The one word served as admonishment and enquiry.
‘The new girl.’ She shrugged, handing him a cup of wine. ‘There’s not much to say about her.’
Lotus wasn’t jealous. Han would have to be an imperial minister of the first rank to make it worthwhile for Lotus to be jealous.
‘Does she dance?’ he asked, his tone casual.
The courtesan smiled at him slyly. ‘You are single-minded when something catches your eye, aren’t you?’
‘I’d like to talk to her.’
At that, Lotus tilted her head obligingly and stood. She glided from the room without any further attempt to deflect. She was as smooth as silk and cunningly accommodating. Han took his time finishing the wine before setting his cup down and following her through the curtain.
Lotus was already coming back down the main staircase. ‘She isn’t feeling well—’
‘How caring of you.’
Heedlessly, Han moved past the courtesan and continued up towards the private chambers on the second floor. He had a certain instinct when it came to this sort of thing. The first door he opened revealed a group of scholars listening to a pipa player. He opened the second door to the sight of the ‘new girl’ trying to climb out the window.
Han grabbed hold of an ankle and she fell back on to the bed in a tangle of blue silk and gauze. She squirmed and struggled as he brushed aside the sleeve that had fallen over her face. He only caught a flash of dark, glittering eyes before Li Feng twisted beneath him.
She rolled on to her side and the unexpected shift in momentum threw him off of her. He’d forgotten how agile she was. With a rustle of silk, Li Feng was on top of him, her forearm shoved against his chest.
‘Always you!’ she seethed.
She was dressed like a courtesan, in one of those robes that appeared to be made out of paper-thin cloth and air. The silk had fallen from her shoulders, revealing smooth bare skin from her throat to the topmost swell of her breasts. It was too long of a pause before he could drag his gaze upwards. Her eyes narrowed at him, fully aware that he’d been staring at her.
He grabbed hold of her wrist and yanked, causing her to collapse over his chest. Li Feng recovered quickly and clawed at his face. From there, it became a brawl, more cat and dog than tiger and dragon. Finally, he took hold of a handful of silk and flipped her on to her back.
‘I don’t—’ he lifted his head to avoid a swipe ‘—want to hurt you.’
Li Feng was breathing hard and her cheeks were flushed with colour. Her hands shot up before he could trap them. Instead of gouging his eyes out, Li Feng slipped past his guard to bury her fingers into his hair. She kept her gaze on him as she ruthlessly dragged his head down. Before Han knew what was happening, his mouth was pressed against soft, inviting lips.
His hands fell to the bed on either side of her, his fingers curling reflexively into the bedding. She tasted of cinnamon and the faint tang of cloves. Though he was positioned over her, his weight pinning her legs, he was the one that felt trapped. This was a ploy, he told himself, while his body greedily strained against her.
Han lifted his head forcibly. ‘At any moment, you’re going to slit my throat,’ he muttered, his voice deep with desire.
There was a glint in her eyes that was both predatory and playful. ‘Perhaps.’
Her hands cradled either side of his face. She stroked his cheek and senselessly their lips were joined once again, breath against heated breath. Her body arched into him. He knew how strong Li Feng was, but right now she was perfectly pliant, moulding herself to him. All of the blood in his body rushed to his lower half. What little remained in his head told him that if he was about to die, he completely deserved it for being so stupid.
He ran his hand along her arm and another down her calf. Beneath the slide of silk, he could make out both the sword in her sleeve and a dagger beneath her skirt. As expected. Already, he knew her so well.
‘You have a strange way of making love,’ she said.
‘We are not—’ It took some effort to breathe. ‘Making love.’
‘But, Hao Han—’
The breathless way she spoke his name stroked like fingers down his spine. He took hold of her wrists as she started to embrace him.
He pinned her arms on either side of her head. ‘Stop this.’
He was painfully hard and trying to fight it. Li Feng chuckled, pleased with herself and mocking him. She’d only been teasing apparently, which was—
‘Damned stupid,’ he growled. ‘Any other thief-catcher would have taken advantage.’
‘But you aren’t any other thief-catcher. What do you think of it, Zheng Hao Han? If I seduce you, will you let me go?’
She no longer looked playful. She looked serious and it made him even angrier.
‘I may find you pretty. I may even desire you, but that only strengthens my conviction that I must bring you in.’
She rolled her eyes, lips pouted. ‘So honourable.’
Not so honourable. Despite his lofty speech, his body was fully aroused. Her lips were red and she was wearing that ridiculous robe that clung to her breasts and waist and made her look like a goddess floating in water. The thin layers of silk revealed too much skin and at the same time not enough. It was hardly fair.
‘Justice is justice,’ he gritted out.
‘Well, then,’ she murmured against his ear before nipping at it. Those long, strong, exquisitely shaped legs were curving around him, urging him into oblivion. ‘Bed me anyway.’
Every muscle in Han’s body tensed above her.
‘Li Feng.’ He was hoarse, his tone a warning.
‘This bed is so much more comfortable than a prison cell.’
She wasn’t sure why she said it. Maybe it was just an attempt to torment him further. Thief-catcher Han was so difficult to take off balance. But the jest was her own undoing because suddenly she was considering it.
Would it be so very bad? A sweet ache took hold of her. She moved her hips in a restless little circle.
Han’s pupils darkened and suddenly she was crushed beneath him. He dragged her hands over her head and kissed her. Really kissed her, with his tongue stroking deep until her body heated and her limbs turned to liquid beneath him.
It wouldn’t be bad at all. It would be so very good.
She knew the dangers of rushing headlong into an affair, but it was hard to heed her own warnings with Han on top of her, anchoring her so perfectly with his mouth caressing hers. For once, she didn’t want to run. She wanted very much to stay.
What was his relentless pursuit of her, if not some strange courtship? They’d fought, but he had never hurt her. And she had a sense he never would, not willingly. She admired him as a worthy foe. And after seeing him naked in the bath house, so beautifully masculine with his skin gleaming, she might have had a few dreams about how he would kiss.
He was better than the dreams.
She wanted to slip her fingers beneath his robe and stroke every line and contour she’d seen exposed in the bath house, but her hands were still trapped. She moved restlessly within his iron grip.
‘Let go,’ she urged softly.
‘If I release you, you’re going to do something to me and it’s going to hurt.’
She wanted to laugh. She wanted to devour him. ‘What if I promise not to?’
‘Li Feng.’ His voice was rough, with an urgency that made her shiver.
He kept her trapped