27. The First Surprise
Chapter twenty-seven
The First Surprise
Lei
We continued with the special tour but I quickly moved us through the palace eager to get her to my other surprises.
I showed her the ballroom with its opulent chandeliers, polished dance floor, and the sweeping views of the gardens outside.
There was also the massive dining hall—high vaulted ceilings and gold accents.
Next, I led her to the library. It was a haven for any lover of books. Towering shelves lined the walls and was stuffed with modern works. The scent of old paper and leather filled the air. In the center, a giant-sized globe stood.
Our tour then took us to the conservatory, a glass-domed oasis brimming with exotic plants and flowers from around the world. Sunlight filtered through the glass. The air was moist and warm, filled with the fragrances of jasmine and orchids.
There, I kissed her again on the stone path and was close to tearing that dress off.
Finally, I can take her to the first surprise.
I guided Monique towards the grand elevator, its doors intricately designed with motifs of bamboo and chrysanthemums.
“Lei, I can’t believe how huge this place is. If I lived here, I would need a map.”
“I’ll get you a map now.”
We stepped inside.
She chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“I don’t need a map today.”
I took in those sexy curves. “You do.”
“Why?”
“We’re not going back to the mountain tonight.”
“What?”
I shook my head.
“I’m staying in the. . .palace with you tonight?”
Heat spread across my body. “Fuck yes.”
The doors slid close.
Then, the elevator descended smoothly, and fast, I had her back in my arms, devouring that soft mouth.
She melted against me and moaned.
Fuck. I can’t wait to be inside of her.
My body was on fire.
The sexual anticipation was damn near unbearable.
When the elevator came to a gentle halt, I groaned in annoyance and pulled away. “Soon.”
She panted. “Soon what?”
I stepped back and grabbed her hand. “First we eat then you’ll see.”
She widened her eyes.
We stepped out into the expansive kitchen.
The aroma of simmering spices and fresh herbs wafted towards us.
Chef Li Mei, dressed in a sky-blue uniform that matched her status as the master of this domain, awaited us with a warm and welcoming smile.
Her team, ten assistants arrayed in various shades of blue, stood attentively behind her.
I checked Monique. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes.” She scanned the massive kitchen.
It was a sea of polished marble and gleaming silver. A long wooden table dominated the center of the room. Shelves upon shelves of ingredients lined the walls, labeled in delicate script.
Several stoves and ovens took up the entire back of the kitchen. Already many pots bubbled and sizzled on top.
I guided Monique over. “Chef Li Mei is the genius behind the Palace’s renowned dishes. Her recipes are a blend of traditional techniques and innovative flavors.”
The chef bowed in front of Monique. “Welcome, Ms. Jones. It is an honor to have you here.”
Jones?
I froze.
What? And how did Chef Li Mei find out?
Monique nodded at the chef. “Nice to meet you.”
I studied Chef Li Mei. “How did you find out her name?”
She gave me a sad smile. “Your father called an hour ago and ordered me to make the best meal possible for your first date with Ms. Jones.”
Goddamn it. He still has eyes and ears all around me, spying and reporting back.
I scowled. “But you kept my menu for today?”
“Yes, Mountain Master. Your father had a list of items but I kept with the dishes that you requested.”
“Thank you.”
“I should return to the meal.” Chef Li Mei bowed again and rushed away.
Her staff followed.
Stunned, I turned to Monique. “Your last name is Jones?”
“Well. . .” Monique shrugged. “Yeah. My last name is Jones.”
What the fuck?
She cleared her throat. “Actually, Banks was telling me today that. . .Chanel’s last name was Jones.”
The revelation hit me like a lightning bolt, and for a moment, I felt the ground beneath me shift.
The word echoed in my head.
Jones.
It was a coincidence, surely, but in the depths of the palace where past and present were intertwined, it felt like something more.
Even more, I could feel Monique’s eyes on me, studying my reaction.
What the hell is going on? Father. . .is that why you chose her?
I knew I needed to compose myself, to push away the sudden rush of emotions and thoughts that threatened to overshadow our date.
Forget about it now.
With effort, I mustered a smile, masking the turmoil inside.
Get back to the date.
“Jones.” I repeated, more steadily this time. “It’s a common name. That’s an. . .interesting coincidence.”
“Well. . .” Monique shifted her weight to the other foot. “Chanel and I are probably cousins, due to having the same great grandfather. Banks and I are a part of his secret family and all that drama.”
I froze again.
“But. . .there’s no real confirmation.” Monique shrugged. “No DNA test or anything like that. Just the same last name and lots of old stories from my grandmother.”
My father definitely knew about the connection.
