The Last Concubine Page 7

  He looked up to catch Hüi watching him closely and realized his face was contorted with pain. He tried to smile to reassure the other man, but Hüi shook his head, smiling as he said, “We will wait. It will get better, I assure you. Let me know.”

  Lan felt his muscles begin to relax and the pain melted away, leaving him feeling pleasantly full. Experimentally, he reached down to feel where Hüi’s cock penetrated him, enjoying the tingles that radiated outward from his hole and the sensation of the firm shaft filling it.

  Then Hüi moved his hips, sliding his cock out of the narrow passage before gliding back in, and Lan ringed Hüi’s shaft with his fingers, with wonder feeling himself impaled. This time Lan felt it when Hüi’s cock massaged the walls of his passage, and pleasure blossomed within him.

  Once again Hüi withdrew and slid home, the movements of his hips getting faster as he thrust deeper. Lan let his legs slide off Hüi’s shoulders to wrap them around his waist, hanging on for dear life. Hüi lowered his body, trapping Lan’s rigid cock.

  Between the driving of the cock deep within and the rubbing of their bellies against his erection, Lan was transported upon the wings of rapture. Hüi was slamming into him now, their flesh making an occasional slapping sound on contact, drowning out Lan’s moans and gasps of pleasure.

  He squirmed and tried to reach his own cock, but Hüi slapped his hand away. “Not until I permit you to come,” he said.

  “Yes, my Lord,” Lan answered, although he knew he would not be able to control himself. The feeling of Hüi’s cock inside him, rubbing and stretching him made him feel like he might actually be split in two, but he liked it. He arched in ecstasy when Hüi’s cock slid within him, heightening pleasure to the edge of pain.

  Then the thrusts grew shorter and more erratic. Hüi raised himself from Lan’s body and his hips snapped in short, uneven strokes until he froze for a second. Lan cried out when Hüi’s hand found his cock. Two strokes and he spilled between them, making Hüi’s belly slide against his.

  Hüi rammed home even deeper with a hoarse cry of triumph before pouring his essence within the narrow channel. Then he lowered himself to lie completely atop Lan.

  Lan could feel his nerveless legs slide down to the mattress and turned his head into the crook of Hüi’s neck and shoulder. A feeling of contentment and peace came over him such as he had never felt before.

  “Now you belong to me.” Hüi’s voice was muffled in the pillow.

  “I do,” Lan agreed.

  “And I will never let you go,” Hüi said.

  Lan had never felt happier. His ass was a bit sore and Hüi’s cock was still buried inside him. Hüi’s weight also curtailed his breathing, but Lan never wanted to move from this position. This was the pinnacle he had yearned for. If Hüi felt impelled to kill him when he awoke, Lan knew he would sacrifice himself happily to pay for having this dream come true.

  LAN’XIU lay awake most of the night, dozing now and then, but determined to enjoy the feel of naked skin against his for the first, and possibly last, time in his life. Lying on his side, curled into the sheltering bulk of his lord’s body, the dim light allowed him to see the strong sinew of the arm that encircled him, and Hüi’s breath blew warm over his shoulder. The occasional snore made Lan want to laugh, but he didn’t wish to wake Hüi and hasten his leaving. As intimate as their lovemaking had been, being held in Hüi’s embrace while lying together naked sparked some long suppressed emotion that overwhelmed Lan, like a tidal wave sweeping over him. He longed to drown in the pleasure of belonging to this man for the few hours of respite he had been given.

  There was no doubt in his mind that by the light of day, Hüi Wei would return to his senses and recoil from him, put him to death for being the means of his humiliation. No man could endure the thought that others knew his household sheltered a man in the guise of a woman, and Wu Min would most certainly use that fact to his advantage when it came to light. Therefore, when he had time to consider, Hüi Wei would be forced to put Lan’xiu to death. Whatever steps Hüi took to silence Wu Min would naturally mean nothing to Lan’xiu, as he would be dead. The strain of his existence within the household and the day spent awaiting his inevitable death at the discovery of his secret with as graceful a resignation he could muster had taken its toll, however, and eventually Lan’xiu nodded off.

