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

by Taylor Lee

  Her long black hair hung to the middle of her back and swayed in a shiny silken mass when she moved. Elena knew that Alex was wildly smitten with her. Watching her with Bai, Elena understood the attraction men would feel for Jeng Ming. It wasn’t as though she was flirting. It was her presence, the way she tossed her head, swayed her hips, smiled a knowing smile, inviting them to come closer – if they dared. Growing up the way she did in Marcello’s hideous lair, Elena could see that Jeng Ming developed survival skills that included how to use her astonishing beauty to capture and control the men around her.

  Jeng Ming was looking up at Bai with an admiring look. And why wouldn’t she, Elena thought with a snort. Bai was as handsome as Jeng Ming was beautiful. His tall, lean body was strong, rippling with powerful muscle. His white silk shirt was open at the neck and tucked in his fitted black riding breeches that emphasized his hard muscular thighs. His collar length hair was hanging loose, not tied back in the more formal queue he usually wore. It shadowed his face like a silky black curtain and ruffled by the wind, was sexy, inviting. Elena loved it when Bai wore his hair loose, loved to run her fingers through it, pull his face close to hers. With a catch in her throat, she appreciated how gorgeous he was. With his casual clothes, his tousled hair, his soft accent and low chuckle, he looked more like a young Lothario than a man who was to be married the following day.

  To her chagrin, and likely due to a surfeit of excitement and fatigue, Elena was overwhelmed by envy. She had fought her jealousy since she first met Bai. Even before she had an inkling that she liked him, much less loved him, she had been burdened by jealous emotions. He was magnificent. She understood why women acted the way they did around him; what could she expect? Not only was he beautiful to look at, he was instinctively sexual, a powerful knowing animal. She heard from others and from Bai himself that he had prodigious experience with women of every stripe. There wasn’t a brothel in all of California that hadn’t welcomed the sensual wonder known as the Frenchman, and that was only California. At the various balls and dinner events they attended, Elena met woman after woman who obviously knew Bai and at least implied by actions and simpering looks that their knowledge was an intimate one.

  Bai teased her about her concerns. He warned her that if she was not careful, she would become a possessive freak like him. But as much as Elena loved him and trusted him, and as much as she gloried in their rampant sexual escapades, a small part of her worried. She knew she was young, inexperienced. She was raised on a ranch far from the worldly ways of the big city, only now learning the ways of a sexual woman. She believed Bai when he lavished praise on her. When he insisted that in the entire world there was not a more beautiful or more sensual woman than she. That no one ever had or ever would compete with her.

  She knew how much Bai loved her, but Jeng Ming stirred up her dormant insecurities. Knowing the extraordinary pain Jeng Ming had endured, Elena was ashamed and chided herself for her childish suspicions. But seeing the practiced way Jeng Ming held her body, her challenging eyes, and the way she was looking at Bai, Elena couldn’t quell the rush of jealousy that struck her—a direct hit to her gut. Elena gasped when Bai smiled at something that Jeng Ming said and took both of her hands between his in an intimate gesture.

  ~~~

  Bai thanked Jeng Ming for her courage and the information she had given him and especially for her trust. He promised her once again that he and his men had made a sacred pledge to protect her and took her hands in his and bowed, a gesture of friendship and admiration. He heard Elena’s gasp and looked up to see Elena standing on the path, staring at them both. Her face was pale, her eyes wide, and her lips were trembling. Bai frowned, thinking what he and Jeng Ming must look like to Elena and called out to her as he extricated his hands from Jeng Ming’s. Elena blushed and shook her head and stumbled back away from them.

  She hesitated then said, “I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I…”

  She turned to leave when Bai called out, “Elena, wait, come here.”

  “I can’t. I… Lei needs me.” She turned and ran back across the garden path out to the courtyard.

  Bai said good bye to Jeng Ming and followed Elena out of the garden.

  He called out to her, “Elena, come here, cherie.”

  She looked back over her shoulder and he saw the tears in her eyes, the pain on her face.

  He called out again, his voice cajoling, humorous.