Once the East and West stopped fighting each other, they all became closer. This meant that my father kept many Killer Crow secrets. This would have easily been one of them.
Monique tilted her head to the side. “What do you think about that?”
Move on. There’s no reason to talk about it now.
“This. . .” I calmed myself. “It doesn’t change anything for me when it comes to building something with you. Just like my father picking you for me doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want to let you go.”
“O-kay.”
“It is what it is.” I shifted my focus back to the romantic date I had planned. “So. . .let’s enjoy Chef Li Mei’s culinary masterpieces and. . .only focus on us.”
Her expression brightened. “Alright.”
Recovering from the jolt of the revelation, I gently tugged her hand and led her away. “Anyway. . .I want to tell you why I decided to have us eat down here, instead of in the grand dining hall.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t think my mother ever liked the palace.”
“Really?”
“It was too big for her, too many people. Every day, she would escape back to Lotus Blossom and spend time messing around in the garden or just staring at the pond.”
“I can get that. Lotus Blossom is so big and amazing.” Monique smiled. “When we flew over it, I was thinking about all the things I would plant in that garden, and how relaxing it would be to sit out by the pond.”
“Whatever you want, seeds or anything else, just ask. I’ll make sure you have everything.”
She beamed. “Thank you, Lei.”
God, I love making her smile.
“Either way, not only did my mother dislike staying in the palace, she also hated eating in the massive dining hall too.” I shrugged. “She never wanted to eat there, but my father made her anyway. He believed that they had a duty to constantly host almost every night.”
For some reason, Monique frowned.
“However, when it was Valentine’s Day, their anniversary, Mother’s Day, or even her birthday,” I gestured to the double doors we were heading to. “This is where they ate.”
We stepped through the doors and entered a small, intimate space.
“Oh Lei. This is beautiful.” Smiling, Monique looked around. “I love it.”
The glow of candlelight bathed the room. Each flickering of flames cast dancing shadows against the white walls.
Jasmine and roses scented the air due to every corner having vases filled with flowers—peonies, jasmine, roses, and lilies.
In the center, a small table for two was set, and draped in a fine, white linen tablecloth. An arrangement of roses sat on top of it, in a crystal vase.
The table settings were impeccable, with polished silverware, crystal wine glasses, and fine China that gleamed in the candlelight.
“Lei, I can see why she loved it here.” She squeezed my hand. “All of the other rooms were huge and daunting, but this. . .it’s intimate, warm, and comfortable.”
“I’m glad you like this.” I guided her over to the table. “I wanted us to really have time to ourselves. No people coming in to interrupt. Just you and me.”
Once we got to the table, I pulled out a chair for her.
“Thank you.” She gently lowered into it.
I hurried to my seat across from her and sat down.
And then, our eyes locked in a sensual gaze and that electric connection of ours buzzed in the air.
Is this love?
The flickering candlelight played across Monique’s gorgeous face.
Desire surged through me. “I should tell the chef that we’re no longer hungry.”
She smirked. “And then what?”
“And then I should put you on the table and eat your pussy.”
She licked her lips. “Now is that proper behavior, Mountain Master?”
Lucky for her, one of the servers entered the space, carrying bowls of soup. He brought them to the table, placed one in front of each of us, and hurried away.
The golden broth shimmered with droplets of aromatic oil. Tender morsels of chicken, slices of mushrooms, and vibrant greens floated throughout the liquid.
“This smells good.” Monique studied her soup. “Will this soup have a bird’s nest too?”
“No.” I chuckled. “That’s more Chen’s thing. He likes exotic delicacies.”
She picked up her spoon. “And what do you like to eat?”
My body hummed with lust. “You.”
She grinned. “Lei, stop playing. What type of food do you like?”
I smirked, but my eyes never left hers. “I like simple dishes, like steamed rice and stir-fried vegetables. Perhaps, because dinner was always a grand affair, I’m like my mother and just want to be relaxed and eat comfort food.”
She took a sip of the soup, and then her eyes closed in pleasure. “This is so delicious.”
“I’m glad you like it.” I tasted mine and savored the harmonious blend of savory chicken, the earthy umami of the mushrooms, and the fresh greens.
But I didn’t bring Monique here for soup.
I yearned to learn as much as I could about her.
I set the spoon down. “Have you ever been in love?”
She paused, her spoon midway in the air. “What?”
“You heard me.”
She slowly placed the spoon back in the bowl. “Well. . .maybe a little bit.”
I tensed. “Tell me about it.”
“There was a guy in college. For a while, I thought he might be. . .”
“What?”
“The one.”
Jealousy rose within me.
I did my best to shove it back down.
