Trancing the Tiger (Chinese Zodiac Romance Series Book 1) (7 page)

To the world, Kek Lok Si used to be one of the largest Buddhist temples.

To him, this was home.

After the Matchmaker had scraped his sorry ass off the streets, this temple had become his sanctuary. For the first time in his life, he’d not just survived, he’d lived. She’d given his shitty existence a purpose—to seek out and train the other Chosen. His new family.

During his teen years, he’d practiced here as a monk. As it happened, he wasn’t cut out for a life of abstinence…from anything. Tiger had just begun to reveal itself and denial wasn’t in the beast’s nature.

A constant conflict waged between them. Whenever Sheng sought to rise above, Tiger dragged him down to his baser instincts.

The worst test so far was Lucy, and not because he and Tiger disagreed.

But because both of them desired her.

“Where are we?” She pressed the fingertips of one hand against the glass.

Leaning forward, he peered around her, desperate to observe her reaction. The condo was a ruse. The apartment—a maneuver for him to get close to her.

This was his home.

Her future.

What if she didn’t like it? Anxiety burned through his chest, until he tilted far enough forward to spot why she’d become so quiet. So still.

Her eyes were lit up like bright stars on a pitch-dark night. Her breath misted the glass from where her mouth parted in an expression of awe.

Her other hand joined the first to press against the window as she craned her neck to survey more of the mountainside.

This was good.

And he was about to make it even better.

Chapter 5

Sheng’s door slammed, jolting Lucy. She surveyed the empty seats. Where were they and why had he left her in the car? Before she worked up a true huff, her door popped open and he extended a hand.

Oh. Who would have guessed? Sheng was a gentleman.

She slipped her hand into his, shivering at the magnetic pull of her body toward his. Effortlessly, he plucked her to her feet, gliding one steadying hand around her waist.

Not that she wobbled or anything.

The blast of humid air settled around her like a welcoming caress, waging war against the searing heat of Sheng’s presence. She eased out of his grasp to stop from snuggling against him.

“Welcome to Kek Lok Si.” His black brows shot upward and he tipped his head in the direction of the temple. His expression exposed an earnest concern as though her opinion mattered to him.

Odd.

She inhaled the sweet, floral perfume of the mountainside and smiled. “It’s lovely.”

In fact, her father had spoken to her of this place. Tenderness had coated his every word. The impulse to experience what he had, to seize one tie to her past, flared inside her chest.

“Shall we?” Sheng jerked his chin at the elaborate entranceway.

After she cast him a wide smile, she focused on the extensively decorated tunneled pathways. Her neck twisted back and forth as she struggled to survey her surroundings while keeping pace with his long strides.

He paused at the end of the corridor. “These walls used to be crammed with vendors, selling everything from ice cream to cheap t-shirts for tourists.” He sighed as he pressed his hand against the stone. “One of my first memories is coming here as a child.”

Just when she concluded she had him figured out, he went and unveiled another side of himself. She chewed her bottom lip, unsure of what to make of this enigmatic man.

“Come on.” Suddenly, he winked at her and ensnared her arm with his, dragging her forward.

They darted under passageways, wound through twisting tunnels, and popped out into a clearing. He didn’t give her a moment to catch her breath as he snatched her hand and tugged her over to a large pond.

A large, wriggling pond.

She squinted. The rippling effect didn’t come from any motion of water, but from hundreds of squirming turtles. “Aww… They’re so cute.”

“Cute?” he scoffed. “They’re a symbol of longevity, strength, endurance. The turtle is a wise and—”

“Okay, I get it.” She shoved her elbow into his side to stop his turtle rant and laughed at the slashes of his brows. “Turtles are great. You’ve sold me.” She strolled to the edge of the pond, peering over the railing.

He strode up behind her, clasped one hand on top of each of hers, blocking her in with his large frame.

