Chapter Twenty-Six

Proposal

Bacchus sat up in bed, looking at the still dozing woman beside him. Her black hair was wild about her face and one of her breasts exposed. He pulled the sheet up to cover her up and slid out of the bed, closing the thin curtain behind him. The events from the night before still fresh in his mind despite the amount of wine he had consumed.

He had been sitting shirtless at the table in his room, knocking as she entered. He eyed her coolly as she closed the door behind her. There was group of large gourds strung by golden strings hanging from her hand that made him lick his lips, the woman holding them nearly as tempting as their contents. Her cheeks were flushed indicating that she had already partaken in some of the rich alcohol she brought with her and the way her body swayed where she stood only confirmed his assumption further.

"You and your sister are not highly exemplary ladies." He cocked one of his eyebrows at her. "Learning to fight, engaging in war and combat," Bacchus motioned with two fingers for her to approach. "Wandering around unescorted and drinking until you sway where you stand." He tsk-ed her and smiled devilishly as she approached and sat in the seat to his right at the small round table. There was a mischief in her violet eyes that his body quickly reacted to. The sly grin on her lips matched his as she picked up one of her gourds from the pile on the table. He watched as she wordlessly pulled the cork stop from the opening and lifted it to her lips for a drink. Slowly, with her eyes on him, she tilted it back and drank. Likely to show that she isn't trying to poison me. Yet. She held out the container to him afterward.

As the smell of the liquor rose into the air between them, he realized how long it had been since he last drank and suddenly understood why his body had been as weak as it had been since his arrival to the palace.

"I have lacked quite a bit of this in the past week." He boldly placed his hand on hers and gently pulled the gourd from her grasp. The aroma was intoxicating enough and made the taste of the fermented rice wine within that much sweeter as he drank it down. Easily he finished half of the beverage and reset the container on the table, closer to her. "But I am afraid this little bit would not even be enough to wet my tongue."

"You only need ask for more." She finally spoke, her voice much huskier than he expected and more seductive than Fei Shi's.

"Tell me Zi Yu, why have you come to see me at such a late hour?" Bacchus drank once more after she had taken her turn, hoping to calm the shake he noticed starting to twitch in his hand.

"I could not wait another moment to be at your side." The way she tossed her wild hair over her shoulder caught his attention easily.

"Says the woman who did not appear at the welcoming dinner this evening."

"Blame my sister." Zi Yu shrugged and leaned back, throwing her legs over one of the arms. "I cannot stand to be in the same room as her, let alone across a table. I will not pretend to love her when I would readily slash her throat if I had the chance."

"And so here you are now instead."

"And so I am." She winked, a newly opened gourd in hand.

A wild one, this princess. He could feel the rush in his blood as he looked her over. There was no denying how much more he desired her than Fei Shi. She was not a woman to be won, a challenger and the thought of the chase to catch her livened his entire body. It was similar to how he had felt the first time he truly looked at… He rolled his neck to crack it, dismissing the thought.

"I heard that you and Fei Shi walked through the gardens this morning." There was something underlying in her tone that she did not care to hide when she spoke to him.

"We had a lovely walk, yes." He drank, his eyes locking and never leaving hers.

"And a lovely kiss as well?" She returned his gaze with a playful pout tugging at her full lips.

"And a lovely kiss as well. Came to get one for yourself then have you?" He slipped his arm around the back of his chair once more and blatantly looked her up and down.

"It would only be fair in helping you decide which one of us you would rather wed." She mimicked his gesture of her, losing her pout and seemed to slowly trace his entire being with her eyes alone, biting at her lip all the while.

"I suppose it would." He grinned wickedly at her, taking another drink from his gourd.

Zi Yu set her own drink down on the table and rose from her seat. Bacchus had leaned back to allow her space to straddle his lap, placing his free hand on the side of her hip. Their eyes still locked, he continued to grin as she bent forward to press her lips to his. Upon contact, she deepened it, sliding her tongue into his mouth and nipping at his lip after.

"You have a much sweeter kiss than your sister." He said when she pulled away from him and waited for a reaction.

"Do I?" The princess simply tilted her head to one side as she reached for the gourd still in his hand and took a sip from it. "And yet, she was the one you kissed first." She gave a playful pout at him.

"Maybe if you had not been so busy with your lover, it might have been you I walked with this morning, and both of us missing dinner."

Zi Yu did not seem shocked by his words and simply took another drink.

"You do not seem upset to know that I take other men into my bed."

"Only because I know after tonight it is mine that you will return to after you finish with them." He took back his drink, finishing it and started to slide his hand along her side.

There was no doubt what she had come into his room for. The moment the door opened he knew it had to be one of them. But is she willing to go through with it fully? He pondered to himself as he drank.

"Is this how you plan to convince me that you are indeed the bride for me?" Bacchus watched curiously as the violet-eyed woman twisted to retrieve a second drink from the slowly diminishing pile for herself.

"Does this not persuade you enough already?" Her fingers traced along the side of his neck. He countered by leaning into her neck and kissed just below her earlobe. She reacted accordingly, inhaling deeply as he pressed another one in the same spot.

"You are going to have to do a little more than this." Bacchus gave her hip a squeeze as he whispered into her ear.

