She shook her head. Never had she done such things.
"You were so creamy before," he said as his hand slid deeper between her legs. "Has seeing this made it so again? Do you even understand what I am asking?"
"No," she breathed, though she gave no power to the word because, of course, she did understand in part. Her thighs were wet, and her womb quivered in desire. And she had thought so much of these things, even before entering the Forbidden City. She had seen dogs in copulation, heard the moans from her parents' bedroom and even watched as servants met in secret in the back garden. So she did know some, and she wondered. She most especially wondered what it would be like to experience such a thing with him.
Behind them, the concubines' cries were reaching fever pitch. And in the darkness of their tree bower, Ji Yue let her legs spread the tiniest bit. Then a bit further as his fingers delved deeper.
It was the knuckle of his index finger, she believed, that pushed against her first. She gasped in shock and had to grip his shoulders to steady herself. But that lifted her higher up, which gave him more room as he stroked between her petals.
"Yes," he said, "I believe you have been using your cream again."
Blood roared in her ears, her entire body was on fire, but her attention was centered on the place where his long finger stroked, rolling ever so slowly from front to back. Every knuckle made her shiver, and she released a high keening sigh.
"No man has ever touched you like this?" he asked. "You have never done this to yourself?"
"Never," she gasped. If only she'd known what it felt like before. Her skin seemed to pulse and her body throbbed where he touched.
"Good," he said as he turned his hand over so that he cupped her fully. His hand was large and intimate, and she felt as if he held the whole of her in his palm. "Then you will remember me always," he said as he pushed a finger inside her.
She cried out in alarm. No man had ever penetrated her like that before. But it felt good. Wicked, but good. Then he withdrew, rolling his knuckles forward across a place she'd only discovered with him earlier that day.
"Move as you will," he murmured as he leaned forward to support her upper body better. "Make whatever sounds you like. They are common here."
She didn't want to act so wantonly. She knew this was not the behavior of a virgin, and yet how could she stop when his hand and body urged her to move? Her thighs tightened and she rose higher on her knees. Without her willing it so, her back began to arch, and her hips thrust forward and back, forward and back over his hand.
"So hot," he whispered. "So wet. I cannot believe you are a virgin."
"I've never—" she gasped, her mind splintering.
His fingers moved without pattern. Or perhaps she could not understand the pattern, for her mind was completely absorbed in the feel of his fingers on her body, the sweet thunder of her heart and the wildness he drew from her so effortlessly. She was shaking, her buttocks lifting and lowering her as he spoke encouragement. Chest to chest, he held her while he pressed his finger inside again, then pulled it out, pressed it in and pulled it out.
"Kiss me," he said against her ear. "Kiss me so you do not scream."
She had no strength to do anything, but he had power enough for them both. He pressed his mouth to hers and thrust his tongue inside. He explored every part of her mouth while still touching her rhythmically below. And then it happened.
She cried out, her mouth fused to his. She clenched her muscles, then contracted them. A bliss radiated through every inch of her, every pore. He held her as the contractions roared through her blood. He kept his mouth on hers, his hand cupping her and his finger deep inside, still thrusting into her. She felt him there as her body tightened around him and her mind splintered from the wonder of it all.
Such bliss!
And when the shudders eased, when the breath returned to her body and her thighs relaxed downward, he still held her tight, supporting her as she fell back onto her heels. He pressed tiny kisses to her cheek, then down her neck. His hand remained cupped against her body, his one finger still pressed deep inside her. She did not move to close her legs. She did not have the strength.
"That was wonderful," she whispered.
"There is more," he said.
She blinked. She could not imagine more. Then he lifted his head, his eyes twinkling in the darkness.
"Did you not hear Tai Lai?" he asked. "She said, 'Again. This time slower.'"
Chapter 8
SHE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND! Bo Tao cursed himself for a fool, and not for the first time that day. Thinking back over the way he had stroked her again and again, he realized that Virgin Chen Ji Yue had been so caught up in the wonder of what they did, in the sensations flooding her body, that she'd never understood his message. And he had become hypnotized by watching her reach ecstasy time after time that he'd forgotten his original purpose.
He'd meant to show Ji Yue the horrible life of an imperial concubine. Most concubines never lost their virginity, never enjoyed family or children, never had anything of meaning in their lives. They were reduced to performing sex shows for their amusement. He'd wanted to show Ji Yue an empty future so that she could choose a different path now, before it was too late. She could leave the competition of her own volition. Instead, she hadn't heard and he'd become enraptured by the sight of her shattering in his arms. He'd forgotten everything but giving her pleasure, and so the message was lost.
What was the matter with him? Why could he not just take her and be done with it? He could have had her. More than once, most likely. Around her, his dragon organ was always ready for more. And then when he was done, he could have dropped a word to the dowager consort and Ji Yue would be expelled by morning. Easy. Unless, of course, the emperor found out. Then Bo Tao would be killed for daring to touch one of Yi Zhen's women.
So he had held off. He had walked Ji Yue back to the virgins' palace, ready to carry her again if her legs did not support her. He had kissed her once more as they hid deep in the shadows, then he'd turned away. Now he was heading to the emperor's palace with his root so thick he had trouble walking.
He'd tried to hide his affliction, but Yi Zhen noticed immediately. The emperor had been coming down the stairs, seen his friend, then started laughing so hard he gripped his sides from the pain. Bo Tao called his emperor an ass and then stormed off to the room he used when politics kept him too late in the Forbidden City to return home. His emperor followed, though, laughing with every step. But by the time they reached Bo Tao's bedroom, his eyes had gone deadly serious.
"They are my virgins, you know," the emperor said.
"I know," Bo Tao groused. "Why do you think I am like this?"
"Because you are a true friend and a loyal bannerman."
"Go fuck a dog," Bo Tao retorted, then he flopped down on his bed. Yi Zhen laughed again, but Bo Tao wasn't fooled. Yi Zhen did not like sharing. Those virgins—Chen Ji Yue included—were his, and Bo Tao would be smart to remember it. Otherwise, his life would end much too young.
Eventually the emperor grew tired of laughing at him and left him to sleep. Unfortunately, his affliction prevented that. So he lay in bed wondering what to do with a mouthy virgin who made him hornier than when he'd seen his first "harem show." She didn't understand, damn it! Did she really want the hideous life offered to a concubine? Of course not! No sane person would want to endure the constant backbiting, petty rivalries and outright danger of living in an imperial harem.
But he had never found much logic among the female population. And though Ji Yue appeared more intelligent than most, she still hadn't heard his message. And he didn't know how he could make it more plain! So he thought and thought while at the same time remembering how she'd undulated over his hand. Passion made her throat flush and her breath short. And, oh, he ached for her.