Love in the China Sea

by Fran Baker

  “Something’s bothering you,” she surmised aloud. Anne gave herself a swift mental kick for not having noticed sooner. She had been so worried about her own concerns that it hadn’t occurred to her that Kai might also have a problem. “Tell me, Kai,” she pleaded. “Maybe I can help.”

  “Are you interested as a woman who cares?” he quizzed tersely. “Or as a reporter seeking a story angle that might further her career?”

  “That’s not fair!” His voice trembled with denial. “You know I value our friendship.”

  The car was suddenly too confining, the atmosphere reverberating with hurtful silence. Anne’s mind raced to find the words that would relieve the awful tension caused by their mutually frayed tempers.

  “Maybe if we walked,” she finally suggested, gesturing toward the iron gates that marked the entrance to the Tiger Balm Gardens.

  Kai nodded his assent, but his features were frozen with unreadable emotion.

  They walked, neither speaking nor touching, in the shade of the brilliant flame-of-forest trees. As they followed the well-worn path toward the ornately carved pagoda that towered over the extravagantly furnished park Anne instinctively sensed a mellowing in Kai’s mood. She sat down beside him on the stone bench that angled away from the huge pagoda and waited quietly for him to speak.

  “Barbara died last Tuesday.” Kai delivered the unexpected news in a flat tone that registered no emotion. His face was an impassive contrast to the riotously beautiful day. “I know you will understand when I say that her death is a tremendous relief. Barbara is finally at peace, and so am I.”

  “I’m sorry, Kai.” Anne wanted to gather him into her arms, to smooth away the harsh lines that furrowed his brow. Instead she folded her hands in her lap and made no attempt to reach for him. “Is there anything I can do?”

  Kai shook his head, rejecting her offer, and an ominous silence enveloped them.

  Anne knew that she wasn’t to blame for the breach between Kai and his wife. They hadn’t shared a true marriage for several years. Their love had simply dissipated in inverse proportion to Barbara’s consumption of alcohol. Kai was free now to seek the happiness that he so richly deserved, perhaps even to have the children he had once mentioned wanting.

  But Kai’s liberation touched off a perverse sense of loss in Anne. Sorry though it was, Barbara’s very existence had been the shield between interlude and commitment, a pitiful guarantee that Anne could leave Hong Kong with her long-range career goals intact. Kai refused to understand the factors that shaped Anne’s determination to get ahead, and she acutely dreaded the certain strain that would mar the remainder of their relationship.

  “Look, Harry, that’s the same pagoda we saw on those travel posters!” A middle-aged woman wearing rhinestone-studded sunglasses dragged a weary looking man away from the gaggle of tourists who had gathered in the gardens.

  “Here, Harry, ask this man where you can find a decent tailor,” the woman urged, pushing her sheepish companion toward the bench where Anne and Kai were sitting. “Tell him you want cashmere,” she hissed, following along in resolute purpose.

  Kai stood and bowed politely as the couple approached. Anne trained her gaze on a bed of delicate gardenia blooms, struggling to control the laughter bubbling up inside her.

  “Do you speak English?” Harry clapped his hands together in awkward imitation of the normal Chinese greeting.

  “Certainly,” Kai assured him. “How may I help you?”

  “While you’re at it, Harry, ask him how we can tell whether a teakwood chest has been kiln-dried,” the woman prodded. “I don’t intend to be stuck paying an exorbitant shipping charge just to have it split apart when we get it home. You remember how that Mexican pottery cracked when I ran it through the dishwasher.” Her expression was grim evidence that poor Harry would never be allowed to forget it.

  Harry rolled his eyes in apology and fixed a tight, expectant smile on his flushed face. Patient to a fault, Kai answered each and every one of their questions, even going so far as to write down an address on Ice House Street where the cabinetmakers produced masterpieces. He was hardly finished with the couple when the other tourists began to flock around him, barraging him with inquiries of their own.

  “I have a two o’clock appointment to interview the officers of the Shanghai Bank,” Anne interrupted when it seemed obvious that one man was going to persist until Kai had condensed the entire history of Chinese architecture into one easy lesson.

