“Of course,” Tracy answered.
“You have much to learn.” She pursed her mouth in a sweet pout. “Stephen can do the initial testing. I fear my son’s mind has not been on his studies.” She leaned forward, taking one of the teacups with an elegant sweep of her hand. “But he has a knack for finding white tigresses. Sandy was his discovery.”
The redhead, Tracy guessed.
The woman’s gaze abruptly sharpened. “You wish to return to heaven?”
Tracy looked down at her cup. She didn’t want to admit it, but yes, she did. Very much so.
“You will begin with Stephen. He knows how to coax a tigress to dance better than any dragon alive.”
Tracy lifted her head. “But I don’t wish to study with him. I like my current partner.”
The Tigress Mother released a throaty purr of laughter. “You are young, little cub. In this you will be guided by me. My son is not staying.” She pushed to her feet. “He needs to study, and I believe your dragon arrives.”
The electric ZAP car did not make an engine noise, but the crunch of wheels on brick was unmistakable and surprisingly loud in this busy place. Tracy’s gaze leaped to the window, but she couldn’t see anything through the wood lattice. Then she looked back to the Tigress Mother, only to realize that the woman had left.
Chapter 17
STEPHEN CHU WAS NOT handsome. He was too masculine to be labeled anything that soft. He was also dressed in Armani and carried a dozen roses for Tracy. The bouquet of orchids went to the Tigress Mother, passed off reverently as the woman padded away down the hallway.
Then it was Tracy alone again, this time with a ruggedly sculpted Chinese aristocrat, if such things existed in modern China. He stepped forward, offering her the roses. She took them slowly, her smile uncertain. His smile was equally hesitant, but oh so much more charming.
“Miss Williams,” he murmured with a slight bow. “I am so pleased to finally meet you.” His words sent a low thrill down her spine. He knew just how to modulate his voice to the perfect mixture of friendliness and sexuality.
Tracy blinked, unsure how to react. In truth, the man was perfect. The roses were perfect. The entire rustic setting was perfect for a romantic first meeting. But she didn’t want to be attracted to him.
“I had hoped you would come to my home first. I would have let you rest, freshen up, get settled before meeting the Tigress Mother. She can be a bit overwhelming, can’t she?” His expression invited her to confide in him. When she didn’t say anything, he continued with smooth charm. “But no matter. The worst is over now. Everything will get better and beyond better soon enough.”
“Uh, yeah,” she said. “About that…” Her voice trailed away as he waited patiently for her to finish. But she didn’t know what to say. “I…uh…”
“You are confused and overwhelmed. Yesterday you were in Illinois where all made sense. And today…” He stepped forward and gently touched her cheek. It was a familiar gesture, but one she didn’t step away from. And where their skin touched, a tingling began that heated her face. “Today is the beginning of something very different. I understand, Tigress Tracy. I will wait until you are ready. I am just so pleased that you are finally here at the temple.”
She blinked, her words—her thoughts—abruptly blank. He was that suave. And while she stood there looking at him, a student entered the hallway. The woman glanced coyly at Stephen, her manner obviously flirtatious, and Tracy was abruptly surprised by a surge of anger. Stephen was here for her!
Tracy blinked. Except she wasn’t interested in Stephen.
She glanced back at the handsome man, seeing wealth and sophistication in his every breath. Better yet, he barely even noticed the other woman. His focus remained completely on her, and she smiled with feminine satisfaction. No, not feminine—feline. Feline satisfaction so strong she almost purred. So this was how the tigresses got their name. What she felt at this moment was very primal, very animalistic, and yes, very, very catty.
Tracy lifted the roses in her arms and all but shoved them at the other girl. “Can you put these in water please?” she asked, not giving the woman a choice. Then she turned back to Stephen. “Perhaps it would have been better to rest before meeting the Tigress Mother. She is a bit more than I expected.”
He grinned. “My first meeting with her was horrible. I spilled the tea all over my pants and she had me stand around in my underwear while they were cleaned.”
Tracy felt her eyebrows rise. “How old were you?”
He shrugged. “Fifteen. She was my, um, birthday present from my father.”
It took a moment for her to understand exactly what kind of present he meant. “Must have been some kind of birthday,” she drawled.
Stephen’s mouth curved into a slow, seductive smile. “Oooooooh, yeah.”
Tracy was equal parts intrigued and shocked. Who gave a tigress to a teenage boy? But before she could speak, he focused all his very potent attention back on her.
“Do you want to clean up before dinner? My chef has prepared the most perfect American meal for you, but there will be Chinese delicacies, as well. Anything your heart desires—”
“Whoa!” Tracy said, holding up her hand. “Your chef?”
He looked charmingly befuddled. “Of course. A new tigress is something to celebrate,” he murmured.
Tracy looked at him, trying to sort through her conflicting thoughts. There was little air in the narrow hallway, so she could smell the man’s cologne clearly. It was dark, carnal, and…and perhaps it wasn’t cologne after all. It was his own scent—as strongly masculine as the Tigress Mother’s femininity. And damn if Tracy didn’t feel a moistening deep in her core. She didn’t want to be interested in this man. She didn’t want to be charmed by his good looks, his obvious money, and most of all, the way he set her at ease. But she was charmed. She was also curious. Did he kiss like Nathan? Were all dragons this magnetic?
She lifted her gaze to his and without conscious decision, she licked her lips in enticement. His eyes widened and his nostrils flared. Tracy had a split second to be shocked by her own behavior before Stephen closed the distance between their mouths.
He kissed her. He pressed his mouth to hers, teasing her with his lips, stroking her with his tongue, and yes, he did those same little nips that Nathan did. But Stephen had his own style—more possessive, more demanding. He took what he wanted from her lips, silently daring her to match his fervor taste for taste.
She didn’t refuse. She wanted to. Her thoughts were on Nathan, and yet her body was running the show. She returned the kiss, her inner tigress roaring to life as she abruptly shoved her hands in his hair and held him close. They were fused—mouth-to-mouth—fighting, eating, consuming one another without thought as to where they were or what they were doing. It was an act of the body devoid of mind, and yet it was so powerfully primal that she didn’t stop.
His hands were on her shirt, and if it had been a blouse, she was sure it would have been on the floor. But she was wearing a collared T-shirt, the one with her brother’s high-school name embroidered on the front, and it would not come off without being stripped over her head. Which meant they had to stop kissing. Which meant…
She broke away, jerking her shirt from his hands. Tracy stumbled backward, her breath coming in gasps. Gawd, they were in the hallway! And she had been a breath away from mating on the floor with him!
He swallowed and drew a shaky hand across his mouth. “My God,” he whispered. “You are incredible!”