My Asian Dragon

Instead of heading backstage, Joy took the small step down to make her way over to the Boss’ table, sitting down next to him with a false smile on her face. “Thank you for the kind applause,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes.

“You good singer,” the Boss replied, his eyes fixed on her cleavage. “How long you here?”

“I’ve only been here a few weeks, sir,” Joy said with mock deference. She cast her eyes down and put her hands in her lap, the position squeezing her bre*sts together more and causing his breathing to speed up. Joy kept up with her cover story as a starving artist looking for her big break. “It’s a great opportunity you’ve given me here.”

“Yes, I see,” the man replied, his elementary English failing him either through lack of ability or mind clouded with lust. She heard him order some drinks, and his hand settled on her knee as a scared waitress brought them over. With the drinks, and a new act stepping on stage, the Boss turned his attention towards other business. Two other men came over and joined them at the table, arrogant enough for Joy to tell they were still high ranking Triads, but were still subservient to their Boss.

Over the J-pop sounds of the girl on stage, the men discussed various items, and Joy was thankful for the language lessons she had been taking. She was able to pick up more of the conversation than any of the men knew, and what she heard shocked her. As soon as the Boss was drunk enough, she excused herself, pleading needing to go to the bathroom, and slipped into the back. She found Longwei washing dishes, and she tapped him on the shoulder, heading out the back door. “Get your stuff,” she said, looking nervously inside. “We need to get home now.”

“What do you mean?” Longwei asked. “What did you hear?”

“The Boss had me sit at his table,” Joy replied, “and pulled two other men over. Longwei, they’re nervous about the two men he sent to kill me not coming back. Thankfully the Shanghai description was very sketchy, they only knew I was a black woman. He told the other men to send another group, larger this time, to take care of the entire problem. Longwei, he’s sending a death squad to the village in three days.”

Longwei nodded, and looked down the alley. He looked at Joy, who took his hand. “Let’s get out of here. He thinks I’m in the toilet, and I didn’t bring anything I need here.”

“Okay,” Longwei said, glancing inside the back door. Nobody was paying attention, so he quickly led her down the dark alley and into the street. Joy knew they were an incongruous sight, the curvy black woman in a slinky dress holding hands with a dirty man in a dishwasher’s apron, but it didn’t matter. If they could make it just a few more kilometers, they’d be able to get out of the city.

*****

Traveling back to the village was the most thrilling experience Joy had ever felt. Longwei had led her back to her apartment to change quickly into some jeans and a t-shirt, ditching the trampy heels for her now comfortable work boots she had brought from the city. They had left everything else behind, except for a cheap tablet computer Joy had bought for storing information. Slipping it into a small backpack, Longwei had led her out of the city in plain sight, taking the city bus system to the train station, and getting on the local train to the tiny city of Lu’an, just a bit closer to the village.

Stepping into the borders of Lu’an, Longwei had turned to Joy, slipping out of his t-shirt. “After I change, climb on,” he said, looking around. They were in an industrial park, but there were few lights around, and no cars.

Joy watched as Longwei shifted into his dragon form, her breath still catching in her throat at the sight. Picking up his discarded t-shirt, she climbed on his back, just above what she assumed was his shoulders, or at least his dragon equivalent. He reared up, allowing her to wrap the shirt around his neck like a harness, his throat solid and unyielding against the pressure. From where she was now perched, she was at about the height of a car, and Longwei took off across the countryside, darting over grass and rock smoothly.

The closest impression that Joy could think of was riding a motorcycle. Longwei in dragon form was remarkably fast, making turns and adjustments almost faster than she could perceive the need. Different from a motorcycle though was the warm feeling of his blood rushing through his body, and the sensual undulating ripple of his muscles beneath her. It was unique, and in its own way sexy.

But for Joy, the most fun part was the speed. The wind rushed by her, broken up only slightly by the Longwei’s blunt snout, and she realized he was actually slowing down to allow her to not be thrown off by his progress. It wasn’t even midnight by her estimation when she saw the familiar shape of the village temple in the light of the almost full moon.

“We have to do that again,” Joy said as they approached the temple. “Is it always so thrilling.”

You’re the first person I’ve ever let do that, Longwei replied through his mental link. And yes, it was very nice. I will be happy to let you do that again.

“But first, we have a village to protect,” Joy said, turning her eyes back towards Heifei. “And if what I heard was correct, we only have a few days.”