A Lover's Wish Read Online Free PDF Page B

pressed back against the seat, arched his back and

    moaned as his spine seemed to snap back into place.
    He purred at the delicious feelings vibrating through him as he closed his laptop and climbed the stairs from the den to his bedroom. He crawled into bed and just as he began pulling the sheets to his waist, it started raining. Lightning lit up his room followed quickly by thunder and he knew it was going to be a bad one. Thankfully, he had parked in his driveway. That meant his vehicle would be clean the next morning. Grinning, he turned to set his alarm clock, then rolled over to face the wall.
    With his window open, Dao’s mind drifted back to when he was a child and it rained in Xingping, China. He would always want to go floating on his raft down the Li River, but his parents would not allow him. They always told him, do not anger the river while she feeds . That made absolutely no sense to him then and it was even more confusing as an adult. Maybe they meant for him not to tempt fate—who knew with his parents? They meant well.
    Back then, he would grin it off and rushed out the door to play in the rain. There was something magical about feeling the raindrops fall gently against his skin. He loved feeling the cool water soaking through his hair and his clothes. The wet mud seeping between his toes was utter pleasure

    and watching the fog that the rain brought over the Limestone Mountains was breathtaking. He may have only been a child, but he loved every second of it. Every breath of air had a sweet tinge of magic to it. Sometimes, in the morning, he would sit on a large rock behind his house. He would close his eyes and did nothing but inhale.
    But in order to make a life for himself, he had to leave China. He had to leave and would have taken his parents with him had they wanted to leave. He did not feel as though he could remain where he had grown up. It was as though he was forced to fly a plane, blindfolded and with his hands tied behind his back. But the small place was so utterly breathtaking, especially when it rained.
    “Dao, I cannot leave, Xingping,” his mother had pleaded. “I was born here, met your father here. I grew up here, had you here and with that saying, I will die here. It is peaceful. You have to understand that I love peace.”
    Dao smiled in the darkness of his room, “I know, Mou Chan ,” he whispered just as his eyes slipped shut. “I know.”

    It had stormed all night. Each time the storm got bad, the thunder would rumble throughout Scarborough and this caused Dao to jerk upright in bed. He hated the storm—the light rain he

    would rather have because he could play in it. Whenever he was a child and it stormed, he would toss and turn in his sleep. He would also cry out so terrifyingly that his mother would wake him up, make him some tea and sit with him until the storm was over.
    He was so used to having someone with him that each time it stormed, Dao felt alone. Each time he woke up, it took longer to fall asleep again until finally he gave up. By the time morning finally came, Dao had long since been awake, carrying out his morning routine. It had finally stopped raining. When the sun was fully up, Dao moved his body into the Closing Form of his Tia Chi form. Inhaling, he pressed his arms, straight down at his side and bowed deeply to the rising sun.
    For him, Tai Chi calmed him and kept him grounded through his day. That did not mean that Dao didn’t get angry, far from it. But with Tai Chi, he felt more in control of his days and what happened around him.
    Sweat was leaking from his body by this time and when he stood straight again, he turned and walked back through the backdoor of his home. Grabbing the towel that he had tossed over the back of a chair, he picked up the Blackberry from the counter and rushed up the stairs. He scrolled into his email and replied to a few of them. By the

    time he looked up at the clock and glanced back at the screen, he already had seven