A Lover's Wish (16 page)

“That is lovely,” Kianna whispered.

“It’s even better when my mom sings it.” Dao nipped her ear. “She has a better voice than I do.” The boat continued dancing against the water. He was happy the boatman hadn’t bothered them. After all, he had explained to the owner of the boat that he would be paid twice that which a tourist would normally pay him. That promise must have kept the man away. Dao carried Kianna off the boat because the water had risen a week ago and the land was still too slick to be walked on.

“I never thought,” she whispered after a while. “That any man would think me so special as to show me such beauty.”

Dao heard her voice catch in her throat and he kissed her neck. Still, he said nothing.

“But this—Oh, Dao, this is utterly breathtaking.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Dao told her softly. He nuzzled her neck with his lips and nose. He needed to be against her in that serene moment. “Any man that doesn’t treat you like a queen, Kiki, doesn’t deserve you.”

“Dao.” She lifted a hand and caressed his face. “You are too sweet.”

“But I am dead serious.”

She moaned and turned to lift her lips to his.

He accepted the kiss, his hand stroking her stomach, then up over a breast. He felt the nipple tighten beneath his fingers and groaned. Reluctantly, he lifted his head. “I hope that made up for the horrible trip you’ve had, Kiki.”

She smiled into his eyes and stroked his head. “It wasn’t a horrible trip, but this just made it even better.”

By the time they made it to Guilin again, it was too late to fly anywhere. Kianna sat at the large table in their plus room and stared over at Dao who was sitting across from her. He was silent again and it scared her. “You’re silent.” she whispered before lifting her chopsticks to her lips.

“I’m sorry,” Dao whispered. “Still a little worried about Ma.”

“I understand.” Kianna nodded truthfully before placing her chopsticks across the top of her bowl and rose from the table. She meant to walk away, but Dao caught her hand. Turning, she looked down at where they had met and sighed. There was a strange silence in the room that Kianna wondered about. The touch of his hand sent a surge or electricity through her body at lightning speed. “Dao,” she called quietly.

He didn’t answer, but lifted her hand to his lips, kissing each finger, then her palms. He pulled her closer to him before sitting her down on his lap. Without a word, he kissed her. He allowed his tongue to be plunged into the heat of her mouth and Kianna was helpless under his tender assault. Whimpering, she wrapped an arm around his neck and deepened the kiss. She was taken in by his mouth and when the kiss ended, she wanted to cry.

His tongue washed against her neck while his free hand began unbuttoning her shirt. When it was open, Dao’s hand shoved her bra away to caress her nipple lovingly. Growling, he pushed away his food, causing the plates to scatter against the ground, but neither paid any attention to the mess. He placed her on the table and leant forward to tease her hardened nipple with his tongue.

“Oh my.” She gasped for air and licked her lips, trying to come to grips with the absolutely delicious feelings that were storming her body. She arched inward, to press more of her breast into his mouth, but he simply moved to the other breast. He teased it, tormented it, and licked it. He was so good at it that her legs began shaking uncontrollable. She braced the soles of her feet to the side of his chair and rocked her body against his mouth. His hands were busy pushing her shirt from her shoulder and undoing the zipper on her skirt. She felt her body lifting, but paid no attention. Soon she was fully naked and he was feasting from her moist folds.

Dao did not need words to tell her he wanted her—needed her. All he had to do was touch her and Kianna seemed to melt into him. The way she looked at him told him she knew exactly what he wanted. Tenderly, he became a part of her and as his hips dipped deeper, he kissed at her neck and ears. Making love to her wasn’t out of pure physical urges, but it felt as though he had to. She sat in his lap, impaled on him with a leg on either side of his body.

He held her as though she was fragile against his body and each time her world evaporated

around him, he felt her shiver and heard her gasp. The second time it happened, she bit down against his shoulder. He growled against the pain of it, but then her tongue flowed over the tender flesh, leaving him gasping for dear air. Finally, he came undone—he couldn’t hold off anyone longer. Luckily, he was sitting down with her cuddled against him.

