was doomed. She would find a place to disappear along her river and forget. She had always been able to move on to another place and weave a cocoon of safety around herself. Gao might seek her out once Li Tao no longer protected her, but she’d avoided the old wolf on her own for years.
The comb was still clenched in her hand, the teeth biting into the palm. It slipped through her nerveless fingers as she lifted it to her hair.
All of this was supposed to be second nature. Yin and yang and the ways of sensual fulfilment. Yet she was shaking hard as she had the first night she’d been summoned to the Emperor’s chamber.
Li Tao wouldn’t be a gentle lover, but his hands had stroked her with exquisite knowledge. He knew how to pleasure a woman. She had no doubt of that. Her skin tingled from his caress, her body aroused and searching. He would expect the same knowledge of her.
The extent of her reputation was laughable. How could imperial concubines be expected to be goddesses in the bedchamber when they were trained to please only one man, the Emperor?
Auntie returned and wordlessly picked up the fallen comb. ‘Master Li took Ru Shan. No one knows where,’ she reported in a hush.
Suyin stared ahead, her mask of control slipping back in place. ‘No harm will come to him yet.’
‘Are you certain?’
‘I’m certain.’
Li Tao wouldn’t come to her that night with blood on his hands. Her willingness was important to him. She didn’t understand what rules of honour he lived by, but he treated her with a semblance of civility, even protectiveness. At least, until she provoked him.
‘Lady Ling, you look pale.’
‘We need to fix that.’ Her thoughts were far away.
Auntie regarded her questioningly.
She would need a bath. Her hair needed to be pinned, her skin perfumed. She couldn’t appear as anything less than ravishing for Li Tao. She took wicked satisfaction in how her beauty confused him. This was a different allure from the one she projected to the court. With Li Tao, she was a woman for once, something more than a pretty illusion.
The door to the study opened into darkness. Suyin placed her hand against the wall to guide herself. The lamps inside had been extinguished. The lantern in the hallway provided the only light.
Li Tao was there. She could sense him. The darkness magnified his presence. He was nothing but a silhouette. Unknown and tempting.
His hands curved over her shoulders. Li Tao pressed her flat against the wall as their gazes locked. He was breathing hard, his chest rising and falling. She couldn’t find her next breath no matter how hard she tried. With his eyes on her the entire time, he reached out to push the door shut.
His mouth found hers and pried her lips roughly apart. Before her eyes could adjust to the darkness, he was kissing her with his hard body strained against her, hip to hip. He trapped her in a fierce embrace. Everything all at once. No time to form any thought.
Better like this. She moaned in surrender as his tongue invaded her mouth. Ribbons of heat curled through her limbs and she hooked her arms around his neck. Better like this, without a word. She couldn’t trust herself not to challenge and confound him the moment she spoke. This way, she could just feel.
She let herself be swept into the hunger between them. Her eyes closed as her head fell back and the darkness surrounded her. She pressed against Li Tao, feeling his tension through every muscle.
One of his hands dug into her hair as the other pulled at the sash at her waist. The hairpins fell away haphazardly. He cared nothing for her efforts over the last hours. He pulled at the layers of her dress and slipped them from her shoulders. A faint tearing sound broke through the silence. The cadence of his breathing filled her ears, the sound of it urgent, desperate.
She reached for his robe, but he was much faster, more efficient. In a few short motions, he tugged his clothing away and dropped the
The comb was still clenched in her hand, the teeth biting into the palm. It slipped through her nerveless fingers as she lifted it to her hair.
All of this was supposed to be second nature. Yin and yang and the ways of sensual fulfilment. Yet she was shaking hard as she had the first night she’d been summoned to the Emperor’s chamber.
Li Tao wouldn’t be a gentle lover, but his hands had stroked her with exquisite knowledge. He knew how to pleasure a woman. She had no doubt of that. Her skin tingled from his caress, her body aroused and searching. He would expect the same knowledge of her.
The extent of her reputation was laughable. How could imperial concubines be expected to be goddesses in the bedchamber when they were trained to please only one man, the Emperor?
Auntie returned and wordlessly picked up the fallen comb. ‘Master Li took Ru Shan. No one knows where,’ she reported in a hush.
Suyin stared ahead, her mask of control slipping back in place. ‘No harm will come to him yet.’
‘Are you certain?’
‘I’m certain.’
Li Tao wouldn’t come to her that night with blood on his hands. Her willingness was important to him. She didn’t understand what rules of honour he lived by, but he treated her with a semblance of civility, even protectiveness. At least, until she provoked him.
‘Lady Ling, you look pale.’
‘We need to fix that.’ Her thoughts were far away.
Auntie regarded her questioningly.
She would need a bath. Her hair needed to be pinned, her skin perfumed. She couldn’t appear as anything less than ravishing for Li Tao. She took wicked satisfaction in how her beauty confused him. This was a different allure from the one she projected to the court. With Li Tao, she was a woman for once, something more than a pretty illusion.
The door to the study opened into darkness. Suyin placed her hand against the wall to guide herself. The lamps inside had been extinguished. The lantern in the hallway provided the only light.
Li Tao was there. She could sense him. The darkness magnified his presence. He was nothing but a silhouette. Unknown and tempting.
His hands curved over her shoulders. Li Tao pressed her flat against the wall as their gazes locked. He was breathing hard, his chest rising and falling. She couldn’t find her next breath no matter how hard she tried. With his eyes on her the entire time, he reached out to push the door shut.
His mouth found hers and pried her lips roughly apart. Before her eyes could adjust to the darkness, he was kissing her with his hard body strained against her, hip to hip. He trapped her in a fierce embrace. Everything all at once. No time to form any thought.
Better like this. She moaned in surrender as his tongue invaded her mouth. Ribbons of heat curled through her limbs and she hooked her arms around his neck. Better like this, without a word. She couldn’t trust herself not to challenge and confound him the moment she spoke. This way, she could just feel.
She let herself be swept into the hunger between them. Her eyes closed as her head fell back and the darkness surrounded her. She pressed against Li Tao, feeling his tension through every muscle.
One of his hands dug into her hair as the other pulled at the sash at her waist. The hairpins fell away haphazardly. He cared nothing for her efforts over the last hours. He pulled at the layers of her dress and slipped them from her shoulders. A faint tearing sound broke through the silence. The cadence of his breathing filled her ears, the sound of it urgent, desperate.
She reached for his robe, but he was much faster, more efficient. In a few short motions, he tugged his clothing away and dropped the
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