by Taylor Lee
He nodded, a stern frown crossed his face.
“Remember, virginal white on the outside, whore’s red underneath.”
“Oh, I pray the warlord picks me.”
Bai grinned, hearing Elena’s luscious laughter as she ran through the courtyard.
He chuckled and muttered, “Like the poor bastard has a choice.”
~~~
Elena met with Lei and Madam Quing and her six lead servants to review the plans for the day one last time. Lei shooed her off to the infirmary, insisting that she and Madam Quing had everything under control.
“Remember, sweetheart, this is what mothers get to do. Boss everyone around and ensure that their gorgeous daughter has the most spectacular wedding possible. Now, I must say, most brides don’t spend the better part of their wedding day working, but then, Elena, you are not most brides.”
“Oh, Lei, I didn’t know I could be this excited. I love Bai so much. Do you have any idea how much I love him?”
“My darling, your eyes alone could light a dark night you are glowing with such happiness. And Elena I do understand. I love your father as intensely as you love Bai. Never doubt it; we are profoundly lucky women, Elena.”
“Lei, thank you for being my mother. I truly am the luckiest woman alive.” “Thank you, love. Now run along and make those girls gorgeous.”
Elena dashed off and Lei and Madam Quing shook their heads at the barefoot red haired sprite running down the path. Only Elena would forget her shoes on her wedding day!
Lei and Madam Quing turned with a vengeance to implement months of planning. The wedding would be spectacular. While Bai had chosen to align himself primarily with his Chinese heritage, as with everything in his life, Bai had created his own eclectic cultural take. Fortunately, Lei and Wyatt had raised Elena with much the same ecumenical approach to religion and culture. The consistent element in all of their lives was their adherence to the physical and spiritual principles of kung fu.
The marriage ritual in the traditional Chinese wedding was a simple three part tea ceremony acknowledging the gods of heaven and earth, of ancestors and family. No formal vows were exchanged. But the gala that came after the ceremony was anything but simple. Madam Quing and her cooks had created an extraordinary twelve course feast with all the traditional wedding foods, as well as Elena’s and Bai’s favorites. French champagne, imported brandies, cognacs, and the finest wines from their vineyards would accompany the sumptuous food.
Because the guests were also the servants and workmen at the villa, Bai and Elena had hired staff from two of the largest hotels in San Francisco to manage the final dinner preparations, so that the servants at the complex could attend the celebration.
Nianzu and Quitin were in charge of the entertainment. A talented group of Sing Leon fighters had been practicing for weeks on what was sure to be the most spectacular event of the evening — the traditional kung fu Lion Dance. Rarely seen except at major festivals and parades, the colorful costumes, music, and acrobatic finesse of the performers, the Lion Dance was a feast for the senses. Bai and Elena requested the traditional dance to reward their guests, immigrant Chinese who missed the traditional ceremonies of their youth and the young girls who had been born in China and forcibly brought to America. The party tonight would be a special treat for the children wrenched in hideous ways from all they had known and loved, and for the others who had come by choice to a new and unwelcoming country. To surprise Bai and Elena, the Sing Leon warriors had prepared a virtuoso performance of kung fu artistry based on the famous five animal styles of the Shaolin warriors, a presentation that was sure to amaze and delight the audience.
By the time the hotel staffs had taken charge and sent the villa residents off to dress for the evening, the courtyards were ablaze with lanterns and hundreds of flaming torches. The smell of succulent roasting meats and fish and the sweet cloying odor of dumplings and lotus paste filled the air. The dining tables surrounding the courtyard were lavishly decorated with red ribbons, bright red roses, and sweet smelling candles. Traditionally, wedding guests gave red envelopes stuffed with money to the bride and groom, but Bai had turned this tradition on its head. At every place setting was a red envelope for each of the guests with a generous monetary gift from the bride and groom.
~~~
It was after three o’clock and the ceremony was due to start at five when Lei made her way back to her chambers to dress and smiled to see Wyatt waiting at the doorway.
The two long term lovers looked at each other with delight and barely suppressed lust. Wyatt helped her slip the red satin dress over the silk of her skin and let his fingers hover over her hips and thighs to rest on her high proud breasts.
