Ruth Langan - Jade

“Can’t?” His voice was little more than a whispered growl. “Or won’t?”

Instead of a reply she held out a tray filled with an assortment of sliced fruits. Pomegranates, passion fruit, and mangoes were arranged in pleasing symmetry. It was possible, on the docks of this cosmopolitan city, to choose from the best the world had to offer. And here in the Golden Dragon, the city’s most opulent pleasure palace, a man could find a world of delights. The rooms were filled with the finest Irish crystal, Oriental silks. The rugs beneath their feet were Turkish, the bed hangings Belgian lace.

“Eat,” she said with a smile. “It will soothe the beast in you.”

“It isn’t food this animal needs.” He caught her wrist, and she was, as always, jolted by the strength in this Texan who had stolen her heart.

Though she had built the most impressive hotel in San Francisco, a city known for its excesses, she had been careful to hold herself apart from all who came here to partake of its pleasures. Until Onyx Jewel. This larger-than-life cattle baron was the most fearless adventurer Ahn Lin had ever met. And though she had tried to resist him, in the end she had been completely won over by his charms.

“We have spoken of this before.” Her voice carried the melody of her homeland. “Why must you continue to taunt me with what we can never have?”

He drew her fractionally closer, his eyes never leaving hers. “You said yourself it was a marriage in name only. For God’s sake, Ahn Lin, you were only three years old. And he was your grandfather’s best friend. By now he would be—” he mentally calculated “—seventy or eighty years old.”

“It does not matter. Until he dies I am bound to him, and he to me. I must respect the tradition—”

“Damn tradition! He’ll never leave China. And you’ll never return.”

She placed a hand on his naked chest and felt her heartbeat quicken. How could it be that she could want him again so soon? But she needed only to touch him and she was lost.

In a breathless tone she said, “Do not ask of me what I cannot give. Is it not enough that you are the only man in my life? And that I have given you what I can never give him?”

At that moment there was a knock on the door. Just a light rap, but Ahn Lin withdrew and stood a little away from the bed before she called, “Enter.”

An older woman in traditional Chinese garb stepped back to allow a graceful young woman to precede her.

“I bring greetings, honorable Father.” The stunningly beautiful young woman bowed her head as her tutor had instructed, staring at a spot on the floor, and folded her hands as though in prayer.

Ahn Lin clapped her hands and the girl’s head came up. But it was her father’s voice, rich and warm with humor, that put the sparkle in her eyes.

“Come here, Jade, and give me a kiss,” he called.

Ahn Lin stood to one side and watched the easy display of affection between father and daughter. And though the girl was small and dark haired like her mother, to the discerning eye she bore the unmistakable look of her American father.

This child would be the bridge between their two cultures. And though the mother would always be bound to that land across the sea, it was with a fierce sense of pride that she realized her daughter would know the freedom she herself would never know, the legacy of this bold Texan.

“How long can you stay, Father?” the girl whispered against his cheek.

“I leave in the morning.” Out of the corner of his eye Onyx saw Ahn Lin stiffen. He knew that his words caused her pain. But there was nothing he could do about it. Ironic, he thought, that he controlled millions of dollars, and could command the ear of the president himself, but couldn’t persuade one small, obstinate female to return with him to his home in Texas, so they could live like a proper family.

“Will I have a chance to visit with you before you leave, Father?”

He ruffled the girl’s hair and brushed his lips over her temple. “You know you will. I have a special birthday present for you.”

“A present?”

“It isn’t every day Onyx Jewel’s daughter turns sixteen.”

She clapped her hands in delight and gave him one last kiss, then returned to her tutor’s side. Assuming a formal pose, she bowed slightly and said, “I bid you good afternoon, honorable Father.”

Ahn Lin bowed in return, while Onyx winked and blew her a kiss. She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her giggles, and trailed from the room.

When the door closed, there was an uncomfortable silence. Onyx reached out a hand and pulled Ahn Lin to him. The plate of fruit dropped to the floor, but neither of them took notice. For they were filled with the knowledge that this one day of passion would have to last until next they could be together.

If the Fates were kind.

In a separate suite of rooms, Jade paced. She had seen her father arrive that morning, bearing an armload of mysterious parcels and boxes. As always, he had gone immediately to her mother’s suite of rooms, where he had remained sequestered for the day.

Jade had been trained since birth to curb her impatience and hide her true feelings under a veil of inscrutability. But this day her emotions were incapable of being contained. She had been so distracted during her French lesson, her tutor had given up in despair. When Aunt Lily had sent her to the docks with Cook to purchase fresh fish, her feet had fairly flown along the streets. When she’d returned and found her father and mother still in their rooms, she had sulked and refused her lunch, even though it was her favorite—spiced chicken and rice.

Now, having been assured by her father that they would spend some time together, she was desperate for the hours to fly by.

Even her tutor’s promise of a boat ride on the bay failed to elicit the excitement Jade usually felt. When they returned, Jade’s cheeks were abloom, her eyes alight with anticipation.

In her room she found her parents waiting. Both Onyx and Ahn Lin wore identical looks of flushed pleasure.

Jade rushed into her father’s arms. “I have missed you. You have been away too long.”

“I know. Am I forgiven?”

She absorbed his quiet strength, his easy affection, and felt her heart soar with love.

“Why don’t you open your gifts?” He turned her toward the bed, piled high with beribboned boxes.

With a laugh of delight she tore into the packages, to reveal elegant gowns, bonnets and parasols from New York, Paris and London. There were soaps in the shape of roses and violets. There were shoes made of calfskin, satin and fur.. There was a hooded floor-length cape of raw silk, lined with ermine, for those days when the cold winds blew in from the bay.

With each gift, Jade’s eyes grew bigger, her sighs softer. And after admiring each gift, she rushed to her father with another kiss.

“I thought you might wear this tonight,” he said casually as he offered her yet another parcel.

She lifted the lid to reveal a traditional Chinese gown of bright green silk with a mandarin collar and frog fasteners.

“Oh, Father, I have no words. It is so beautiful.”

“No more than you. You’ve grown into a beautiful young woman, Jade,” Onyx said softly. “Almost as beautiful as your mother.”

It was the highest compliment he could have paid her, and Jade felt her throat constrict.

“I’d like you and your mother to join me downstairs for a special birthday dinner,” he said.

Downstairs. With the guests. It was a rare occasion indeed. “Thank you, honorable Father.” Jade glanced shyly at her mother and saw that she, too, was surprised. Though Jade had grown up in this business, she was kept apart from it. “I would like that.”