The Frenchman's Woman

by Lee Taylor

Wan, Wyatt, and Nianzu saw the look in Bai’s eyes and agreed.

  In the event there was a question, Bai continued.

  “Wyatt, you and Wan understand the importance of my putting down a personal marker with Feng. He needs to look in my eyes and know that war with the Sing Leon will decimate the Rongue Ri. He also needs to understand that I will make it my personal mission to add his head to my trophies along with Wichi Fan’s and the seven other Rongue Ri leaders who have met a similar fate at my hands.”

  Wyatt shook his head in agreement, then probed, “How will you ensure your safety, Bai?”

  “That will be the focus of our discussion after the conclave. In my view, it is essential that I meet Feng and equally essential that I survive the meeting.”

  All three men murmured in agreement. It was clear they saw the importance of such a meeting as well as the risks.

  “Nianzu, Watso, Gui, and I will be working most of today and tomorrow on the conclave. But I want to begin planning my meeting with Feng. Wyatt, I will be honored to have you join Wan, Nianzu, and me. You’ve had a few high stakes meetings of your own,” he said with a smile. “Your input will be valuable.”

  “It’ll be my privilege. Thanks, Bai, for taking me into your confidence. I am more impressed than ever with your leadership. You are worthy of my trust.”

  Bai nodded. “I sincerely hope so, Wyatt.”

  Wan and Nianzu got up to leave. Wyatt stayed seated. “I’ll meet you in your office in a minute, Wan.”

  Wan looked from Bai to Wyatt and nodded. Pushing Nianzu out the door in front of him, he closed the door behind him.

  ~~~

  Wyatt took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. He leaned back in his chair, gazing at Bai through half closed eyes. Bai sat impassively, waiting for Wyatt to speak. The only giveaway to the turmoil Bai was feeling was a slight flush on his cheeks, but as throughout the previous conversation, his face was impassive, his manner elegant and cool.

  “I want to discuss your relationship with Elena.”

  “Such as it is.”

  Wyatt smiled, “Let me qualify that. Your relationship as it pertains to her security.”

  Bai nodded. “Thank you for the qualification. Agreed.”

  Wyatt paused for a moment and then continued. “Elena is my only daughter, Bai.”

  “I am aware of that. Please speak freely.”

  “I intend to.”Wyatt took another long drag off his cigarette.

  “I understand that you need to know that Elena will do what you tell her to do. I also understand why you handled the earlier conversation with her the way that you did.” He paused and then looking hard at Bai, he continued. “Elena can be headstrong, feisty.”

  Bai lifted an eyebrow and nodded, a slight glimmer of a smile crossed his eyes and then disappeared as quickly as it came.

  Wyatt continued. “She is also young, inexperienced, and vulnerable. Unlike you, Bai, she has lived a sheltered life surrounded by a tight group of people who adore and protect her. That was necessary because of who I am and, to some extent, because of who Wan is. Elena didn’t ask to be born to a father who has as many enemies as I do, or that your father and you have. When she left our Wyoming ranch, she assumed she would have more freedom, less restrictions. Unfortunately, the circumstances here make that impossible. She is more restricted, not less. I hope that you will consider this as you design your list of rules she must follow.”

  Bai’s expression tightened and the slight flush on his face deepened.

  “You are speaking freely, Wyatt. Permit me to do the same. Since we are tallying Elena’s personality traits, I will add that she is obnoxious, spoiled, disobedient, and insolent. The only rules I will design are ones that will protect her if she chooses to obey them, which to date she has been unwilling to do. If you think I was being too hard on her earlier, I am sorry. If her past behavior is any indication, the only way I am going to be able to protect her completely is if I tie her to a post, blindfold and gag her so I don’t have to listen to her stream of insults.”

  “I trust that won’t be necessary, Bai,” Wyatt drawled. “As to her being obnoxious, spoiled, and insolent -- all of those things are likely true to some extent. You seem to have triggered a side of Elena I know exists, but rarely see. I regret you have missed the side of her that is loving, bright, wise, and delightful. I hope that at some point you will be able to see the Elena those of us who love her deeply, see and cherish. ”

  The flush on Bai’s face told him he had struck home. Wyatt stood up and walked to the door.

  “One final point. Bai.” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, but his eyes held a warning. ”We agree that under the circumstances, there is a need for control and perhaps even occasional discipline. But, please, do not hurt her.”

  Bai nodded and said with an impish grin, “May I presume you wouldn’t object to the blindfold and gag?”

  Wyatt smiled.

  “Just remember, Bai. She is my daughter, my only daughter.”

  “How could I forget?”

  Wyatt walked to the door, then turned back, his expression open, pleasant. “Wan told me there is a small lake about a mile from the villa. I plan to take my wife and daughter riding, then for a swim and a picnic. If you can break away from your meetings, you are welcome to join us.”

  “Thank you for the invitation. I fear I would put a damper on what sounds like a pleasant afternoon. Enjoy yourselves. Please give my regards to Lei.”

  “I will. If you change your mind, we plan to leave around eleven o’clock.”

