Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 90852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“You are so nasty.”
“You make me that way.”
“I don’t.”
He slipped his hands along my head.
I shivered at his touch.
He traced soft circles along my head. “Are you going to let your hair grow or keep it bald?”
I bit my lip, feeling a familiar heat pooling between my thighs. “I was going to let it grow.”
“Interesting.”
“Why?”
“I’m intrigued with how you will look.”
“You like my head bald?”
He placed his view back on me and looked deeply into my eyes. “I like you. . .hair or no hair. It doesn’t matter as long as you’re by my side.”
My heart swelled at his words.
I swallowed. “Tell me more about the tea ceremony.”
“If he truly wanted to officially show you to the East in a traditional way, he would need the new Mountain Master and the Deputy. The old and the new. My father likes balance.”
“Okay.”
“Next, you have to think of the preparation.” Lei’s hand moved gently over my cheek, his fingers tracing delicate patterns against my skin. “Tomorrow morning, you will go into the kitchen and the chef will give you tons of bowls with the finest dried leaves already picked from my mother’s garden.”
The way he looked at me, with tenderness and affection, was enough to make my heart race and my breath catch.
I tried to focus on the topic and not his touch. “Okay. Then what?”
“You will spend an hour with the chef, carefully choosing the leaves for the tea. You’ll ask about their quality and aroma with the understanding that each leaf will symbolize a new beginning.”
Damn. This is a lot. I see why it couldn’t have just happened today.
This would not be a simple task of grabbing a tea bag and dropping it into hot water.
I made mental notes of everything.
“Once you have chosen the leaves, you will use my mother’s teapot. From what I saw in the kitchen just now, it will be the one that she used for her first cup of tea in the East.”
I widened my eyes. “You saw the tea set?”
“I did, and I remember the pictures from that moment as well as all the paintings my father did of it. There’s one in the Palace’s grand hall.”
“I want to go see that painting tonight.”
“We’ll go.” He slipped his fingers to my lips and traced their outline with his fingertip. “You’ll place the leaves in the pot and heat the water to the perfect temperature, neither too hot to scorch the delicate leaves nor too cool to leave the flavor dormant.”
“Okay.”
“The water must be pure and clear. Palace priests will come into kitchen, after being signaled from the chef.”
“Priests?”
He grinned. “Yes. If you don’t know by now, the East is anything but simple. Everything must be grand and over the top.”
“Alright. So priests bring the water in. And I assume they pray over it.”
“Of course. Now you’re getting the East.”
“And I’m getting why there would have been no way Leo would have tried to do this today.”
“There would have been no time. I would have been there with my sword slicing everyone’s heads off, even the priests.”
I frowned. “Lei.”
“I’m just telling you who I am, and how well my father knows me.”
“Okay.”
“Once the water bubbles, you will pour a small amount into the teapot to awaken the leaves. This moment is a gesture symbolizing the awakening of the senses and the opening of your heart.”
“Who will help me with that?”
“No one, but there will be photographers watching and snapping.”
“And where will you, Leo, and the rest of the guests be?”
“In the dining space at the table, doing our best to not kill each other in front of the cameras.”
“Not even your aunts will be in the kitchen with me?”
“Just you, the chef, and the priests.”
My nerves frazzled. “Okay.”
“But then, you’ll bring it all out to the table.”
“I won’t pour it all from the pot in the kitchen?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“The first pour is a ritual cleansing, both for the leaves and the teapot. You’ll swirl the water gently, allowing the leaves to release their bitter essence.” Lei stopped tracing my lips and smiled to himself. “My mother thought that this step symbolized the washing away of past grievances and misunderstandings. It was like. . .preparing a clean slate for the true essence of the tea to shine through.”
“Who came up with the tea ceremony?”
“My mother.”
“Now everything is making more sense.”
“Good.” He slipped his hands down my neck, along my arms, then began to caress my wrist. “Once the teapot is full, you will place the lid on it and allow the tea to steep.”
“And I go sit down and chill out?”
He chuckled. “No. Then, you do a speech in front of your guests.”
“Oh no. I don’t want to do a speech. . .and in front of all the cameras.”
“You just did a speech in front of cameras.”
“Yeah, but that was different.”