The Grandmaster’s Legacy: Masters of Love and War (A Taylor Lee HOT Historical Romantic Suspense Collection) (The Grandmaster's Legacy)

by Taylor Lee

  “You got that, honey?”

  Lei stared at him, her face pale and tight with emotion. She was startled at his quiet fury, the hard gleam in his eyes. She was accustomed to seeing his eyes gleam, but with lust, not anger. He had never been like this with her. It made her nervous. It also made her want to strike out at him. He wasn’t the only one who was angry.

  “Now, let me tell you who else I am. I am the guy who in one minute is going to turn you over my knee and spank the hell out of you. Something you’ve been begging me to do for a long time.”

  “You wouldn’t dare!” She was shocked. He had never threatened her before. She had to believe he was just trying to frighten her.

  “Oh yeah? I wouldn’t, huh? Well, since you don’t think I will, let me tell you specifically what I am going to do, so you won’t be surprised.

  “First, I’m going to take off your pants. Then I’m going to turn you over my knee and pull down your underwear. That’s the way naughty children are spanked, Lei, on their bare bottoms. Then I’m going to blister your bare ass so goddamn hard you’ll feel it for a week.”

  She gasped. “Don’t fool yourself, Wyatt. No one will ever do that to me! Especially you!” Without thinking she stepped up to him and spit in his face, then turned and flounced to the door.

  With a predatory grin, he moved like a sleek panther, cutting off her escape. “Bad move, honey.”

  Dragging her by the arm over to her dressing table, he picked up her wide flat hairbrush. He said with a slight smile, “This’ll work well.”

  She was stunned that he really meant to spank her. She tried to break free him, but he had a tight hold on her. His face was taut with anger.

  Holding her in a tight grip, he pulled off her gi pants and kicked them across the floor.

  “Oh, my god. What are you doing, Wyatt? Stop! You can’t really mean this! You can’t do this to me, you can’t!”

  “Oh, yeah? Not only can I, honey, I’m going to enjoy it. You have been begging for this for so long that it’s time you get your wish. But, hang on, baby. This is going to hurt a hell of lot more than you might think!”

  He put his foot up on the chair, reached out and tossed her face down over his knee. He held her thrashing helplessly. Neither her hands nor her feet were able to touch the floor.

  She screamed and fought against him. Lei was strong. She was a kung fu master. But, Wyatt was easily twice as strong and every kung fu move she knew, he had taught her. Moreover, he was quietly, coldly furious. He didn’t hold back. He grabbed her hands and held them with one hand behind her back. He clamped her thrashing legs between both of his strong thighs in a vise grip. He jerked her underwear down to her knees and jackknifed her bare bottom up in the air. With his other hand, he gave her a hard swat with her brush. She screamed in surprise at the pain, then furiously tried to fight him. But he was too strong and she couldn’t break free from his grip.

  He ignored her screams and pushed her ass up higher, continuing to spank her hard.

  She cried out in pain. “Oh, my God! You are hurting me, Wyatt! Oh my God, stop, it hurts!”

  “That’s my intention, sweetheart. I sure as hell hope it hurts, or my arm is getting tired for nothing.”

  Finally, she stopped fighting and collapsed against his leg, sobbing, begging him to stop.

  “Please, Wyatt, stop! Please stop. Please, please stop! It hurts so much!”

  He gave her three additional swats. “Those are for that rude display you put on for Chief, yesterday. I would almost tolerate your rudeness to me, but not to him. And this, honey, is to remind you exactly who the hell I am, the next time you are wondering.” He gave her five more hard swats, then put the brush down, as she sobbed wildly. “Okay, that’s enough for now.”

  He picked her up and tried to hold her, but she managed to twist away. She ran crying into the bathroom slamming the door and locking it. He listened for a moment to her frantic sobs. He started toward the door, but then decided to let her deal with her anger alone.

