13|thirteen

1|one

She sat before her vanity, lights dimmed and curtains drawn closed. Through the mirror, she watched her husband draw his white dress shirt up the smooth planes of his sensual, naked back and over his solid, enduring shoulders. His muscles, so lithe and sure, rippled with motion, and she felt that distinct urge pool in her lower stomach again, so stirring with embers that she almost left her dressing room to throw him onto the bed again.

“Or to have him throw me this time,” she thought deliciously, swinging one of her crossed legs playfully. Her bare, red-painted toes peeked out from under her luxurious red silk robes; the material caressing her naked skin sent another beautiful wave of want and longing in her.

Her husband did not turn to face her as he made his tie. He knew, as she did, that one look would send them back under (or over — depending on their mood) the covers again, and that would not do. They had already “slept in” that morning, and they were behind schedule. Her parents — his in-laws — would be arriving in the next hour, and she had yet to dress!

Faced with such a contest, Malise slid her eyes from Umbra’s neck — the portion where a kiss would send him shuddering and labouring for breath — and back to the little baubles and trinkets littered along the table of her vanity. On most days, she would open her numerous closets, one after another, until a dress, a shirt or a pair of pants caught her eye. But today, such an auspicious day, she would base her look on a single piece of priceless jade.

She nonchalantly moved aside the more extravagant pieces and donned on a pair of simple red earrings, two red jades the size of pearls. Moving to stand, she watched her reflection with deft and judging eyes, tilting her head this way and that. Perfect, as always.

Malise smiled surreptitiously as the servants stepped forward with her qipao in their arms. It was an exquisite and muted dress, a dark red silk stitched with golden thorns and roses. For that enticing factor, the collar to the chest was in wicked, black lace. It would be perfect for that jade pendent sitting on her vanity table.

She heard her husband leave their bedroom and she donned the dress with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. Her watching him was bearable, but a man could hardly watch a naked woman without some break in control. Malise clicked her tongue playfully. He never knew what he had bargained for when he married her, but she certainly wasn’t going to make it boring for him. Stable, she had decided years ago, but never boring.

Slipping the jade pendent over her neck, with her beautiful hair braided into an intricate and fascinating up-do, Malise left their bedroom and headed for the nursery. She heard laughter well before the door could be in view and smirked as the servants shifted uncomfortably. They were still discomfited—still awkward—at the noise, but Malise thrilled in it.

The servants opened the door and she smiled when her baby gave an exuberant burst of, “Mama!” She bent down, enchanted, as her daughter wiggled down from her grandmother’s lap and fearlessly toddled her way over to her. She laughed as she scooped her bumbling baby into her arms, squeezing her and showering her with red-coloured kisses. Her mother, Lady Hēi, clicked her tongue at her, and her daughter laughed uproariously, but her mother was neither disapproving nor disgusted, merely exhausted by the two’s antics.

With another breathless laugh, Malise fell into the seat beside her mother, giving a dramatic bounce on the cushions for her daughter’s amusement. The baby squirmed in her hands, beaming and wide-eyed. Malise placed another red kiss on her baby’s forehead.

“Nocte,” Lady Hēi called for the babe, fond and agitated—fond of the granddaughter, agitated with the daughter. “Could you look at pó pó, please?”

 Nocte responded almost immediately, turning her head to face her grandmother while still keeping within her mother’s hold. Such a cute and intelligent child, Malise admired, giving her daughter another squeeze. Nocte was barely beside herself when Lady Hēi wetted a handkerchief from her tea and started to rub the red lipstick from the baby’s face. Malise had to remember to reapply the red on her lips later.