  Kai flashed her a grateful smile and excused himself from further interrogation. He and Anne retraced their steps toward the entrance gates, each of them lost in unsettling thought.

  As they neared the exit Kai’s arm moved to circle Anne’s slender waist and he led her into a small, natural grotto where the tree trunks afforded them privacy. She turned in his embrace and met his volcanic gaze. In the spreading shade of the scarlet leaves Kai lowered his head to explore the creamy length of her neck, and her pulse fluttered under the persuasive mastery of his mouth.

  “Why do you insist on binding your hair into that severe spinster style?” His eyes glittered with a teasing light when he raised his head. Lean fingers located the pins securing the chignon she had re-adopted and he easily dislodged them. “Your hair should flow loose and free, Lotus woman,” he admonished in a husky voice, finger-combing the golden abundance until it cascaded around her shoulders. “Wear your hair like the silken canopy it is.”

  Desire flickered in Anne, then raged through her veins like molten heat. She swayed toward him, her lips hungry for his kiss, her body aching for his touch. Kai cupped her chin in his hands and his mouth brushed hers.

  “Are you positive those bankers must be interviewed today?” His breath was warm temptation, and his sandalwood scent was an intoxicating reminder of passionate possession.

  Anne drew a calming breath and nodded her head. She splayed her hands in weak resistance across the hard expanse of his chest even as her body arched in yielding contradiction against his sinewy contours.

  “There is a secluded cove near the bay,” Kai murmured as his mouth began a provocative descent to the hollow of her throat. His hands shaped her hips to his and his voice hoarsened with desire. “We can lie on a bed of sand as white and satin soft as your skin while the breeze blows sun-warmed kisses over our bodies.”

  “No, Kai,” she protested breathlessly. Anne drew back, holding him at arm’s length as sanity reclaimed her.

  “I want to make love to you.” The black pearl luster of his eyes embellished the simple statement of fact.

  “Believe me, Kai, I’d much rather spend the day with you.” She looked away from that intense gaze and moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. “But the bank rescheduled the interview once because I was out of the office last week. If I don’t keep this appointment I’ll lose the story.”

  “When do you intend to stop punishing yourself for the failure of your marriage?” Kai demanded. The raw fury in his tone left her cold with despair.

  “I—I don’t know what you mean,” she denied indignantly. Anne smoothed her tangled hair with trembling hands, totally confused by the new direction of their conversation.

  “Of course you do,” he taunted. “Some people use alcohol or drugs or food to blunt the pain of failure. Fortunately, you escaped that trap. But you became ensnared in another, much more terrible one.”

  “No! Stop!” Anne clamped her hands over her ears to block out the accusation. “It’s nearly two o’clock, Kai. I don’t have time to argue.”

  “I have absolutely no intention of letting this escalate into an argument,” he assured her. Kai caught her wrists in a numbing grip and pulled her toward him. “But you will hear me out.”

  “All right,” she conceded, unnerved by his adamant tone and the way his cool gaze raked over her features.

  “I know you were deeply wounded by your divorce,” he said. “But you cannot continue to live in emotional retreat. You’re so terrified of risk
ing another relationship that you hide your feelings behind a wall of impossibly high professional standards.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” she hissed, shaking her head vigorously. Anne turned her face away, flinching under the blunt truth of his words.

  “Deny it if you wish,” he continued implacably. “But it will be a bitter day when you realize that work hasn’t completely filled the void in your life.” His calm voice didn’t quite mask his fervency. “Success and perfection are admirable goals, Anne. But it’s foolish to believe that they’re everyday reality. The ups and downs of life, the sharing, the needing and being needed of love—those are the only realities.”

  “Do you charge for your analysis?” she snapped tightly. “Or is it something you dispense for free?” Beneath her flippant attitude Anne was shaking with convulsive anger.

  “It’s yours to use or discard.” Kai released her wrists, his mouth twisted at a humorless slant.

  “I suppose this means we won’t be seeing each other anymore?” she asked stiffly. Anne was amazed by the devastating pain that that possibility spurred in her.