  “E laa na… come here, come to me, bebe.”

  She broke out in a run and he ran after her and quickly caught her, swung her around in his arms, and held her tight against his chest.

  “Ah cherie, ma petite amie. You misunderstand, mon amour.”

  She pushed against him, trying to break free, but he caught her arms and pulled her close to him and lifted her chin, smiling at her fierce expression.

  His voice was sweet, teasing.

  “Cherie, you know the rules. You come when I call you, yes? Or think of what I might do to you, oui, ma petite fille?”

  He was laughing, teasing her, trying to make her smile. She jerked away from him, her eyes flashing with fury.

  “Fuck you, Bai.”

  He laughed and his eyes twinkled.

  “Mon plaisir, cherie, as that is what I intend to do to you. We will take turns, oui?”

  She jerked out of his arms and said, “Leave me alone, Bai. Lei is waiting for me.”

  She turned and ran across the courtyard toward the dojo.

  Like a sleek panther, Bai ran after her and easily caught her from behind. He pulled her backside tight up against his chest and reached around to cup her breasts.

  “Goddamn it, Bai. Stop that!”

  He ignored her angry words and held her tighter.

  “Hmm, is Lei sparring? Is that why you are running to the dojo? And how do you intend to practice in these clothes, hmm, ma petite amie?”

  He chuckled and murmured in her ear, “Is ma petite putain fibbing? Trying to get away from me?”

  Elena shook off his arms and tried to run, but Bai caught her and tossed her up over his shoulder with a hearty laugh.

  Elena shrieked in horror and cried out, “Bai, damn you! What are you doing? Put me down. Now! I mean it. Put me down. I’m angry!”

  “Ah, cherie, if it is the dojo you want, it is the dojo you will have. And as I know that Lei is with your father, I can only presume that it is me you wish to fight, oui, mon amie?”

  He turned and walked toward the dojo, ignoring her thrashing legs and pounding fists.

  She shrieked, “This is not a joke! Bai, put me down! NOW!”

  Bai said, “Absolutely not. You have challenged me, mon amour, to what I presume is a kung fu match. That is a serious challenge and one I cannot ignore at the risk of being perceived a coward—unable to manage my feisty little woman.”

  He walked in the dojo and grinned at the Sing Leon fighters inside who looked up in surprise to see Elena hanging upside down, pounding furiously on his back.

  Bai laughed and said to the men, “Please forgive us. Elena is insisting that we practice how I am going to carry her off tomorrow. Apparently, she has always dreamed of being carried away by a handsome prince, so we must practice and she wants to do it in the dojo—amazingly enough!”

  “That’s a lie! Don’t listen to him. I do not want to do anything with him anywhere, ever! Bai, damnit, put me down!”

  Bai nodded to Nianzu, who quickly gathered the other fighters and headed toward the door. They all were accustomed to Elena and Bai’s antics and left smiling and shaking their heads in amusement. More than a few threw Bai envious backward glances, nodding at the luscious woman hanging over his shoulder, her face flushed with anger, her curvy ass high in the air.

  Chapter 17

  “Bai, stop it. I’m angry.”

  He lifted her down and held her close to him. He tipped her head back so he could see her face.

  “Why, cherie, why are you angry?”

  She flus
hed and tried to pull away, angrily wiping at the tears on her face.

  “I… I just am.”

  He snuggled up against her, nuzzling the sensitive places on her neck.

  “Ah, Elena, the most loved little spitfire in the world is angry with me. I will have to see if I can change that.”

  He reached down and grabbed her bottom and pulled her hips up against his groin grinding his hard erection between her legs.

  “No, Bai, stop. That’s not fair. When you are angry with me, you spank me. You hurt me. Now when I am angry, you expect me to make love!”

  “Ah, ma petite amour, my spankings are making love. You love me to spank you and I love doing it. Mm hmm, just seeing these soft pale cheeks get pink and then red and hot. Ah, oui!”

