by Lee Taylor
He saw the confusion in her eyes. It angered him. The last thing he wanted to do was defend himself, explain her desire for her. He gave a contemptuous snort. With a cruel laugh he said, “The fact I get an erection from a chit of a girl like you gives you an idea of what I do with a real woman.”
Seeing his distain, she hid her face in her hands, sobbing bitterly. Her bottom was stinging, throbbing. But when the cold air struck her hot cheeks a wave of sensation flooded over her. Oh, God, she didn’t understand any of this. She didn’t understand her body and she didn’t understand his. She didn’t know why he kissed her, touched her the way he did. Most of all, she didn’t know why he stopped. The only thing she did know was that she wanted to get as far away from him as fast as she could, but instead clung to him, burying her face against his shoulder, trying to hide her nakedness.
He reached down, pulled up her pants, then shoved her away from him. His face twisted with scorn. “I’ll be nice and not make you walk across the yard naked unless you want to show your beautiful red ass to everyone. No? Too bad. It is quite a sight. It shouldn’t be missed.”
He laughed, an ugly sound.
“I asked you this before politely, but you chose not to obey me. So I will say it again. Let’s see how you respond now. Elena, please go back to the house. Now. And, Elena, as I told you last night, do not leave your chambers without my permission. Perhaps you will listen to me this time, oui, cherie?”
She backed up, trying to get away from him. But he grabbed her chin and hauled her face up close to his. His breath hissed dangerously. “One more thing, Elena. If you ever, ever, speak to me that way again, I will spank your bare ass so hard you will not sit down for a week. Do you understand me?”
Elena stared at him shaking so violently she could barely stand. Then she turned and ran to the villa, tears streaming down her face.
~~~
Bai struggled to control his emotions as he watched her flee to the house. His body was rigid, his legs shook with the remainders of an adrenalin rush. He walked out to the courtyard to get Zhenqui, who was standing patiently by the barn door, her reins dragging on the ground. He led her back to her stall, took off her saddle, and prepared to rub her down. As he worked, he got control of his passion. With a huge effort, he started to shake off his fury. Christ, he was glad he spanked her. Goddamn, did she need it. And he did, too. Every fierce spank on her ass had loosened some of his rage. For the first time since he saw her crouched in the saloon, captured by two killers, he began to release his anger. With every swat, he began to find his breath. By the time he spanked the hell out of her, for the first time in twenty four hours, he could breathe fully.
At base, Bai knew he was out of line kissing her, forcing himself on her – especially when she was vulnerable, smarting from the ignominy of having her bare ass spanked. His lust surprised him, frankly shocked him. He was aware of his anger, but, Christ, just the thought of her ass -- her firm, plump beautiful round cheeks -- made his prick rock hard. And flaming crimson and hot? Goddamn, there was nothing more erotic then a beautiful ass spanked bright red.
He had a fleeting thought that she didn’t seem to understand what he meant when he taunted her about how wet she was. He shrugged it off. He reminded himself that she was a child, a spoiled, disobedient child. But her body was anything but a child’s body. And hell, a little spitfire tease like she was certainly knew her way around men – of that he was sure.
~~~
Elena lay on her bed. She buried her face in the pillow, sobbing as if her heart would break. She didn’t know it was possible to hate anyone as much as she hated Bai. She was furious he spanked her. How dare he? He took her pants down and turned her over his knee like she was a child. He called her a naughty child and spanked her on her bottom, her bare bottom. Oh God, how could he? She knew she could never tell anyone, even, or maybe especially, her grandfather. She was too embarrassed, too ashamed.
She’d looked at her bottom in the mirror and was shocked at how red it was. She could see the marks of his hand on her stinging skin. It hurt so much that she couldn’t lie on her back. But there was more, even worse. When she first got back to her room, she felt up between her legs. He was right; she was wet. Oh God, how mortifying. Why was she wet there? And why, oh God, why had she wanted him to keep kissing her, touching her? She finally fell asleep, tormented by confusing dreams she didn’t understand. She woke with tears on her face, her bedcovers twisted tight around her.
