The Lotus Palace by Jeannie Lin Page B

world. She envied him the ability to be able to laugh like that.
    “Was it so bad, then?” he asked.
    She did look at him then, meeting his eyes squarely. “It was.”
    His unwavering confidence could mean only two things. Either he was deluded about his own abilities, or his clumsiness had been intentional.
    “Why did you do it?” she asked him.
    His gaze flicked away briefly, then came back to her. He had strong, distinctive features; eyes that were set deep and a nose that was well-defined. His mouth was full and perfectly shaped. A face like that could truly get away with anything.
    “I suppose I wanted to see what would happen,” he said quietly.
    “That’s the problem with men like you. This sort of thing is a game, as if you had a right to everything in the world for your amusement.”
    “I didn’t mean—”
    “You only meant to tease. You have the privilege of turning everything into a jest when I’ve never had the privilege to even refuse such an act.”
    She hadn’t intended to become so aggravated. Bai Huang was silent beside her while she tried to calm herself.
    “I didn’t consider it that way,” he said finally.
    She didn’t acknowledge his words. If it was an apology, and it didn’t sound like one, she wouldn’t accept it.
    “Have you never—?” To his credit, he continued past her cold stare. “Have you never had a kiss that you actually wanted?”
    “Why would I ever want such a thing?” she replied sharply.
    Any man who had ever touched her had held something over her. Money or status and usually both. And always the threat of his physical strength. They hadn’t all been brutes or drunks. A few were even kind, in their own way. Most were indifferent. In many ways, a kiss was more of an invasion than a body pressing over her. It was the touching of mouths, the exchange of breath. Too much was woven into a kiss; all the senses of touch, taste and sound. There was no way for her to explain how she had been overwhelmed by it all.
    “I’ve been a bastard of the worst kind,” Bai Huang conceded.
    She made a noncommittal sound and looked out once again to the rain. Such afternoon downpours were unpredictable and usually brief, but this one conspired against her and continued relentlessly.
    “You won’t let me apologize, will you?”
    She sighed. “Let us talk about something else.”
    More rain. More silence.
    “Perhaps there is a way I can set things right between us.”
    Now it was her turn to laugh. A ringing melody poured out of her, cutting through the patter of the water.
    “Miss Yue-ying.” For the first time, he appeared a bit put out by her reaction.
    “Shall I guess how you want to set things right?” she asked, her eyebrows lifting skeptically.
    Bai Huang wasn’t a bad fellow, she’d decided. And he wasn’t at all like the face he insisted on presenting to the world. But he was still drearily predictable.
    “Here,” he continued undaunted. He turned around, placing his hands behind him to grip the railing as he leaned back into it. “I won’t subject you to another kiss since you find my technique...somewhat objectionable.” His smirk was directed at himself as much as at her. “My hands will remain right here. I’ll be a statue. I’ll even close my eyes...if that’s what you want.”
    “It’s not that I’m afraid of you,” she said, rolling her eyes. “And a man accepting a kiss as ‘punishment’ has to be the most overplayed parlor trick since the time of the First Emperor. Next to accepting a drink as punishment. Oh, the torture of it!”
    “I didn’t say I wouldn’t enjoy it. This is merely a chance for you to know what it is to have a kiss you were in complete control of.”
    “It’s hardly the same. You’re still allowing me this liberty, as if it were a gift you were bestowing.”
    “Miss Yue-ying,” he sighed. “Show some mercy.”
    At least he understood what he offered wasn’t in any way equal. It was just another game, another