”

  Wyatt’s frown deepened. His eyes narrowed as he glared at her.

  Lei persisted, her voice as strained, filled with pain as her face. “Does that ever happen to you, Wyatt? Does anybody ever push you away and say no? That they don’t want you? No? I’m sure that has never happened to you, has it? I’m sure you don’t even have to unbutton your pants and women are spreading their legs for you.

  “Stop, Lei. Be quiet.” Wyatt’s hands were clenched in tight fists at his sides. His body vibrated with anger.

  Tears streamed down Lei’s cheeks. She brushed at them, but they continued to flow. Her cheeks were hot, flushed. “Why? Are you embarrassed for me, Wyatt? You think I’m pathetic? Well, do you know what? I agree with you. I feel pathetic. I feel sick. I hate what I did—not that I tried to fuck him. NO! I wanted to do that. I wanted to hurt you as bad as I could. To do anything I could to hurt you. But I didn’t want to hurt Alono. I did, and I am so very sorry.” She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

  After several moments of disconsolate sobbing, Lei took a deep breath. Looking up through her tears, her voice was harsh with disgust. “Really says a lot about me doesn’t it, Wyatt? I can’t even get someone who loves me and respects me to fuck me.”

  ~~~

  Wyatt froze. He struggled to get his breath. It was as though a black cloud of fury was smothering him. Gasping for air, he turned away from her and strode from the room. Rage consumed him. All he could see in his mind was Alono comforting her and Lei showing him her breasts. Goddamn him. Her beautiful breasts. He was sure he had touched her. How could he not? He couldn’t bear the thought of him touching her.

  He walked out into the yard and saw Alono standing by the porch. He didn’t see Chief standing in the shadows. Both of them had followed him to the cottage, afraid of what he might do to Lei.

  Wyatt’s face was white with rage. He walked up to Alono, who stood still and met his gaze. Wyatt hit him in the face with all his power and drove him to the ground. The sound of cracking bones was audible. Alono struggled to his hands and knees and then stood up, his face covered with blood, tears in his eyes. Alono was as strong as Wyatt, but when he got to his feet he raised his hands and shook his head, unwilling to hit Wyatt back.

  His response further enraged Wyatt. With all his strength he drove his fist into his face and once again the sound of cracking bones shattered the night. Alono stayed on his hands and knees, longer this time, but then got to his feet. Blood poured from his nose and mouth and the corner of his eye. Once again, he held up his hands and shook his head.

  Wyatt made a preliminary kung fu move as though he was about to spin when Chief stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of Alono. He needn’t have bothered. Wyatt had already turned and left, striding across the yard, tears streaming down his face.