  “No.” He shook his head decisively and a bemused smile curved his mouth. “As a matter of fact, we’re going to spend a great deal more time in one another’s company.’’

  “How so?” Anne cocked her head. Despite her bewildered frown her heart hammered in secret delight.

  “You need material for articles,” Kai reasoned, quirking an eyebrow at her. “And I am a fountain of material. We will begin this Friday by visiting my factory and retail jewelry shop. If you’re as astute as I believe you are you’ll gather enough information for several stories.”

  “And after that?” Anne tipped her chin, her eyes shimmering with a soft, silver challenge.

  “Next week, Kowloon,” he added smoothly. “After that, who knows?” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Hong Kong is full of fascinating, newsworthy little corners. The printers will run out of ink before you run out of material.” He traced the sensual curves of her lips with his fingertip.

  “Just what do you plan to get out of this arrangement?” Anne queried with a smile, thoroughly intrigued by this new and alluring angle.

  “Your evenings,” he replied nonchalantly. “I intend to keep you as occupied at night as you are during the day. In the process you may even discover that your priorities have rearranged themselves.”

  “Kai . . .” She broke off, her voice choked with emotion.

  “It will have to wait, Anne,” he chided in a sternly mocking tone. He glanced at the gold watch encircling his wrist, then took her arm and steered her onto the sunlit path and toward the car. “If I am not mistaken, you have an appointment at the Shanghai Bank. It certainly would be a shame to begin our partnership by allowing you to miss a deadline.”

  Chapter 7

  “Oh, Kai, it’s magnificent,” Anne exclaimed. She peered through the jeweler’s loupe, astounded by the white ice purity of the full carat diamond resting as lightly as a precious bubble on her fingertip.

  True to his promise in the park last Monday, Kai had strolled into the UNA Building this morning and presented her with a long list of people to interview and places to visit. Anne had introduced Kai to Dick Tabor and, after a hearty handshake, the two men struck up a lively conversation. Her boss had taken an immediate interest in the wealth of material Kai outlined, and Anne had marveled when Dick encouraged her to plunge ahead.

  Now, after watching Kai move among his employees with amiable authority, and after exploring the factory located behind his retail jewel shop, Anne was duly impressed. The workroom, of moderate dimensions and spotless, was lined with benches where walnut-skinned men were engaged in the exacting business of transforming dull chunks of stone into light-exploding gems. Two gabby old men gossiped cheerfully in one corner while they centered the jewels into gold and silver mountings of every imaginable shape and size.

  “What will a diamond like this bring on the open market?” Anne asked. She slid the sparkling treasure she had just finished examining into the blue-lined envelope that was its temporary home.

  “A flawless gem like that one is rare enough that it will never reach the retail market,” Kai said. He glanced up from the table where he was sorting piles of murky pebbles for the girdling process that would give them an approximate final shape. “I keep a private list of clients, each of whom would gladly pay seventy-five thousand dollars, sight unseen, for that stone.”

  “Seventy-five thousand dollars for one stone!” she gasped, startled by the sheer enormity of the sum. “I’m in the wrong business!”

  “Your tape has run out,” Kai advised her. With a nod of his head and a wickedly teasing smile he indicated the recorder she had placed on the edge of the table where he was explaining his work.

  “How inefficient of me,” she remarked, feigning chagrin. Anne laughed. Ignoring the tape recorder, she held another diamond up for inspection under the ten-power magnifying glass. “Mmmmmm.” She unconsciously mimicked Kai’s noncommittal way of studying stones. “This one looks like it has a little gas bubble in it.”

  “That is an inclusion,” he corrected. “Most of the stones sold in retail shops contain small internal flaws that have no visible effect on the finished product.” The definite compliment in Kai’s admiring tone warmed her. “You have a very keen eye for an amateur,” he added.

  “And you are an excellent teacher.” Anne met Kai’s darkly potent gaze and the space between them crackled with an electric tension. Waves of longing broke over her as the need for him built with the intensity of a symphony approaching crescendo.

