Taylor enters the dining room alongside Oni Lee and is immediately greeted by the sight of Lung's two whores feeding the Dragon of Kyushu and Bakuda eating quietly at the Japanese-style table on Lung's left.
Her nose wrinkle in disgust as Lung's whores place food on his mouth alternately while the man seems to love the attention he is receiving.
However, the moment Taylor and Oni Lee enter the dining room, Lung's attention is instantly on her.
"Jiang-shi, Oni Lee…come join us for lunch," Lung rumbles slowly in his usual deep baritone. "I'm sure you are both hungry after training."
"Of course, Lung," is Oni Lee's reply as he moves to find a seat.
Taylor simply glares at Lung, whose cold brown eyes remain transfixed on her.
She soon follows Oni Lee, who sits on Lung's right while she sits beside Oni Lee.
After she is seated in front of the Japanese-style table, she takes off her mask and looks at the food on the table. She soon realizes that they are all Asian food and instead of spoon and fork, there are only chopsticks for her to use.
I better learn to use them then, Taylor sighs inwardly.
"Go ahead and eat," Lung orders.
Taylor glances at him for a moment and sees him looking at her.
She then tries her best to ignore him and the two whores on his sides. She picks up her chopsticks and then fumbles with it. She surreptitiously looks at the others and tries to imitate how they use their chopsticks.
"Do you even know how to use that?"
Taylor looks up and finds Lung's gaze still on her.
She glances back at the chopsticks in her hand and grudgingly says to him, "No, I don't."
"Then come here, Jiang-shi," Lung says, his dark brown eyes suddenly alight with amusement as he looks at her.
"Why?" She asks him warily.
"Because I will teach you how to use the chopsticks myself," is Lung's calm reply while a condescending smirk appears on his lips.
Taylor frowns and silently wonders the reason why Lung is willing to teach her.
"Where do you want me to sit down?" She asks him and looks pointedly at his whores sitting on either side of him like a pair of limpet.
"Akane, Mai, you two leave," Lung orders his whores.
"But —" one woman starts to say but Lung interrupts her.
"I said leave! Both of you!" The Dragon says sharply.
At his command, the two women instantly scramble to their feet and leave the room but not before throwing a nasty glare at Taylor.
Taylor just frowns at them. She doesn't know why they are angry at her and she doesn't care one whit for their reason.
"Come here Jiang-shi," Lung demands, his eyes never leaving her at all.
The man is starting to grate on her nerves because of his orders but she doesn't have a choice on the matter.
She needs to follow his demands or suffer his wrath if she doesn't.
She slowly stands up and moves to sit beside Lung at the head of the table. She sits with her legs on the side on her cushioned seat. Unlike Lung, who sits crossed legged on his seat.
Taylor is so close to him that she can already feel the heat emanating from him.
"Oni Lee, pass her the chopsticks," Lung says.
Taylor waits as the silent assassin takes the chopsticks from her previous table and gives them to her.
"Thanks Oni Lee," she says as she accepts the chopsticks from him.
"Here. Let me show you how to use it," Lung says to her as he picks his own chopsticks and starts demonstrating.
"First, you need to place the first chopstick where your index finger and thumb connect. Like this," he shows how he places the chopstick between his thumb and index finger. "Then, hold the second chopstick in much the same way you hold a pencil. Use your thumb to press the chopstick against the second knuckle of your pointer finger. This second chopstick is the one that moves. Just so…"
Lung then uses the chopstick to pick sushi from the platter before putting it in his mouth and chewing.
Taylor can only stare at him afterward, silently wondering the reason why Lung seems to be accommodating to her at that moment.
"Do you have any questions?" Lung asks after he swallows his food. A grin playing on his lips while his dark brown eyes are warm when he gazes at her.
He looks so handsome when he smiles like that, comes her traitorous thoughts, which she immediately puts a stop to.
"None," is her toneless reply while she starts fiddling with her chopsticks.
Taylor glances at how Lung uses his chopsticks and tries to follow the positioning of his fingers. She tries to move the chopsticks in her fingers but it nearly falls instead.
"You are doing it wrong. Here. Let me," The Dragon of Kyushu remarks right before he grabs a hold of her hand without warning.
