Ace in the Hole

by Sedonia Guillone

  Backing away enough to remove her nipples from contact with him, she grasped his knees with her hands and pushed his legs outward. Inch by inch, she insinuated her body between his legs. The curves of her hips slid against his inner thighs. A shiver ran through his body, and he dug his fingers even deeper into the pillows behind him. It was all he could do not to lunge forward and bring Lily up onto him. The invasion of feminine beauty and scent around him, so close to his skin, was maddening.

  He pulled in another deep breath as Lily massaged and caressed his inner thighs. Her waist-length hair shimmered blue-black in the lantern light and the sleek fall shifted over her shoulder to hang across one breast. Tenzin stared, captivated by the sight of her dark nipple which peeked out between the strands of her ebony hair. Gods, even in his days of indulgence, he hadn’t wanted a woman this much.

  “Don’t worry, Tenzin,” she said softly, drawing his attention to the promise in her almond-shaped eyes. “We’re almost ready for your release.”

  Chapter Five

  The Red Lotus lures the Dragon into the Tigress’s mouth. Once the Dragon is captured the Tigress absorbs its qi. When the qi of the Dragon is absorbed, her spiritual embryo is congealed. This is the meaning of replenishing the yin with the yang.

  ‑‑ Madame Lin from The White Tigress Manual

  Lily smiled at Tenzin and continued to caress his thigh in light circles. She loved the texture of his skin, and edging closer to his tight, swollen sac caused his breath to tighten even more. His yang fire roared now as if it were a blaze in the kitchen hearth. His chest heaved, and he was staring at her hands as they moved over his muscled thighs.

  “If you use your desire as a meditation,” she went on, “your cravings become a way to the realm of spirit.”

  She brushed her thumbs along the skin of Tenzin’s inner thighs, closer to the plump sac resting at the juncture of his thighs. “Your skin is so smooth here,” she said softly.

  His chest heaved, and his lips parted. “Thank…thank you, Lily.”

  His fevered appreciation of her touch and the wonderment mixed with his arousal was a refreshing change and touched something deep inside her. She dared to see that she was enjoying touching this man and breathing deeply of his male scent. A glistening drop of seed seeped from the tip of the dragon’s head, and Lily wet her lips in anticipation of tasting him. Tenzin’s dragon was thick and veined as it jutted from its nest of dark hair. As it had earlier, the sight made her mouth water, and she worked harder to pace herself, although her yin surged, rendering her body completely pliant and ready to receive his yang.

  Teasingly she slid her fingertips over the underside of Tenzin’s yang pearls. She traced each plump lobe, appreciating the rougher texture of the skin here than that of his smooth inner thighs. She caressed the crinkled skin and listened to the changes of his breathing as she touched him.

  Each intake of his breath grew shallower, and his carved stomach muscles clenched visibly as she made one playful round after the next with the tip of her nail.

  She slid the pad of her thumb up the length of his shaft. The reddish golden skin was silky smooth over the hardness. The milky white drop of seed had oozed from the dragon’s mouth and now slid downward over the distended length. The scent of that one dragon’s tear permeated the air with its muskiness; Lily breathed in the aroma. Tenzin was purer than any other Green Dragon who’d come to her, and his musk stirred her yin juices even more.

  With a gentle index finger, she swiped the droplet away and tasted it. Her gaze remained on Tenzin’s face as she licked.

  Oh…delicious. She suppressed a moan. Salty sweet, like precious nectar. Better than lychee juice. Usually with Green Dragons, she pretended to like the taste of their seed, a ploy to relax them and enhance their sense of manliness so that their yang would flow more readily. Her enjoyment now was no act, and the need to taste Tenzin’s dragon deep in her mouth overwhelmed her.

  When she opened her eyes again, Tenzin was staring at her, his dark, velvety eyes wide, as if he’d never imagined she would taste his seed. She smiled gently.

  “Your yang is so vital,” she said. “You are indeed fortunate.” She ran a fingertip along a raised vein. “Your blood courses strong in the dragon as it prepares to rear its head.”

  The sweet tang of the droplet lingered on her tongue long after it had slipped down her throat. Lily averted her gaze from Tenzin’s so he wouldn’t see her inner struggle. She reached out and closed her hand gently around the stalk of his dragon, leaned forward, and engulfed the head between her lips.