Hearing a knock on the door, she lurched back in fright. She gave a sigh of relief when Angel called out, telling her that she had a dinner tray for her. She opened the door, then remembered what she must look like when Angel’s eyes widened in surprise.
“I…I’m sorry to wake you, Miss. But Mr. Bai told me to bring you your dinner… since you can’t come down. I told him you ain’t had nothing to eat today that I know of. He said he was sure you must be hungry. You need to eat something, Miss Elena. You don’t look good, honey. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but I don’t want this food. Please take it away.”
Ignoring the concerned look on Angel’s face, she pushed her out the door, then closed the door hard and locked it.
The next morning, Angel knocked on her door to tell her Mr. Bai said she could leave her chambers. She said he wanted her to come down for breakfast. Elena refused and slammed the door in Angel’s face. She was furious that the servants knew that Bai had sent her to her chambers and horrified they might know he spanked her. She desperately wanted to avoid him. She decided that she would stay in her chambers until she was sure he had left the villa. By lunchtime, hunger drove her to change her mind. She looked in the mirror and grimaced at her pale face. She had ugly purple smudges under her eyes, but she was too hungry to care. She slipped down the back stairs to the kitchen. To her dismay, Bai was waiting for her as she came down the hallway. When she tried to run by him, he reached out and caught her arm. “Elena, stop. I want to talk to you.”
At that moment, Francine and Angel came from the kitchen. She broke away from him. Shaking with fear, she ran back upstairs to her room and locked the door. That evening, she ate with the maids in the servant’s quarters, terrified to see him, but desperately hungry. He saw her coming from the kitchen and caught up with her. This time he held her firmly. He didn’t let go when several of the maids walked by, avoiding eye contact with both Elena and Bai.
“Elena, come in my office. I want to talk to you.”
She shook off his hand. Trembling with a mix of anger and fear, she glared at him. It took everything she had to keep her voice from shaking.
“That’s too bad, Bai, because I don’t want to talk to you, and I’m not going to. Moreover, I am not interested in anything you have to say to me.”
She drew herself up and added as firmly as she could, “Now, will you please get out of my way and leave me alone?”
He stepped back. A sardonic smile twitched at his mouth. “Mais oui. Certainement. May I presume this is yet another version of your temper tantrums, oui? Instead of screaming and crying, you refuse to speak? Once again, either might be appropriate for a two year old child, but not particularly attractive in a twenty year old. Let me know when you are able to carry on an adult conversation. I have several things I wish to say to you.”
She started to speak, but then whirled around and headed upstairs. She glared back at him over her shoulder. “Don’t hold your breath.”
He laughed. “I will leave that to you, cherie. The rest of us outgrew that tactic by the time we were five.”
A bright flush stained her cheeks, angry tears blurred her eyes. She hesitated, then ran to her room, slamming the door behind her.
Bai stood at the bottom of the stairs, staring at her door deciding whether he would follow her. He wanted to apologize to her. He was glad he spanked her. He would do it again in a minute. God knows, she needs it. But he was sorry he grabbed her, taunted her. It was inappropriate. He wanted to tell her that.
But it was clear she was unwilling to talk to him. He decided it was just as well. There was so much anger and emotion between them now that any conversation would likely result in more upset.
To be honest, he wasn’t sure he could trust himself to be alone with her. Since he spanked her, he couldn’t think of anything but her gorgeous ass. Damn, it was beautiful. Christ, he was a connoisseur. In all his conquests, he’d never seen a more enticing ass. Just thinking about those sweet firm cheeks made his cock throb. His groin clenched, remembering how good it felt to press his hard prick up between her bare thighs. Merde! This was precisely what he had promised himself he wouldn’t do: get trapped wanting her, needing her, lusting after her. Shaking his head in frustration, he walked back to his office and closed the door.