  He left the room and went to his office. For the first time in a long while, the fury he felt toward her over their deep seated issues began to loosen. He was sure Lei wouldn’t appreciate that, given her blistered bottom, but he knew it was a good thing for them both.

  ~~~

  Lei lay on the bathroom floor, crying uncontrollably. She was stunned that Wyatt had spanked her. She never thought he would dare. To take her pants off and turn her over his knee and spank her like a small child? How could he have done that to her? She knew he wanted to embarrass her, to show her that he could control her, that he could tell her what to do and she would have to do it. Like that horrible scene at lunch. He did that purposefully. In front of Theresa and Chief and the children, to let all of them know that he was in charge of her.

  She was furious with him and stunned. She had never been punished in her life. She had been treated like a princess. And now she had been spanked? Like a naughty child? And she hurt. She looked in the mirror and couldn’t believe how red her bottom was. It looked swollen. She was overcome by a feeling of helplessness that quickly turned to fury. She didn’t know how she was going to respond to Wyatt. She only knew she had to get away from the cottage. She was sure he was in his office. More than anything, she didn’t want to see him until she had figured out what she was going to do. If it wasn’t for the children, she would get on her horse and ride as far and as fast as she could from the ranch. Then she remembered her sore bottom and burst into tears, knowing that she could barely walk, much less ride her horse.

  She decided to go to her retreat room. There she would have privacy. She could lock the door, although she knew a locked door would never keep Wyatt out. At least she wouldn’t run into him or Theresa or any of the other adults. She knew she would die of shame if they knew that Wyatt spanked her. She found some skimpy drawers and a sparring outfit that hung loosely on her bottom. Without rethinking her decision, she ran out of her room into the hallway, past Wyatt’s office, out into the yard. Grateful that she had not seen him or anyone else, she ran past the dojo to their private room. Inside, she locked the door. She threw herself down on the bed and burst into tears. She felt helpless. She couldn’t believe how much she hurt, how sore she was. She cried for what seemed like hours, until exhausted, she fell asleep.

  ~~~

  Wyatt saw her go by his office. He walked to the front door watching her run across the yard to their retreat room. That is where he assumed she would go. He was glad that she did. He knew they had a long night ahead of them. Like Lei he wanted privacy. Probably for different reasons, he thought with a grin.

  Theresa came into the room carrying Deshi, who had just woken up from his nap. The snuffling child looked as though he was going to cry. “Deshi is asking for his mommy. Do you know if Lei is resting? I went by your bedroom, but I didn’t see her there.”

  “I know that Lei is in our private room. She wanted to rest. Let’s give her some privacy.

  “Come here, little guy. I think you need to spend some time with your dad. How about it? Let’s go get your sparring clothes on. When Alex and Elena get back from their ride, we will all go to the dojo and spar. How does that sound? Good? Okay. Let’s get you dressed. How about we go see the horses while we wait for them to get back?”

  Nicolas Deshi smiled up at Wyatt with an adoring look. They had a remarkable relationship. Their bond had been solid from the moment Deshi was born. Although Deshi was only three, he seemed older. He had a twinkle in his eye that was so much like Wyatt’s that everyone who saw it laughed in delight. His shock of black hair and bright blue eyes were Wyatt’s in miniature. The exotic tilt to his eyes mimicked Lei’s and added a beauty to the boy that would steal and break hearts all of his life. He also had a fierce spirit that led to shrieks of anger or laughter—depending on his mood at the moment. A tantrum was as likely as shouts of joy. He had captured the hearts of everyone at the ranch, from his sister and brother to the trainers in the horse barns.
Given the range of adoring adults fawning over him, including Chief, Joey, Alono, and, of course, Wan, both Lei and Wyatt worked hard to keep him from being outrageously spoiled.

  At the horse barn, Elena and Alex rode up with Daniel. They were excited about sparring with Wyatt. Given the rigors of the campaign, they had little chance to practice together. Before he ran for governor, the three of them had sparred together five days out of seven. The children missed his attention. Lei had picked up the task. They loved practicing with her almost as much as with Wyatt, but still missed their father.

  “Is Lei going to practice with us?” asked Alex hopefully. He loved Lei. She was working with him on some advanced aerials. He wanted to perfect them before he showed them off to Wyatt.

