The China Bride

before Constancia had fallen ill. Friendship might not be the same as love, but it was obviously a better foundation for intimacy than lust or a commercial transaction, no matter how elegantly the latter was disguised.

When he awoke, he reached for her sleepily and discovered she was gone. It was dawn and objects were dimly visible in the pale light. Since the grate still blocked the exit, Troth had to be near.

Suppressing a yawn, he rose and pulled on his undergarments, then fumbled his way up to the shrine. There he found Troth dancing in front of Kuan Yin. Barefoot and clad as simply as he, she glided across the stone floor with heart-stopping grace, her movements fluid as a willow in the wind. Her hair was still unbound, and it swirled and floated around her with every step. Shadowy in the low light, she had a magical beauty that was not of the earth he knew.

She floated into a slow turn that brought her around to face him, radiance in her expression. He felt a deep pang knowing that that exaltation should have been for another man, one who could love and cherish her as she deserved.

Yet she was a woman grown, in many ways wiser than he, and the night before she'd made it clear she knew exactly what she was doing. Given her strange half-life in Canton, she'd needed to embrace her femaleness to build strength for her new world. It was his good fortune that he'd been her choice for teaching one of life's great lessons.

Seeing him, she sank into a bow. 'My lord.'

'I'm not your lord, but your friend.' He caught her hands and raised her to her feet. 'What kind of dance was that? I've never seen anything like it.'

She smiled. 'Not a dance, but tai chi-exercises for balancing chi energy. Ever since I was a child in Macao, I've done tai chi and wing chun almost every morning in the gardens. Sometimes Chenqua would join me for two-person exercises and sparring.'

'Good God. How very energetic before breakfast.' No wonder she was in superb physical condition. 'Do the exercises really make one feel more in harmony?'

'Oh, yes. If I don't do them for a few days, I begin to feel out of sorts.'

'It sounds like something I would benefit by knowing. Can you teach me?'

'You'd really like to?'

'Right now, if you don't mind teaching me.'

'Then we'll start with the patterns that make up a simple form. This one is called 'repulse monkey.' ' She began to glide backward, her whole body in motion and one arm sweeping up in front of her, palm out. 'A monkey confronted by a tiger escapes by putting a paw on the tiger's nose while he retreats. As the monkey moves back, he alternates paws, keeping his enemy at a distance.'

Kyle tried to imitate her actions, feeling clumsy. This was nowhere near as easy as she made it look. 'Might this have worked yesterday when you faced the tiger?'

'Doubtful, even if I'd had the wit to try. The tiger would have just bitten my hand off before going for my throat,' she said cheerfully. 'Don't work so hard, my lord. This should be effortless, relaxed. Feel the chi flowing through you like a river of light.'

A river of light. He thought of the image, made himself relax, and found that the movements came more easily, though he'd never have her grace.

After she taught him half a dozen different patterns, she led him in a slow version of the complete routine. He followed her across the sanctuary floor under Kuan Yin's benevolent gaze, feeling happy and carefree and completely at peace.

'Well done!' she said, laughing. 'Now again. The form must become so much a part of you that you needn't think about what you're doing. Then the chi can flow freely.'

'The object is to be not the dancer but the dance?'

'Exactly!' She led him through the form again, faster, and again, as he echoed her movements. Gradually he stopped thinking about his body and let his mind flow, fully in the moment as his gaze followed Troth. She was so lovely, unlike any other woman in the world, an enchanting blend of mind, body, and spirit.

How often was one happy and fully aware of it at the time? He was happy now…

The pattern changed to magpie landing on a branch. He promptly got confused, moved right when he should have gone left, and collided with Troth. 'Sorry!'

Giggling, she untangled herself, as carefree as the girl she hadn't been allowed to be. 'Mistakes happen. You're actually quite good for a stiff Englishman.'

'Some of the evasive movements used in European boxing are similar, though that pales compared to your wing chun. What are the two-person exercises like?'

'The simplest is 'sticking hands.' We place the backs of our hands together and move them between us, testing. When one person strikes, the other must block the blow.'

'I don't want to do any striking, but the exercise sounds interesting.' He pressed the backs of his hands against hers. Her hands were narrow, but the fingers were long and capable. She glowed with strength and harmony. 'Good God, I think I feel some of that chi coming from you. Is that possible?'

'Yes, one must sense the opponent's energy to know what he'll do before he does it. Try to break free of my hands, and I'll try to keep you blocked.'

Having seen her fight, he thought it was entirely possible that she knew what her opponents would do before they did. No matter how he moved his arms, she stayed with him as if glued.

'This is rather like a fighting waltz.' He added footwork to the sticking hands, and they began moving across the wide chamber like dancers. It didn't matter whether he pressed forward, slid sideways, or fell back-she stayed with him, her smile teasing and her feet swift as a Scottish dancer's. He moved faster and faster until they were both panting, yet they stayed joined like a man and his shadow.

As his blood raced through his veins, he remembered the intimate dance they'd shared the night before. Desire grew until he could think of nothing else. But how to break free of her sticking hands and do something about it?

He mustn't plan his movements, since she could read his intent. Instead, he would think of that luscious mouth, that slender, flexible body, the generosity of her lovemaking.

Jettisoning conscious thought in favor of instinct, he dropped his arms, breaking the contact between their hands. Then he caught her around the waist and swept her from the floor. 'Victory! Now there's another kind of two-person exercise we must work on.'

Though she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, she panted, 'They say it's dangerous to go from chi exercise to mating, my lord. The fire element might take over and damage one's internal organs.'

He blinked, distracted by the vibrant female form in his arms. 'Really?'

'I don't know,' she confessed. 'But I'm not sure I'd want to risk it.'

He kissed the pulse in her throat. 'Surely the danger will be past by the time I transport you to the chamber below.'

She gave a gurgle of laughter. 'I'm sure you are right, my lord.' As he carried her down the passage to their bed, she nibbled his ear, purring like a cat.

Laughing, they tumbled down together, stripping off their garments so they were flesh to flesh. Her ivory skin was like satin, infinitely touchable. He tried to kiss every bit of it as his hands roamed over her, remembering what she'd liked most.

She was a symphony of slender limbs and gentle female curves, except for the glorious richness of her breasts. 'You're more delectable than Chenqua's banquet,' he said huskily. 'A feast fit for a king.'

'I wouldn't want a king, unless he made love as you do.' She nipped his shoulder as her hips ground into his.

'Mei-Lian.' He separated her legs with his knees. 'Beautiful Willow.'

He entered slowly, in case she was sore from the night before, but she refused gentleness. Marvelously fit and strong, her body heated from the wing chun exercises, she was like a tigress who demanded equal wildness from her mate. They rolled from the blankets to the floor, oblivious to the chill of the stone.

He came to rest on his back, holding her on top of him. She gasped when he let her set the tempo of their mating, radiating delight as she experienced a new range of sensations, and the power of being in control. Until