“Goddamn, darlin,’ you look like a bride yourself. You don’t look any older than Elena. Jesus, baby, every time I’m next to you, I want to smell you, taste you, come up inside that sweet pussy of yours. Lei, I can still remember the first time I made love to you. In that moment, I knew heaven, and I never wanted to leave.”
Lei tipped her head back and ran her fingers over his face her eyes shining.
“Vivian will be happy today, Wyatt. She will be happy when she sees her daughter with a man who loves her. A man who is as strong, as powerful… AND as demanding and possessive as you are.”
Wyatt smiled.
“Yes, she would be. The only thing that would make her happier is knowing how you have mothered Elena and Alex. How you’ve loved them as though they are yours… because they are.”
He led her close and whispered to her.
“Thank you, Lei, for teaching me that the greatest tribute I could make to Vivian’s memory was to find a woman who would love me as well as she did. Hell, let’s face it, better. You tamed me, Lei.”
He laughed when she quirked an eyebrow.
“Well, as much as anyone could. Baby, you took away my pain, you took away my bitterness. Because of that, you made me a better father and a better man. I love you, Lei.”
“I love you, Wyatt.”
They held each other, reveling in their love.
Wyatt pulled out his pocket watch and grimaced.
“Did Elena go to her chambers?”
“Oh goodness, I hope so, but I don’t know.”
Wyatt rolled his eyes and swatted Lei on her bottom.
“I better go round her up. We both know she won’t leave until every last one of those girls is decked out.”
Wyatt knocked on Alex’s door as he went by and hollered to him.
When Alex came to door, Wyatt said with a hearty laugh, “Come help me kidnap that sister of yours. It’s less than two hours until the wedding and she is still at the infirmary helping the young girls dress.”
When they arrived at the infirmary, they were astonished to a bevy of young girls dressed in lovely gowns chattering, laughing, and flitting about. Their hair was bright and shining, smelling of jasmine shampoo and adorned with fresh flowers and sparkling jeweled pins. Some of the girls had fancy braids, others were wearing their hair hanging loose down their backs like the finest black satin. The older girls had more elaborate upswept arrangements. It was as though a swarm of glittering dragonflies landed in their courtyard. In the center of the throng the final seven girls waited impatiently. They were dressed and ready except for their hair. Elena and two of the older girls were working as fast as they could, armed with hairpins, flowers, and other hair styling paraphernalia.
Elena looked up and laughed when she saw her brother and father. Her cheeks were bright with excitement, her eyes were dancing.
“What’s the matter, Father, did you think I was going to skip out on my wedding?”
Wyatt looked at the disheveled young woman, her unruly hair flying free, her clothes wrinkled and unkempt. Unshed tears burned his eyes.
“Honey, I gotta tell you, I’ve seen a lot of brides, but I have never seen one that looks the way you do now.”
Elena laughed managing to talk and hold hairpins in her mouth at the same time.
/> “What way is that, Father?”
“Beautiful, honey. More beautiful than you can imagine; like sunrise over a Wyoming canyon.”
Alex’s face was flushed and he blinked back the tears in his eyes.
“Father is right, Elena. You are stunning.”
Wyatt’s dark blue eyes twinkled and he shook his head in mock dismay.
“Honey, you’re going to be married in less than two hours and as good as you look, there is no question that you need a bath.”
“Oh, my God, is it really that late? Oh no!”
Madam Chin stepped up, a disapproving look at the dirt on Elena’s feet and legs, warring with the amusement in her eyes.
“Miss Elena, please go to your chambers. You are the only one who hasn’t begun to dress and your father is right, you do need a bath.”
Jeng Ming stepped out of the crowd. Her expression was firm, admiring.
“Please, Elena, go get dressed. I promise you we will finish getting all of the girls ready.”