  ~~~

  The next morning, Chief went to Alono’s room with fresh bandages and ointments. He hoped the steps he had taken the night before had been effective. It had taken him nearly two hours with Joey’s help to move most of the cracked or displaced bones back in place. Getting Alono’s face looking somewhat normal. When he opened the door to go in he saw that all of Alono’s things were gone. His bed had not been slept in.

  ~~~

  Wyatt had also left the ranch the night before. His men were star
tled when he came back to the barn and said, “Plans have changed. We’re going back to Cheyenne tonight.”

  One look at his face was enough to make the men turn as a group and quickly saddle up the horses. No questions asked. Within minutes they rode from the ranch on their way to Cheyenne.

  Tom banged on his door the next morning. When Wyatt opened the door, Tom said, “What the hell? What happened?”

  Wyatt’s face taut with emotions Tom couldn’t read.

  Wyatt said, “It didn’t seem like a good idea to spend the night at home.”

  With that, he closed the door in Tom’s face and didn’t appear until Noon.

  By Noon, the word, or more accurately the “words,” had spread from the ranch to Cheyenne and broader. The words were: Alono and Lei.

  Chapter 25

  Wan was on his way to Cheyenne to meet up with all of them for the big rally when he heard what had happened. He immediately went to the ranch. He was furious when he heard about Wyatt, but this news about Lei and Alono was too much. He loved Lei more than anything or anyone. He knew that Wyatt’s unconscionable behavior had precipitated the incident with Alono. But even knowing that, he was stunned that Lei could have done something like this. He had a strong feeling that Alono had taken advantage of her distress about Wyatt. He intended to find out. God help Alono. He might think it was Wyatt he needed to fear. Clearly he didn’t know what happened when someone shamed the daughter of the leader of the Sing Leon.

  More than anything, he wanted to be with Lei. He could only imagine how angry Wyatt was with her. He wanted to protect Lei from Wyatt’s wrath. At a base level, Wyatt had to know he shared responsibility, but Wan wasn’t naïve. He knew how possessive Wyatt was about Lei. His possessiveness mirrored Wan’s. The idea of another man taking advantage of her was something neither Wan nor Wyatt would permit.

  When he arrived at the ranch, the trainers said that Lei had left a short time ago to go riding. Wan went to the cottage to see the children. After several hours, he left to go to Joey’s, telling Theresa to have someone come and get him when Lei got back.

  When Lei returned, she saw her father’s horses and entourage in the barn. She assumed he was with Joey. She stopped at Joey’s house and found Wan there with the Chief and Joey. As usual, they were drinking bourbon and smoking cigars. She walked in, looking stunningly beautiful. Fragile. Her eyes were haunted with a well of sadness.

  Wan was startled and concerned at how pale she looked. He stood up and kissed her on the cheek. He wanted to have a private conversation. The last thing he wanted to do was to discuss Lei’s shame in front of Chief and Joey. “Let’s go back to the cottage, Lei, where we can talk.”

  She responded, “Of course, Father. If you don’t mind, I would like to have a glass of your bourbon, Joey. I wish to speak to the three of you.”

  Joey looked surprised, but poured her a glass of bourbon and handed it to her. She stood by the table facing them and took a big gulp of the fiery liquid. She choked slightly, her eyes tearing. She took a deep breath and said, “I want to tell you what happened between Alono and me.”

  Joey and Chief both demurred. Wan said firmly, “That won’t be necessary, Lei. This is a conversation we will have privately. Let’s go now. This is something we will discuss in private.”

  “No, Father, it isn’t. We can finish the conversation in private if you have more to say when I am finished. I have as much need to have this conversation with Chief and Joey as with you.”

  All three men stepped back. None of them wanted to hear what they knew would be an ugly tale. It was clear from Lei’s expression that she intended to tell her story. Chief and Joey dreaded hearing it. They knew that Wan’s fury with Alono was as intense as Wyatt’s, maybe more so. Wyatt had to know that his actions played a part in what Lei and Alono had done. But they owed Lei the courtesy of listening to her. She was obviously in great pain.

  Ignoring their concerned looks, Lei began, “When I learned that Wyatt had participated in an orgy with his staff, I was furious. Yesterday, I confronted Alono. I had not seen him anywhere around the ranch since it happened. I told him how angry and hurt I was that he had given Wyatt cover, made what Wyatt did, seem all right. I told him as much as I hated Wyatt, I despised him for being a part of it.

  “To the contrary, he told me he had not participated. He said he and Wyatt had argued about it. That they haven’t spoken since it happened.

  “He then told me that more than anything in the world he envied Wyatt my love.

  “When I understood the truth, we both tried to comfort one another.

  “When he held me, I realized that he was getting aroused.”

