Charlotte Wicks dashed down the third-floor hallway after
her younger brother. Unfortunately, at sixteen, William
was much too fast to catch, and with a mental age of about
seven, he was too strong-willed to listen.
"William!" she called again as she spun into their Chinese
servant's room. She skidded to an abrupt stop as she took
in the sight before her.
What a large penis! That's all that she could think. Ken
Jin has an immense penis. She made a valiant attempt to
divert her thoughts. Why, for example, was Ken Jin
kneeling half naked on the floor in the middle of the
afternoon? Why were three very large needles embedded in
the flesh right above his very large organ? And why
couldn't she look up into the man's face?
She didn't ask any of these questions, of course: all were
completely inappropriate. Despite the debauchery that ran
rampant in Shanghai-and in this very house sometimes-
Charlotte wasn't supposed to know about men's organs or
what they did with them. Or that Ken Jin had entertained a
good number of her friends with his very large penis.
Her brother, of course, had no such restraint. "Mama says
not to touch that," he said loudly and pointed at Ken's
Jin's dark red erection. "She says you'll go to hell and
burn for eternity with the devil." He frowned. "But she
didn't say anything about needles."
Ken Jin didn't respond, except to leap to his feet and
hastily drag up his pants. That successfully hid the view,
but it probably also drove the needles even deeper into
his flesh.
"My goodness," Charlotte breathed, "doesn't that hurt?"
She blinked, startled by her own stupid comment. Of course
it hurt. Taking hold of her curiosity and her errant
brother, she made herself turn away from the blushing
Chinaman. Then she addressed her gangly, adolescent
sibling.
"You cannot go bursting into people's chambers, William,
even if it's a servant's room. It's simply not fair." And
who knew what one might see, she added silently. "Come
along now. We'll let Ken Jin collect himself and ask him
politely to visit us in the library, shall we?"
She tried to lead her brother out, but the boy had been
growing again and was larger than she. When William didn't
want to leave, she couldn't force him; and right now,
William would not be distracted from their father's First
Boy. Truth be told, Charlotte was also intrigued by the
handsome young Chinaman. He was desperately intelligent,
running her father's extensive business dealings single-
handedly while keeping her debauched father and religious
mother in opposite corners of the city. With his help,
Charlotte was able to keep the house servants in line and
manage her rather unusual younger brother. Plus, every one
of her friends had commented on how very handsome and
skilled he was in a variety of bedroom arts. She couldn't
vouch for the latter, of course, but she could attest to
his looks.
Ken Jin was tall and muscular, of twenty-eight or twenty-
nine years, and had lush black hair pulled back into the
most perfect queue. His face was nicely formed, his
shoulders were broad, and he had a generousโฆ Well, all his
physical attributes were built along generous lines.
Still, she had no idea that Chinese men-even young healthy
ones-were so largely endowed. Or perhaps, she was simply
uninformed. After all, her only real experience with men's
organs came from assisting her brother with his bath.
Perhaps Ken Jin was normal and her brother abnormal. It
would stand to reason.
"You shouldn't scratch there either," William said loudly,
doing just that. "It makes it worse."
Ken Jin nodded formally to Charlotte's brother. With his
trousers back in place, the only indications of anything
untoward were the dark flush to his cheeks and the
expanding circle of crimson on his tented pants.
"One of your needles has drawn blood," she said, once
again proving that she was an utter failure at keeping her
attention fixed where it ought to be. So she tried
again. "Come along, William. Ken Jin will join us in the
library." Assuming he didn't bleed to death first.
"But Nanny said he would take us to the park," William
wheedled.
Charlotte nodded. "Yes, yes, of course, dearling, but the
park is outside, you know, and we can't get there by
staying here."
William blinked in his uncomprehending way, then abruptly
turned back to Ken Jin. "Why do you have needles in your
stomach?" he asked.
Charlotte sighed. Sometimes her brother could fixate on
the most inappropriate topics. It didn't help matters that
she was desperately curious to know the answer as well.
Ken Jin bowed again, no doubt driving the needles
deeper. "It is a form of medicine, Master Will," he
responded in his low, smooth voice.
"Yes, William," Charlotte agreed. "A Chinese form of
medicine. Now let us-"
"I want to see," William interrupted. Then, to her horror,
her nearly six foot tall brother lumbered forward, his
hands going for Ken Jin's pants.
"That is quite enough!" Charlotte cried in her best
disciplinarian voice. William stopped his advance, thank
God. "Into the library, young man. Now!"
Another long moment went by as the boy hovered, obviously
undecided. Then Ken Jin spoke, his manner extremely
pleasant. "I should be happy to take you to the park,
Master William, but you must let me don the appropriate
shoes."
Charlotte's brother frowned at Ken Jin's bare feet. They
were nice feet, Charlotte noticed, and wasn't that an odd
thing to think about a servant's feet? But they were nice:
the skin was smooth and not hairy, the toes long and well
shaped. They were masculine without being a coolie's hoary
feet.
"All right," William finally said, spinning on his heel
and abruptly dashing out of the room. Charlotte felt her
lips curve into a soft smile. Truly, her brother was a
sweet boy even if he was sixteen and slow.
She turned back to Ken Jin. "Thank you for your assistance-
"
"My shoes," he interrupted, his voice uncharacteristically
tight. "Please, Miss Charlotte, let me put on my shoes."
She frowned, abruptly realizing that she wasn't looking at
his feet but at the dark bloodstains on his pants. There
were three circles now, exactly above the three needles,
and the tenting fabric wasn't quite so pronounced.
"Miss Charlotte?"
"Shoes. Yes, of course," she babbled. "I'll see you in the
library, then?" She didn't know why she was lingering. She
couldn't truly ask Ken Jin why he had stuck needles into
hisโฆ She ought to be going. And yetโฆ
"Ken Jinโฆ"
The muscles of his jaw bulged as he clenched his
teeth. "Yes, Miss Charlotte?"
"Do you require any bandages or salves?"
"No, Miss Charlotte."
She swallowed. Of course he didn't. Ken Jin was the most
self-sufficient man she'd ever met. "Well then," she
snapped, abruptly bringing her thoughts back to order. "I
shall just wait for you in the library. After youโฆ umโฆ"
"After I don my shoes, Miss Charlotte."
"Yes. Your shoes." And with that, she spun around and fled.
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