It was much the same in China for the upper class. Moreso since those women had bound feet and were forced to teeter or be carried everywhere they went. But in the lower classes where she had been raised, many girls had to fend for themselves or die. She had learned to be practical above all other things.
“I know you have stren—” His words ended on a cry of alarm as she rolled herself on top of him and straddled his hips. Between her thighs, he responded on instinct, thrusting upward despite the separation of clothing. “Yihui!” he rasped.
“You think me weak because I am a woman, because I am a Chinese girl in a foreign world.” She leaned forward and nipped at his nose just as he had done to her. “I am stronger than you know. I will not break.”
He touched her arms, caressing up and down in long strokes. In his eyes, she saw indecision and desire. He wanted her, she knew, but he was still holding back.
Why?
She thought over this evening. She thought about how he had nearly stripped her naked by the door. And how he had kissed her with such need that she thought she would melt from his desire. And then, at the very last, she remembered what had triggered his passion.
“You think I am using you,” she said softly. “You think I am no better than a whore or a woman seeking money.”
His eyes shot wide. “What? No! Of course, I don’t think—”
“I am not using you, Max,” she said. “I love you. I want to share this love with you.”
His nostrils flared and his hands tightened on her arms. But he didn’t do more. It was as if he feared what would happen if he took that love inside.
“You don’t believe me,” she said softly.
“I…I don’t know,” he finally confessed. “It is not a word I use.”
“Neither do I. Until tonight.”
“But—”
“Tonight, I love you. Tonight, Max, will you love me?”
His expression turned tortured. His breath rasped. And he managed one word. “Yes.” Then he pulled her down to kiss him.
Here again was the passion from the doorway. Here was the kiss that unlocked all her hunger. It was a kiss that desired her as much as breath. And she returned it a thousandfold.
Their mouths fused, their tongues danced, and when she pulled back to unbutton his clothing, he was there before her. While she twisted sideways, he pulled off everything, wrenching them away enough that he jerked against her.
“Wait!” she gasped, though she hated saying the word. “Wait!”
He froze as she pointed at envelopes set behind the washbasin.
“Do you know what those are?” she asked.
He grabbed one and opened it, his choked laugh filling the room. “French letters,” he said as he drew out a condom. “How did you get them?” Then he shook his head before she could answer. “Madame Florina, of course.”
“Yes.”
“I am glad you remembered.”
“Let me put it on you.”
Silently, he held out the envelope. She took it, her belly thrumming with excitement. She had never been able to touch a man before. Not like this. So she took her time. She held thelength of him, she felt the softness of the flesh, and the hard throbbing pound of it when she squeezed. And she licked her lips, thinking of what he had done for her.
“No,” he said, his voice choked. “I won’t last.”
She looked at him and smiled. “Maybe tomorrow then.”
He groaned as he captured his mouth with hers. And as he pressed her backward onto the bed, she lost hold of the condom, his cock, and even her reason. She wanted him inside her. She wanted to know this. She wanted his love in its most carnal form.
He was quick with the condom.