  Her eyes fluttered closed as Tenzin’s cockhead filled her mouth. Gods, he tasted as sweet as the essence that had seeped from inside him. She sighed around the plumpness, letting her breath caress Tenzin’s thick cock. Her nipples brushed against his knees, heightening her pleasure. Enjoyment, that’s what it was…

  Lowering her head she took Tenzin’s thick dragon in as deeply as she could. He moaned as her lips slid over the silky skin and veins, almost to the base. The sound vibrated in her ears, running in a gentle shiver down her spine and through her limbs. His flesh was delicious, soft and sweet, and she deepened her sucking. The hardness of his erection massaged her tongue and the roof of her mouth, filling her senses better than any food she’d ever tasted.

  Time seemed to stop. Her consciousness shrank down to the man in front of her and the pleasure she gave him with her mouth. Appreciation saturated every tiny moan and sigh that came from him. Her own body tingled as she pushed her breasts against his thighs.

  She’d entered a flow of giving. The boundary between her body and Tenzin’s seemed to melt away, and her mind relaxed, unconcerned with anything else. Tiny lights danced in the blackness that replaced thought, and Tenzin’s flavors and sounds, the texture of his dragon against her tongue, the feel of his skin against her nipples, saturated all awareness.

  The Place of One Hundred Returnings! She’d reached it! The twinkling lights in her mind were the signpost that had eluded her for so many years. Her heart surged in her chest. For the first time in so very long, her practice seemed to bear fruit. What was more, she felt her former strength begin to seep back into her body. Was it because of Tenzin?

  Tenzin. Her attention returned to the man she was pleasuring.

  His jade stalk twitched in her mouth. He let out a groan as his hips bucked softly against her rhythm. She held his dragon at its base as his yang cloud erupted and pooled on her chest. She tilted her head back to give him a clear view of his seed spurting onto her skin, as was the Tigress practice. The milky warmth coated her skin and trickled down her breasts.

  When she opened her eyes, Tenzin wasn’t watching his ejaculation. His eyes were screwed shut and his head tilted back as he groaned with each spurt of his yang cloud. His hands gripped the bedding, and he fell back against the pillows, bracing himself against the force of his climax.

  Lily watched him in the throes of release and remained in place so that when he opened his eyes he’d see the erotic sight. He was panting now, eyelids heavy, chest heaving. His softening dragon slapped against one thigh and his hands unclenched from the bedding.

  For what seemed a long time, she waited, watching Tenzin’s chest heave in rhythmic breaths. He lay in this state, seemingly unable to move. She caressed his thighs as she watched his eyelids shutter every few seconds.

  She studied him. Sweat gleamed on his golden skin, and his broad chest continued to rise and fall heavily. She began to wonder if he’d fallen asleep. That would be typical. So many men did so after they’d been satisfied. However, in moments, he opened his eyes and lifted his head. His eyes widened as he visibly took in the sight of her, on her knees naked before him, her chest and breasts coated with his seed.

  He sat bolt upright. “I’m sorry, Lily. Let me clean you.” He leaned over and wiped his hand across her chest.

  She grasped his wrist in mid-stroke. “No. It’s all right. Enjoy every moment.”

  “But ‑‑”<
br />
  “This is part of the whole experience. Lie back now.” She put gentle pressure on his hand and pushed him back against the pillows, not completely unaware of a strange tickle deep inside her. His responses were so different, so unlike most men’s…

  He was still watching her, that look of concern in his amber eyes. She worked a smile onto her lips and pushed her breasts out. If she’d been a mortal woman, she would have taken his seed and spread it into the skin of her face. It was a beauty secret she’d shown the Tigresses who applied it every day with the result that they all appeared much younger than they were. However, Lily was immortal, and it made no difference.

  She reached for a linen towel and gently wiped herself. Then she returned her attention to Tenzin. His golden skin was flushed, and he sagged back against the pillows, clearly spent. Even so, his dark eyes studied her. “Did you enjoy that, Lily?” he asked softly.

  Her gaze whipped to his eyes. She couldn’t even remember the last time a man had asked her such a question. She cleared her throat, casting her eyes downward. “I did. Very much.”