“But life had other plans,” Her gaze drifted to the flickering candles near us. “My mother got sick with cancer. My father was deep into his gambling addiction and drinking all the time. I didn’t think he would do a good job, so against my mother’s adamant wishes. . .I decided to leave college to take care of her and my sisters. She was pissed and felt so guilty about it.”
“You’re a good daughter.”
“I just love hard, and when it comes to my family. . .I would do a lot for them.”
“Even sacrifice yourself?”
“Yeah. Good or bad, that’s who I am.”
“And the guy?”
“Once I was back home, we would talk on the phone all the time, but then. . .my life became a whirlwind of hospital visits and responsibilities.” Her voice wavered slightly. “Sometimes, I would forget to call him or. . .I was too sad to call. . .”
“And that was that?”
“Well, not completely. He came to my mother’s funeral.”
My heart broke for her. I hated that she had gone through so much.
She let out a long breath. “I was surprised to see him there.”
I leaned back in my chair. “Did you get to talk to him?”
“For a few minutes, I don’t even remember what I said, I was so. . .out of it. Like a zombie.” She shook her head. “After the funeral, I took my sisters back to our apartment and then. . .I got drunk off some cheap wine and at midnight I called him up to come outside. I told him. . .”
I quirked my brows. “What did you tell him?”
“I told him that I wanted him to fuck the pain away.”
I gritted my teeth, but made sure to not let searing jealousy show on my face. “I bet he sped over.”
“He actually did, ended up getting a speeding ticket. I offered to pay it. He refused.” She gazed at the soup. “Then. . .we hooked up in his car, and I’m not proud to say this but. . .”
“What?”
“I was so sloppy drunk and a complete depressed mess.”
“You had just buried your mother. That’s fine.”
“Well. . .as I told you. . .sex is one of my comforts.”
Under the table, I fisted my hands, wishing I could find this guy and beat the shit out of him. But I knew I couldn’t do that. At least the guy had been there for Monique when she needed someone and so far. . it sounded like he had been respectful.
Still, jealousy hit me with this guy and I shoved it away.
“After I was done, I just left the car and went back up to my apartment.” She picked up the spoon and sighed. “I didn’t even say goodbye or thanks.”
“Surely, your body was thanks enough.”
“Still, that was crazy rude.” She took a spoonful of soup but didn’t lift it up. “After that. . .he called all the time but I never answered.”
“The sex was bad?”
“No. My mind just wasn’t there.” She drank some of the soup and swallowed.
I reached across the table and covered her hand with mine. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
She looked at me. “Thank you, Lei, but it’s just one of those things, you know? Sometimes life takes unexpected turns, and sometimes those turns are pretty damn depressing.”
“Now that I’m in your life, you won’t have to deal with stuff like that all alone, Monique.”
“Call me, Moni.” Her smile widened. “My family and people I’m really close to call me that.”
I tasted the new name on my tongue. “Moni.”
She winked. “Perfect.”
I returned to my soup.
To my surprise, she spoke, “So. . .were you in love with anyone else besides Chanel? Or. . .was it always her?”
I lifted my gaze and saw how uncomfortable those questions had been for her to say out loud. I took my time answering, still unsure if I could really voice all the new thoughts rising and spiraling in my mind. “After these days with you. . .it’s difficult to answer those questions.”
“Why?”
“Everyone has always made the case that Chanel never cared about me—my father, mother, Yan, Chen, Duck, and even Dima hinted in his way.” Sadness washed over me. “But I never believed them and I damn sure never cared about what they thought.”
“But now?”
“You may not believe me, but. . .”
“What, Lei?”
“After spending time with you, and feeling how intense. . .” I set the spoon back down. “What I’m trying to say is that whatever I had for Chanel. . .I’m starting to understand that it wasn’t love. Unfortunately. . .it might not have been anything.”
Moni blinked. “O-kay.”
I felt like a fucking loser, but if she was going to be in my life—and in such a high, intimate position—then it was time to truly open myself up to her and see if she could accept it all.
“Last night, I wondered if I saved my virginity for nothing.” I searched Moni’s face for a reaction but she kept it neutral. “And then. . .I realized that. . .your being my first was the whole reason why I saved it. Perhaps, God knew what I didn’t. He knew it would be everything with you. . .”
Because you’re the one. . .
I sat across the table from Moni with that profound realization spinning in my mind. And it wasn’t just a fleeting thought or a momentary feeling; it was a deep, resounding certainty that settled in my heart with the weight and warmth of something long-acknowledged yet only now fully understood.
Yes. She’s the one.
She cleared her throat. “I’m going to be your first?”
“Who else would it be?”