Several moments later, Elena ran back through the garden, not seeing Bai and Wan sitting together hidden in the shadows. They were both dressed in their formal evening wear. Bai shared a look of delighted surprise when the disheveled young woman ran by. She’d dragged her skirt up above her knees to allow her to run faster. Bai thought with a grin, somewhere in the course of the day, she must have lost her shoes, because her feet and legs were bare. Her hair was an even more boisterous mass of curls than usual and a prominent splotch of dirt smudged one cheek. Most noticeable was the joy on her face and the excitement in her eyes.
She waved gaily to the three frantic maids waiting for her in the doorway and called out, “Don’t worry. We have lots of time. Besides, Bai knows that I may be late.”
She did a little dance as she ran up the steps to her chambers to dress for her wedding – a wedding that would take place in less than two hours.
Bai and Wan puffed on their cigars at precisely the same moment, blowing a cloud of aromatic smoke over their heads. Bai chuckled. It would be hard to decide who was more proud of the girl who ran by—the groom or his father.
Chapter 19
Lei, Alex, Deshi, and the twins joined Nianzu and Quitin at the entrance of the garden where the ceremony would take place. Strains of haunting music wafted across the breeze. Under the bower at the end of the garden were three small altars with chairs on either side. The two chairs at the sides of the altars were reserved for Wan and Wyatt, the fathers of the bride and groom. When Bai and Wan arrived, Lei, Alex, and the boys went to their seats; Nianzu and Quitin followed behind and bowed to Lei, then sat down across from her. When they were seated, Wan and Bai entered the garden. Both men stopped and bowed low before Lei, then went to stand in front of the altars.
For the first several moments, they all sat quietly, looking appropriately solemn. As several minutes passed, the twins started getting restless and Bai caught Nianzu’s eye and winked. Lei saw him and coughed slightly, hiding her smile behind her handkerchief. She looked up at her father and saw the surreptitious twinkle in Wan’s eyes.
After another moment Gabriel whispered loudly enough for all of them to hear, “Where is she?”
Jacob whispered back, “Can’t you see she is late?”
Lei threw them both a menacing glare and whispered, “She’ll be here any minute now,” and looked back down at her hands stifling a laugh.
The only one who was not smiling or amused was Alex, sitting upright in his chair, his eyes focused on the patio floor.
Gabriel twisted impatiently in his chair, then rose up and turned back to the group, his eyes wide with excitement. He said in a stage whisper, “I think I see her.”
Jacob jumped up and looked where he was pointing and indeed, coming through the garden entrance was Wyatt with a very beautiful Elena on his arm.
The sweet longing notes of the string quartet sheltered behind the bower escalated to a throbbing high point when Wyatt and Elena entered the garden. As if in a blur, Elena saw her stepmother and brothers, Nianzu and Quitin. Her eyes rested for a moment on her grandfather, struck by the love in his eyes. He had seen so much violence and hate in his lifetime, but he never looked at her with anything but love. She saw in his eyes the strength and fierceness he had bequeathed to Bai and thanked him with her heart that he had also taught his son to love.
When she saw Bai, she gasped. Her breath stuck in her throat. She sucked in a gulp of air, willing herself to breathe. Standing under the bower, Bai was the epitome of handsome sophistication. The slim grey and black striped trousers, grey waistcoat and fine black suit coat accentuated his tall lean frame, broad shoulders and long strong legs. His white silk shirt highlighted the warmth of his dark skin and glittering amber eyes. In contrast, he had let his hair loose. It hung down to his collar, slightly wild, tousled by the breeze. He wore a bright red sash tied in an X across his chest, the traditional groom’s garb. He gazed at her through half closed eyes, the dark, demanding warlord he’d teased her about. The command in his eyes said it all. He was hers, and, God help her, she was his. A flash of lust simmered through her groin. Swallowing hard, she grasped her father’s arm to keep from swooning.
~~~
Bai smiled at Elena when she entered, flushed, trembling, unconscious of the gasps from her family. Bai loved that about her. As beautiful as she was, she was always caught off guard, surprised at the adulation she received. He nodded in appreciation at her dress, a long white strapless column held in place by a jeweled band of fabric across her breasts. The four inch band of jewel encrusted satin was the only ornamentation on a gown that depended on the glorious body of the wearer for its striking beauty. The fabric clung lovingly to her lush breasts, hugged her slim waist and the curve of her hips, then trailed down her long slender legs. A daring slit up the front of the dress rose several inches above her knees, an outrageous liberty.