  He continued to look uncertain, and she resisted the impulse to tell him of her spiritual progress. She still didn’t know him. He hadn’t truly proven himself. “I assure you, Tenzin, I experienced great pleasure.”

  He bowed his head. “I’m glad.” After another moment he raised his gaze to hers. Renewed desire glazed the deep honey color of his eyes. “Lily…what about you? I want you to…” His cheeks darkened again and he cleared his throat. “…have pleasure.”

  Lily’s heartbeat rose and a sudden nervous perspiration erupted on the back of her neck, like a young girl with a crush. In spite of the excess yin that swirled in her body, it was definitely time to send Tenzin to his own sleeping quarters. She didn’t like the feeling she had right now. She pushed aside the image of being curled up with him in bed the entire night. A Tigress never spent the night with a Dragon, and it disturbed her that the mere thought had even crossed her mind. Lily stood up and reached for her wrap.

  “Come, I’ll show you to your room.”

  Disappointment stabbed Tenzin. After the intimacy they’d just shared, he didn’t want to leave her, even for a few hours. He’d been around the entire world searching for his teacher, and now that he’d found her, he wanted only to be near her.

  “This is for you.” Her voice made him turn, and he saw her holding out a robe.

  He took it from her with a bow of his head and slipped it on.

  “Your clothing is being laundered,” she said. “You will have it back tomorrow.

  “Thank you.” He watched her slip on her robe and swallowed another stab of disappointment as the material silk covered her body completely.

  He followed Lily back out into the courtyard. A soft breeze caressed his face as they padded over the cobbled ground. On the far side of the compound was an open corridor with several doors. Lily pushed open the first one they reached. She looked at him over her shoulder. The glow of the lantern she carried cast shadows on her smooth pretty face.

  “This way,” she said softly.

  She led him into a small room. A cot lined one wall, and a table with one chair filled the main space. The lodgings were simple yet clean and comfortable. Lily set the lantern on the table and turned to him. The expression on her heart-shaped face was unreadable, but Tenzin felt the emotions simmering inside her. “Please remain here until I come for you. Tomorrow I will show you the rest of the compound and explain to you more of what we do here. That is, if you decide to remain.”

  He bowed his head. “Yes, Lily.”

  Several moments of silence passed and finally he lifted his gaze to hers. When he did, his breath caught softly. Lily was so beautiful to him, so…perfect. The way the lantern light glowed on her long raven hair and porcelain skin took his breath away. Rationally, he knew that Lily’s beauty was not unequalled. Several of the women he’d been with at the House of the Jade Flower were easily as beautiful if not more. But to him, Lily was a wonder.

  A look flickered through her violet eyes that made him think she sensed his feelings. She squared her shoulders slightly, and the soft lighting made her silken robe shimmer. “Do you have any questions, Tenzin? You may ask anything, about your practice or about the Temple.”

  He sensed that the intimacy of the previous hours had helped him pass some sort of test and that Lily found him trustworthy enough to entertain his curiosity. He cleared his throat. “Just one.”

  “Yes?”

  For a brief second, Tenzin almost changed his mind. But his ache for Lily’s company spurred him on. “These practices…do they include…” He cleared his throat again and averted her gaze. “…consummation?”

  “No.” The immediacy of her answer made him look up. Lily had narrowed her eyes, and the violet depths flashed. “Absolutely not.”

  At first the blood in his veins chilled, but another moment of gazing into her eyes, and he understood. Something horrific must have happened to her…

  “Do you have a problem with that?” Her voice held a note of panic mixed with anger.

  He shook his head. “Of course not, Lily. I…just wanted to return the pleasure you gave me.”

  Lily’s eyes widened then narrowed again. She stared at him another moment, and then her expression softened. “When the time comes for you to harvest my yin, I will have pleasure. Your concern is…most kind.” An uncertain look slipped through her beautiful eyes. “Anything else?”

  He bowed his head again, wanting so badly to ask her to stay with him, to let him harvest her yin now, if it would make her feel as glorious as she’d made him feel. .However, the heavens themselves had brought him to Lily. He would have to trust. “No, Lily. Thank you.”