B

ack at work, Kianna stopped and grabbed Dao’s mail. She stopped to get a cup of coffee, then entered his office, closing the door behind her.

When she walked in, he looked up and gave her a lopsided grin.

“This is not going to work,” he told her while standing and walking toward her.

“You firing me or are you breaking up with me?” Kianna questioned, placing her coffee cup down on his desk.

“Neither,” he whispered.

She fell against his chest when he took her arm and pulled gently. The mail she carried fell to the floor, but he ignored it.

“I can’t go through my day without kissing you.”

“You kissed me this morning,” Kianna pouted while eyeing the mail on the floor. “Shouldn’t we get those?”

“Not yet…do you know what a turn on it is for man to work with the woman he loves?”

That surprised her for she was fully expecting him to dump her. A smile danced across her lips. She looked up into his face. She lifted her hands to cradle his face and giggled when he spanked her softly against one bum cheek, then the other. She arched a brow with a grin, “Spanking, Dao Zhi?” she teased.

The phone began ringing.

He ignored it and took her lips. She moaned and melted into his chest. She loved the feeling of his lips against hers, his taste.

“Why don’t we take the rest of the day off?” Dao questioned. “There are some things I need to talk to you about.”

Kianna sighed and stepped back from his arms. She stopped and picked up the letters, trying hard not to think about what he wanted to speak with her about. He had explained he wasn’t dumping her, but her self-esteem wasn’t having anything to do with his explanations. She began fussing over the dropped letters.

“Give me those,” Dao took them from her fingers and led her to the sofa. “We need to talk about what happens next, Kianna. The world isn’t ending.”

“Maybe not for you!” Kianna snapped. “I knew this was too good to be true. I mean you take me

to China and you were so sweet in buying me a camera and introducing me to your mother and touching me like—like—” She stopped as tears toppled down her cheeks. “You touched me like you really did care and you told me you loved me and I believed you!” She rambled on and on because she couldn’t stop herself. The words just seemed to want to topple from her lips. She felt used, betrayed and scared. She felt alone and prayed that no one else in the world ever had to feel like she was feeling at that very moment. “It’s okay. It’s my fault.” Kianna tried to get up.

Dao yanked her back into the soft folds of the sofa. He trapped her there with his body.

“Please, just let me go.” “I can’t,” Dao whispered.

There was sadness in his voice and Kianna looked up into his eyes, trying to find out why. “Why are you sad? You’re breaking my soul, you have no right to be sad!” she flung at him.

“Is that what you think of me?” Dao questioned softly. “Is that what you think I’m doing to you? You think that I would break you so badly as to break your soul? Is that the kind of monster you think I am?”

Kianna said nothing.

“Speak, Kianna. I need to know. Is that what you think of me?”

Kianna lifted her chin proudly. “Yes.”

Dao nodded. “I should have known that I couldn’t turn a scared little girl into a grown woman.”

She saw something die inside Dao’s eyes. She felt like a murderer. When he released her, Dao stood, picked up the letters she had brought in earlier and left the office. She did not know what to take from that. She bowed her head and pressed her face into her hands, trying hard to stop the tears that poured down her face. But she couldn’t dry them fast enough. What had just happened between her and Dao?

Her ringing telephone dragged her from her stupor and she grabbed it. It was the photofinishing place telling her she could pick up the pictures. Kianna thought the trip to the store would clear her mind of what had just happened—of the fact that she had just broken Dao’s heart.

As she sat across from her best friend that night, she was still wondering. “I mean what in the hell did he have to be so bloody angry about? I was the one that was being dumped.”

“Did he say he was dumping you?” Jace wanted to know. The two of them each had a container of chocolate ice cream in their hands.

“He didn’t have to say it.” Kianna stuck a spoonful into her mouth. “I saw it coming. If

anything, he should be thanking me. He didn’t have to dump me. I helped him!”

“You jumped to a conclusion again, Kiki,” Jace pushed. “Admit it. You have no idea why he wanted to talk to you. So naturally you think that he’s about to dump you.”