  Wan stepped forward, his face pale. “Lei, that’s enough. I want you to stop now. This is a conversation you and I will have in private. Please come with me, now.”

  She held up her hand. “No, I will not go with you. I will finish this, Father, here and now. It will just take a few more minutes. Please give me that courtesy. If you don’t wish to hear what I have to say, I encourage you to leave. It doesn’t get any better.”

  Wan stepped back, his face stricken, tears in his eyes.

  “As I said, I could feel that Alono was aroused. I made a decision. I begged him to fuck me. I wanted to know what it felt like to be fucked by someone else - the way that Wyatt does so easily with anyone he sees.” Her expression was ragged, tears filled her eyes.

  All three men were startled and tried to protest. She ignored them.

  “Alono said no.”

  Joey and Chief both gasped. A deep frown crossed Wan’s face.

  “I took advantage of his obvious erection. I pushed down his pants and tried to get him to fuck me in my mouth. I begged him to let me get down on my knees and swallow him the way I swallow Wyatt. He refused. He said he loved me. He couldn’t do that to me or to Wyatt. But I didn’t stop. I unbuttoned my blouse to show him my breasts. Even then he said no.”

  Chief was shaking his head. He tried to move closer to her, but she held up her hand and shook her head. Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks. Her voice choked with anguish. She took a deep breath and continued.

  “He was distraught, crying. He literally ran to get away from me. Now he has left the ranch in shame. For something that he did not do. That I did.

  “Instead of hurting Wyatt like I was trying to, I hurt Alono terribly. As long as I live, I will never forgive myself for trying to use Alono to hurt Wyatt. It was a cruel thing to do. I will never forgive myself.”

  All three men stood as though frozen, trying to absorb what she was saying. Chief and Joey both were stunned by the revelation, clearly trying to understand why Alono had not told them what had happened.

  “By the way, I told Wyatt exactly what happened. When he asked me if it was true that Alono fucked me, I told him it was not. I told him that I had fucked Alono or, to be more precise, that I had tried to fuck him, but he wouldn’t let me.”

  Then Lei turned to her father, her face was tight with anger, her voice firm.

  “Sorry, Father, to let you down. I guess you and Wyatt got all the sex appeal. You just have to wiggle your little fingers and all those adoring women are at your feet, begging to be fucked, aren’t they? In case you wondered if I inherited your sex appeal genes, you can comfort yourself - or be dismayed. I did not. While you and Wyatt get your treasure troves of women to spread their legs by glancing at them across the room, I can’t even get someone who loves and respects me to fuck me.”

  She added with contempt, “Maybe my sexual shortcomings are something you and Wyatt can muse about as you discuss your multiple conquests over your bourbon and cigars.”

  Wan gasped and reached out to her, shocked. “My God, Lei!”

  She pushed him away and moved to the door.

  She turned back and said to Chief and Joey in the same hard tone she had with Wan, “I know you have struggled to understand how Alono could do something this dishonorable. It is important that you kn
ow he did not. You were right about him. The dishonorable one is me. That is something you need to know. I will appreciate it if you could get the true story out - the way you men do when you discuss who’s fucking whom. Please let everyone you know that I tried to fuck Alono, but he would have nothing to do with me.”

  Chief was standing with his eyes closed, murmuring softly, “Lei, Lei, Lei.”

  Joey had tears in his eyes and was shaking his head.

  She turned to leave.

  Wan’s face was pale, taut with emotion.

  “Lei, please wait for me. We need to talk.”

  “No, Father. I promised Alex and Elena that I would read to them tonight after I put Deshi to bed. After that, I want to go to bed myself. I am tired. Indeed. I am exhausted. I haven’t been sleeping well,” she said with a shaky smile, tears welling up again in her eyes.

  Wan walked toward her and said more firmly, “Lei, you and I need to talk about this.”

  She smiled ruefully. “If you haven’t figured out that I am a grown woman by now, Father, it’s time you did. I thought I would be willing to discuss this with you. I find that I am not. This conversation is over. I have said all that I will say about what happened.

  “Good night.”

  She turned and left the house, closing the door behind her.

  ~~~

  The next morning, all of them including the children, were at breakfast. The conversation was stilted among the adults. They focused their attention on the children.

  When everyone finished eating, Wan said to Theresa and Millie, “Will you please take the children to their rooms? Get them ready for their kung fu practice? I am going to work with them today. I want to see their progress. Before I do, we want to discuss the rally in Cheyenne with Lei.”

  Theresa and Millie took the children to get dressed. They were excitedly laughing and chattering about the upcoming trip to Cheyenne. They were excited to see their father. They were also excited to show off for their grandfather Wan. He was always impressed with their kung fu skills.