Ace in the Hole

by Sedonia Guillone

And his soul would not rest until he could find someone to help him tame his desires.

  Chapter One

  Sexual energy is the reason a human is born, Lack of sexual energy is the reason a human dies. Within this sexual energy is the secret not only of health but of immortality as well.

  ‑‑ Madame Lin from The White Tigress Manual

  Shanghai, 1899

  So this is what it had come to. A game of cards to win herself a decent Green Dragon.

  Lily could barely repress her disgust as she descended into the gambling parlor. She hated this place, hated the way men and women offered themselves willingly to be won for pleasure, and yet it was where the Chien Tung stick had sent her.

  For years, she’d hoped for a Jade Dragon, a man who could actually become her steady partner on the White Tigress path. But most men could not bear surrendering their sexuality to a strong woman who took charge of her own body. It was a rare man indeed who could rise to the level of Jade Dragon. So, she would have to settle for a Green Dragon, a man to impart to her his yang essence. Of course, she could always go to Plum House, but she’d set that brothel up for her Tigresses to harvest yang from customers. As mistress, she did not mix with her students.

  So it was the gaming parlor for her. She was weakening rapidly for a reason she couldn’t explain. Her immortality had stabilized at age thirty, but that was nearly two centuries ago. In desperation, she’d finally given in and consulted the Chien Tung sticks. Where may I find the man I seek? she’d asked and shaken the fortune sticks, letting them spill on the ground in front of her altar. She reached down, chose the up-facing stick, and read it. She’d pulled in a shocked breath at the answer, but had heeded it anyway. Very good fortune in the game, the stick had said.

  Lily kept her gaze forward as she reached the steps that would take her into the parlor. Her green silk cheongsam hugged her body like a second skin, making her descent of the steps a bit tricky. The high slits in the sides of her dress, perfect for showing off the pale smoothness of her legs, also gave her just enough movement to maintain her dignified pace and not fall flat on her face. The fact that her feet remained unbound also helped, even though her inability to have had that custom practiced on her as a little girl had cost her dearly.

  A round of five-card stud was just being announced when she reached the doorway. A cloud of cigarette smoke wafted out into the dim corridor, the aroma of the cloud mixed with the scents of opium, rice wine, whiskey, and blood in the various glasses on the edge of the gaming table. She squelched the urge to wrinkle her nose. As a Tigress, she did not partake of intoxicants. Being an immortal and not a vampire, she had no taste for blood, either.

  Silence descended over the players and all eyes turned to her.

  She returned their stares, keeping hers cool and level, rather than allowing her own curiosity to show. A Tigress maintained the upper hand at all times.

  To the untrained, mortal eye, the place and its array of occupants in the smoky, Western-style parlor appeared like any other. Red damask wallpaper covering the walls, the brass gas lamp sconces casting shadows over the potted palms flanking the doorway and the faces of the players, men and women both Chinese and European. But after more than two centuries of life, she was schooled in every nuance of appearance that distinguished a werewolf from a vampire, from an immortal like herself, to a mortal human. Every manner of kith and kin was represented here, all beings ‑‑ with the exception of a few mortals ‑‑ with eternity on their side and not much else to fill it with but the pursuit of pleasure.

  A white gentleman in a frock coat, his gold hair combed back, cheeks sporting thick sideburns, stood and bowed to her. He moved aside, surrendering his seat to her.

  She nodded and walked to the out-held chair. Her eye fell on the man’s hand where it rested on the top of the chair, recognizing immediately the crooked thumb that identified him as a werewolf. He assisted in pushing her chair to the edge of the gaming table and remained standing behind her.

  The dealer resumed play, doling out cards to the participants of that round. Lily scanned the cards and then the players’ faces. She could very often estimate a player’s hand by the expression on his or her face. This was more difficult in the underground parlors, as her opponents, also immortals, had had centuries to perfect their poker faces as well as their skills. One particular female, a vampire, strikingly beautiful, wore a slightly smug expression. Lily marked her as the one to beat.