  He slipped his hands under her blouse, his fingers inside her chemise, pulling gently at her nipples.

  “Bai, stop!”

  “Ah, cherie, I think I know what is wrong. Your breasts are swollen, look, ma petite, look at your nipples. They are hard. Mmm, I need to tend to these, help you with this problem. Here, bebe, we will take off this lovely blouse and put it here,” he tossed her blouse to the floor and slid his hands under her chemise, cupping her voluptuous breasts in both hands.

  “Bai, for God’s sake, anyone could come in.”

  “Perhaps, mon amour, but the most important thing is to make you feel better. Mm hmm. This must feel good, when I pinch your nipples like this, yes? Ah, so hard, so tight. I think I need to suck on them to give you relief, yes?”

  Elena moaned and tried to push his hands away

  “You need more relief, amour? I know, this skirt is too tight on your slender hips, oui?”

  He unbuttoned her skirt and pushed it to the floor, leaving her dressed only in her lacy chemise, her scanty drawers and knee high lizard boots.

  “Bai, stop, now. I… I am angry…”

  He cupped her bottom in both hands, gently separating her cheeks, and worked his fingers up inside the crack teasing the sensitive pucker of her ass through the silky fabric of her drawers.

  “Oh God, oh my God!” She shrieked. “What are you doing? Bai, stop! I’m afraid someone will come in.”

  Bai knew that Nianzu locked the door behind him when he left and would ensure that no one entered the dojo. .

  “Ah, cherie, if they do they will see that I am trying to understand why you are angry and how I am trying to help. Let’s see, we have determined that your nipples need to be sucked, correct?”

  Elena moaned and trembled, her face flushed

  Bai murmured in her ear as he nipped and bit at the sensitive place on her neck.

  “Ah cherie, do you know how sexy you are? What you look like dressed only in this lacy chemise, your outrageous drawers and of course these sexy boots?

  “Christ,” he groaned. “I love these boots.”

  “Bai, please… please…”

  “Shh, shh, bebe, look. Your breasts are full, your nipples tight. Let’s get rid of this!”

  He ripped her chemise down the middle, shoved it over her arms, and tossed it on the floor, baring her breasts to his hungry eyes and mouth.

  “There, yes, God yes. That’s better isn’t it, amour?”

  She was trembling now, pushing his hands away, then pulling them back. He smiled at her confusion, her uncertainty, and moved on to her drawers.

  “Ah, bebe, we have a similar problem with your drawers. Look at this, mon amour. He slipped his hand inside her drawers and rubbed his fingers against her slit coating them in her juices. He pulled them out and held his slick fingers in front of her face.

  She cried out and pressed up against up his thigh, wanting to ride him.

  He rubbed his fingers on her mouth smearing her lips and tongue with her juices, then thrust his tongue in her month, moaning as he licked her cream off her lips.

  “Mon Dieu, cherie, this taste! I would die for it. But just as your breasts, your nipples want to be free; your pussy is crying, weeping to be free.”

  “Bai, stop, no, no. Don’t take them off…”

  The words stuck in her throat as gave a quick twist and ripped her drawers free.

  “But cherie, is that fair? To let your breasts lift up like this to my mouth, but keep your little pussy covered. Non, non, my darling, have mercy on your sweet cunt.”

  “Oh my God, Bai, what if someone comes in… and… I told you… I don’t want…”

  She stopped, her words dissolving in a hard groan as he pushed his fingers deep in her pussy.

  He picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the padded sparring mat and laid her on the floor. In quick order, he shrugged out of his shirt and kicked off his boots. He yanked her boots off, tossing them aside with a groan. Gazing at her naked body his cock throbbed with predatory lust.

  She was clinging to his neck and arching her hips up to his murmuring, “No, no, Bai, not here, not now.”

  “Elena, I have a problem, in truth I believe that WE have a problem. Something is wrong with my English—or perhaps it is a problem with yours.”

  She was writhing on the ground clutching at his hips.

