The Frenchman's Woman

by Lee Taylor

  “How cunning of you to choose a silver ascot tie rather than those silly white bow ties that for some reason are the rage. You’ll notice that neither Wan nor Wyatt is wearing one of them.” She added with a smile, “And you didn’t even have me advising you!”

  “Thank you, Lei. That is high praise from the woman who has defined fashion for the last ten years. I am filled with pride that your beautiful Chinese face has come to be the standard for grace and beauty in the most prestigious salons in the East. My understanding is that even the European designers are now coming to you for advice.”

  Lei smiled. “Thank you, Bai. You and I understand the challenges and opportunities for mixed race Chinese people like ourselves. Thanks to the standard my father set for us both, the opportunities have been much more apparent than the challenges.”

  Bai nodded in agreement.

  Lei smiled and said with a twinkle in her eye, “As extraordinarily handsome as you look, Bai, I think you might be even more handsome if you could force the semblance of a smile across your face.”

  “Thank you, Lei. I guess that is a compliment. I will make an effort to look as though I am enjoying myself if it will please you.”

  “I know it will please my father to know that you are enjoying his party. But tell me, is there a reason you are dismal?”

  Bai ignored her question and motioned a servant over to them. “Will you have a glass of champagne, Lei?”

  “That will be lovely, thank you.”

  They sipped on their champagne and stood watching the dancers.

  Lei said, “Speaking of lovely, have you ever seen Elena look more beautiful? I know I shouldn’t boast about my daughter, but the only thing lovelier than her dress is her gorgeous body.”

  Bai grimaced and said in a flat voice, “Yes, she looks very nice tonight.”

  “Come now, Bai, she obviously looks much more than nice.”

  “I said, very nice.”

  Lei smiled. “I won’t ask you again why you look as though you are being forced to attend a hanging rather than a beautiful party. Instead, I will ask you to dance with me -- given that there are at least seven men waiting in line to dance with Elena.”

  “The only line I intend to stand in tonight, Lei, is the one in front of you. Shall we dance?”

  They danced by Elena and Peter Sampson. Elena and Lei exchanged friendly waves while Bai glared at Peter. When they had passed by, Lei said in a casual voice, “Sometimes I think we made a mistake sending Elena to college in Wyoming. She insisted she wanted to be close to home and both Wyatt and I agreed.”

  When Bai didn’t answer, Lei added, “She has led a sheltered life -- certainly compared to you, Bai.”

  “So it would seem,” Bai said.

  Lei continued, “It always surprises me that young people who grow up on a ranch and watch animals all their lives can be ignorant about the facts of life.”

  “Do you have something you wish to say to me, Lei? If so, please say it. One of the things I like best about you is that you don’t dissemble like most women I know.”

  “Thank you. As you would say, I guess that is a compliment. You are correct. I do have something I wish to say to you. I will be direct. Elena asked me if a woman gets ‘wet,’ does that mean that she is a bad person.”

  Bai flushed and asked with a lift of his eyebrow, “What did you tell her?”

  “I told her that it means she is a healthy responsive woman and that it bodes well for her future happiness.”

  Bai’s face hardened.

  “I am uninterested in discussing Elena’s sexuality with you, Lei.” He added dismissively, “She’s a child, Lei. A spoiled, headstrong one at that. I know how protective and possessive Wyatt is, but even he knows she is spoiled. Surely you do, as well.”

  “Yes, she is headstrong and perhaps a little spoiled. But the Elena I know is an empathetic, bright young woman. Look at the way she works with injured horses. And I have never had a more disciplined or talented kung fu student. Admit it, Bai. She is accomplished, complex, and lovely. She is anything but a child.”

  “We have a difference of opinion, which is understandable, Lei, given she is your daughter. I see her as a spoiled child who was pampered and sheltered like a royal princess all her life. She got anything and everything she wanted and throws temper tantrums when anyone tries to tame her. Add to that, she was told that she is the most beautiful creature alive. She assumes that every man who sees her agrees.”

  The music stopped and they moved back from the dance floor.