  “If you continue to stare at me in such a provocative manner your article will never be finished,” Kai warned in a husky voice.

  Anne’s lashes fluttered as she broke the erotic visual connection. Dazed by the depth of her desire, she pretended interest as a worker polished a ruby to pigeon-blood brilliance.

  Logic simply failed her whenever she tried to dissect her physical obsession for Kai. Making love with him was the most profound experience she had ever known. Selfless in the heat of passion, he gave the same incredible pleasure he demanded in return. Kai was truly a paradox—a sexual alchemist in the bedroom who moved with a tycoon’s prowess to preside over any boardroom he entered.

  Anne’s luminous gaze followed Kai’s lithe gait as he crossed the room for a subdued consultation with one of his employees. A pang of regret quivered through her as she mentally counted the days that were left to them. She hadn’t yet mustered the courage to tell Kai that Dick was dropping broad hints about her promotion to assistant editor of the Athens UNA Bureau.

  After that unsettling confrontation in Tiger Balm Gardens, Anne was determined to postpone another scene until the last possible moment. Surely he wouldn’t expect her to forfeit such an important, long-awaited career opportunity on the strength of their physical attraction? Anne shivered, knowing only too well how Kai would react when she finally revealed her news.

  “Are you ready to leave?” Kai’s brisk question sliced through her anxious reverie.

  Anne nodded in silent assent, afraid that words would betray her torment. She gathered up her notepad, which contained the scribbled shorthand she always used when researching an article, and tucked the compact recorder that guaranteed accurate quotes into her bag. Kai led her through the polite gauntlet of the workers’ good-byes, and then he closed the door on the factory.

  “Don’t you worry about shoplifters?” she asked when she trusted her voice again. Anne pointed out the various groups of women sitting at the counters in Kai’s shop. The clerks were busier visiting with the customers than they were selling to them.

  “Despite what you may think after your nasty experience with Feng, vandalism and petty crime are virtually nonexistent in Hong Kong,” Kai said, brushing off her concern with a shrug of his shoulders.

  “But it seems like such a drain to pay a sales force that stands around talking instead of moving the merchandis
e,” Anne contested.

  “Not really,” he said in a patient tone. “In the larger port cities of the Orient goldsmiths’ shops are the traditional meeting ground.” Kai flashed a welcoming smile at a plump matron who was holding court at one of the glass-enclosed cases. “And when these people are ready to buy, our hospitality is remembered as vividly as the quality of our merchandise.”

  Kai suggested that Anne leave her totebag in his car while they shopped. Arm in arm, they rambled around the Western District, stopping to browse or buy as it suited them. Anne successfully haggled down the price of a small jade carving she spied in one of the dingy shops on Cat Street. Kai selected crisp produce, shelled fish and freshly ground spices for their dinner from an immaculate open-air display. As they backtracked to the car they were held up while a funeral procession, complete with rickshaws full of family and mourners marching to lively music, wended along Wing Sing Street

  “Are you tired?” Kai squeezed Anne’s hand with affectionate pressure when they were settled in the car and heading up the mountainside.

  “A little bit,” she admitted, relaxing against the plush seat. Anne closed her eyes, her mind crowded with thoughts. “In the few weeks we’ve known each other I’ve seen and done more than during all of my other assignments combined.”

  “That pleases me,” Kai said. He released her hand and his lean fingers traveled up to massage the nape of her neck “Are you beginning to feel at home in Hong Kong?”

  Despite the seductive pitch of his voice and the casual vein of his question, Anne sensed that Kai was steering the conversation in a seriously threatening direction. A guarded silence stretched between them as she gathered her wits.

  “It’s an alluring city,” she finally replied, gingerly avoiding the direct answer he was seeking. “Even its name evokes a certain mystique.” Behind closed lids Anne scanned the indelible memories that would accompany her to Athens and beyond. From its crescent-shaped harbor to its teeming streets and jagged mountain peaks, Hong Kong was an intriguing array of contrasts. “And, of course, I’m impressed by how aware the Chinese are of their cultural identity,” she added, lamely attempting to fend off further personal discussion.