An electrical jolt goes through her from the point of contact and Taylor watches as Lung's large hands engulf hers as he arranges the chopsticks in her fingers. His hands are so warm on hers and she can feel the calluses in them too.
His hands feel really good, her traitorous mind supplies, which she instantly squashes the stray thought.
"I told you to place the first chopstick where your thumb and index finger meet," He says to her as he positions the chopsticks the right way. "Meanwhile, you place the second chopstick in your fingers like it is a pencil. Now, try to pick some sushi with it."
Lung finally lets go of her hand and she experimentally picks a sushi with it. She is able to press the sushi between the chopsticks and she looks at Lung with triumph in her eyes, which turns to shock the moment Lung grabs her hand and feeds himself with the sushi she has just picked with her chopstick.
"Very good," Lung mumbles as he chews. His dark brown eyes dance merrily with amusement while Taylor glowers at him.
"Now that you have learned how to use the chopsticks, you can practice more by feeding me Jiang-shi," the Dragon says to her.
"What?!" Taylor exclaims. "There's no way I am feeding you!"
She finally knows the reason Lung taught her how to use the chopsticks. Apparently, it is for her to feed him.
Lung simply chuckles deeply as he reaches out to grip her chin and looks straight into her eyes.
"You don't have any choice on the matter, Jiang-shi," he says to her in a serious tone. "So why don't you be a good girl and feed me?"
Taylor scowls at him and says, "If I feed you, how about my lunch? Can I eat too?"
Lung looks contemplative for a moment right before he smirks at her and replies, "If you are good, I will allow you to eat…but from my own hand."
The scowl on Taylor's face deepens as she grits her teeth to stop herself from yelling at the bastard.
"Fine!" She says loudly as she uses the chopsticks and starts picking up food from the platter. She chooses another sushi and she slowly moves it to Lung's mouth that has yet to open. When almost halfway there, the sushi falls on Lung's lap to the amusement of the Dragon.
"Goddamnit!" She exclaims.
"You are amusing, Jiang-shi," Lung remarks, chuckling.
"I'm so glad to be your sole entertainment, Lung," Taylor snarks while she fumbles with her chopsticks to try and pick up the fallen sushi.
However, Lung beats her to it and picks the sushi with his fingers and presses it close to her mouth.
"For every fallen food from you, I will get to feed you with it by my own hand. So you better be careful in how you handle your chopsticks. Now open your mouth and eat the sushi," Lung tells her as he presses the sushi into her mouth.
Taylor wrinkles her nose in disgust and opens her mouth to say something but before she can do so, Lung suddenly shoves the sushi inside her mouth and Taylor has no choice but to chew on the food. The sushi tastes good and she rather likes it.
"Did you even wash your hands?" Taylor asks after she has swallowed the sushi.
Lung scoffs at her question and replies, "Of course, I did!"
He sounds offended at that but Taylor simply glares at him.
Before either can say anything else, a voice suddenly says, "Hey Lung…since you want her to feed you. Does this mean you are preparing Jiang-shi to be one of your women? Isn't she a bit young for you? She's like what? Sixteen?"
Both Lung and Taylor turn to look at the person who has spoken and soon discover that it was Bakuda who spoke.
Taylor glances at Lung and waits for his response.
A frown has appeared on the man's face and she silently wonders what he is thinking at that moment.
Is Bakuda right? Is Lung preparing me to be one of his women? She thinks. I hope not…
Then, she remembers the moment in the training center. The feeling of his cock rubbing against her clit and wet folds. Taylor instantly presses her thighs together when she feels the sudden throb between her legs at the thought.
My conscious mind protests at the thought of being his woman, but my subconscious and traitorous body seems eager for him to take me. What the hell?! Why am I feeling this way?! She thinks in growing concern. I know I find Lung attractive, but that's about it…right?
"It doesn't concern you, Bakuda. So kindly keep your nose out of my business," is Lung's cool response.
Bakuda huffs and then resumes eating, but not before glancing at Taylor with a frown on her face.
Meanwhile, Oni Lee is simply eating silently and completely ignoring what is happening around him.
Taylor does a double-take because this is the first time she has seen the man without a mask and she can truly appreciate the ruggedly-handsome face she can see now.
Oni Lee must have felt her gaze because he suddenly looks up at her with a blank expression on his face.
Taylor flushes and looks away from him and finds Lung staring at her from beside her.