  He awoke to the feeling of soft lips nibbling at his neck and a hard cock sliding within the valley between his cheeks, rubbing insistently over his hole. Sleepily he pushed back, signifying his willingness.

  Slick fingers prepared him hastily, and Lan moaned when Hüi’s erection took their place, entering him ruthlessly enough to make his sore muscles protest the burning stretch.

  Hüi remained still until Lan let out a breath and said, “Take me, my Lord.”

  An inarticulate but possessive growl was his only answer as a hand slid under Lan’s thigh and lifted it, spreading him even more widely open to receive his lord’s pleasure. The feeling of the hard cock surging within him in the rhythmic dance of possession made him feel happy to be able to give Hüi something he obviously wanted. Hüi let Lan’s thigh rest on his forearm and reached between his legs to grasp his cock and stroke it. Only one specter lingered to distract Lan’xiu from the pleasure of being so thoroughly fucked.

  “Are you going to put me to death this morning?” Lan gasped, snuggling within the circle of his lover’s arms.

  Hüi stopped thrusting. “Will you cease asking me that?” Hüi exclaimed. “I assure you, I will give you plenty of notice if I decide to kill you. I am the master here, not you.” He drove his hips forward, causing his hard shaft to impale Lan’s ass even deeper.

  “Yes, my Lord,” Lan said meekly, if a bit breathlessly.

  Chapter 7

  THIS time when Lan’xiu ordered Ning to go downstairs, he followed instructions to the letter. He found Jia, the housekeeper, lurking in the hallway below, listening to the sounds coming from upstairs and giggling with her hands covering her mouth. “At last! The Master is taking the princess! A fine time she will have being blooded for the first time!”

  In a fury, Ning turned on her, snapping that she should remain in the kitchen if she couldn’t find a nearby barnyard where by rights she would fit in very nicely indeed! Preferably she might lie down in the sty with the hogs!

  Jia was very understanding and did not take offense easily. “This is only to be expected when a young girl is as beautiful as the princess and untouched. It rouses the beast in the best of men. You have served her for a long time, but you mustn’t worry. She is young and she can take a good pounding.” Jia made the symbol for fucking with both hands clasped together, her palms making a rude noise when the air was squeezed out. “It is good luck for this house that he is between her thighs at last. I wondered why he delayed taking her for so long. She is as juicy as a ripe peach.”

  “You are disgusting!” Ning spat.

  “Don’t be silly! We are a robust people here and enjoy sex as a gift from the gods.” The sound of some piece of furniture toppling over interrupted her. Ning started toward the stairs but she caught him by the sleeve. “Begging your pardon, Ning-xiānsheng, but it is not your place to come between the master and his concubine.”

  A faint cry sounded, and the lines around Jia’s eyes crinkled in mirth as she giggled again. “Ah! The princess has a bit more spark in her than I suspected. A lady in the sitting room but a tiger in the bedroom; the men always appreciate that. She is giving him a fine chase before she lets him catch her.”

  “What if he hurts her?”

  “He will not hurt her—much. A man always enjoys the kill more after a good hunt.”

  Ning shut his eyes in horror. Jia could not know how truly she spoke. Even now Hüi might be sheathing the sharp blade of his sword within Lan’xiu’s body, watching the crimson lifeblood ebb away. And next it would be his turn. Hüi could not afford to let him live with the knowledge he kept locked within his skull. A high-pitched giggle made
him open his eyes and glare at Jia.

  “For all that she is a virgin, the princess seems to know how to excite a man. Her ladyship will most likely need a day or two to recover from the fine ride the master will be giving her. Ah well, she will soon learn to like it.”

  “Get out of my sight before I do something we both should regret!” Ning hissed.

  With another giggle, Jia followed Ning’s advice and returned to her kitchen, although possibly her step was quickened by his raised hand and the anger snapping in his eyes.

