Burning Tigress (31 page)

She felt his hands slide inward to the inside of her thighs, and he opened her even wider. Then he let his mouth explore. She mimicked his actions, swirling her tongue when he did, sucking too. And when he began pressing his fingers deep into points between leg and pleasure grotto, she began fondling his dragon pearls. Bit by bit, she lost herself in the sensations.

She felt the yin flow pouring into him from his first taste. She opened herself willingly, giving him all she had. But as she opened herself to give, she was shocked to feel the tangy burn of his yang. It began as a prickle of energy at the roof of her mouth, but the more she let her yin pour down to him, the more his yang energy flowed upward into her.

She felt it as a fire in her mind, like a lava fountain that saturated her brain and made her dizzy. She knew it was not her own yin fire. His was a darker power, essentially alien to herself, and yet a perfect complement. She began to suck harder, using hand and tongue to accentuate his power. She heard him growl, a low vibration of hunger that trembled through his mouth to her yin source.

The contractions began immediately. Her yin loved everything he did. His dragon seemed to agree, for his buttocks began to flex in time with her. His dragon pressed rhythmically forward, deeper into her mouth, and as he moved, his yang did as well. It penetrated her mind, mixed with her yin, and pushed them ever higher. She felt Ken Jin with her as well, not just in body, but also in spirit. They were rising together.

They were climbing to Heaven. With every push of their hips, with every amazing wave of power, they were ascending to the Immortal Realm.

"My God! Oh my God!"

The words barely penetrated her consciousness. Her breath was so fast; the roaring in her ears so loud. But a movement from the corner of her eyes continued the disruption. A movement that should not have been there, a presence that violated this holy space.

She lifted her eyes. She didn't stop what she was doing, she couldn't. She didn't want to, but she raised her gaze to see...

A woman she didn't know. She was older, overly painted, and in a cheap gown that was too small for her ample breasts. And she was giggling even as she clutched the arm of... Charlotte's father.

* * *

Jan 4, 1895

To Wen family patriarch Wen Feng Jin:

Happiness and much luck this new year! I know my monthly package comes early, but I am especially excited for the imminent celebration. I shall be in Peking for the holiday and cannot wait to meet my fiancée at last.

In much anticipation.

Wen Ken Jin

(Attached, seven bolts of red silk, richly embroidered for the New Year's celebration, four sacks of rice, and another three of flour. Five baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables make the full offering of twelve. All is delivered by an armed escort.)

~

January 9, 1895

Dear Sir, Wen Ken Jin:

Woe has befallen our household! Dearest Jan Wan has fallen ill. Such was the excitement of your gift and the anticipation of your arrival that she overset her delicate constitution. The entire household is in fear that any excitement will end her tenuous hold on this life altogether. Pray do not come this holiday. We cannot risk the joy your visit would bring.

In desperate fear,

Wen Feng Jin

~

January 13, 1895

Dear Wen patriarch Wen Feng Jin:

I cannot have a wife who falls ill every time I come home. Perhaps she would be better pleased with a different husband.

Regretfully,

Wen Ken Jin

~

January 20, 1895

Dearest Wen Ken Jin,

Congratulations on an excellent new year! Jan Wan has graciously accepted your suit! She wishes most anxiously to see you this holiday.

We are, of course, worried about the excitement, but feel that you should see the glorious beauty of your wife-to-be. Pray come on the fourth day of New Year's celebration, as is appropriate for a distant friend of the family. She will see you from two to three in the afternoon.

In great joy,

Wen Feng Jin

Dizziness or light-headedness can result when the energy bound up inside a point is released and then circulates throughout your body. The circulation of this vital energy can refresh your whole body, clear your mind, and make you feel new again.

Acupressure for Lovers

Michael Reed Gach, Ph.D.

Chapter 12

It was working. Ken Jin could feel the power—so alive, so filled with light—as it circled between them. They were flying to Heaven. Soon he would be whole again.

Then something changed. He felt Charlotte stiffen, her energy cooling, her power waning. Ken Jin increased his efforts, straining with tongue and lips, but something was very wrong. He opened his eyes, but there was little to see beyond her thighs, her pleasure grotto, her beautiful yin power.

A roar echoed through the room. It was loud and brutal and virtually incoherent, but Ken Jin understood the tone if not the meaning. "I will kill you!"

