Tempted Tigress (43 page)

Zhi-Gang waited until the door shut behind them before turning to his wife. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, already reaching for her clothing. "You?"

"I don't know how I didn't hear them." He said the words, but he did know. Last night's experience had been so overwhelming, so exhausting, he had lost all sense of the world. All that seemed real to him was her. Even now, with the threat of the men gone from their room, his eyes traveled to her body as she pulled on her skirt. His gaze followed the curve of her hip and the bounce of her breasts while his memory recalled her scent, her taste, her joy.

Their joy.

Their
love.

He sat down on the bed, covering his shock by pulling on his trousers. Had he truly fallen in love with a white woman? An opium runner and the adopted daughter of one of the worst of her kind? It was insane. And yet, was it a surprise?

"Are you all right?" Anna asked, her voice slipping into his thoughts as easily as every other aspect of her had infiltrated his body and mind.

He nodded, pulling on his boots without comment. He had to focus on the situation at hand. He was the Emperor's Enforcer, which needed his attention. Both their lives depended on it.

And yet, his mind was still soft with the memories of last night. Never had he thought he would live a Chinese love story, one of doomed lovers and tragic death. He had worked hard, his whole family had sacrificed everything—including his sister—so that he would gain the status and power he now enjoyed. He had his choice of brides. Why ever would he pick a white drug-runner?

He wrapped his tunic about him, leaving it just tight enough to keep him warm but loose enough to allow him to fight. He could not allow Samuel to continue to ply his hideous trade. He would do better to establish an agreement with Samuel, then return later with a battalion of men. That would be safer for him. Safer for Anna. But would he get a better opportunity?

"Almost done," she said as she offered him his glasses.

He frowned as he looked at her. She was fully dressed. Even her hair was pinned up out of her way. At his confused expression, she smiled and continued. "You are almost done with me," she said softly. "We need only finish with this, then all will be over. We can both move on."

She meant she could board Captain Jonas's boat and head for her family in England. Which was as it should be. He nodded, though the motion felt as though it tore his chest open. The pain was almost unbearable.

"It would be safer to delay," he said, slipping on his glasses. Anna abruptly became that much more beautiful. "We are vulnerable this way."

She stared at him, her expression unreadable. Then she slowly stepped up to him. He spread his arms, welcoming her into his embrace without hesitation. And just that easily, his heart sealed, the pain faded. He pressed his face into her hair, closing his eyes as he gripped her tightly. She lifted her face, and he drew back, thinking she meant to kiss him. But before their mouths met, she whispered into his ear.

"You cannot maintain this fiction long. Someone will recognize you and you will never get close to Samuel again. We must end it now."

He swallowed, feeling a surge of anger that she could think so clearly. This was his job, and yet she was the one who focused on the task, who spoke logically while he was still trapped in the mists of last night's wonder. Was she truly as unmoved as she appeared? Or...

He drew back, searching her eyes. "Last night you said you loved me."

He saw a momentary panic swirl through her eyes before her gaze steadied. She did not hide from him, merely met his eyes with an open sorrow. "I did," she finally whispered. "I do." Then she glanced toward the door. "He will not wait much longer."

Zhi-Gang nodded, knowing she was acting exactly as she ought: putting away the past to concentrate on the present. And how easy it seemed for her. He ought to be following her example, and yet his belly churned with doubt. Had he misjudged everything? Did she truly love him? And did that matter?

"I have other wives," he said, stunned that he would speak of it now. "Some dead, another a political alliance. They mean nothing to me, but I
am
marrie—"

She pressed her fingers to his lips, stopping his words. "I don't care." She closed her eyes and dropped her forehead against his. "It's the truth: I love you the same whether you have no wives or a million."

"Only one," he whispered. "Only you."

He would have kissed her then. He would have tried to express what was in his heart, but he didn't have time. Only one thing was clear: nothing could be decided by hiding in this room. To move forward, he had to deal with Samuel. He had to be the Enforcer. As soon as that was done...