"I plan on it." She teased as reached up to pull the pins from her hair, allowing the full length of it to fall to her shoulders, but no further. Unlike most Yikani women and her twin, she did not wear her hair as long, likely to keep it from inconveniencing her in the battlefield.

Her kisses were rough and yet she easily submitted to him when he grabbed her hips as she rocked them back and forth over his groin. It had been a while since he last had a woman, and one as fiery as her at that. He withdrew from her, chuckling as she slid off of him to stand.

"Is that all for tonight?" He asked her. Her response was clear as she quickly undid the ties of her robes, but did not fully undress, letting them hang from her shoulders as she smiled at him. With a swagger to her step, she made her way to his bed, letting her hand glide up his chest and over his shoulder as she passed. Accepting her invitation, Bacchus rose and stood behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders to keep her still. Slowly he slid her clothing from her body and let them drop to the floor. Beneath, her chest was wrapped down tight and her long silk pants were tied in a fashion a man might wear. His arousal grew when he saw the way the mischief had remained intact the whole while and how her mouth twisted into a devious grin. He had pulled himself to her body and went straight for her neck, pressing his lips to her soft flesh. He relished the feeling of her hot skin and the way her body shivered under his touch as one of his hands reached around to her front caressed over her torso.

He quickly learned just how wild of a lover she could be. Their tumble in his bed had lasted most of the night until the early hours of the morning. He wasn't sure if he had slept, as he did not recall being awake afterward, but he did not feel as if his eyes had closed for even a moment. Bacchus pulled on his pants from where they had been discarded in such haste and went to wash his face and freshen himself up.

It had astounded him how easily any romantic feelings omitted themselves from their night together. Though admittedly he would not have minded keeping her as a lover and taking her again, he knew he had to think about how well of a match they would be outside of his bedroom and if whether she was as ill-suited as Fei Shi claimed or if she was actually better for it.

Another thing that had amazed him was how easily he had thought of another woman while during his session with the warrior princess. He did not understand why he had thought of Cana when he knew that his heart still yearned for Mei. It was a curious thought, but one that made no difference to him now. She should be almost halfway to the port by now. He let his shoulders relax as he reflected on his relief that she was finally being removed from the dangers of the palace.

"Did you sleep at all?" Zi Yu's voice was still heavy with sleep as she propped herself up on an elbow and drew back the curtain.

"No." He did not turn to face her and continued to look absently at himself in the mirror. She left the bed and walked over to stand in front of him, pressing her still fully nude body against his bare chest. His manhood rapidly reacted to her as he placed a hand on the small of her back and pushed aside a few strands of hair from her face with the other, tucking them behind her ear.

"Shall we have another bout?" She teased him, rubbing her hand up and down the length of his stiffened member.

"Whoever your lover is must be a lucky man." He brushed a thumb over one of her nipples and toyed with it. A flush crept its way onto her cheeks as he pinched and gently twisted the hardened bud between his fingers. He could easily have taken her again against the wall or brought her back to his bed and ravished her as he had only hours before. But despite his body's will, he released his hold of her breast, simply pressed a kiss to her lips and then to her forehead. "But maybe another time." He said as he pulled himself from her embrace.

Zi Yu chuckled at his tease and started to dress herself. She finished quickly and tied her hair up in a messy knot. Though there were some highly distinct differences between them, she was nearly identical to Fei Shi. She picked up the sole remaining gourd from the scattered pile on the table and made her way over to his door, turning just before she opened it to glance up and down his body once more.

"Until next time." She gave a coy wink and left.

He sat and waited for his meal to arrive and ate nearly all of it, which he decided was a good sign. As he picked at the few morsels left over, he pondered the pros and cons of either woman, hoping he could come to a conclusion. Fei Shi was prudent where Zi Yu was brazen and bold. But as rulers, there are times when Zi Yu's tactical skills and talent for order would likely be extremely useful. If I choose one, I know I make an enemy of the other. The hardest part is knowing which would be less of a threat. While Fei Shi would be the obvious choice for peace, Zi Yu was not an enemy he wished to have rampaging around the kingdom. But to choose her for his wife could also mean allowing her to run rampant and with the excuse of her title to boost it regardless. Whichever I choose has a draw back.

He sat there a while, arguing valid points with himself and trying to reason out his decision. It took near an hour before he finally had enough and decided. After his breakfast was taken away, he readied himself to leave. He had donned a cobalt tunic decorated with silver stitching in the hem of the sleeves and tied his hair half-up. He checked himself out in the mirror once again, checking to be sure that he was presentable enough and left for the grand hall. I guess it's now or not at all.

As if she had been expecting him, the empress was already seated in her throne, dressed in her heavily ornate robes and looked as still as stone.

"Emperor Jian." She looked down her nose at him with her sharp eyes after he took a knee to bow before her. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Her ragged voice crackled as she spoke.

"I have come to formally seek permission for the hand of your daughter." He focused his eyes on her directly.

"You have decided then?"

"I have."

A/N: Surprise steamy extra chapter upload! Just because you guys are so amazing and I happened to finish and revise this enough to be satisfied before bed!

Who will Bacchus pick?

Find out next week!

-Betty B.