  ~~~

  Wyatt closed the door behind him and headed down the hallway to Wan’s office. He poked his head in the doorway and said, “One question, Wan. How did you keep from killing me when I went after Lei?”

  Wan looked up and puffed on his cigar. The corner of his lip lifted slightly.

  “I tried, remember? You killed the guy I sent.”

  “Hmm, so I did, so I did.”

  Wyatt chuckled and went to find Lei and Elena.

  ~~

  Chapter 23

  After Wyatt left, Bai sent word to Elena that he wanted to speak with her. He wanted to talk to her before Wyatt did. She needed to understand that he was in charge of her. She needed to do what he told her to do, not because Wyatt said she should, but because he did.

  When she knocked on the door, he told her to come in. She stood in the doorway, proud and angry, her shoulders squared, her head held high. Her expression was pinched, guarded. And, hell, she was so goddamn beautiful. He motioned to her to sit in the chair in front of his desk. Neither one of them spoke. There was too much between them to ignore the tension -- it filled the room. Bai pushed down a haunting memory of holding her in the garden, but refused to acknowledge anything except the anger he felt toward her.

  “Elena, neither one of us wants to be here. If I had my wish and your father and grandfather agreed with my recommendations, you would be packing your things, preparing to go back to Wyoming with Lei and Wyatt.”

  Her face flushed. He knew how angry she was, but he also saw tears well up in her eyes. He looked away. He assumed they were angry tears. It didn’t matter. Even now, he knew he wouldn’t be able to resist her if she started to cry.

  “We have had this conversation many times. I refuse to lay out my rules and expectations of you. You are aware of the conditions I have for you if you stay.

  I will only say that if you leave this place once without my permission or without me with you, you will be on the next train to Cheyenne – after I have spanked your bare ass so hard you won’t sit down for a week.”

  He ignored the flash of anger in her eyes and held up his hand to stop her from speaking.

  “I won’t ask you if you understand or if you agree, because I know you don’t. But we will play out this little charade because Wyatt and Wan have asked us to. Then, when you waltz off to your next dangerous outrageous escapade, presuming you don’t get killed or raped in the proc
ess, I will spank you to within an inch of your life, and personally put you on the train to Cheyenne. Again, I won’t ask you if you understand or agree. Your word is of no value.”

  Elena jumped to her feet. Bai stood up, as well. They glared at one another. He saw that the tears in her eyes were angry ones. She shook her head and turned to leave the room.

  “Elena, one more thing before you go.”

  She looked back at him, her hand on the door handle.

  “There is one more conversation we are going to have. We are going to have it now. It is the conversation about your wanting me to fuck you.”

  Her eyes widened with surprise.

  Barely able to speak, she stuttered in disbelief, “What are you talking about? My God, what are you saying?”

  “Fillette, you have not had as much experience as you like to pretend you have -- but I have, and I know a woman who is begging to be fucked.”

  Elena was shaking. She leaned back against the door to keep her balance. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with shock.

  Bai brushed aside her attempt to speak with a dismissive wave of his hand.