  Lily’s eye then fell on the platform behind the table, where the prize of the current round of cards stood. She appraised the slim, elegantly muscular male, eyeing his sculpted form, nearly naked but for the white loincloth around his hips. Clear, blue eyes stared back at her from a chiseled face, his dark blond hair thick and full.

  Lily felt the undeniable stirring in her loins. No doubt this man could bring her body much pleasure. Unlike most Chinese, she and her Tigress cubs were unconcerned about the ethnicity of their partners. They did not even refer to the white men as ghosts, the way their countrymen did. This man would be as welcome as a Chinese into their midst.

  But for one thing.

  He was a vampire. Though he gave no outward signs, she knew there was no heart beating under that muscular chest of golden downy hair. Aside from the fact that a vampire’s qi could not nourish a human, those clear blue eyes would glow with bloodlust when she knelt between his thighs. That was fine for someone who desired such a partner, but Lily would rather be dragged to hell by a six-headed yaojing than couple with a vampire. Never again…

  She averted her gaze so as to divert the desire fanning in her jade gate. Her breasts had begun to swell, nipples pushing against the tight cheongsam. She took as deep a breath as her dress would allow and waited patiently for a round that would bring a prize for whom she’d play.

  The next round yielded a Chinese, stocky and robust, a laborer from what she could surmise. His golden muscles glowed, obviously oiled to show their perfection. Lily let her gaze rove over the man whose Manchurian queue of hair hung down the center of his broad back in a thick braid. He turned, giving all players a clear view of his body, rounded, meaty thighs and sloping calves, carved abdomen and chest, arms sculpted strong from obvious physical labor. The bulge in his loincloth hinted at a well-endowed jade stalk. His face, too, was pleasant enough, his features firm and smooth, eyes narrow under arching brows. He was mortal, a regular human, and Lily felt a stirring of desire in her sex.

  She looked closer, into the man’s eyes. No good. In their brown depths, she saw the capacity for aggression, someone who did not succumb so easily to direction. Although he was a coolie accustomed to working for a boss, the glint in his eye showed her he’d had enough of that submission, and she knew she couldn’t risk subjecting herself to such a man. No matter how much pleasure she gave him, he would want to subjugate her and could grow violent at any moment.

  She sighed inwardly and settled back. The dealer’s gaze passed over hers, and she shook her head again. A servant came by with a tray, offering a choice of rice wine, whiskey, or blood. Again, she gave a brief shake of her head and kept her eyes trained on the platform where the next male offering was led to the platform and ascended the steps.

  Her breath caught. She watched him, rapt, as he came to a standstill in front of the players.

  She moistened her lips as her gaze traveled over his near-naked form. The soft light from the gas lamps glowed on his smooth, slightly oiled skin, the hue of toasted almonds, chest unmarred by any hair. In contrast to the stocky man before him, this man’s build was slim, though his musculature was well developed. Lily’s eyes spanned his chiseled torso, admiring the wide shoulders that tapered down to a slender waist. His stomach was board flat, the navel a small indentation. A thin strip of black, silky hair swirled down toward his groin.

  Lily narrowed her eyes on the white loincloth, judging the man’s most important endowment through the bunched-up cloth. The bulge of his dragon was clearly outlined, as was the appa
rently heavy sac of his yang pearls. A man of his build often possessed a deceptively small jade stalk and lacked in life force. Not this man.

  To her shame, her mouth began to water. This man seemed to overflow with life force. Indeed, the energy that simmered off his muscular form conveyed to Lily his need to have the excess tapped off. With such abundant, ripe qi, he most certainly was not a vampire.

  As was custom, the man turned his slow circle of display, giving the audience a clear view of his back. The gleaming expanse of muscles flexed with his movements, and again Lily felt her body’s immediate response to him. He turned gracefully, his fluid motion an alluring contrast to his carved physique.

  A narrow strip of loincloth ran down the crevice of his backside, exposing most of his hard buttocks. Her gaze traveled eagerly over the smooth globes of muscle and rested there. Although she had already examined the part of him that was relevant to her purpose, she couldn’t help admiring him further. Every inch of him seemed beautifully formed.