She would leave for England and it would be done for good.

He nodded, taking one last moment to breathe in her scent. "So be it," he finally intoned. Then he set her away from him and turned to face one of China's darkest enemies.

* * *

The office smelled something like burnt tea. It took a moment for Anna to recognize the scent, but then she closed her eyes in memory. Her real father had loved Turkish cafe. That Samuel enjoyed the same brew was one of the ties that had bound her to him in the first place.

Beside her, Zhi-Gang frowned as he sniffed the air, and so she explained. He would not likely know the smell.

"Turkish cafe," she said, her eyes sliding from Zhi-Gang to the men framing the doorway just inside the office. The pistol and the deer-horn knives were out, but not aimed. They were there as warning, and Anna's back prickled with awareness as she and Zhi-Gang stepped into the room. Samuel sat at Halfy's desk, his eyes half lidded as he sipped from a cup.

"Welcome, daughter." He set his cup down and eyed Zhi-Gang. "Welcome, Mandarin."

Zhi-Gang nodded briefly, his gaze canting to the thugs. "Are they truly necessary?"

"Yes." Samuel flicked his gaze to Anna. "Do I not deserve a kiss from my daughter?"

Anna felt her face flush. "Of course," she said, ducking around the desk. But as she moved, she wondered at her actions. This man was not her father. This man had used her affection for his own ends. This man...

Had given her exactly what she'd asked for, and a great deal more. She wanted him dead for what he'd done to her, for what he was doing to China. And yet, she still felt a tie between them. He was, after all, her last link to her real father.

All these thoughts spun through her mind as she bent over to place a kiss on his cheek. He lifted his face, and she smelled the familiar scents: tobacco, perfume, opium. He rarely used himself, but he was always prepared to offer. He even carried a needle for his favorite customers.

She eyed his clothing, guessing that the wooden box would be in his left jacket pocket. She straightened, knowing he watched her closely. Was there any affection, as she'd once believed? Or suspicion? What did he feel for her?

"So, this is your new husband," he drawled. "Tell me how that came about."

"Oh, yes, well," Anna began breathlessly, slipping easily into the fairy tale. "I was running, you know, from the Enforcer..." The words flowed sweetly from her lips. In truth she had retold the story to herself a dozen times since that night she'd fabricated it for the governor's widows. It had become magical for her, a talisman, this idea that she and Zhi-Gang were desperately in love and could never be parted.

"You made it alone all the way to the Grand Canal?" Samuel asked, clearly skeptical.

She stiffened. Of all the things to doubt, he chose that? "I can be quite resourceful when I need to."

"That, I believe," Samuel said.

Zhi-Gang stepped forward, his irritation a palpable force in the room. "Women's tales are for the women's room. Wife, you will stand by my side now."

Anna blinked, startled by his tone. Gone was last night's lover. Back indeed was the Enforcer. She moved immediately to obey, but was stopped by her father's hand on her wrist. Samuel held her tight to his side, and no matter how hard she twisted her wrist, she could not escape.

"Father," she admonished softly, "I am married now. My place is at his side."

"He is a Chinaman," Samuel retorted. "And perhaps I do not recognize any wedding not performed in a Christian manner." He smiled up at her. "Stay here. Convince me of this marriage."

Anna blinked, thrown. How many times had he looked at her in just that way, his heart in his eyes, love pouring off him in waves? She knew it must be a lie. He could not have true feelings for her and still push her into the dangerous life of a runner. And yet, his love felt real.

Or it would have, if she had not known Zhi-Gang's attention, Zhi-Gang's love. Samuel was a liar and a manipulator. So she smiled sweetly—stupidly—down at her adopted father, and her heart remained with Zhi-Gang.

"Acknowledged or not," she said, "Zhi-Gang and I are—"

"He does not care," Zhi-Gang interrupted. "He cares only about the truth of the business you bring." He looked hard at Anna. "He thinks I have fooled you."