  “Cherie, this is what I mean. When you say no you mean yes. When you say yes you mean no. When I touch you on your breasts, pull on your nipples like this, bite them—oui, like that! But what do you say when they are hard and long and aching to be sucked? You say, ‘No Bai, don’t, Bai’.”

  She moaned a deep throaty sound and arched up, frantically pushing her nipples closer to his mouth.

  “And look at your cunt, bebe. It is crying out for my touch, for my lips; I think perhaps for my big cock? Yes, petite amie? But listen to you, ‘No, no, Bai. You mustn’t’.”

  He was smiling, running his hands over her trembling, shuddering body. Then he lay beside her and rested on one elbow, looking down at her flushed face, her lush swollen mouth, but also saw the tears in her eyes, the wet stains on her hot cheeks.

  “But first, bebe, before I make passionate love to you, you need to tell me what caused these, what made these angry, sad tears on your beautiful face?”

  She buried her face in his shoulder as a sob wracked her body.

  “Ah, cherie. Non, non. This won’t do. I can’t have my beautiful bebe crying in my arms.

  “Talk to me, ma petite.”

  “Bai?”

  “Yes, Elena?”

  She sobbed harder, louder, taking small gasps of air.

  “Ah, ma petite amie. You must tell me.”

  She choked back a sob and struggled to speak, her voice muffled with unshed tears.

  “Bai, do you promise to tell me the truth if I ask you a question?”

  “Yes, cherie. I will never lie to you.”

  “Prom… Promise me?” Her question caught in her sobs.

  “Ah, ma petite fille, I promise you the world…”

  “No! I don’t want the world, just the truth.”

  “Always, first and foremost, the truth. Now, ma petite fille triste, my little sad girl, talk to me.”

  Elena took a deep breath and her words came out in an incoherent rush.

  “Bai… do you… do you wish I was Chinese? I mean… I know you love me, but do you wish that I had been Chinese instead of a white girl? I mean to say… I know… I have some Apache and Mexican in me, I’m not just white… but do you, would you rather that I was like… you know, Chinese, like you are and Lei and my grandfather?”

  “And Jeng Ming?” he added.

  “Yes.”

  A smile crossed his face, knowing what caused this flood of anxious tears, but when he looked down at her earnest face staring up at him; her eyes wide with fear he forced any hint of mirth from his expression.

  He tried to look thoughtful as if he was considering her question.

  When he hesitated, a frown crossed her face and her lips trembled.

  “Ah, ma petite fille, that is a serious question indeed. But before I can answer, I must ask you some questions. Is that permitted in this trut
h gathering exercise?”

  She nodded swiping at the tears on her cheeks.

  “Your question is would I like a different Elena, perhaps a Chinese Elena, better than you, my Elena? Is that your question?”

  She nodded.

  “Hmm, will you permit me to use this hypothetical Elena, as a stand in for you, as I try to answer your question? We can call her the Ersatz Elena; ersatz— a wonderful French sounding word that means false, oui? That will help me answer your question if we have an Ersatz Elena to compare to you.”

  A frown creased her forehead. “I’m not sure I understand, but if that is what you want… what you need…”

  “Ah, good, that will help me.

  “My first question then, is this. Will this Ersatz Elena have a cloud of glorious dark red hair falling in unruly curls down her back, curls so wild that whenever I see her hair pinned up struggling to be free, I want to reach out and loosen her pins and let that glorious liquid fire burn free? Hair so filled with red and gold it shames the most beautiful sunset over the mountains just before dusk?”

  When she frowned, as though trying to decide if he was teasing her, he said, “Non? Hmm, I see.

  “Well then, will this Ersatz Elena have sapphire blue eyes that turn violet when she is angry and bright purple when she is aroused and when she first wakes up in the morning, will they be the color of the bluest sky the heavens make?

  “Non? Hmm. I see. Then this Ersatz Elena will need to have lips so full, so lush that every time I see them, I want to push my tongue between them. Drive them open so that I can play with her tongue and teeth while she whimpers and moans like you are moaning now.”