“We call this the Sacred Turtle Pond or Liberation Pond.” His deep, rough voice smoothed over her. The hint of a British accent, like her mother’s, tugged at her heart. “Each of these turtles was released into this pond as a symbol of spiritual liberation. Here.” He reached into a bucket beside them and produced a long, leafy stalk. “Want to feed them?”

She laughed as she accepted the stalk and dangled it in front of the clamoring turtles. “
Hmm.
” She studied the grouping until a smaller one off to the side caught her eye. To divert the attention of the bigger turtles, she broke off a portion of the leaf and flung it across the pond while tossing most of the stalk in front of the little guy.

“Nicely done,” Sheng murmured in her ear. “Most people don’t think to distract the bigger ones.” He disengaged from her, spinning around to lean back against the railing, arms sprawled on either side of his big body.

She almost detected the squeak of the wheels spinning in his mind as he regarded her.

“How else is he going to eat?”

“He isn’t.” Ice crept into his tone. “The weak ones die off. The
strong
survive.” A hardness clouded his features, and she gathered they weren’t speaking of turtles anymore.

“You’re wrong.” At her challenge, intrigue sparked in his dark eyes. “Strength isn’t all a person needs.” Her explanation rushed from her mouth. “A clever mind can out-survive a strong body any day.”

“Is that so?” Amusement curved his lips. “I’m going to enjoy enlightening you.”

“Or maybe…” she quipped, bumping her hip against his, “you’re going to learn something from me.”

***

Sheng scratched at the back of his neck as Lucy sauntered over the bridge to the other side of the pond. Learn from her? From Rabbit? Both he and Tiger took offense at the notion, rejecting it straight up. He’d spent years training for this role. She didn’t even fathom what she was. That didn’t mean his senses weren’t aflame, his body and mind titillated by whatever Lucy believed she could offer him.

Fighting back the tightening in his balls, he stalked her movements. She’d climbed down to the pond’s edge and was attempting to pet one of the turtles.

Pet him? He chuckled. The large, ancient turtle,
Áo
, groaned at the frivolous affection.

“What?” She glared at Sheng, one hand on her hip, the other stroking the turtle’s shell.

“Oh, nothing. By all means, pet the turtle.” He waved his hand toward the animal. “Let me ask you this, Lucy. What do you see when you look at him?”

Her scrutiny darted between him and the turtle. “A turtle.”

And… He’d just proven he was the master. She, the student. Only when she accepted the world she belonged to would she perceive the turtle’s true form. Smugness crept into his tone. “Let me know when that changes, okay?” He winked, chuckling again as she scowled.

“Time to go. The others are waiting.” He paced a few steps back, then shot forward and leapt across the pond, landing in a crouch beside her.

She gaped at him. “How did you do that?”

Ignoring her question and those penetrating golden eyes, he rose and led the way through the next set of escalating tunnels. They stepped back out into daylight, onto the middle grounds of the temple. The stone walls echoed her gasp. He’d memorized every inch of this place, but viewing it again through her perspective renewed his appreciation for its beauty. The bright red rooftops of the dozens of connected buildings contrasted starkly against the pale stone. He smiled as Lucy strolled right through a narrow circular doorway while he had to duck.

As she continued to swivel her head left and right, observing the enormous statues of Buddha and the myriad shrines, he lured her through one of the main prayer halls.

“Fancy a ride?” He arched one brow and swept his arm toward the lift.

“Um, is it safe?” She balked at the inclined lift, constructed of golden metal and glass, and more than a few decades old.

“Well, we can take the stairs.” He pointed to the side of the small gauge train tracks. The steep stairway climbed beyond their view. At this altitude, it would be a difficult cardio workout for anyone not accustomed.

“Yeah, no.” Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as she wrinkled her nose.

“You’re safe with me.” Refusing to register the curling warmth inside his gut at his declaration, he nudged her onto the lift. He pressed a few buttons and the motor hummed for a minute. She cast him a tentative, quirked brow. The motor jerked, and she lost her balance, tumbling backward into his awaiting arms. Instead of releasing her, he drew her soft, warm body against his, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

“Afraid of heights?”