  As if to prove her thought, she finally tore her gaze away from his backside and let it move down to his legs. She’d been right. His thigh and calf muscles, covered with only a light sprinkling of hair, sloped with a sense of coiled power. Even his feet were beautifully shaped, and the callused heels did not appear rough and unsightly, but gave her the sense that he had traveled a long distance to be here.

  He turned again and faced the players. Lily’s gaze slid back up his body, over his well-endowed groin, carved stomach, and chest to his face. Her breath hitched again in her throat, and she used the last seconds before the game was called to study his face. He had the slightly rugged look of a man from the mountainous interior of China in the north. Was he Chinese? She wasn’t certain. Realizing she’d let her perusal of his body break her Tigress’s concentration, she forced herself into her previous mind frame ‑‑ that of a priestess examining a subject to deem his worthiness as a potential Jade Dragon.

  He had a very pleasing face, lips full but not pouty, beautifully sculpted, the upper lip arched. The darkness of beard colored his clean-shaven upper lip and chin. His face, oval-shaped but with high cheekbones, brought her gaze to his eyes, the very mirror to his character that would make her decision.

  The dealer announced the next round of five-card stud. Only mere seconds left in which to decide. She looked into the man’s eyes. Their gazes locked. His expression was even, yet the golden-brown disks of color burned with passion. Passion…and a desire to…

  The man next to Lily raised his hand, and the dealer put a down card at his place.

  Lily held her breath, continuing to stare at the man on the platform. His gaze seemed locked on hers, as if he were silently drawing her to the game. She maintained her stare, waiting to see what he would do. In the next heartbeat, he lowered his gaze the tiniest bit and bowed his head. Respect without fear.

  Perfect. She nodded to the dealer, who put a down card at her place.

  Lily turned up the corner of the card. Ace of clubs. She let the corner down and watched the up cards of each player as they were dealt.

  Her heartbeat rose as her hand was laid out before her. Ten…Jack…Queen…and King of clubs. Gods! Her hidden ace had become the ace in the hole she needed to win. With such a hand, she needed to keep her expression even.

  Around her, players folded, one after the other. Except for one.

  The vampiress Lily had observed earlier. Three nines were showing on the table before her. No doubt she had a nine in the hole. A nearly impossible hand to beat. The creature’s ruby-red lips barely concealed a gleeful smile. Her beauty was marred only by the baleful glitter in her eyes. Behind her chair, another vampire stood, one large hand on her shoulder. Both wore beautiful silks and were groomed to perfection. There was something vaguely familiar about her, but Lily was certain she’d never seen her before. Not surprising. Kith and kin sometimes traveled great distances to participate in the floating underground game. Seeing the prize to be won from this round, Lily understood why. He was magnificent, perfect for her Tigress practice, if her judgment was as accurate as usual.

  The Chinese she-vampire looked up at Lily, her eyes narrowing, a satisfied grin curving her reddened lips. Lily felt a distinct tightening in her chest.

  This was it. Time to call her hand. Lily suppressed a grin. A ripple of murmurs erupted around the table. A face-off like this happened rarely and lent an air of added thrill to the game.

  “Ha!” The vampiress turned over her down card, the nine Lily had suspected. Glee shone in her eyes. “Four of a kind.”

  Excitement skittered through the crowd.

  Lily glanced at the man on the platform then back at her opponent. Now it was her turn to smile. “Not so fast, Madame.” She picked up her down card, the ace that was, indeed, her ace in the hole, and set it with her four other cards.

  Gasps and murmurs rippled through the onlookers.

  The smile drained from the she-vampire’s red lips, and her eyes narrowed to angry slits.

  “Game goes to the royal straight flush,” the dealer proclaimed.

  Applause erupted, and Lily allowed herself a brief, modest smile. A Tigress was gracious at all times and never celebrated another’s defeat.

  Pushing back her chair, she rose and nodded to the man she’d won. He returned her gesture and let himself be led off the platform.

  The werewolf who’d ceded his chair to her bowed politely and moved aside. Lily thanked him and went to the back waiting room where the players retrieved their winnings.