  “I will say this as clearly as I can so that even you will understand. Those men out there – panting at your feet, begging for the crumbs you throw them -- are boys, pathetic boys. I, on the other hand, ma petite fille, am not a boy. I am a man. A word of warning. If you want to play games with men, then be sure you know what you are doing and what you want.”

  Bai walked around his desk and stood next to her. He reached down and twisted the hair at the back of her head in his fist. He lifted her face up next to his, as though he was going to kiss her. Instead, he held her close, looking in her eyes. His voice was soft, menacing.

  “You may think you are up to playing games with me, little girl, but know this. The next time we play, I make the rules. And, cherie, that is one game we are going to finish.”

  He released her and walked back behind his desk and stood looking out the window with his back to her.

  She stood for a long moment at the door, her lips trembling, her face flushed, then turned and left the room, running to her chambers as fast as her shaking legs would allow.

  ~~~

  Wyatt sat by the pond, leaning up against a tree smoking a cigarette, his arm around Lei. A light breeze cooled the mid afternoon sun. The fragrance of wild flowers and distant firs added to the calm beauty of the sheltered rise. Sunlight cut through the shadows of the trees and sparkled on the still blue waters of the pond. The only noise was the occasional chatter of the finches and the buzz of dragon flies flickering across the surface of the pond.

  Elena sat apart. She wrapped her arms tightly around her legs and rested her face on her knees. The troubled look on her face, the muscles straining her neck, contrasted sharply with the idyllic setting. No one spoke since they finished their lunch. To Elena’s surprise, neither Lei nor her father raised any of the issues they were facing. They seemed to want to give her the opportunity to open the conversation.

  When she did not, Wyatt broke the ice. He took a drag off his cigarette and leaned down and kissed Lei. He said with a soft chuckle, “Does what Elena is going through feel familiar to you, baby?’

  She smiled and kissed him back. “You know it does. Damn, you men are impossible!”

  “We are? Holy Christ, look at what I’ve put up with for fifteen years. Women!” He lifted her chin to look into her eyes, adding, “Darlin,’ for all the trouble you’ve caused me, I wouldn’t trade you in for anything.”

  She punched him playfully on the arm. “I’ll show you trouble -- later.”

  Elena looked up and smiled at their affectionate banter. She thought about the many times she had watched the two of them arguing. Then her father would storm to their room slamming the door behind him, or Lei would ride off to the stream in a huff, only for her father to follow. Many hours later, they would reappear, flushed with that glassy eyed look that was familiar to everyone used to their antics. She knew they were passionately in love with each other. Now she began to understand the deep sexual foundation it was built on.

  She looked at Lei, then at her father. For the first time, she had an inkling of what it must be like to be crazy in love with a powerful dominating man. Especially if you were as feisty and outspoken as Lei was. She was tempted to ask them if he had ever spanked her, but then blushed, already certain of the answer.

  She gave them both a sad smile. “Are you comparing yourselves to Bai and me? If so, the difference is that you love each other and he hates me. Actually, it’s worse than that, he despises me.”

  Lei and Wyatt exchanged a look. Wyatt unwound his large frame and moved over next to Elena. He put his arm around her and whispered, “C’mon over here, darlin’.”

  Given her fragile emotional state, that was all it took, and she burst into tears.

  Wyatt hugged her tight and kissed her cheek. “Elena, I’m going to fill you in on some of the devils we men battle and try to keep women from knowing about. Bai doesn’t hate you. And he sure as hell doesn’t despise you, anymore than you hate or despise him.” He smiled when she looked down, her blush acknowledging what he said about her at least was true. “My guess is that he is trying damn hard not to admit he is in love with you -- either to you, or to himself.”

  Elena hiccupped a sob, then swiped at the tears on her cheeks. “Father, you don’t understand. He wants to send me back to Cheyenne. He is waiting for me to do something wrong so he can put me on a train to Cheyenne after he spanks me so hard I can’t sit down. Does that sound like a man who is in love with me?”

  Lei and Wyatt said simultaneously, “Yes, it does!” They looked at each other, surprised at their unintentional unanimity, and laughed out loud.

  Elena laughed, too, but her laugh was fraught with tears.

  Wyatt held her tighter, his face more serious.

  “Honey, sometimes it’s hard for us tough guys, those of us who are used to being in charge, to ask for what we want, especially if we think we’ll be turned down. It’s that fucking male pride. But, baby, you don’t have to accept that. Ask Lei. Hell, honey, you know better than most, if you want something bad enough, you have to fight for it.”

  Elena looked at him and then at Lei and thought for a minute. “What if I do that and he laughs at me. He has in the past.”

  Lei broke in. “Elena, there is always a chance that could happen. But many times, the anger can get so intense, so out of hand, it takes one of you to take a risk and change the conversation. Sometimes the person you least expect can change it the most.”

  Wyatt tipped her chin up to his face. His face was solemn, his voice was serious. “Baby, Lei is right. I’m gonna go out on a limb here. I’m gonna tell you flat out. If you know what it is you want, then take a chance. Go out and get it. I promise you, he won’t say no.”

  It was getting late when they returned to the compound. Wyatt was taking Lei to San Francisco to catch the early morning train to Cheyenne. Wan and Wyatt agreed that Wyatt should come back to the compound until the issues with the Rongue Ri were settled. After they walked Elena back to her chambers, Lei and Wyatt got ready to leave for San Francisco. They were quiet thinking over the conversation with their lovely vulnerable daughter.

  Wyatt lit a cigarette and shook his head with a rueful grin. “Christ, Lei. I hope to God he is up to her.”

  She smiled and gave him a reassuring kiss. “He is. Even better, she is up to him.”