  She stood in her spot another moment. “Very well. Good night.”

  Before he could answer, she walked swiftly out.

  He watched her leave, drinking in one last glimpse of her waist-length hair as it shifted across her back with her movements. Her flowery female scent lingered in the air, as did the memory of her skilled touch and mouth on his body.

  Long after she’d left, Tenzin sank down onto his cot. Though he was weary, he folded his legs into the lotus posture and formed a mudra with his hands. He spent a long time in meditation before he felt peaceful enough to sleep.

  * * * * *

  “I can’t believe that bitch is here in Shanghai.” Wei Yen glared down into the porcelain cup full of scarlet blood in front of her. Not even Zao’s large, skilled hands kneading her bare shoulders could ease away her rage. “I wonder how long she’s been right under my nose. The whore.” Wei Yen took a long sip of blood, then set her cup down.

  Zao’s hands slid over her shoulders then down across her chest. Usually his touch just above her breasts made her sigh and forget everything else. Not tonight.

  Not when she’d just laid eyes on the bitch who’d slain her father then had humiliated her in the underground parlor.

  “I lost that hand because of her. Damn her.” The Tibetan had probably been a tasty morsel. He’d also had what appeared to be a delicious package hidden under that loincloth. Now she wouldn’t know. Fine feeding he’d have made with that sleek, gorgeous body and ripe lips. It was the least the Tan bitch could have done. Cede to her a man in place of one she’d stolen.

  Not that there was anything wrong with Zao. Her lover’s hands glided again across the tops of her breasts. The tingling warmth of his touch began to penetrate her ire. She let her eyelids flutter and tilted her head back. Yes, Zao kept his mistress’s body finely pleasured. When she opened her eyes, she caught a glance of his muscular arm, the golden, flawless skin. Lantern light caught the shine on his long, thick Manchurian queue hanging over his shoulder as he massaged her. He’d made fine feeding too, as a mortal.

  Zao remained silent and continued to rub her. He slid his touch closer to her breasts, and a tremor of pleasure shuddered through her, tightening the dark tips. He’d never been a man of words and
had proven equally taciturn as a vampire. In this moment, however, she needed succor. “Zao! Say something, dammit!”

  Zao’s hands stilled on her chest. “Whatever you wish me to do, mistress, I will. You know that.”

  Wei Yen shot to her feet and paced in front of him, not bothering to pull her wrap closed. “I need you to find that bitch.” She covered the length of her bedchamber. The little porcelain butterflies of her hairpiece clinked together as she moved. “Find her. It can’t be too difficult. Knowing her, she’s probably running a brothel or something like that. The last I’d heard of her she was in Xi’an. She must have been a prostitute or concubine there.”

  She halted in front of Zao and pierced his gaze. The heat of bloodlust now simmered in her eyes; their greenish glow reflected in her lover’s eyes. “Find her, Zao. Find her. And when you do, tell me so I can plan the best way to torment her and make her suffer as she’s made me suffer.”

  She stared a moment longer at Zao. “But don’t kill her. She’s my prize.”

  “You have my word.”

  Wei Yen sank back in her chair and motioned for Zao to return to his massage. Zao’s fingertips dappled along the sides of her neck then pushed more firmly in sliding strokes. She sighed and closed her eyes, intending to submit to Zao’s skilled hands. But seeing Lily Tan again had stirred grief-filled memories, like a stick stirring up the mud from the bottom of a lotus pond. The memory of her mother’s screams flooded her mind. She clenched her fists against the memories but was unable to stop the onslaught of grief. She couldn’t prevent the vision of her mother’s sobbing form bent over her father, a slayer’s gleaming knife protruding from his chest.

  Wei Yen had been only ten when she saw her father slain. She’d already known he was one of the undead, bitten shortly after Wei Yen’s birth, but it hadn’t mattered. A daughter didn’t care what her father was. She’d loved him anyway.

  A large hand covered her shoulder, pressed down with comforting warmth. She opened her eyes and saw that Zao knelt before her. The stirrings of bloodlust glowed in his eyes, too. He picked up her teacup full of blood and held it to her lips. She sipped greedily, imagining it was Lily Tan’s blood she drank. She left the last swallow for her lover and held the cup to him.