  He had thought that nothing could be worse than to stand here helplessly listening to his precious Lan’xiu being murdered by that irate soldier, but that damned Jia had managed to increase the torment he suffered. Qiang Hüi Wei was so very large and strong compared to the slender princess; Ning could only imagine the violence being visited upon her person. Knowing how to use a sword could only take one so far. Lan’xiu had little experience of a real fight after only sparring with him, and he had always taken good care not to give her so much as a nick. Of course, Ning knew that a man of the governor’s position could not stomach having such a trick being played upon him, but he had hoped for some measure of mercy when Hüi Wei found out the truth. Surely, surely, he would understand Lan’xiu was no party to this deceit perpetrated by her brother.

  When they had first arrived in this strange land and entered the audience room, ostensibly as guests but in truth prisoners of their seeming guard, Ning had examined the new lord’s face, knowing that nobody looked at a eunuch to see what they were doing. He could see the man was shrewd and strong, a man of innate power whether the emperor backed him or not, but the lines beside his mouth betrayed that he had a sense of humor. He had begun to hope Hüi Wei might yet forgive Lan’xiu and give her leave to immure herself within a monastery, but now all hope was gone.

  If Lan’xiu had not said she would not hide behind him, Ning would have braved any fate to rush to her aid, no matter that he would die with her. He paced impotently, his fists clenched, biting his lips to keep silent whenever he heard another faint cry.

  It suddenly occurred to him that although she had commanded him to go downstairs, she had not forbidden him to come back upstairs! To think was to act, and Ning charged up the stairs to his room where he had hidden his own sword, a heavier one than Lan’xiu used. He crept to the adjoining door and placed his ear upon it to listen.

  He almost dropped his sword when he heard Hüi Wei’s voice! He could not make out the words, but surely the tone was that of a man speaking endearments to one beloved of him, rather than the anger of a man bent on wreaking justice and death.

  Ning placed his sword on the floor and bent to look through the keyhole. He could not see much but what he did see made him fall to his knees with a thud, he was so surprised. Luckily, his room also boasted a carpet that muffled the sound. After listening for any reaction from the next room, he concluded that the combatants were too occupied with each other to notice outside distractions.

  Cautiously, he approached the keyhole on his knees, peering through it. He glimpsed a pile of clothing on the floor beside the bed, and the bed itself seemed to be moving or shaking.

  Soft murmurs, rustling sounds, and a cry from the princess that could have been pain but sounded suspiciously more like ecstasy left Ning completely confused.

  He pressed his ear to the door again. Hüi Wei raised his voice in a triumphant shout that mingled with breathy moans in the princess’s familiar voice. It did not sound much to Ning as if she was in dire need of rescue.

  But perhaps he was not interpreting what he heard correctly. Perhaps Hüi Wei was torturing her as a prelude to killing her. The general might simply have stripped her to verify his guess as to her gender, resulting in the clothing left on the floor. If so, it was clearly his duty to come to her rescue. Now it sounded a bit like she was crying. Ning felt for his sword in the dark but froze when he heard her laugh.

  Hüi Wei’s voice again, sounding rather threatening this time. Lan’xiu’s voice raised enough for Ning to make out that she was agreeing to obey some order.

  Should he go in? Should he not? If he were wrong, Lan’xiu would be angry with him and that would be bad. If she were angry, how much angrier might Hüi Wei be, perhaps angry enough to have him killed! That would be bad too. Then Lan’xiu would be left all alone here in a strange land, perhaps to die alone, which would be much worse. Ning had always meant to beg that she be killed first so that at least she would have his friendly face to look upon when she died. But it sounded like she might actually be enjoying whatever was happening within.

  The unmistakable squeak of the wooden bed frame under stress stopped Ning’s ruminations and he grinned in the dark. Lan’xiu was right; he would have been an excellent lawyer. Here he was, sitting in the dark, arguing all around the issue while in the meantime, she and her new master seemed to be entertaining each other very well.

  Ning sat with his back to the door and leaned his head against it to enjoy a silent laugh. Whether Hüi Wei had ever enjoyed the company of a man in his bed before this, clearly Lan’xiu’s beauty was enough to seduce the most committed lover of females into testing strange waters.