A single white orchid decorated the riotous mass of colorful curls piled on her head. In a tasteful nod to the simplicity of her gown, a narrow train of gossamer silk flowed from a diamond clasp at the base of her curls, floating to the ground four feet behind her.
Elena stood at the entrance and allowed the gossamer train to pool at her feet. She caught Bai’s eye and with a saucy toss of her head, kicked the train aside, revealing not only the slit up the front of her dress but her three inch bright red high heeled slippers. Bai didn’t try to hide his grin, an amused acknowledgement of her scandalous choice. Her breath hitched and her stomach clenched with excitement at his insolent, warning look.
She didn’t know she gasped and licked her lips until Wyatt tightened his grip on her arm and chuckled under his breath.
“Hang on darlin.’ You can’t eat him up just yet.”
Only Wyatt’s restraining tug on her arm kept Elena from running up the aisle giggling with excitement, eager to be in Bai’s arms.
When they reached the altars, Elena bowed to Wan and he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Wyatt and Wan exchanged a bow, then Wyatt bowed to Bai. He stepped aside as Bai reached out and pulled Elena next to him, breathing in her fresh citrusy smell and the exotic odor of the orchid in her fiery curls.
Looking straight ahead, Elena tapped him on the ankle with the toe of her outrageous shoe.
Bai leaned down and pinched her bottom and muttered, “You are wicked, aren’t you, ma petite?”
She gave a little start and a nervous giggle then tossed her head, her eyes dancing.
“Very.”
Wide-eyed, Gabriel whispered loudly to the tittering group behind them, “Bai pinched Elena’s butt.”
Wyatt’s dry response was audible.
“I’m confident she deserved it.”
Bai poured tea in the row of cups lined up on the altar and Elena placed two red dates and two lotus seeds in each cup, the traditional omen for luck and fertility. They poured tea in each others cups then bowed to each of the altars, first to the gods of the heavens and earth, then to the alt
ar honoring their ancestors, and finally to the kitchen god honoring hearth and home. Together they handed the cups first to their fathers, then to Lei and Alex, Nianzu and Quitin, and finally Deshi and the twins. They all drank from the cups and bowed low to Elena and Bai, who returned their bows.
Deshi whispered, “Is that it?”
Jacob echoed his surprise, “Are they married?”
Bai looked over his shoulder and said with a wry grin, “That’s it.”
Wan stepped forward and in a departure from the traditional ceremony, held both of their hands in his. Calling on the kung fu traditions that had anchored them all their lives, Wan delivered a beautiful blessing in Chinese. He described his love for his son and his beloved granddaughter. Bowing low, he wished them a long life filled with love, joy, and devotion to one another.
When he finished, Bai held up his hand and pulled Elena next to him. His voice was husky, strained.
“One moment, please.”
He lifted her chin and looked down at her his eyes glittering with unshed tears. He bent down and kissed her softly, lightly at first, then their bodies melded together and they held each other for a long breathless moment. When they turned to the others their faces were damp with happy tears and glorious smiles.
~~~
Course after course of rich beautifully prepared food delighted the guests. The pungent odors of roasted meats contrasted with the sweet smells of fragrant sauces. Roast suckling pig, fattened lamb and trays of roasted fowl—duck, pigeons, squab and quail were followed by shark fin soup, lobster and an array of succulent fishes. Vegetables with sea cucumber and other fresh delicacies were paired with every kind of noodle dish imaginable. Sweet red bean soup and lotus paste buns rounded out the feast.
Bai and Elena moved from table to table greeting their guests. They spoke to each one of the young girls; Bai’s cultured voice in his French accented Chinese translating for Elena. Two Sing Leon members followed behind, carrying a stack of beautifully wrapped red boxes filled with an array of treasures: jewelry, dolls, books, combs, brushes, mirrors, candies, and other surprises. Elena handed a box to each of the girls, who squealed with delight when they saw the riches inside.
