Stephen shrugged. “I support the temple in a variety of ways. Up until now, my financial support has been relatively modest.”

She frowned, looking outside. “I thought you built the road up here.”

He shrugged. “A calculated risk.”

“I see.” She did, actually. Or guessed she did. “You’re the one buying the temple, aren’t you?”

His gaze sharpened with a gleam that had nothing to do with sex. Suddenly his smile shifted to a more professional competence that was even more devastating because it showed total confidence and a glint of pride. “I’ve waited a long time for this opportunity. I will ensure that the temple survives for another hundred years.”

She wanted to find out more. She wanted to know his plans for Nathan’s family. But in the end, she shook her head. “I’m sure I’ll learn more in time. Right now, I would like to go to the kitchen.” And Nathan. She wanted to see Nathan.

Stephen nodded, but he didn’t move. Instead, he hesitated. When he finally spoke, his voice was low as if he was confiding in her. “He does not love you, you know. Not how you think. Not forever, not the marrying kind of love.”

She gasped, startled by his words. How could he know she was thinking about Nathan?

He reached out and touched her arm. She felt the tingle there, of power arching from him into her. “A man knows when a woman is thinking of another man. But Nathan is a dragon, and we do not love that way.”

She stepped backward, trying to find clarity in her thoughts. But that would take more than just distance from this charismatic man. “I thought Nathan was kicked out of the temple.”

Stephen shrugged. “He was. His mother did not like him controlling her spending. But that has nothing to do with his training. He was trained as a dragon, trained as someone who touches women and moves on.” He shook his head sadly. “Nathan is in a difficult place. He had no example of marriage, normal love. He does not know his father, never heard of weddings until he was ten. He trained since birth to touch a woman and then move on.”

“He says he is not a dragon,” she said.

“His natural inclination is to attach too easily. This traps him in a place between—too flighty for marriage, but too attached to earth to attain heaven.”

“That’s not true,” Tracy said. “Nathan’s very stable. He’s taking care of his family, studying to get a good degree.” A list of his many admirable qualities formed in her mind while Stephen rocked back on his heels.

“Do not fall for him, Tracy. He is not your future.”

She folded her arms across her chest. Everything was happening too fast. She had wanted to learn more about Nathan’s family, not plunge headlong into temple politics. But then again, perhaps they were one and the same. Meanwhile, Stephen did not ease up his campaign to win her.

“Every tigress, every dragon must choose between earth or heaven,” he said. Then he touched her face, skating a finger over her lips. “Choose heaven and I can give you everything you want.” He let his hand drop away. “Choose earth and we will have no more to discuss.”

She bit her lip, finally understanding what she had been missing. “Nathan chose earth. That’s why he says he’s not a dragon. He chose to manage things here on earth.”

Stephen shrugged. “Someone has to make sure the bills are paid, the food is cooked. There is great honor in that path.”

“But it is not a dragon’s path?”

Stephen’s smile grew sensuous, and his entire demeanor shifted into that dark, primal place that called to her on an animalistic level. “I am the dragon path,” he said.

She swallowed, her options crystal clear: Stephen or Nathan. Except according to Stephen, Nathan was too flighty to be a real life mate on earth. “You’re a persuasive man, Mr. Chu. You make it sound like you’re my only choice.”

“Don’t you long to return to heaven?” he pressed. “I can take you there. Again and again, we can both dance with immortals.”

She was tempted. The urge to run with Stephen was like a mythical call. But she was more than just her sexual side, and she would not make a decision like this without thought.

“Nathan said he’d be in the kitchen,” she said. “Can you show me where that is?”

“Over here,” he said in a normal voice. His sexuality abruptly masked beneath his smooth, urbane, ultrarich persona, Stephen escorted her to the largest kitchen she had ever seen.

Tracy stepped inside and was hit by the delightful scents of soy sauce, spicy pork and herbs. Heat crackled across her face, but her attention was on scanning the huge room. She saw movement everywhere: people chopping or stirring or steaming things along a huge wood table or by an equally huge stove. Gleaming pots cluttered her vision, and strange roots dangled from the ceiling. But in all that, she focused on one person: Nathan. He sat at a large wood table and sipped tea. A dumpling lay half-eaten on a plate before him.

Their eyes met immediately, and then his gaze flickered to Stephen right behind her. She stepped forward, wanting Nathan’s attention to return to her. It didn’t. In fact, he seemed to carefully avoid her as he stood up from his seat.

“Ready now?” Nathan asked.

“If you are,” Stephen answered.

“I am.”

“Then, shall we?”

Nathan nodded and grabbed his battered attaché from the floor. Seconds later, both men had left the kitchen without one more glance at Tracy. She watched them go, still hoping for a connection with Nathan. A look, a touch, anything to remind her that he was still the same Nathan who had carried her into her bedroom, who had served her an omelet and kissed her senseless. But there was nothing.

“He can’t see you anymore,” said a woman from behind her.

Tracy spun around to see Nathan’s sister standing by the table. “What?”

“Nathan. He’s handed you over to your new partner. Since he’s not part of the temple anymore, he can’t talk to you. He’s only allowed in the kitchens and back gardens, and that’s just because he’s family.”

Tracy swallowed. “That’s silly. He’s taught me everything.” And she felt lost without him.

Cai Ting gave her a wry smile. “That’s exactly why. Do you honestly think you’re the first tigress to fall for her teacher? Trust me, it’s better this way. Break ties. Move on. Easier for everyone.” Then she leaned forward, her expression abruptly fierce. “Better for him.”

Tracy swallowed, realizing that everyone here, most especially Nathan, expected her to embrace this tigress training, toss aside everything she knew and abruptly walk into the land of the divine. It couldn’t be that simple. It sure as hell didn’t feel that easy. And yet, the thought of returning to that heavenly place tempted her. Not to mention the youthful gorgeousness gifted to full tigresses. If Stephen could get her there—and he obviously had as much skill as Nathan—then shouldn’t she consider what they suggested? She bit her lip, feeling confused and disoriented.

Cai Ting shook her head. “You need a break. Here, Nathan had me get something for you.”

Tracy followed the woman to the table and a covered dish. A moment later, Cai Ting lifted off the lid, and Tracy’s heart melted in a rush. Nathan had ordered this for her? With a grin, she grabbed hold of the biggest and best burger she’d ever had in her life.

TRACY OPENED HER EYES to the deepest darkness she’d ever experienced. She tensed, her mind grappling with sensations too rapid to catalog. She was naked and blind. And not alone.

“It’s me,” came a soft, familiar voice. “It’s Nathan. I’m sorry I woke you.”

She exhaled in relief, her body sagging into a large comfortable bed. But she was still blind. Her eyes were open, but there was no electricity in the temple and no moon tonight. She might as well have been in a cave, except that she was warm and the silence was comforting, especially with Nathan there…somewhere.