“Lei, you have a whole ass harem.”
I waved that away. “I can’t be intimate with them. Clothed or naked, they will always see me as the Mountain Master but you see me as Lei. Am I wrong?”
“No.”
“And I may be a virgin, but I do know this. . .there’s sex, and there’s making love. There’s fucking and then there’s truly being inside of someone. Spirits blending. Souls merging.”
Moni parted her lips.
“When my harem came to my bed, I came. It was always suitable orgasms.” I shrugged. “And don’t get me wrong, we did tons of dirty things.”
Moni leaned forward and whispered. “What dirty things?”
I chuckled. “The usual.”
“Lei, there is nothing about you that is regular shit. I bet your usual is still different.”
“You think so?”
“God, yes.”
Chuckling, I gently picked up my spoon and held it delicately between my fingers. “You really want to know?”
“Of course I do.” She grabbed her spoon, scooped up some soup, and slightly leaned over her bowl as she raised the full spoon to her mouth.
For some reason, my cock jerked in my pants.
I love watching her eat.
Using her cloth napkin, she dabbed at her mouth. “Tell me.”
“First of all, I typically don’t like more than ten women in my bed, so I always have Ming Yui pick the other nine women. They always changed with each. . .meet. Even if I requested certain ones, somehow, she always says that they can’t come.”
“Why?”
“Ming Yui didn’t want me to fall in love with anyone.” With a smooth, careful motion, I dipped the edge of the spoon into the warm soup, creating a series of small ripples that spread gracefully across the surface. The liquid shimmered under the candlelight. “Once the women arrived, I liked for four to perform.”
Monique widened her eyes. “Doing what?”
“Having sex with each other on my bed.”
“Oh.” She chuckled. “The usual.”
“Are you making fun of me?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “You just have four women fucking on the bed, and you’re like. . .it’s Wednesday shit.”
“Well. . .I like to watch things like that.”
“Hey. No judgement. If I had a dick, I would do the same.”
“Oh, we already know what you would do if you had a dick.” I chuckled and drank some of my soup.
“Are you saying I would be a male whore?”
I bobbed my head.
“You know what?” She touched her chin and then shrugged. “I probably would stick it everywhere—men and women.”
“Wow. Okay. Let’s pull it back a bit.”
“I’m just saying. My dick is going everywhere.” She drank some of the soup. “Anyway, go back to you. Once four chicks are performing, then what?”
“The rest are touching me with their mouths, hands, and feet.”
“Hmmm.”
I tilted my head to the side. “What?”
“You’re a freak?”
I laughed. “You didn’t know that?”
“Well, the whole virginity thing. . .”
“Oh no. You better buckle up for these next days, Moni.”
She winked at me. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
Let’s hope you still feel that way after I tie you up.
A wicked grin spread across my face. “Anyway, eventually I came, and they left.”
“Aww. No cuddling with ten women in your bed?”
“They weren’t in there for that.”
“That’s cold.”
“But I want to cuddle with you.”
She bit her bottom lip.
“Tell me something, Moni. Can love be one-sided?”
Monique leaned back in her chair. Her eyes went thoughtful, reflecting the flickering candlelight. “That’s a deep question. I think it can be felt one-sidedly.”
“Hmmm.”
“But true love, the kind that lasts and brings real happiness. . .” She shook her head. “That’s something shared, something reciprocal. At least that’s what I think.”
I absorbed her words. “I always thought love was just about feeling strongly for someone.”
“Explain.”
“With Chanel, it was always me reaching out, me trying to connect, me. . .failing to tell her how much I. . .wanted her. It was never mutual, never a partnership.” My heartbeats picked up. “With you. . .”
“What?”
“This feels fucking different. There’s a balance, a give and take that I’ve never experienced before.”
She watched me and I longed to know what was going on in her mind.
I continued, “But being with you, feeling this. . .connection. It’s fucking electric. Do you feel it too or am I going insane?”
“I feel it.” She bit her bottom lip again.
“This connection. . .it drums in my chest and it gets stronger every damn day.” I sighed.
She put her spoon down.
“And now I’m wondering too. . .if love is more about what you build together, the understanding and respect you have for each other.” I held up my hand. “Granted, I am working on the understanding and respect part with you, but. . .am I making sense?”
“Yes.” She smiled.
“So then. . .perhaps. . .I’ve never been in love for my entire life, and maybe I’ve never felt the true beauty of intimacy until you.” I wanted to drown in grief at that thought, but I let the breathtaking view of Moni anchor me. “I want love with you.”
She swallowed.
“What do you want with me?”
“Lei. . .”
I leaned forward. “What do you want with me, Moni?”