"To what end?" Anna asked, lost.

"To the end that all runners are disposable," answered Zhi-Gang. "I only needed you to meet with him. Now it is time for you to leave while I make arrangements with your father."

Anna narrowed her eyes, trying to read Zhi-Gang's expression. Was it true? Could he truly have used her just to meet with Samuel? Of course not. They had shared so much more. He intended to get her out of the way so he could kill Samuel without danger to her. She knew that. Her heart even warmed at the thought. But she could not be dismissed. Not yet. She had to see this through to the end.

Zhi-Gang continued, his voice as curt and cold as any of Samuel's mercenaries. The Chinese were never this openly derisive. Politeness was practically a religion, and yet Zhi-Gang's emotion seemed to darken the entire room.

"You want girls," he said. "I want opium. As the new governor of Jiangsu, I can supply you with what you need. You must prove that you can get me opium."

Samuel arched a bushy eyebrow. "You doubt that a
white man
can supply opium?"

"He doubts everything," Anna said with a shrug, using the movement to try to dislodge her father's grip. It didn't work. His fingers were strong, and he kept her tight at his side. So she turned to Zhi-Gang, staying with the pretend game of negotiation. "He has it," she said firmly.

Samuel spoke to Anna. "Does he have the girls? Young pretty ones?"

Anna wrinkled her nose. "It's a poor province. But as long as the peasants keep having babies, they'll keep selling the girls. That's how it works in China."

Samuel sneered, curling his lip as he took a sip of cafe. "Heathens."

"And yet you profit from it," Zhi-Gang growled from across the table.

Anna twisted to glare at him. What was he doing? He could not kill Samuel from across the desk, and he would never cross it without some show of congeniality.

"What else would these girls do?" Samuel sighed and shook his head. "How many starve to death or spread their legs as eighth concubine to some old man? At least this way they're getting paid for their work." Samuel pinned Zhi-Gang with a hard gaze. "And you get your opium."

Zhi-Gang didn't answer. He was, after all, pretending to be a buyer. But Anna could feel the anger that radiated out of him. Luckily, no change appeared on his face. In the end, he simply nodded, as if acknowledging Samuel's point. Then he stared pointedly at where Samuel still gripped Anna's arm.

"Release my wife," he ordered. "She has no place here."

"Oh, but she does," Samuel drawled. "She is my best runner. Or she was until she started tasting the product." He leaned back in his seat as he eyed her. "Is that why you married him? Because you knew I wouldn't give you any more? Not after you left the real buyer high and dry—"

"He was dead, father," Anna snapped. "Sliced open like a side of beef right before my eyes."

"Who was the buyer?" Zhi-Gang asked, his voice casual.

"Governor Wan," Anna answered softly. She remembered the night all too well, despite the opium haze. And sometimes when she looked at Zhi-Gang—moments like now, when his eyes were hard, his lips set in an angry grimace—she feared who he was and what he could do.

Zhi-Gang simply shrugged. "An idiot with even more idiotic wives." He shook his head. "A man can be forgiven for marrying a stupid woman, but only if he keeps her out of public view, away from ears that report to the Enforcer."

Samuel turned. "Is that what happened with Wan?"

Yes,
realized Anna.

"I have no idea," answered Zhi-Gang. "But if I knew he and his friends ate opium—lots of opium—then how hard could it be for the Enforcer to know?"

Samuel slowly reached for his teacup, his eyes narrowed. "And you would avoid this fate?"

Zhi-Gang released a sharp bark of laughter. "I have not married an idiot."

The white man's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really?" he drawled. "She takes opium. Loves it. Craves it. Isn't that right, Anna?"

Anna had been momentarily lost in her memories of Governor Wan's death. She had been thinking of her husband and wondering when he would finally act, finally be done with this game and kill Samuel. But at her father's words, she felt her face heat with shame. "You gave me my first taste!" she cried.