'You need to see the women's doctor!' he said harshly. Then she felt his hands gently gather her up. She wanted to say she could walk, but his arms felt so good as he pressed her tightly against his chest. Then she heard him say something else.
'Throw his body out for the dogs.'
Someone had died? Curiosity and fear made her lift her head. Was it the man she had scraped with her nails? Could that kill him?
It was the eunuch Duan Xu. She stared at the body for a moment and tried to feel something. He had been a major instigator of tonight's terrible events, but he wasn't the sole one responsible. Still, she could not be sad that he was dead. In truth, she was grateful that she'd never have to face him again. Then another image filtered through her mind. She saw Duan Xu throw a heavy wood tray at Bo Tao's head. Bo Tao had ducked, spun and thrown a kick that caught the man under his chin. Duan Xu's head had snapped back and he had dropped as he lay now, his neck broken.
'You killed him,' she murmured.
Bo Tao's arms tightened around her. 'Does that bother you?'
She shook her head and buried her face against his chest. 'Thank you.'
Bo Tao uttered a very masculine grunt and then began walking. He carried her out of the emperor's palace. She closed her eyes, allowing the rhythm of his heart to mix with his steady stride. She felt the cool night air against her skin and the rippling pull of her unbound hair. She opened her eyes to see if the sky was lightening into dawn, but saw a thousand stars instead. It was deepest night, and she smiled. She would have more time to stay right here in his arms.
She closed her eyes and prayed that this moment would never end. She felt him step over the entrance to an inner courtyard and then again into another building. They maneuvered through passageways until he finally set her gently down on a pallet.
'Ji Yue, do you need a doctor right away?' he asked.
'No,' she answered. 'No, I'm fine. My head hurts, though.'
He immediately began touching her head, probing her scalp with gentle fingertips. She winced once or twice, but mostly she liked the feel of his hands in her hair.
'Hmm,' she murmured.
'I could kill them for what they did to you!'
She smiled. 'At least I got to see you again. Where have you been?'
His expression sobered. 'Did you mean what you said, Ji Yue? Did you mean it?'
She frowned. 'What?'
'That you…' He had to clear his throat. 'That you love me?'
She laughed. 'Of course I did, silly. I do not let just anyone carry me across the Forbidden City. Come closer.' Then she reached up and pulled him down onto the pallet with her, maneuvering back into his arms. 'I like it here.' She closed her eyes to appreciate his scent while his thumb stroked lightly across her cheek.
'We have some time before the doctor arrives. Do you want to sleep?'
'I want to watch the dawn with you,' she said, her eyes still closed.
He didn't respond for a long time. He was quiet while she listened to the rapid beat of his heart.
'What would you give up, Ji Yue? What would you give to be with me like this always?'
'Everything,' she said, burrowing her fingers under his shirt. She wanted to touch his naked chest.
'Would you leave the Forbidden City? Would you give up being empress?'
'We could live in a house near Canton. Our sons would play in the garden while we watch the ships come and go.' She smiled at the lovely dream. 'I would bear you many strong sons.'
He lifted her chin and took her mouth in a fierce kiss. It was bold and powerful. The way his tongue swept through her sent tingles down her spine. And when he lifted his head, she smiled again.
'You would kiss me just like that every day.'
'Every day and every night,' he swore. His eyes looked fierce, his expression possessive. She liked the way he looked at her.
'Touch me, Sun Bo Tao. Touch me everywhere.'
He hesitated, his hand stilling against her cheek. 'You are not yourself, Ji Yue. They gave you opium.'
She wanted to grab his face, she wanted to kiss him deeply. Instead, she brought his hand to her mouth. She held it to her lips and stroked her tongue across his palm.
'Ji Yue—'
Then she sucked one of his fingers deep into her mouth and heard him groan. She pulled his hand away and slid it down her body, forcing him to stroke her breast, her belly and her hip. And then she spread her legs as much as possible in her tight skirt and pressed his hand to her inner thigh. 'I know my heart, Bo Tao.' How she loved saying his name. 'I love you. I want to be yours.'
He kissed her then. She let her head fall back from his shoulder into the cradle of his arm. She let him thrust his tongue into her mouth while her breath quickened and her body trembled. And when his lips went from her mouth to her cheek then down her neck, she knew where he was going. She knew what he would do and she smiled.
'Yes, oh, yes.'
He unbuttoned her blouse and pushed the sides away. He feasted on her breasts while lights danced behind her eyes and filtered into her blood. His beard brushed against her skin, and the lights trembled beneath her skin. He sucked on her nipple and her whole body shimmered.
She ran her hands through his hair, but it was held tight by his queue. Rising up onto her knees, she faced him, her legs spread wide. Then she reached around to unbind his hair. She wanted it undone, and yet she loved the silky feel of the long braid in her hand.
He turned his head, then tugged off the cord that bound his braid. 'I will cut this from my head for you.'
She laughed in delight at the ridiculous thought. The long braid was every man's sign of devotion to the Manchu emperor. It was mandated by law. Only the monks were allowed to shave their heads, and even they were held in suspicion because of it. She burrowed her fingers into his hair, spreading it wide as she went. 'I like your hair.'
He touched hers equally reverently. 'I like yours, too.'
She giggled. 'Kiss me again.'
He did. He plundered her mouth. Over and over he thrust his tongue into her, and the feel of it sent her wild with hunger. Her skirt was restricting her legs, so she lifted it up. She wanted his hands on her there, needed his mouth to do what they had done before in his office.
She reached for his member and found it quickly and easily. She stroked his thick, full length and knew that this was right. This was what a man felt like. He groaned in hunger at her caress and she thrilled at the dark vibration that traveled from his body into hers.
'Never has a woman done this to me,' he said against her neck. His breath was hot as he shifted his hips. Her arms were between them, and she held his wet tip, rolling the moisture around and around with her thumb. But her other arm was free, and she let it flow around his hips and trim buttocks. What muscles he had! She squeezed playfully, laughing when his flesh barely moved.
He was looking at her, his expression fierce. She smiled at him, feeling her love swell for this serious, serious man. 'I love how you feel,' she said. Then she sobered. 'I love how you look at me. No one has ever looked at me like that.' How she wanted him. How she wanted to feel what other women felt, to just once have him where she most wanted.
'I want to marry you, Ji Yue. I want you to choose me.'
'I do. I choose you.' She rose up to kiss him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and plundered him as he had her. They were belly to belly, but she felt him between her legs. She knew where his organ was and…she sat. It wasn't a conscious decision so much as a need that compelled her. One moment she was above him, using her arms to support her weight as she kissed him deeply, completely and as fully as she knew how. The next moment she simply let her legs go weak. She dropped down, and he filled her in one beautiful, expansive, amazing moment.
He gasped, his eyes shooting wide. But the sound was just as quickly followed by a moan of both hunger and fear. 'Ji Yue—'