  “My goodness, Bai, you seem to be responding rather intensely to my daughter. And that is an interesting choice of words. Tame her? Hmm, I can imagine it would be difficult to tame Elena. Indeed, in my opinion, that would be a fruitless task, even for a powerful man accustomed to being obeyed.”

  She smiled when Bai flushed darkly, and added, “Oh, one more thing. She also asked me whose fault it is if a man gets an erection.”

  Bai said with a gasp, “Jesus God, Lei.”

  Lei smiled. “Be a dear. Please bring me another glass of champagne.”

  Bai scowled. He walked over to the serving area and ordered one of the servants to take Lei a glass of champagne. He took bourbon for himself. Nodding to Lei, he walked away.

  ~~~

  Bai stood, leaning back against a wall, watching the men crowding around Elena. He grimaced, noting that the group of men lined up four or five deep waiting for the next dance had been embarrassingly steady throughout the evening. He didn’t try to analyze why he was angry. Instead he pushed down his annoyance and took a large swallow of bourbon. He looked around for a potential dance partner, but found none among the horde of women who had been ogling him hopefully throughout the night.

  Wyatt and Wan joined him. Both of them looked fondly at Elena, grinning at the throng of men surrounding her. Wyatt shook his head with a proud smile. “That’s some granddaughter you have, Wan.”

  Wan nodded in agreement, then looked at Bai who was staring straight ahead, grimacing.

  “Are you intent on establishing a record, Bai?”

  He glowered. “What do you mean?”

  “That you wish to be the one man in the ballroom between the ages of seven and seventy-five who hasn’t lined up to dance with our lovely Elena?”

  Bai responded with a forced smile, “I don’t do lines.”

  Ignoring the look Wyatt and Wan exchanged, Bai finished his drink in a single swallow. He handed the glass to a passing servant. He strode to the center of the dance floor where Elena was dancing with Greg Forester, the governor’s chief of staff.

  Bai grinned at Greg’s surprise when he approached them. He didn’t try to hide his contempt or his anger. He barely understood it himself. All he knew was that he was the only person who was going to dance with Elena. Bowing slightly, with a derisive smile twisting his lips, he reached out and removed Greg’s hand from Elena’s back.

  “I trust you won’t mind, Greg, but I want to finish this dance with Elena.”

  Greg was astonished. “What the hell, Bai. I’ve been waiting thirty minutes for this dance. Christ, I’ve been waiting my whole life for someone like her. Hell, man, wait your turn.”

  Bai had his hand on Elena’s arm and said softly, ‘You know me, Greg. I’m not a patient man. It shouldn’t surprise you I don’t take turns and I don’t wait in line for anyone. For that reason, I suggest you get the hell away from her before you are crawling away on your hands and knees.”

  “Jesus Christ, Bai, have you gone crazy?”

  Bai thought to himself that might be possible but his lips curled contemptuously. He jerked his thumb. “Go, now, before I knock you down on your self important ass.”

  Greg’s face flushed, first with embarrassment, then hardened with anger. He pulled himself up to his full height, but at full height he came only to Bai’s chin. He hesitated, then stepped back.

  Bai grinned knowing it was more than their height differences that made Greg dra
w back. There was no question that everyone on the governor’s staff had heard the stories of the Frenchman. Bai knew they found it hard to believe that the urbane, distinguished man they worked with was a cold blooded killer. But tonight standing next to him, Bai made no attempt to mask his distain or the predatory power that epitomized the Frenchman.

  Greg paled, gasped and moved away. A devilish grin crossed Bai’s face. “Good decision, Greg.”

  Bai took Elena in his arms. Without looking back at Greg, he whirled her away from the young man who stood in the middle of the dance floor, shaking with anger and disbelief.

  Elena flushed and said over her shoulder, “I apologize, Greg. I’m sure you know Bai is accustomed to giving orders. He expects everyone to obey him without question.”

  Bai twirled her in a circle and said with a wry grin, “Not everyone. Some people require a little discipline.”

  She flushed and tried to pull away, but Bai held her tight. He smiled at her embarrassment, enjoying the feel of her soft slender body. With her high heels, she came to his shoulder, but still had to tip her head back to look in his eyes.

  “You look beautiful, Elena. Your dress reminds me of Zhenqui; like her, the stark white of your gown only heightens the color of your eyes. They look like hot blue flames. And this hair of yours. It is always on fire.” He shook his head and grinned appreciatively reaching down to twist an errant curl. “You look like a beautiful flame -- red, gold, blue, and white hot at the center.”

  She looked at him surprised, as if waiting for the negative follow up she was sure would come. When he just smiled at her, she asked, “Why are you being nice to me?”

  “I am trying a new tack. Perhaps if I flatter you and fawn over you the way everyone else does, you will do as you’re told like a good little girl.”

  When she pulled back her eyes flashing with anger, he said with a grin, “Who knows, maybe I won’t have to spank you again.”

  “Goddamn you, Bai. Let me go. I don’t want to dance with you and I won’t. Let me go!”

  “But, of course, cherie. This dance ended several minutes ago. I wondered why you were still clinging to me.”

  Elena looked around and saw the people standing next to them staring at her. She jumped back and jerked away from him, her face hot with embarrassment. He bowed slightly, a mocking smile tugging at his lips. He turned to join a group of men that included the governor and the chief justice. Bai moved like a panther: lithe, graceful and dangerous. His eyes were cool and an ironic smile twisted his lips. Over his shoulder he said, “Thank you for the dance, cherie. It was my pleasure.”