  Without a thought to the fact that he was intruding upon their privacy, Ning stayed where he was, enjoying the sounds of a passion he would never know. Even if Hüi Wei decided in the morning that his pride had been so compromised that he could not allow the princess and her servant to live, at least Lan’xiu’s last night on this earth might give her a taste of the kind of love she had dreamed of. For her sake, Ning was happy this had come to pass.

  “Sheathing his sword indeed.” Ning smiled and closed his eyes, filled with contentment, at least for the moment.

  THE sound of the bed squeaking again jerked Ning from a sound sleep. He made a mental note to mend the frame for the princess. At the rate they were going, it sounded like her bed would be getting quite a workout, at least if Hüi Wei decided to permit them to live.

  The sky was still dark, but the dawn was approaching. Ning could hear the song of a few birds outside. Apparently the general was an early riser—Ning covered his mouth and giggled at his inadvertent pun—and had decided to put in a little exercise before breakfast.

  This time the murmurs and cries sounded soft and sleepy, and quite soon silence had fallen again within the room next door. Ning stretched his stiff neck from side to side, making another mental note to refrain from sleeping while leaning against a door in the future. If he had a future. He gazed out the window, and when a line of pale yellow stole across the horizon beyond the houses opposite, he knew he could delay no longer. It was time for Hüi Wei to go. It would be unseemly for his dependents to know the general had spent an entire night in the company of any of his concubines. That was simply not done.

  Ning stood up and knocked quietly at the door. There was no response from within. He knocked a little louder. Still nothing.

  Finally, he turned the knob and eased the door open. He paused then, not knowing precisely what to do in this situation. Nothing had fitted him for this in his training. Then he found himself wishing that he knew how to paint so that he would have a tangible image to look at for all his days to remember the scene of the two lovers lying together.

  Hüi Wei slept on his back, holding Lan’xiu close so his head was nestled upon his muscular shoulder. Their legs twined together, the darker skin of Hüi Wei’s thighs making Lan’xiu’s gleam ivory in contrast. Lan’s long hair covered his face and his naked body was relaxed, the elegant line of his spine leading to the curve of his buttocks.

  Ning realized that Hüi Wei had opened his eyes and was looking at him, moving one hand to caress Lan’xiu’s naked shoulder as if protecting him from harm.

  “My Lord, it is almost dawn,” Ning whispered.

  “Thank you.” With infinite care, Hüi eased himself away from Lan’xiu, positioning a pillow for support in his place. He climbed out of the bed and stretched with no apparent worry for his
display of nakedness. Then he stooped to retrieve his clothing, sorting them from where they lay upon the floor mingled with Lan’xiu’s ruined hanfu. When he was dressed, he bent over the sleeping young man and pressed a kiss to the tumbled hair.

  He came toward Ning with an intent look in his eyes.

  Ning held up a hand to stop him. “Your sword, my Lord.”

  Hüi nodded and looked vaguely about for it. Ning came forward silently and drew it out from under the bed where it had landed, handing it to the general. Hüi Wei led the way out of the room, and Ning closed the door softly.

  “This way, my Lord,” Ning said. He led the way downstairs through the sleeping house. He went to open the front door, but Hüi Wei stopped him.

  “I have decided not to execute the princess for the time being,” he announced.

  Ning had to force down his untimely laughter. It would never do to offend the man at such a delicate moment, but after having witnessed the tender kiss Hüi Wei had bestowed upon the sleeping princess, Ning would have placed bets that the general was more likely to declare his undying love for her than to kill her. “Princess Lan’xiu will be most grateful to receive this auspicious news when she awakes, I am sure. I thank you humbly on her behalf.”

  Hüi Wei peered sharply at the smooth, impassive face. His lips twitched as if he noticed Ning’s suppressed mirth and might have joined in, if it had not been unseemly to indulge a servant in this way. “You do know that the princess is not—”

  Ning raised a finger in front of his mouth and gave a quick wink. “I know everything there is to know about Princess Lan’xiu.”