  In the small waiting room, Lily perched on the edge of a chair, her hands folded around her reticule. He seemed to be taking too long to dress, but perhaps her anticipation made the moments seem longer. Her thoughts wandered to this man’s identity. There was an air of refinement about him that made him unlike the majority of men who ascended that platform in their loincloths.

  Who was he, and why had he offered himself as a prize in this game?

  The men and women who did so each had their own purposes. Some hoped to find a wealthy patron to serve and thus avoid a life of hard labor. Others wished only for pleasure or for the blood-heating effect of risk. Others just wanted to be desired. But this man? She did not sense any of these purposes in him.

  Could she trust that the fortune stick had spoken the truth?

  Movement in the hallway pulled her from her introspection. In the next moment, her prize appeared in the doorway. His physique was now covered by coolie clothing, baggy pants tied with a drawstring and a mandarin-style vest of shabby linen which didn’t hide the smooth curves of his biceps, nor the lean strength of his forearms

  He bowed his head and then raised his gaze briefly to hers. Lily swallowed, unexpectedly caught by the dark amber of his irises. A frisson of heat traveled trough her body, and she used the movement of rising from her chair to break the spell. It had been a very long time since a man had made her nervous this way, and she almost rethought her winning.

  Very good fortune, the stick had said. Even so, she still needed to give him the same up-close evaluation she did with any man one of her Tigresses brought to her temple as a possible partner.

  “Come here,” she murmured.

  He obeyed, and Lily couldn’t help staring at the covered portions of his body, remembering their sleek perfection. The rough cotton was almost an affront against the golden skin of those strong legs. The waist rode low, and Lily glimpsed the taut skin of his hips.

  He approached her and bowed his head again. When he raised it, he wore the same lowered gaze that had made her decide to play for him.

  She was almost sorry for her request. As soon as he drew closer, his masculine aroma engulfed her. Musky yet strong and sweet, his scent curled inside her and heightened the erotic effect begun while watching him on the platform The pulsing in her sex increased, and she felt the fullness within her jade gate, the moist, swollen quality of sexual arousal that made her vividly aware of it with the smallest movement she made.

>   Male energy radiated off him. Surprisingly, the quality of that energy was not rough or aggressive as it was with so many males. In spite of the excess of yang she sensed in him, the quality of his qi was strangely soothing. She took a deep breath and continued her evaluation.

  She took a tiny step back. “Look at me,” she said softly.

  He raised his face and looked at her. He was a full head taller and tilted his head down to meet her eyes. He wore an even expression, unchanged, though the amber color within his eyes still burned with passion.

  Ignoring her body’s response, Lily forced herself to remain outwardly cool as she evaluated him. Since he wasn’t a vampire, he was either human or a non-vampire immortal. The intensity of his male aroma led her to believe he was an immortal. Well, if he was as promising as he appeared to be, then his immortality was in her favor as well. Silently, she thanked the fortune of her hand in the game that had won him.

  She perused him one last time before her final decision and, once again, was captured by the prospect of his loins, now hidden under the baggy pants.

  Her mouth suddenly dry, Lily pulled her gaze from his groin, reining in her un-Tigress-like impulse to strip him then and there and take his thick dragon into her mouth. There would be plenty of time to savor his charms once she got him back to the temple, time to admire, feel, and taste.

  She nodded. “You will return with me.”

  Silently he bowed his head, then stood aside to let her pass.

  Lily clutched her reticule and focused on walking within her tight dress, vividly aware of the man close behind her. Her body and mind hummed with the anticipation of running her hands over his body, of feeling the smooth golden skin and hard muscles. Her mouth almost watered again at her anticipation of tasting his dragon, feeling that pulsing life against her tongue.

  Tonight would not be soon enough to begin gathering his life force.

  Chapter Two

  The male retains. The female absorbs. Heaven [male] creates, Earth [female] is receptive. The male is active and so seeks stillness. The female is still and so seeks activity ‑‑ each must acquire the essence of the other to be complete.