“A touch.”

Using Tiger’s hearing, he picked up on the increase of her pulse. Did her heart rate accelerate because of him or this unstable contraption?

Damn, he hoped it was him.

To test his theory, he unwound his hands, sliding the flats of his palms down her torso, skimming the edges of her breasts and coming to rest below her waist, clamping onto her hips. He wanted to draw her farther back, to grind her lush ass against his front so she could feel the erection he was having a damn hard time beating back. Clenching his jaw, he awaited the perfect moment to do so.

Her hands gripped the railing in front of them until they’d ascended about halfway.

As she relaxed, he tested her boundaries further, massaging his thumbs into her soft curves.

Come out, Little Rabbit.

His senses prickled; Tiger paced to the edge. Damn, she had one stubborn spirit. Hell, he’d thought he’d had a rough time with Ox, who defined the word “stubborn.”

He’d been wrong, so wrong.

Did Rabbit hide because the spirit feared the predatory Tiger? Or had Lucy’s defensive skills combined with Rabbit’s, making them both tenacious as hell?

The lift screeched to a halt, ending his experiment. He released her, climbed out first, and hoisted her onto the ground.

They passed by another pond, but his destination this time was…well, set in stone.

A familiar eagerness bristled his skin as he approached the Chinese Zodiac garden, cutting straight through to the life-size statue of a tiger. His Tiger spirit leapt forward, the cloaking extending from his fingers as he brushed them against the stone tiger’s neck.

Easy, Tiger.
He grinned and cocked his head to catch Lucy’s reaction.

Her gasp was reward enough. Time for the instruction to begin.

***

Lucy swallowed another gasp. The stone statue of the tiger Sheng caressed with his fingers warbled, shifting.

As if it were alive.

The second he removed his fingers, the stone became inanimate once more, but she swore the tiger had ruffled its fur.
Ridiculous.

He faced her. “See anything, Lucy?”

She shook her head, more at herself than him. Why did he keep asking her that? Maybe her brain had absorbed the ideas he kept shoving in her face, and she hadn’t observed anything.

“Which one is yours?” Apparently unfazed by her denial, he tilted his head toward the two long rows of statues—a firm reminder of the world she’d stepped into. Many Chinese people believed whichever of the twelve animal years they’d been born into destined everything from their personality to whom they should marry. Growing up in a westernized environment, she’d never placed any faith in the notion that the year of her birth dictated her fate.

Her destiny rested in her own damn hands.

Still, she couldn’t deny that a tiger fit Sheng perfectly. Tigers were natural leaders, passionate lovers, and had magnetic personalities. His sign also matched his cocky confidence and smart-ass mouth.

A mouth with firm lips she’d love to nip.

Ugh. Stop focusing on his sexy mouth.
Shaking her head, she studied him. She was curious how much Sheng knew about her, how deeply he’d delved into her life.

She quirked an eyebrow in challenge. “Why don’t you tell me?”

Sheng bared his teeth in a half-smile. “Go ahead,
Rabbit
.” He jerked his chin at the statue.

Her chest tightened. That wasn’t a lucky guess.

Lucy circled him, giving him a wide berth before approaching her Zodiac animal. The long-eared beast crouched behind the tiger. In the Chinese Zodiac, the Rabbit arrived after the Tiger. A fact Sheng no doubt enjoyed tremendously. Anything to claim the upper hand.

It also landed his birthday a year, maybe two, before hers. Unless he’d been born an entire cycle ahead of her. “How old are you?” Even squinting, she was unable to determine his age.

“Thirty-eight.” Arms crossed, he regarded her with a stoic expression until his face broke in a grin. “Gotcha. I’m twenty-six.”

Whew. Unable to hide her relief, she angled her face aside. Nothing wrong with dating a man older than her, so long as he wasn’t
that
much older.