Free Trancing the Tiger (Chinese Zodiac Romance Series Book 1) by Rachael Slate

followed Mei inside the main hut. Instead of a bare wooden space, she encountered an elegant sitting room, complete with an armoire displaying a blue and white china tea set.
    Mei directed her to sit in an antique armchair while she prepared tea. “My mom’s Malay, my dad’s Chinese. How about your parents?” Smiling brightly, she handed Lucy a teacup while she waited for an answer.
    “Thanks. Ah, Dad is—was—Chinese, born here. Mom was born in England.” She choked on the words, on using past tense when referring to her parents.
    “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
    “It’s okay.” Lucy forced a smile. Grunting from below cut through the awkward silence. “What exactly is the Hai San Kongsi ?”
    “Ah.” Mei’s chocolate eyes sparked with mischief. “The Hai San Secret Society was established in the early nineteenth century. It’s one of two branches beneath the Council of Elders, who basically rule the world. Politics, business, religion. The other is the Ghee Hin Kongsi , whose members you met in the Gardens.” Her brows lowered and pinched together. “Snake, their unofficial Master, leads them, but a man named Delun and a woman called the Empress are their figureheads. Which is another story.” She waved off the names as she sipped her tea.
    “Sheng is your Kongsi’s Master?”
    “Yep. We lost our male figurehead a few years ago, and the Matchmaker is his female counterpart. Everything exists in a balance of hierarchy. The Jade Emperor first, then the Council of Eight Elders. Below them are the two Kongsi with one representative each on the Council. The Matchmaker for us and the Empress for the Ghee Hin. Next are the Masters, the Chosen, and the monks.” She grinned widely. “That’s bureaucracy for you.”
    Intriguing. Lucy swallowed her tea and considered her options for conversation, but one nagging speculation occupied her mind. Setting her cup aside, she rose and peered out the window. “Are you his girlfriend?” she blurted, her cheeks heating. “Uh, I mean, are you two involved?”
    Mei’s snorting laughter answered. “Absolutely not. Ugh. Disgusting.”
    Lucy raised a hopeful brow. “Disgusting?” How? Sheng was gorgeous.
    “He’s like my brother.” The girl wrinkled her nose. “Not my real brother, but we consider each other family.” She craned her neck to look past Lucy and study him. “I guess I can understand why you might be attracted to him. Sort of. Yuck.” She straightened and shook off whatever image had popped into her mind.
    “He kissed you.” Yeah, and a jealous arrow had fired straight into Lucy’s chest.
    Mei shrugged. “He’s a tiger.” Lucy continued to stare blankly, until Mei elaborated. “Tigers are affectionate creatures. Always kissing, nuzzling. They crave intimacy. We’re family. For him to not touch me would be sheer torture.”
    “Torture?”
    “Yeah. Tigers don’t fulfill their requirement for physical contact with anyone but family. Outside their pack, they don’t trust easily.”
    Their pack. Sheng constantly had his hands on her. Did that make her part of his pack?
    “Yep.” Mei shot her a wide grin. “Boy can’t take his eyes off you, much less his hands. Something more than brotherly affection going on, huh?” She leaned in. Guess the girl was desperate for a female friend.
    Me too. Although referring to Sheng as a boy seemed contradictory, like calling a shark a goldfish.
    “Nothing to tell.” True, she hadn’t slept with him, hadn’t even gotten to first base. Maybe he didn’t intend anything sexual in the way he pawed at her.
    “ Uh-huh. Sure. And I’m the Empress.”
    “Honest.” Lucy held up her hands. “He hasn’t even tried to kiss me.”
    “ Hmm , well he must be waiting then.”
    She peered at Mei. “Waiting?”
    Mei pointed at the sparring below. “Yeah, for you to accept him. Us. Yourself. I told you, he’s the Master of our Kongsi . The Tiger leads our spirits.”
    Master? Spirits?
    Lucy