Chapter 1: Offering the Flower
Deep in Scorpion territory there exists a garden known as Aotora no Kouen, the Garden of the Green Tiger. Like the clan that attends it, the garden is full of life that is beautiful…and deadly. Much of what the clan knows of poisons, herbs, and antidotes comes from the Bayushi vassal family that tends this garden.
Bayushi Kiri of House Aotora was such a gardener. As the first granddaughter of the family's original founder, Kiri had been blessed with everything that had made the Green Tiger a master of his art. She had insight and empathy with the plants she tended. She was careful and clever and meticulous in recording her observations.
It was because of these gifts and talents that her uncle, the head of their family, had taken such great interest in her. Pleased with the work she did and fearful at losing favor with the Bayushi family should she not continue her work, it had been arranged that Kiri would never marry and serve her family for all her days without ever leaving the estate of their family.
At first Kiri had been very bitter about the arrangement. As a true Scorpion samurai she had not revealed her objections to anyone, and she did love her work dearly, but it was lonely thankless work.
Recently however, her spirit was much more satisfied. Despite her uncle's servants constantly keeping watch on her and all of her research notes constantly being confiscated by the family, she had what all Scorpions cherish: she had a secret.
Thoughts of this secret kept a genuine smile on Kiri's lips as she let her kimono fall to the ground and pulled her silk night robe onto her shoulders. The clothing was loose and thing. It would be perfect for what she was expecting that night.
The maidservants outside her door would not approve of her plans that night, but to Kiri that was part of the enjoyment. They would come into her chambers in the morning to collect the kimono she had left on the floor and to help her dress into a new one. They would then report to the lord of the manner that it had been an uneventful night, as every other night had been, and that there was nothing to worry about.
Kiri blew out her lantern and lay down on her mat. She did not bother to pull the blankets up over her. She wanted to be seen. She wanted his first glimpse of her to captivate him.
To that end she lay on her side, the higher arm wrapped around her breasts and her upper leg forward and bent at the knee. Then she closed her eyes and waited.
It seemed only a moment had gone by when she heard the rustle of the curtain at the window. Her heart began to race, and she tried very hard to keep her breath even and her limbs still. It was all part of the game they played. She would pretend to be asleep, to not be eagerly expecting him, and he would be forced to act first.
There was no more sound, though she strained her ears as best she could without moving for any hint of footsteps. For a moment, she feared that it had only been the wind. Then a hand, warm and gentle, caressed her cheek and she heard his sweet voice whisper.
Here lies my flower
Peaceful, graceful, beautiful
Will she bloom for me?
The hand at her cheek caressed its way down her neck to her shoulder, pulling away the night silk that covered it and exposing her flesh to the cool air. She resisted a shiver, which was made even more difficult by the feel of his lips pressing gently on her shoulder.
He kissed her softly and slowly, patiently treating his lips before he withdrew them. Then he kissed her again, a little higher up her shoulder. He continued to work his way up her neck as his hand slid down her side to her hip.
"Does my beloved not wish to be roused?" his voice whispered gently. "Perhaps, like the gentle flower of her name, she needs more gentle coaxing?"
Kiri forced her body to be still, promising it of the rewards that would soon follow. Sure enough, she felt his warm firm hands begin to caress her entire body through the silk of her robe. A soft moan escaped her lips when his hands reached between her thighs, causing him to pause.
"Ah, my dearest Kiri. Am I at last proving myself worthy of your affection? Perhaps a bit more and you will grace me with your beautiful jade eyes?" His voice was filled with love and desire. She could here the sincerity in his voice, as if he truly wanted nothing more than to win her affection. It made her feel loved, feel appreciate. It made her want to be with him.
His hand slid down her arm and gently gripped her wrist. She did not resist as he pulled her arm away from her bosom. She heard him gasp lightly. Then a finger traced its way down the nape of her neck towards her heart, then past that until it touched her nipple, all without touching the silk of her nightgown. Apparently her breast had only been covered by her arm. It hand not been done on purpose, but she was not sorry in the least. Each night when he visited, her lover hand only ever touched the womanly parts of her body through the silk. Now at last, he was going to be even closer to her than ever before.
The finger traced circles around her nipple for a long while, and Kiri could hear him breathing more heavily now. Then he withdrew from her completely, leaving her a bit confused. She was about to open her eyes, when suddenly she felt his lips against her breast.
She moaned softly, encouraging him to kiss her more. His lips parted a little and began to suck, rolling the tongue over her hardening tit. She couldn't help it anymore. She wrapped her arms around his head and held him there against her chest. Her hips swayed a little as she tried to scoot her body closer to him. The cold mask that he wore around his eyes did not bother her in the least. His tongue made her want to never let him go.
He must have felt the same, for he reached out with his hand and gripped her butt cheek tightly, pulling her lower body forward until it pressed against his chest. In response the threw away the useless silk robe that had clung to her body and tried desperately to tear the black robe from his.
He pulled back for a minute, not releasing the suck of her nipple until her body forced it to snap back to her. She gasped at the sensation, both pleasurable and painful, and stared into his masked eyes.
"Now you see me as I am, my dragongly," she cooed softly. "Will you not let me see you as you are as well." She named him her dragonfly though she did not know his name, only the mask he wore that resembled the animal she attributed to her lover.
"Alas I cannot, for I respect my lady too much," he replied, as he always did.
Kiri was not going to have it this night. "If you respect me so much, then why have you pealed away my petals so? Is it respect that pulls you to my bed every night, always wanting for more and leaving before we are either of us unsatisfied?"
Her lover looked deep into her soul for a moment. Then suddenly he was on top of her, Kiri gasped, but she could not protest as he kissed her with such force. Nor could she wriggle away as he held her arms down against the mat.
She felt something long and hard pulse against her inner thigh and found the strength to pull from the kiss at last. She was gasping for breath, but she managed to smile and whisper in a teasing voice "Are you going to take me now, my dragonfly? No one will want me if I have been used so."
"I want you," her lover replied. He wore nothing now but his mask.
Kiri broke free from his grasp and pulled his body against hers, even going so far as to wrap her legs around his waist. He did not hesitate any longer, driving his hips until he was deep inside of her.
Her pussy was tightly constricted, but it was so wet after his touch that his cock was able to force its way inside of her in one thrust. He moaned her name in her ear, and she pulled her hips back only to thrust forward onto him again. Over and over he penetrated her, and she matched him with equal ferocity.
By some miracle, none of the handmaids outside would hear the next few hours of pleasurable screaming. As Kiri had suspected they arrived in the morning to collect her clothes and leave her with new ones. Then they reported to their lord that all was well, as they had every other night.