"I don't have all day, Jiang-shi. So you better feed me," Lung says to her.
Taylor sighs before reaching out with her chopsticks to pick some food.
"Get me some tempura," Lung orders before she can pick anything.
"What's that?" She asks.
"The fried ones," is Lung's reply.
"Oh ok," she says as she picks the fried one, where she can see the tail of the shrimp peeking out from the fried areas.
Carefully, she moves the fried shrimp towards Lung, who opens his mouth and bites on it. There's still half of it left afterwards.
"The rest is yours," Lung remarks almost mockingly at her.
Taylor sighs again before taking a bite from the tempura, where she left the tail end of the shrimp on the plate.
I'm using the same chopsticks as Lung. Does this mean I'm indirectly kissing the leader of ABB? She thinks, chagrined. Just thinking about it makes her feel strange. So she stops thinking about it.
"I want the sashimi next, but dip it into the soy sauce before you give it to me," is Lung's next demand.
"What does it look like?" She asks as she looks at the various food on the table.
"It's to the right of the sushi," is Lung's bored answer.
"Alright," she says as she moves to follow Lung's order.
She picks out the fish and dips it in soy sauce right before giving it to Lung, who eagerly devours it.
Taylor is really hungry. She is tempted to let some food fall so that Lung can feed it to her just to alleviate her hunger, but she knows Lung will see right through her. Thus, she restrains herself.
So she continues to feed Lung without making any mistakes again.
However, when Lung asks for another sushi — this time it looks really good — she just can't help herself and allows the sushi to fall on her plate.
Lung simply raises a brow after her fumble and he picks the sushi with his fingers and presses it close to her mouth.
Before she can open her mouth and eat it, Lung's hand retreats and Taylor instinctively grabs his wrist before he can move further away.
Holding Lung's gaze, she parts her lips and takes the sushi into her mouth, but not before using her tongue to lick the cream off his fingers and then sucks on them.
She can hear Lung inhaling sharply at that but she is far too busy making a pleased sound when the taste of the sushi explodes in her tongue.
She moans at the creamy taste and would have continued to savor it when a hand suddenly grabs her nape and yanks her forward.
The next thing she knows, Lung is hissing angrily into her ear, "Don't tempt me! Not here and not now!"
"I don't know what you mean," comes her confused reply.
Lung suddenly lets her go and then stands up from his seat.
Taylor looks up at him with confusion in her face.
However, Lung simply glares at her before hurriedly leaving the dining room without saying anything to her or to the other occupants of the room.
"What did you do?" Bakuda asks curiously.
"I didn't do anything!" is Taylor's defensive response.
"Then, why was Lung angry?" Bakuda points out.
"I don't know! I was just eating the sushi and he just - he just got angry!" Taylor explains, sounding exasperated.
"Did he say he is coming back?" Oni Lee asks.
"He didn't say anything. He just left," Bakuda replies.
Oni Lee looks contemplative for a moment before saying to Taylor, "Then, you should eat Jiang-shi."
"Alright. I will," Taylor responds, silently wondering as to the reason why Lung got angry at her.
He always seems to get angry at her and Taylor ends up suffering his wrath.
Taylor is getting tired of it.
She remembers his grin and his playfulness earlier and she suddenly likes the sight of him like that.
She prefers him to be like that rather than angry.
However, she knows Lung is not a good man. So her expectations of him are really low.
If only Lung can be kind to her, but it's like hoping for something impossible…
She can only dream of it happening.
Later…
"The boss said to pack your things for seven days of stay in another safehouse outside the city. He also said to be ready by 4 am because you will be leaving early tomorrow morning."
Taylor remembers one of Lung's loyal men informing her that day.
She doesn't know what Lung has planned for her, but she suspects that he wants to train her more and it will be away from prying eyes.
If it's outside the city, then it means Lung and her can go all out with training and without actually bringing the Protectorate and Lung's enemies knocking at his door.
But one week alone with Lung?!
Taylor is certain that they will end up killing each other.
However, she doesn't have any other choice on the matter.
So Taylor Hebert will do as she is told and hope for the best.
She hopes nothing unexpected happens…
AN: So Taylor and Lung are going away for 7 days. Alone together. Should I keep this fic slow burn or do you want it a fast burn? ahaha...