Ken Jin pushed upward at the same moment Charlotte leapt. He was pushing her behind him, and she was jumping in front, so she went straight up while he scrambled out from beneath. Then he was forced to catch her, though his still swollen dragon made his legs weak. It was a painful distraction that took his attention away from his employer's advance. Except, this couldn't possibly be Charlotte's father. Mr. Wicks was staying in Canton for three more days. He had plans with his mistress; he couldn't be here.

Except, his employer sometimes came back early from his trips. The man delighted in introducing his women to the Dragon chair. Up until now, Ken Jin had not minded. Mr. Wicks was easier to control when he had ready access to a variety of toys. And besides, his employer was the one who had paid for the expensive piece of furniture, on the condition that he could "store it" in Ken Jin's apartment.

And now Mr. Wicks was here, his latest mistress beside him, her mouth open in shock. "How dare you!" he bellowed, advancing with his meaty fists curled into weapons.

"Father, don't!" Charlotte rushed forward despite her nakedness, despite the fact that Ken Jin tried to push her behind him.

"Dead! Dead!" Mr. Wicks bellowed, his hatred pouring out at Ken Jin.

"We're married!" Charlotte cried.

Ken Jin jolted, shocked by her preposterous claim. Chinese and white did not marry. Servant and master did not mix. And yet...

"Father!" she cried again as she reached for the man's fists. He pushed her aside. Unfortunately, she had never been one to leave well enough alone. Instead of staying to one side, she leapt forward and grabbed hold of her father's massive upper arm. "He's my husband!"

"The devil he is!" the man snapped. Then when she didn't release him, he slammed his opposite fist down straight at her face.

The blow never landed. Ken Jin was there, catching his employer's arm well away from Charlotte. Mr. Wicks answered with another roar, and then the battle was joined. He lunged, dragging Charlotte with him as she tried to restrain him. Ken Jin did his best to protect her, but there was little he could do when she was so determined to place herself in the middle of it all.

In the end, he was the one who set her aside. He grabbed hold of her waist and lifted her bodily away, paying for the choice with a blow to his shoulder and another to his skull. But he had received much worse in his life. It was a small price for her safety.

"Get out," he said. "Get safe." At least, that was what he thought he said. He couldn't hear himself over the ringing in his ears.

"Get dressed!" her father bellowed, lunging again at Ken Jin.

Then the fight began in earnest. Ken Jin did not raise a hand. No Chinese man could raise a finger to a white and live, not in foreign-dominated Shanghai, and certainly not after debauching the white man's daughter. So Ken Jin fought in the way he had learned as a boy: by avoidance.

When Mr. Wicks attacked, he sidestepped. Mr. Wicks punched; he ducked. Every lunge was slipped around, every grab was misplaced until the white man lost all sense of reason and began a wanton destruction of whatever he could find. Teapot and cups were smashed, cushions were torn to threads, and the Dragon chair was attacked. Fortunately, the piece of furniture was too strong to be demolished by Mr. Wicks's massive fists, but the sight of someone beating it hurt Ken Jin nonetheless.

And yet, he could only watch and silently thank the goddess Kwan Yin for sparing the sacred scrolls. The door to his bedroom was ajar, but Mr. Wicks was not rational enough to push through to the other room. He was too animalistic to do more than destroy the things in sight.

"Father, stop this!" Charlotte's voice was high and angry. "It's very common to marry a Chinaman," she pressed. "Joanna did it. I've done it. Everyone's done it."

"Hush!" Ken Jin hissed at her. She could not possibly expect her father to believe such nonsense. It did nothing but draw her father's fury to her.

As expected, Mr. Wicks spun, his fists already raised to strike. Charlotte stood tall and defiant, daring her father to hit her. Ken Jin stepped into the breach. He had done everything he could to draw the fight away from her, but this was a small room and neither Charlotte nor the other woman would leave. So he had no choice but to take the brunt of her father's attack straight on.

Ken Jin allowed the bearlike man to grab him. Then, at the last moment possible, Ken Jin shifted his weight and knocked Mr. Wicks's feet out from under him. The man went down with another bellow. Ken Jin shifted and pressed his knee deep between his employer's shoulder blades. Mr. Wicks could not rise until Ken Jin released him.

"Father—" Charlotte began.

"You are no daughter to me!" The raw pain in the man's voice made Ken Jin grit his teeth against guilt. Mr. Wicks had every right to be furious.

"That's right," Charlotte said, her voice commanding and calm. "I am married, Father. I am a wife now—"