His bare arms settled along her shoulders. “When was the last time you were touched?” He held up a hand when her mouth opened. “And don’t lie about that boy. I know you haven’t been with him.”
She thought about Ben’s brash anger in his bedroom. About the weight of his body over hers. The taste of his blood and skin. She pushed the thought away.
“The last time I saw you.” She allowed her head to rest on his chest. Allowed her back to arch as his fingers stroked along her spine. “I’ve been busy.”
“Years, cricket.” He brushed the braids away from her neck and kissed her there, his fangs carefully pulled back. She’d never allowed him to bite her. “You must not go so long between visits if I’m the only one you trust this way.”
“You assume, Cheng.”
“We’ve both seen what happens when the old ones become too removed from life.”
“I don’t like it when you lump me in with them.”
“You’re better,” he murmured, still touching her. He was a tactile man, and she suspected he always had been. She allowed it because a part of her knew he was right. “Before Stephen—”
“I’m better. I don’t want to talk about Stephen.”
“Do you ever mention his name to anyone else? Or only me?”
On the boat, like this, they were honest with each other. Their bodies and minds accepting. Cheng had always preferred to have her that way. The water at his back and the wind at hers. Perfect congress, he called it. The wind upon the waves. She couldn’t count the number of times he’d taken her in the water.
“I’m tired of talking about Stephen,” she said. “Touch me and don’t speak, or I’ll go back to the house.”
He chuckled. “So bossy. I’m not the one who angered you. Don’t take it out on me.”
“Fine. You may speak. But not about Stephen.”
“Benjamin Vecchio, then.”
She scowled and called up a gust of wind, knocking him out of the boat and into the water. When he rose above the surface, he was laughing.
“Oh, I missed you, cricket.” Cheng climbed back in the boat. “Tell me your stories. Who have you fought lately? Other than the three idiots in Kashgar.”
“They tried to bury me and steal my gold. I only intended to kill two of them, but the other tried to bite Ben. What was I supposed to do?”
“Who did they belong to?”
“Someone named Aqpasha.”
Cheng frowned. “This surprises me. Aqpasha isn’t a bad sort. Just young. His people are inexperienced, but not unintelligent.”
“I did him a favor then, to kill the ones who were.”
“Curious.”
“Why?”
“I’ve had some dealing with him. And you are not unknown. He’s rough. Young. But he’s exhibited a canny ability to give lip service to the Elders without endangering himself or his sphere of influence.” He stroked a hand down his face, squeezing the water from his beard. “This disregard for you surprises me. Perhaps they were rogues.”
“I don’t really care that much.”
“I do. A power vacuum in Xinjiang could cause a political shift. Arosh has been very quiet in the west, but I’ve heard rumors that make me think he is waking.”
“I’d be more concerned about your own people.”
His hands froze on her shoulders. “Who?”
“Kesan.”
He turned her around. “Why?”
She liked that about him. Cheng didn’t automatically dismiss her because she wasn’t as familiar with his people. He was smart and always willing to use her as a resource if it worked to his advantage. It was one of the most attractive things about him.
“It was the way he watched Ben in Ürümqi. Ben spoke up, but Kesan had already noticed him. Had already decided to mention the human with me. How many times did he mention that I’d brought a human lover with me to China?”
“Several.”
“And how many times did Jonathan?”
“None. Jonathan knows what you do is none of his business unless it affects me.”
“Jonathan is loyal. His interest is in making sure his sire is well cared for and protected. Kesan is looking for weaknesses and wanted to see what kind of reaction you’d have to the idea of me bringing a lover. He hoped to provoke you to jealousy. Did he?”
The corner of his mouth curled up. “I can’t tell you all my secrets, can I?”
“I don’t want to talk about Kesan.” She turned and pulled off her tunic, leaning her bare back against his chest. “We can speak of it later.” She took Cheng’s hands and crossed them over her front, breathing in his scent. The old familiar feel of his arms. The blood that still pulsed in his veins when he was aroused. She felt his heart beat once against her cheek.
Tenzin couldn’t remember the last time her heart had moved.
“What are you doing in Los Angeles, Tenzin?” he murmured as he lifted her arm and laid a kiss along the sensitive skin of her wrist. “What occupies you there?”
“Let me guess. You think I should be here with you.”
“Yes.” He curled over her, molding Tenzin’s body to his. “With you as my consort, we would be unstoppable. Ancient and modern. No one could challenge us.”
“I hate Shanghai.”
“I wouldn’t ask for your blood,” he said, ignoring her. “We are not that. But I care for you. You know this. We could do such great things.”