  ~~~

  Elena stood by herself in the middle of the dance floor, stunned. Her eyes filled with tears. She turned and ran across the room, making her way to the outside corridor. She saw Lei, Wyatt, and Wan standing together off to the side. It was clear from their expressions they had watched the scene in its entirety. Her father’s face was dark. She heard Lei excuse herself and move to follow Elena down the hallway.

  Elena ran down the corridor to the door to the garden and kept running. She didn’t want to talk to anyone, especially Lei or her father. She knew she was going to cry and wanted to get as far away from the party as possible. She was angry at Bai and hurt. Why did he have to be mean, cruel to her? She hated him. She ran out of the house, down the path toward the garden.

  A moment later she heard footsteps behind her. A shiver ran through her when she heard his soft accented voice. “Where are you going, Elena?”

  She didn’t answer. Instead she ran faster, but in seconds he was beside her. He caught her arm and pulled her back to him.

  She twisted away, her face tight with fury. “Let me go! Now!”

  Bai held her and pulled her up to him as she struggled to get free. “According to three people in the ballroom, I owe you an apology. As two of them are kung fu masters and the other is a grandmaster, I decided the least I should do is beat a strategic retreat.”

  She tried to pull away. Surprising them both, she burst in tears.

  “Hell, maybe I do owe you an apology if I contributed to these,” he said, holding her close, reaching down to brush the tears off her face.

  “I hate you. Leave me alone!” she sobbed, trying to break free from the tight circle of his arms.

  “Non, non. Shh, Elena, don’t cry. You are okay, little girl.” He rubbed her back and pushed her hair away from her face.

  He had called her that the day at the waterfall. It infuriated her that even now he thought of her as a child. She put her hands on his chest and pushed hard against him, her voice an angry shriek.

  “Damn you! I’m not a little girl!”

  He pulled her closer to him, holding her hands in his. He felt her full breasts against his chest. He resisted the impulse to slip his hands inside her dress and cup them. He wanted to touch her nipples, pull on the tips, pinch them, make them hard, and, yes, feed them into his mouth and suck on them.

  “No, you’re not a little girl,” he said with a grimace. Feeling his erection harden, he knew his prick agreed. He breathed in her exotic spicy smell and his prick swelled more.

  “Elena, Elena, don’t fight me. Let me hold you. I…I want to kiss you, cherie.”