  “No, honey, Lei isn’t feeling well. Let’s let her rest. We’ll all go and see her after dinner to make sure she is doing okay.”

  The four of them spent the afternoon together, first in the dojo, then out in the horse barn helping Chief with a mare that had a stress fracture. All of the children, especially Elena, loved helping Wyatt and Chief with horses that were sick or needed attention. Wyatt was teaching Elena how to listen to the horses and to talk quietly to them to gain their confidence. Watching her, he saw clear signs that she might also be a whisperer and he was filled with pride.

  “Okay, everyone, let’s go in and get ready for dinner. I know that Theresa will be waiting for us. It is nearly seven o’clock.”

  “Should I go and see if Lei is feeling better and wants to come to dinner?” asked Elena.

  “No, honey. Remember I said we are going to let Lei rest. After dinner, we will go see her. You can say good night to her then.”

  Chief raised an eyebrow at that news. With a barely suppressed chuckle, he said to Wyatt out of the range of the children, “You two. Good thing we have lots of places for you to play. Would be an even more interesting show for the rest of us if you were confined to a normal sized house.”

  Wyatt’s eyes twinkled in response. “Never underestimate the power of a beautiful feisty woman to turn any space into a playground, Chief. Even when she is angry – or maybe especially when she is angry,” he added, a wolfish grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

  Chief smiled and shook his head. “You’re a lucky man, Wyatt. I know you know that, but I hope you never take it for granted.”

  “We both know even if I wanted to - which I don’t - it would be impossible to take Lei for granted. She can as easily kick my ass as love me. I live a dangerous life, Chief. I have to be on guard constantly,” he said with a satisfied grin.

  Chief chuckled in response.

