Free White Tigress by Jade Lee

from me?"
    He nodded, knowing those things were all true, but dismissing them. "It is the nature of women to be locked away. They cannot be trusted in the world of men."
    "It is in the nature of men to lock us away because they are the ones who cannot be trusted."
    He felt himself smile despite his intentions. He had not thought a woman could be so clever with words. Certainly not a white woman. And yet here was Li Dee, bantering with him like the most skilled of courtesans.
    "You may be correct," he said, surprised that he was already feeling charitable toward her. "But this is your situation. You have had ample time to accept it."
    She sighed, the sound more like the flow of a swift, deep river than the arid sound of a week before. "I do not like it." Then she let her head drop in the way of all submissive females. "But I have accepted it."
    He stepped forward, reaching out to lift her chin. She did not resist him when he tilted her head back to make her look at him. "Your yin has begun to flow," he explained to her. "It is time to continue to purify it. I will also try and drain some of the energy off of you." He saw the flash of panic in her eyes and rushed to explain. "It will not hurt. You may even like it."
    Far from soothing, his words seemed to spark in her a further panic. Her breath caught as if dammed up, then stuttered out of her in a gasp. She tried to pull away, but he could not release her. He had to make her understand.
    "You are afraid because you have been taught this is wrong. You have been told to stop your..." He struggled for the right words in English. "Your womanly water. Your energy. They have told you that it is wrong to feel this flow."
    She frowned, as if she were trying to sort out his words.
    "Did they tell you never to touch yourself? As a child, did you ever try to talk to someone about your bodily fluids, only to have them hush you into silence?"
    She nodded. "My aunt told me it was sinful to talk of such things."
    Ru Shan exhaled in disgust. "That is ignorance of the highest order. How can a person learn if something is not talked about?"
    She didn't answer. She obviously knew he was correct.
    "Your fluids, your female energy and power—they are all natural. They are a normal part of your body. How can any of that be sinful?"
    She shook her head. "I don't know."
    "But that is what you were taught."
    She nodded.
    "I am teaching you differently." And with that, he shifted his tunic and settled on the bed before her. "Come. Let us begin."
    She must have sensed his impatience, because she did not fight him. Her hands shook as she knelt before him, just as they had this morning, but beyond that she gave no sign of her turmoil. In truth, he felt some pity for her. It was not only the English who taught their daughters these ridiculous things. The Chinese, too, repressed their women with nearly as much zeal. But he could not allow his compassion to show. In the way of all animals, Li Dee would capitalize on his weakness, trying to delay what she feared. She needed this training as much as he needed to give it. And so when her hands fumbled with her robe, he pushed them aside, throwing the garment off her shoulders with a quick flick of his wrists.
    And there they were: her breasts. Gloriously pink and white, already peaked in readiness. The evening light was dim, adding a slight touch of shadow to her flesh, but it only made her appear more milky white. In short, her skin was beautiful. She had indeed done well to keep such youthfulness in while her female energies were stopped. How much more would she glow once the yin began to flow freely? He actually smiled in anticipation.
    "What—Why are you smiling?" Her high voice betrayed her anxiety.
    "I am pleased with your skin. It has excellent tone and texture." For proof, he reached out and stroked the edge of one breast. Her breath stuttered within her as she unconsciously continued to block her energy flow, and he felt the ripple in his fingers as