When Wan returned the next morning with Wyatt and Lei, everyone’s attention turned to final arrangements for the ball. Elena stuck close to Lei. She fled the room whenever Bai entered, refusing to look at him or speak to him. When she caught him watching her, she looked away, ignoring his slight mocking smile and knowing eyes. She made up her mind that she would not permit him to run her off. She would ignore him, stay away from him, until it was time to go to the university. In the meantime, she had to make it through the ball Wan had planned to celebrate her. She thought with a rueful sigh, if her grandfather only knew how little she had to celebrate.
~~
Chapter 18
Lei sat in the armchair in Elena’s bedchamber and admired her beautiful stepdaughter. Elena allowed Francine and Angel to style her hair and put luscious colors and glosses on her face and body. She seemed unaware of how beautiful she was. Both the maids and Lei gasped when Angel put the final jeweled pin in her hair and Elena turned to show them the result. The maids had swept her glorious hair up on her head in a riotous display of red gold-tinged curls. They knew it was impossible to completely tame her hair and had not tried. Rather, they allowed runaway curls to fall in captivating tendrils around her face and neck. With jeweled pins artfully tucked in various places, the result was stunning. Francine swept a slight brush of color on Elena’s already naturally rosy cheeks and a pale rosy gloss on her full sensuous lips. She brushed a darker shade on her brows and lush, dark eyelashes, intensifying the startling violet blue of her eyes.
Elena stood and raised her arms as Francine slipped her gown over her head. In direct contrast to her fiery hair, her dress was a stark white cascade of diaphanous silk. It was shot through with tiny sapphire crystals that floated and sparkled over her body, clinging to every luscious curve and valley. Elena’s breasts were beautiful, full and firm. The draped neckline fell cunningly in the well between them. It took little imagination to see what lay behind the silken drape. The fabric mimicked her every move, flowing, then clinging to her curves. The thin sapphire studded straps were for decoration, as it was clear that the dress was held in place by the curvaceous body beneath. In the latest style seen only in Paris and New York, the hem of the dress was intentionally uneven. At some points, it was as audaciously high as her knees. It revealed her daring crystal studded high heeled slippers that made her glorious legs even more mesmerizing.
Lei glowed in admiration.
“Elena, I have never seen you look more beautiful. Your father is going to weep when he sees you. I never knew your mother, and although her hair was blond, I know it was much like yours. These splendid untamed curls are stunning.”
“Thank you, Lei. But you know that the glory of the dress belongs to you. All my life your exquisite taste and unerring sense of fashion has made me the belle of every ball, but the credit is yours. And, Lei, as you know, I never met Vivian, my mother who bore me. But, you are the mother who raised me and loved me most of my life. I love you, Lei, with all my heart.”
“Thank you, my darling.”
Lei turned to Francine and Angel and said, “I want to be alone with Elena for a few minutes. Will you please go and tell her father that he can come up in ten minutes to see his beautiful daughter?”
When they left the room, Lei turned to Elena with a concerned smile.
“Elena, I know you, sweetheart. You remind me of myself at your age. Like you I had an overpowering but wonderful father who protected me to a fault. I had everything a girl could ask for but I was terribly sheltered. Honey, the reason I am saying this is that I know something is bothering you. I hope you will tell me what it is. I never had a mother to ask about the things that were new to me or that I didn’t understand, but, my darling, you do. You have not been yourself since the attack at the waterfall, which is understandable. But something significant and troubling has happened since then. Please tell me what is bothering you, Elena.”
Elena flushed and looked at Lei in amazement. “Am I that transparent, Lei?”
“No, honey, only to me and probably your father. You’ve never tried to hide anything from me before. I hope you won’t now.”
When Elena continued to look down at her hands, Lei said, “Come now, honey. It is obvious something has upset you. Please talk to me.”
Elena looked at her and her lips trembled. Lei could see the tears welling up in her eyes. She smiled at her and said softly, “Talk to me, honey.”
