Hot springs—easy to enjoy alone, complicated when shared. Alone it was indulgence; with two people who harbored more than simple affection for each other, it became something else entirely.
When they stepped out, Zhao Shuning sniffed herself quickly. No lingering scent—good. While Yan Ruyu wasn't looking, she slipped to the edge of the pool.
“Buran, I’m finished. I’ll get dressed and make us something to eat,” she said.
“I’m not hungry,” he replied.
Before she realized it, Yan Ruyu had sidled up to her. With one long reach he scooped her into his arms. Even though everything that could happen between them had already happened, the bright candlelight brought a flush of bashfulness that neither could mask.
“You weren’t hungry all day, weren’t you?” Zhao Shuning asked.
“I was,” he admitted.
“Then I—”
“Don’t speak, Ning’er.” His voice was low and magnetic by her ear, a familiar electric hum that tightened her chest.
“What about you?” she asked.
“If you truly don’t want a child, I’ll be careful.” His hand cradled the back of her head and began to travel lower. The curve of her body was mesmerizing—her back smooth and warm under his palm.
“Buran—” She stammered as he tried to go further and immediately put her hand up to stop him.
“What’s wrong?”
“We can’t—there are people around.” She looked genuinely anxious.
Yan Ruyu half rose, torso cutting the air; the pale plane of his chest flashed. He gathered her close with both arms and lowered his voice. “No one will see us.”
“No—” Her eyes misted but she still tried to resist. The thought of being discovered terrified her.
With a flick of his hand the water above them shimmered and a dome of protection formed over the pool, sealing them off. She blinked. “A Vajra Shield?” It was absurd to use such an advanced technique just for a hot spring.
Yan Ruyu bent and pressed his lips to hers in a gentle, possessive kiss. “Now you don’t have to worry,” he murmured.
Embarrassment painted Zhao Shuning’s face a deep red. Her fingers tightened on his arms as if to anchor herself. One hand steadied her head; the other braced on the pool’s rim. His mouth moved against hers—at first hesitant, then more insistent. Under his guidance her responses warmed and deepened until her hands were threaded around his neck.
His kisses trailed down. She let out a startled sound and instantly felt mortified—such noises felt shameful and childish. He soothed her with a whisper and steady hands that never stopped.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
She pressed herself against him. “Let’s go back to the room, okay?”
A rumble came from his stomach. She blinked and then, unable to help it, laughed. “See? I told you—you’re hungry. Put me down and I’ll make you something.”
Irritated at being interrupted by his own appetite, Yan Ruyu moved quickly to dress. Panic flurried through Zhao Shuning and she fumbled with her clothes too.
“You stay here. I’ll go get you something to eat,” she said and headed for the door, planning to slip out.
But Yan Ruyu was faster. He reappeared beside her in a blink. “How are you so quick?”
“I don’t like to be outdone,” he said lightly, and then, softer, “but if you want me to slow down sometimes, I can.”
Zhao Shuning’s face burned at the implication. He caught her blush and realized his words had sounded suggestive; he didn’t try to explain. “Either way—we should go back to the room.”
Once more he lifted her into his arms. “Weren’t you hungry?”
“I am,” she admitted.
“Then I’ll make you something,” he said.
“You’re always better than any food,” she whispered, burying her face against his chest. Her heart beat faster.
They reached his chamber quickly. He set her down and closed the door, setting the bolt in place. Candlelight painted her more alluring than ever.
“Ning’er—” he breathed.
She backed away a little; her clothes half-fallen, shoulder bared. He extinguished a candle, and the room sank into a darker intimacy. She stumbled into his arms beneath the crimson coverlet. In the dim, their breathing grew heavier, and the darkness seemed to make her braver. She leaned forward and met his lips.
In that flash he was master and she yielded, pressed beneath him. Their bodies were so close they could feel each other’s breath. Even without sight they heard the quick answering beats of a shared heartbeat.
“I’m hot,” she murmured.
“So am I.” Her hand brushed his skin and pulled back at once. He held himself in check. “Ning’er, if you don’t want a child, I will be careful.”
Those words—of children as a burden—had clearly wounded her before. She pressed a palm gently to his mouth and said, “I think…maybe having a child wouldn’t be so bad.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” The thought of a child that was theirs made her strangely happy. “Please don’t hold what I said before against me. I just—” Her words dissolved into soft noises as his touches set her on fire. Every inch of her seemed to ache to be nearer him. For a beating moment she thought she would want this in every life to come.
The mahogany bed rolled beneath them in a rhythm that sometimes surged and sometimes slowed. The air in the room thickened and deepened until both of them lost themselves in it. She was exhausted but felt, somehow, more satisfied than the last time.
Just when she thought they might finally rest, Yan Ruyu’s voice came again from behind. When she turned, his lips captured hers anew. That familiar sensation swept over her like a tide.
Tonight would be a sleepless night.