  ~~~

  Elena lay in the bathtub long after the water had cooled. She told herself that she wanted to relax in the scented water, but knew she was postponing her decision. Since she talked with Lei and her father, she knew what she wanted to do, but wondered if she had the courage to do it. Remembering what Lei and Wyatt both said about taking a chance, she got out of the tub, dried herself off, and went to her closet, trying to decide what to wear.

  She debated whether she would wear a dress or a skirt and blouse. Even though it made most
sense to wear a robe and nightgown, she thought with a grimace. But Bai had specifically said that it wasn’t interesting to undress someone who was practically naked. But did it make sense to put on layers of clothes when it was almost eleven o’clock and she had just had a bath? Oh, God, she thought, I really do not know how to do this. I should have asked Lei. She would know what to do.

  After much uncertainty, she decided she would wear her grey skirt with the slit up the front and the silk blouse that Bai seemed to like. Underneath, she’d wear her lacy silk camisole and French drawers. The French drawers were particularly daring. Lei had given them to her and said her father loved them. At the time, Elena wasn’t sure what she meant, but now she knew. They were cut high and cupped her ass, making her long slim legs even more enticing. She pulled on her grey lizard skin high heeled boots, ensuring they showed through the slit in the front of the skirt. A brief attempt to contain her curls with jeweled combs was unsuccessful, as usual. Even before she left her chambers, stray curls were springing free.

  The process of getting dressed had taken her mind off what she was doing. It wasn’t until she left her chambers, locking the door behind her and heading into the garden, that she froze with fear. Trembling, she hesitated and almost ran back to her chambers. Forcing herself to remember what her father said about courage, with a determined look on her face, she walked quickly through the garden to Bai’s office. She knocked on the door. When no one answered, she steeled her spine and opened the door. To her dismay, the room was dark, empty. He wasn’t there. Crushing disappointment flooded over her. She couldn’t believe it. All of this worry and fear. Now he wasn’t here? Frustrated tears stung the backs of her eyelids.

  Leaning against the doorway, she tried to decide if she was relieved or incredibly disappointed. She turned to go back through the garden when she remembered that Bai’s chambers adjoined his office and the door was on the other side of the garden wall. Before she could think through her decision, she walked quickly to his door and knocked, praying to God he wasn’t there. But before she could run, she heard his footsteps. He was coming to the door.