  After dinner, the children put on their nightclothes and excitedly went with Wyatt to say goodnight to Lei. He had arranged with Daniel and Millie to come and get the children in thirty minutes to put them to bed. Wyatt wanted to stay with Lei.

  ~~~

  Lei heard the children’s excited voices and knew they were coming to her room. She jumped up and put on a robe covering her skimpy underwear. The sudden movement made her dizzy. She had either cried or slept for most of the day and knew she probably looked like hell. Before she had time to go in the bathroom and repair the damage to her face and hair, the children were pounding on the door, hollering for her to let them in.

  She opened the door to see them all standing eagerly in the doorway calling out to her. She reached out and picked up Nicolas Deshi, then pulled Elena and Alex close to her. She avoided looking at Wyatt. He was standing behind the children. A slight smile tugged at his mouth.

  “Are you okay, Lei? You look like you have been crying.” Elena was studying her, obviously concerned. Lei knew she was remembering what happened at lunch. Elena had known that she and Wyatt were angry with each other.

  Alex’s face mirrored Elena’s concern. Lei knew that like Elena, Alex picked up the signals from Wyatt and her at lunch. Alex didn’t like to see them argue. It upset him. “Your eyes are all swollen, Lei. Are you and dad still mad at each other?”

  Lei’s eyes filled with tears at their concern. “No, I’m okay. Really I am.” She edged back into the room and sat down at the table holding Deshi on her lap. She winced at the pain and looked up in time to see a wry grin cross Wyatt’s face. She was angry and her bottom hurt. Damn him. I’m glad he thinks this is amusing, she thought, remembering her fiery bottom in the mirror.

  Wyatt broke in. Lei still hadn’t acknowledged him, which wasn’t lost on the children.

  “Hey, guys. Let’s give Lei a break. Yeah, we did have a problem earlier today, but we’re gonna get that worked out. The way we always do. That’s why I asked Daniel and Millie to come and get you in a little while. I want to stay here with Lei. Okay? Why don’t you give Lei a rundown of your day? I think all three of you have something special to tell her that you did in the dojo.”

  Both Elena and Alex looked first at Lei and then at Wyatt. He smiled encouragingly and said, “C’mon, Alex. You know you have something you have wanted to tell Lei since this afternoon. And Elena, she is not going to believe what you did today.”

  Nicolas Deshi said, “What about me? I did good too, Momma!”

  That broke the ice. Soon all three children were talking non-stop, each trying to outdo the other with their accomplishments from the day. Wyatt sat down at the small table across from Lei. After a few minutes, he reached across the table and took her free hand in his. When she tried to pull away, he squeezed her hand and held it firmly. Without looking at her, he shook his head, almost imperceptibly, making it clear that he was trying to reassure the children and did not want her to pull away. Holding her hand, he felt her tension. He stroked the back of her hand and then the inside of her wrist. Within minutes he felt her tension easing and grinned to himself as he continued to stroke her wrist in that exquisitely sensitive place.

  When Millie and Daniel arrived, none of the children wanted to leave. It was only when Wyatt reminded them that Theresa was making them Mexican hot chocolate to go with the apple dumplings they loved, that they stood up and reluctantly kissed Lei goodnight.

  Nicolas Deshi refused to go to Millie. He burst in tears, clinging to Lei. Pointing over to her bed, he sobbed, “Deshi wanna sleep with Mommy!”

  Wyatt unhooked his fingers from Lei’s robe and tossed the little boy up in the air. In seconds, giggles and pleas for more, replaced his tears. With a laugh, Wyatt said, “Give Mommy a kiss and then if you are a good boy you can have apple dumplings with Alex and Elena.”

  “But, Deshi wanna sleep with Mommy!” Nicolas Deshi insisted, looking over at Lei and then at Wyatt.

  Wyatt shook his head and said in a firm voice with a pleasant smile, “No, honey, you can sleep with Alex or Elena if you want. Mommy sleeps only with Daddy.

  “Now, everybody needs to give Mommy one more kiss and then let her get some rest.” Each of the children gave Lei a hug and a kiss. Wyatt handed a still uncertain Nicolas Deshi to Millie and walked all of them out the door. He gave each of the children a kiss and told them he would see them at breakfast. As they left, he reminded Daniel to bring Lei a tray of food after he finished helping Millie put the children to bed.

  Chapter 15

  Wyatt closed the door and stood with his back to the door, looking at Lei. She refused to look at him, and put her head down on the table. Surprising them both, she started to cry. Her shoulders shook and her breath came in raspy, gulping sobs.

  “Okay, honey, that’s enough tears. You look like you have been crying all day. If you’re not careful, you’re gonna melt in a puddle of tears.”

  Wyatt scooped her up and carried her over to the bed. He pulled off her robe and laid her in the center of the bed. He took off his boots and belt and unbuttoned his shirt, then crawled in beside her. She jerked back, shoving his hands away. He ignored her resistance and pulled her up next to him.

  “Come here, honey. Let’s take a look and see what damage I did today.”

  “No! Leave me alone. Don’t touch me! I hate you, Wyatt
!” she sobbed.

  He ignored her and held her face down against the bed. When he pulled her underwear down, he whistled in surprise at her red, swollen bottom.

  “Jesus, honey, no wonder you’ve been crying all day. You have one sore red ass.” He reached behind him for the jar of the Chief’s all purpose guaranteed to heal ointment that he had brought with him. With one hand he held her down. With the other he rubbed the cooling ointment over her bottom. She tried to twist away from him but he just held her more firmly.

  “Honey, stop fighting me. This is gonna make you feel better.” He nuzzled up against her as he gently massaged the cream into her sore bottom. He whispered to her how much he loved her and that he was here to take care of her.

  “Wyatt, leave me alone. I hate you! I don’t want you to touch me ever again!”

  She tried to roll over to the other side of the bed but he pulled her back and held her close to him, continuing to massage the soothing cream on her stinging skin. She tried to resist then turned and buried her face in his shoulder sobbing.

  “Shh, honey. Stop crying. You’re okay now. I know you hurt, but this stuff is going to make you feel better. Stop fighting me. Let me put it on you.”

  “No! I hate you. I do! You hurt me, Wyatt. No one has ever done that to me in my life. No one ever spanked me, ever!”

  Even as she said the angry words, she moved closer, clinging to him.

  He quirked an eyebrow, “Hmm, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have. Maybe if they had, you wouldn’t need it as badly now.”

  “I do not need it! I don’t! You would never do this to one of the children, no matter what they did!”