Bride of the Moso Prince (12 page)

Sharon trembled at the softness of Nobul’s lips that lingered on hers. It wasn’t until his tongue had made its way in she realized that it was absurd. He being a person she hardly knew. He being a playboy. She tried to break herself free.  But he held her tighter, and with his hand on the back of her hip, he pressed her lower body firmly to his. She moaned as she felt his erection and was surprised instantly at the noise she had made. She had never done that before. She had tolerated the touch and the kiss of Douglass but she had never enjoyed them. She didn’t know she could moan. Moaning was something out of a romance novel. What had gotten into her? She couldn’t even think straight. All she knew was that she was under a spell, that her body was on fire. Her senses were giving away to sensations. When the tip of his tongue explored the ceiling of her mouth, she panted heavily. Her heart was dancing in a music foreign to her in a quick and urgent tempo. It was pushing her body to desperation. She squirmed in order to rub against his skin, to create friction, to ignite, to burn. She could hear him groan too as she clutched his back to prevent herself from exploding.

“Snow, you taste good.” Nobul murmured at her ear and then moved down to kiss her throat. He wanted to taste her entire body. Her skin was soft and velvety as algae petals.

The absence of his tongue in her mouth created a temporary hunger in her, but quickly she regained her senses as a whiff of cool air hit her face. She opened her eyes and woke from the intoxication. My god! What was she doing? She had told Charlene that she was going to swim but now… The thought of Charlene woke her.

Her body stiffened and she pushed him. “No, Nobul. Stop it. Please.”

He paused but he wouldn’t let her go just yet. Looking into her eyes he assessed her true wish.  With a great deal of effort he let go of her.

As soon as they were apart, Sharon got hold of herself, and quickly put on the bathrobe and tied the belt. Then she left him there, without another word.

Nobul stood watching her back. Nuts, he thought. Why did he let that goddess go just like that? He could have had her. She wanted him too. He knew from the response of her body, the hardening nipples, the passionate moans.  But he also sensed that she needed time. She wasn’t one of those tourist women who came for one night stands. And he didn’t want it from her either, somehow.

The swim had cleared the lethargy from the jetlag. Sharon was energetic for the rest of the day and the night. She hurried through the dinner and worked on her project after that, all the while trying to suppress her memory of the swim. She didn’t go to bed until after midnight.

             
Sharon woke up midmorning the next day. Since Charlene had already had breakfast, she went to the kitchen alone, and before entering, saw Nobul sitting alone by the hearth, sipping tea. In a grey heather polo shirt and a pair of faded jeans, he looked dangerously attractive. Sharon’s heart leapt to her throat at the sight of him. She slowed down her steps and reminded herself in vain that she shouldn’t let that appearance affect her.

             
“Good morning!” Nobul’s eyes flickered as he saw her. She looked well rested. Her cheeks were rosy. That bit of languid look in her eyes made her all the more appealing.

             
“Good morning.” Sharon paused at the door. A stream of heat rose from the middle of her tummy. She remembered how those eyes had caressed her body the day before.

             
“Come on in, I won’t bite.” He grinned.

             
Sharon tossed her hair, “your teeth aren’t sharp enough to bite me.” She went in bravely and sat down stiffly on a stool next to his.

             
“Perhaps, but they’re good for
nibbl
ing
.” He leant over and whispered to her ear.

             
The warm breath sent a shiver down her spine. Oh yes, she could imagine the soft bites he was capable of... 

             
She took a deep breath to stifle the tinkling sensation growing under her skin and gave him a stern look, “You know what? You’re a flirt!”

             
“A
flirt
? Well I like it better than my other two nicknames!” He laughed and poured her a cup of salted tea.

When she took the cup from his hand her fingers touched his. Her hand trembled and some tea spilled.

             
“Ouch!” She cried. It was scorching.

             
“Are you OK?” he looked solicitous as he passed her some napkins.

             
“Yes,” she said quickly as she wiped the tea from the back of her hand. Red marks burned on her delicate skin but she pretended not to notice them.

             
He took her hand gently and blew cold air onto it. It soothed the pain on her hand but the tingling sensation spread quickly to other parts of her body.

Her cheeks flamed as she withdrew her hand quickly. “Thanks, I’m ok.”

They were both silent after that. Sharon took up the

teacup carefully, blew on the tea
to cool it
before tasting.
Although both her parents couldn’t live
a day
without tea, she never really cared for it because of the bitterness.
T
he one she was
holding looked pretty austere.
It was a kind of red tea, dark red with intense fragrance,
and she imagined it would be very bitter and pungent. Gingerly she took a small sip and was surprised by the soft touch on her
tongue.
Sharon raised her eyebrows: she loved it.

             
Soon she gulped down the whole cup. When Nobul refilled her cup she asked, “What kind of tea is it? Is it Yunnan Red Tea? My mom had it in the house before, but it smelt differently.”

             
“Well it’s a kind or red tea grew in Yunnan, but it isn’t the Yunnan Red that’s commonly known. It’s our specialty here.
We never exported it. It doesn’t have a name. but the tourists call it Moso Tea.”

             
“It’s very good. Strong but not sharp.”