Elena took a deep breath. When she spoke, her voice shook.
“Lei, I’m…I’m not ready to tell you everything. But… but I do have some questions that … well … that I don’t know the answers to.”
“Sweetheart, are these questions that have to do with things between a man and a woman?”
Elena nodded. Her cheeks flushed, her tears threatened to fall.
“Lei, I…I feel so stupid. There are so many things I don’t understand. I have been surrounded by men all my life. Most of my friends are men. But I have never had a boyfriend. You know - a boy or a man who is more than a friend. And then those awful men at the waterfall … Oh, God …There is so much I don’t know or understand.”
“I know that, Elena. I had a feeling someone has come in your life. He is forcing you to think about things you haven’t dealt with before. But, honey, that can be a good thing. You are twenty years old. Tell me, is it someone I know?’
“Please, Lei, I don’t want to talk about him. Actually I hate him, despise him. But things have happened that I don’t understand.”
“Hmm, that is complicated. Well, let’s forget about him for now. Why don’t you ask me about the things you don’t understand?”
“I don’t know if I can,” she whispered. “You might think I am bad.”
“Honey, you can ask me anything, but before you do, know one thing; I could never think you are bad because you are not. So let’s hear it. What is question number one?”
Elena looked up and said in a fierce voice, “Okay, you asked for it…Lei, if a man… kisses you and you get wet… down there; does that make you a bad person?”
Lei hid her smile and responded in a matter of fact voice, “No, that makes you a lucky person. Being a responsive woman, sexually, Elena, will bring you much happiness in the future.”
“But what if the man knows that you got wet, is that bad? Will he think that I am not a nice person?”
“Oh, my darling, let me tell you. There is nothing a man likes better than to know that he has made a woman respond to him. One of the ways she shows that is to get wet and open in special places.”
They heard footsteps signaling Wyatt was coming up the stairs.
“What’s your next question; quick, while we have a moment?”
“Okay, but…okay. Whose fault is it when a man gets hard…you know where…that part …?”
“If you mean when he gets an erection, it is not about fault, Elena,” she said with a gay smile. “It is much more about credit. When a man is with a beautiful woman and he gets an erection, it is because he finds her attractive. He desires her. It is a huge credit to a woman when a man finds her desirable.”
There was a knock at the door and Lei said, “Elena, let’s finish this conversation later. It’s clea
r there are many things we need to talk about. But I warn you. I am going to be fierce trying to find out who is the lucky man.”
“You don’t understand, Lei. He hates me, or, at the very least, he dislikes me greatly.”
“I find that hard to believe, darling. How do you feel about him?”
“That’s easy. I hate him …but sometimes… sometimes I am not sure.”
“Honey, we definitely are going to talk later.”
Wyatt spent several minutes with Elena. As Lei predicted, her beauty brought Wyatt to tears. He gave her precious sapphire earrings the color of her eyes. With trembling fingers, and tears in his eyes, he helped her put them on. When they finished, the three of them walked to the head of the stairs. They had agreed that Wan would escort Elena in to the ball and Wyatt would accompany Lei.
Wan come to the bottom of the stairs to greet Elena. Like Wyatt, tears welled up in his eyes when he saw his beautiful granddaughter. Elena smiled at him and extended her hand. When Wan bowed low and kissed her hand, Lei saw Elena’s face pale, then flush. Following the path of Elena’s gaze, Lei saw Bai standing off to the side of the hallway, leaning against a column. His arms were folded across his chest. His face was taut, inscrutable. When he saw Elena, his eyes flashed dark with appreciation, and then, with what looked to Lei, like a mix of anger and lust. Lei was startled. She smiled to herself thinking, well that is one mystery solved. Hmm, we are in for some interesting times, indeed.
~~~
“You look sinfully handsome tonight, Bai,” Lei said, marveling at his black tail coat and trousers, dark grey patterned waistcoat and silver and grey striped shirt with a stiff white wing collar.