“What the hell? You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“Not when you do something this stupid!” Jace fired. “You listen to me. Wake up and smell the dirty gym sock, Kiki! Dao Zhi is in love with you. I saw it the moment you introduced me to him. I saw it in the way he wrapped one arm around your waist possessively, the way he stole kisses from you so that everyone could see. The way he stared at you when he thought no one was looking—I’m a best friend, I’m supposed to see these things. I’m supposed to be the one to weed out the assholes that will break your heart. I’m supposed to be the one to keep you from messing the good things up. You are some kind of stupid, Kianna. Don’t let this man walk out of your life because you’re scared.” Jace stood.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going home,” Jace spat, walking for the kitchen to put away the ice cream. “I can’t just sit here and listen to you let go the one bit of happiness you’ve ever had—” Jace disappeared into the kitchen, but soon returned with her jacket

and car keys. “Do you have any idea how many women out there would kill to have a man like Dao?”

“Then let them have him.” Kianna dug into her ice cream again.

Jace shook her head, “You will never find another man that loves you as much as Dao does and you’re just gonna give him up without a fight. I said it before and I’m going to say it again. You’re some kinda stupid.”

“Have you ever seen the moon at night?” Kianna questioned.

“What’re you talking about?” Jace asked. “There’s nothing there.”

“That’s my point!” Kianna sat up fully. “There’s nothing there. Don’t you think that’s a little weird? I mean, there’s a moon. There’re stars!”

“Kiki! What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong is the fact that there isn’t a moon. You can’t see it. Why? Because some morons decided to go home and leave all their bloody lights on. It’s so bright that you can’t even see the most romantic creation ever.”

Silence tore between the two women.

Kianna frowned at her sudden outburst and flopped against the lounge chair. She felt stiff, stale and at a standstill. She felt alone, confused and just useless. Everything lately was a test of her limited patience. When had she become so angry

and impatient? She was normally a lot more tolerable and the moon was just one more of those annoying things that drove her nuts.

“Aside from the obvious, what the hell is wrong with you?” Jace pushed. “You’ve been a real bitch lately, ever since you came back from China. I think I really should go home.”

“Jace…”

“Drop it, Kiki. You obviously aren’t in the mood for company tonight. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Kianna allowed her friend to leave and Jace slammed the door so hard that Kianna jerked upward into a standing position. Long after Jace’s engine died in the distance, Kianna still stood where she had risen. She felt as though her life was one big mess.

I should have known that I couldn’t turn a scared little girl into a grown woman.

Those words were hurtful and she wished she could smack them back down his throat. How dare he call her a little girl? But why was she so angry? Jace was right, she had jumped to conclusion—again. Ever since she was a little girl, she had been jumping to the wrong conclusions. Each time something good happened, she automatically assumed that it was going to go wrong. Her parents were not the best parents and after her brother’s death, they had spent three

years in a shell away from her. Then slowly they emerged and tried to be parents to her once more. Things were going well until they died.

Kianna inhaled deeply and her heart throbbed with that simple, necessary action. She walked back into the house and to her bedroom.

Dao Zhi stood by his window and stared out. The woman he had loved so dearly, so completely thought he would rip her heart out. He felt like a butcher, even though he did not have any intentions of letting her go. Why could she not see that he loved her too much for that? He would give everything up just to hold her again, but she wasn’t ready—that wasn’t what she wanted. His telephone began ringing and he tried to ignore it. The ringing wouldn’t go away though. He frowned and picked it up, “What?” he grumbled into the receiver.

“Dao?”

His eyes pressed shut as pain tore through him, “Why are you haunting me, Kianna? What have I done to you?”

“I’m sorry, Dao. Can I please come see you?” “Why? So you can accuse me of hurting you

again?”

“No, Dao, please…”

Dao bit down against his lower lip. When it came to Kianna, he had no control. He could never deny her anything that he thought would make her happy. If she had been any other woman, any of the others he had dated but hadn’t bothered making a commitment to, he wouldn’t have cared. But Kianna was the one. He had prayed, wished, hoped she was the woman to settle him down and start a family with. How could he deny her the chance to come to him? There was no logical answer to that. He knew her coming over would only end in heartache, but still he said, “Fine.”