             
Nobul was delighted that she liked the tea, and
began to boast, “You’re pretty good at tea-tasting. How could it be less than good? It’s grown four thousand meters above sea level, and it’s been
dried under the plateau sun, next to a rain forest where micro-
organisms thrive, thus ideal for both
aerobic and anaerobic fermentation
.
Many tourists would purchase it by pounds. Someone actually wanted to make deals with us.
”

             
“Wow!” Sharon smiled and nodded, although she had no idea of what was aerobic or anaerobic fermentation. And since he
was
compliment
ing
on her ‘tea-tasting’ ability and he seemed to enjoyed talking about tea
making
, she emptied her cup quickly and asked for another refill.

             
“Is everything all right? Are you resting well here?” Nobul asked suddenly after he was done talking about tea.

             
Sharon nodded. “Yes, thank you for asking.”

             
“Good. I know Charlene isn’t feeling well, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have a vacation. We don’t have much entertainment here, but it’s a great place for you to relax.”

             
“I know.”
Sharon nodded
, “It would be even better if I could swim every
d
ay..
.”
She stopped abruptly.
W
hy did she mention the word
swim
? She looked down right away and pretended to drink tea, hoping Nobul wouldn’t notice her embarrassment.

             
But Nobul looked at her with a naughty smile and said, “You wouldn’t give up, would you? All right,
you can swim, b
ut you must be accompanied by me.”

             
Sharon rolled her eyes, “Forget it.”

             
Nobul laughed heartily as he
unburied a potato in the ash,
put it on a plate
and handed it to her.

             
“Would you like some butter?”

             
“No, I prefer it plain.”

             
He glanced at her slowly, from head to
toe, with gleam in his eyes, “I’m so not surprised
. You’re the few women I know who don’t wear jewelries.”

             
She was bemused for a second. What on earth did wearing jewelries have to do with liking butter? She was going to protest but the smile on his curled lips caused ripples in her. She looked down at her tea cup and mumbled, “Well, it’s just cultural differences.”

             
“I don’t think so,” He laughed, “I’ve seen plenty of women coming from other countries. Even your sister loves necklaces and bracelets.”

             
That was true. Charlene had a thing for ethnic jewelries. Back home she had a whole drawer of Indian turquoise earrings, wooden necklaces from Africa, Bracelets made of Tibetan Heaven Stones.

             
Although he was right about her, Sharon wouldn’t give him the satisfaction to be confirmed. She stopped fiddling with her tea cup and looked up, meeting his teasing eyes with mockery, “Well, you are the only man that I know who notices whether a woman wears jewelry or not.”

             
“Is that so?” His face put on an exaggerated pity, and he shook his head, “you poor thing, you haven’t known any men worth knowing!”

             
Sharon’s cheeks went crimson with embarrassment and anger, “Well I hate to say that you’re right. And I still don’t know any!”

             
To Sharon’s dismay, her intended insult only amused him more. His eyes flickered as he leaned toward her and said in a low voice, “You will soon.”

             
Sharon jerked away from him, but was speechless. She swallowed her potato quickly and it almost choked her. After she was done with the potato he dug out an egg from the ash and handed it to her.

             
Sharon shook her head. “No, I’m full.” She wasn’t in fact, but merely wanted to get away from him.

             
“No wonder you’re so tiny.”

             
“Tiny?” Sharon wasn’t used to that adjective. She was five feet five. “Well, I suppose a giraffe would say that to most of the people
on earth
.”

             
“I take it as a compliment.
And I also like the name
giraffe
!
” He smiled as he cracked the egg shell and peeled it in the plate before handing it to her again.

             
“Eat it. We don’t want you end up ill like your sister.”

             
Sharon remembered how Sadama apologized for Charlene being unwell. Reluctantly she took the plate from him and ate the egg slowly.

             
While she was getting out of the kitchen he said to her, “Uh, I don’t mind waiting, but you’d better hurry up. It won’t be as pleasant when the plateau sun is heating right above your head.”

             
“What are you talking about?” Sharon looked at him with puzzlement.

             
“We’re going to a boat ride, aren’t we?”

             
“Boat ride with you? Certainly not.” Sharon regretted it as soon as she blurted it out. It was rude of her.

             
He paused but a brief moment before his smile spread slowly again, from the corners of his well chiseled lips, “I’m afraid it’s not up to you. Your sister made the appointment for you. And I, in case you haven’t realized, have been waiting here since dawn.”

             
He had
been waiting
for
her
s
ince dawn?
Sharon felt sorry for a moment and hesitated.
How could she possibly refuse such hospitality?
But the prospect of being alone in a boat with this
prince
, whose every gesture made her blood boil and every smile made her blush
,
frightened her. She was not ready for something that romantic
…Sharon couldn’t make up her mind. The eager look of Nobul further frustrated her. How could Charlene put her into such a quandary?

“I didn’t ask for this!” She turned away abruptly and hurried up stairs towards her room.

Charlene was typing, or pretending to be typing, on her laptop when Sharon went to her room.  Sharon had stomped her way to the third floor and was now standing with her hands on her waists, preparing to give a speech to her misbehaved sister.