  He leaned down and took her face in his hands. He gently kissed the tears on her cheeks. Her eyes flew open, startled as his lips found their way to hers. He began kissing her, murmuring soft words, telling her she had a beautiful mouth, ripe, made for kissing. At first he kept his kisses gentle, tugging and nipping at the corners of her mouth. He didn’t want to frighten her. But just the touch of her soft lips, her exotic smell, her surprised moans, made his cock rear up. He wanted more, he needed more, and goddamn, he had to have more. With a soft groan he gave in to the desire sweeping his body. He pressed his tongue against her teeth forcing her mouth open. He drove his tongue in deeper, harder, more demanding.

  “Mon dieu, you are so goddamn beautiful, Elena. I want to touch you, feel you, and taste you—every part of your beautiful body.”

  With a tortured groan, he ran his hands over her trembling body, down across her breasts to the delicious curves of her hips to her beautiful ass. Shock waves shot up his thighs to his prick when he felt her plump toned cheeks. A lightening strike of lust hit him. He spread her legs with his strong thighs and pressed his hard cock up against her groin.

  Elena pulled back at first, gasping in surprise. But when his tongue went deep in her mouth, a wave of desire swept over her, shattering her with powerful sensations. He smelled like tobacco and champagne and that sexy male smell she remembered from when he held her in the barn after he spanked her. Before she knew what she was doing, she was kissing him back. She reached up to bury her hands in his hair, tugging him down harder, as their tongues met fiercely devouring one another in a blistering kiss.

  She moaned and trembled, whispering, “Oh, God, oh, my God,” again and again. He jerked her dress up around her hips. Pressing his knee between her bare legs he rode her hard across his strong thigh. His hands were all over her, on her ass, between her thighs, then up to cup her breasts. She cried out, digging her fingers in his back clutching him tighter and tighter. She was stunned at the waves of sensation rolling over her. It was like an inferno of raging desire. She had never felt anything like this. She was both frightened and frantic, not wanting him to stop. All she wanted was to feel him hard against her and to kiss and taste all of him.

  ~~~

  Taking a deep aroused breath, Bai began to pull back, still murmuring soft words, stroking her. Then, as though she was a small child, he picked her up and rocked her in his strong arms. He stood her up and reluctantly slid her dress back down over her hips.

  His voice was ragged.

  “That’s enough, little girl. Not here, petite amie. Not here. Not like this. That’s enough for tonight, ma petite fille.”

  She stepped back, shocked. Her legs were shaking so hard she could barely stand.

  “I…I am not a little g
irl. Goddamn you, Bai, I am a woman!”

  He chuckled, “Mais, qui, I believe you are right about that. You are making a convincing case, cherie.”

  He took her hand and rubbed it against his throbbing cock. He whispered, “I think a woman’s body did this to me. If I reach up between your legs and touch you there, will you be wet? Hmm, very wet? Ah oui, of that, cherie, I am sure. Yes, Elena?”

  She stepped back, her face paled, her eyes widening as a realization hit her. Shaking with disbelief then anger, she said, “Lei told you what I said, didn’t she? She did, didn’t she? Were you talking about me, how stupid I am? How I don’t know anything? Were you laughing at me? You were, weren’t you?”

  “Elena, stop. And yes, Lei did say something to me. She wanted me to know that you misunderstood what happened to you and to me in the barn.”

  Elena continued to move back. Her face flushed, her eyes flashed angrily. She was shaking, but managed to smooth her dress, square her shoulders, and glare at him.

  “How dare you talk about me with Lei? Laugh at me? How dare you? Get away from me. I hate you, Bai, I despise you. Do you hear me? Don’t you ever touch me again. Ever! If you come near me again, I will tell my father and Grandfather Wan. Do you hear me?”

  He stared at her furious face and stepped back, startled at her words. As they sunk in, a wave of contemptuous cold anger settled over him.

  “I take it back. I thought for a moment there might be a different Elena in there, a woman worth knowing. But I was wrong. I was right before. You are a child, a spoiled irrational child given to temper tantrums and making scenes. By all means, go back to the party. Tell any goddamn person you see any goddamn thing you choose. Tell them I attacked you—assaulted you. Cry and sob like a baby to get the attention you are accustomed to getting. But, goddamn you, Elena, stay away from me. And you do not have to worry about me touching you again. I don’t fuck children.”