“Shen Leung.”
Tentatively she stepped forward. Her hair was pulled up into a simple knot and her skin glowed in the pale light. Elegant. Sweet. Tempting.
She blinked at him, then glanced away. The blanket had slipped from his shoulders and the stir of the air against his skin reminded him that he was half-naked before this maiden. Blood gathered in his loins alarmingly.
“Mei Lin?” His voice came out thick and huskier than he had expected.
Her mouth pressed tight. It was then that he noticed the glint of the butterfly sword in her hand.
“Shen Leung, you are going to die tonight.”
She lunged at him and his pulse jumped, survival instinct taking over. He flung his quilt at her and she stumbled, temporarily blinded. He scrambled for his sword. Mei Lin was pinpoint-precise with those blades and she might be aiming for something lower than his heart.
Her knee struck the edge of the cot and she struggled to regain balance. She ended up sprawled over his thighs and the wooden frame cracked beneath him. They crashed to the ground in a heap of arms and legs.
The shattered fragments of the cot dug into his back as he tried to catch his breath. The sword fell from her grasp, but that didn’t stop Mei Lin. Her elbow struck his ribs when she reached for his throat. She didn’t feel nearly as soft as she looked.
“Bastard!”
He caught her wrists. “Lady Wu—”
“Don’t you talk to me.”
Her knee jammed precariously close to his groin. He flipped her onto her back and anchored her down with his weight pressed over her. The glimpse he caught of her eyes promised murder.
“What has got into you?”
The sound of footsteps came running from the house. He shoved the door closed with his foot and clamped a hand over her mouth, using his free arm to pin her wrists to the floor.
“Master Shen? We heard a sound.”
Voices hovered just outside while Mei Lin squirmed like a wild fox beneath him, her cries muffled by his hand.
“I’m fine. I just fell—”
He bit off a curse as the demon girl bit down hard.
“Are you all right?” the merchant asked.
“Yes! Please go back to bed, Master Wang.”
He tried to shake his hand free of Mei Lin’s teeth while still keeping her gagged. She only dug in deeper and glared at him. How had he ever imagined her to be sweet? He must have been bewitched.
The footsteps finally retreated and he pulled his hand free.
“I was trying to protect your reputation!”
She strained against his hold. “Why won’t you marry me?”
“Marry you? Why would anyone want to marry you?” His hand throbbed mercilessly. “You’re the meanest woman alive.”
“Dog-faced...bastard.”
“And the most foul-mouthed.”
She started struggling again and he made sure to keep her pinned. He didn’t trust what she’d do to him if she even had a hand free. Unfortunately his body was responding to being pressed so close to warm, feminine flesh and it wasn’t at all thinking of self-preservation.
“If you didn’t want to marry me, why did you bother with the fight?” she demanded.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Don’t you know?” Some of the hostility drained from her. “Didn’t they tell you about the challenge?”
She told him about the magistrate who tried to force her into marriage. “It was the only way I could think to escape,” she said bitterly. “But it only made matters worse. When I realized that Zhou hadn’t sent you, I thought...”
She looked away. He struggled with the right words, but couldn’t find them. It angered him that an appointed official would abuse his power in such a way.
“It wasn’t my intention to embarrass you,” he said.
“I know that now.”
Her voice broke at the last part and it was all he could do to keep from kissing her. They spoke in whispers, pressed close like lovers once he relaxed his hold. If she only knew how desirable he’d found her from the very first moment. The swordfight had been a welcome excuse to approach her.
Of course, the fools at the tavern hadn’t told him the whole story. They’d piqued his curiosity by boasting about the girl with the butterfly swords and then goaded him into the duel. Now she’d been publicly humiliated and there was nothing he could do to set it right.
They were still lying among the wreckage of the sleeping cot with the quilt tangled between them. She went still and soft beneath him. He could feel her heart beating against his chest. The last dregs of wine still swam in his blood and he sank his head down over her shoulder. The day had brought a long journey, an unexpected duel, several rounds of drinking and then finally this wild tussle with a beautiful she-demon. The scent of her hair assailed him. Orange blossoms mixed with something mysterious and feminine.
“You smell nice,” he said dully.
She said nothing. All he did was turn his face the slightest bit and his cheek brushed inadvertently against hers. Smooth, cool skin.
He inhaled. “You wore perfume to come and kill me?”
A ribbon of tension rippled through her, but nothing for him to be alarmed at. Yet. She took a long, shuddering breath before she spoke.
“I wasn’t coming here to kill you at first.”
“No?” He couldn’t help himself. He burrowed into the space above her shoulder. His lips brushed her neck. Just enough to still be accidental. He hoped.
“I first thought I would...I came here to...” She let out a sigh, defeated. “I thought I would seduce you.”
Fierce, hot lust slammed into him. He stiffened and hoped that the quilt was strategically wedged between them.
“But when I saw you, I realized I had no idea how to seduce a man. So I thought it would just be easier to kill you.”
Laughter erupted out of him. “Mei Lin, there is no other woman like you.”
“Stop it. Stop laughing at me.” She was on the verge of tears. “You must understand that either you marry me or one of us must die. I won’t be able to live with the shame otherwise.”
“I’ve been in the highest courts of the land and no one would say such a thing.”
“I’ll be ridiculed!” She slapped the ground in frustration. “An outcast.”
He fought the urge to take her in his arms. Instead, he straightened and moved away. His body was so heavy with arousal that he needed the distance or he wouldn’t be able to trust himself. The headiness of the wine had faded, but her touch made him more drunk than any spirit.
Fumbling around in the dark, he found the oil lamp Wang had left behind and lit the dish before placing it between them on the floor. Mei Lin sat up and blinked at him through the halo of light. She scanned the wreckage around them, looking lost. Her hair had fallen loose in the struggle and it flowed over her shoulders like water.
Barely able to catch his breath, he sat back, painfully erect. If only he were in the wild plains of the north. If these were still his brash, younger days.
“So this man, Zhou. Is he making things difficult for you?”
“He’s