chapter 4

I practically stripped myself naked.

And Song Xuye still abandoned me and walked away.

He left!

I turn an evil eye on his bed.

No. Control yourself. If I get it wet, no one will be able to sleep there.

I toss and turn until I finally drift off in the second half of the night.

Then I have a dream.

I dream that I climb into bed after midnight and find a delicious-smelling man there. I bury myself in his massive chest and inhale, then lose control and take a bite. The man groans.

I overpower him. He cannot break free.

My hand reaches somewhere wicked.

My lips tingle. The dream rises and plunges.

Yet whenever I sink into deeper sleep, I hear water splashing.

It must be the waves.

When I wake, my face is scarlet.

Strangely, the agitation tormenting my body has eased.

Can an erotic dream actually calm a succubus down?

The same dream returns over the next few nights.

It feels so real that every morning I find myself staring at Song Xuye and reliving it.

“What happened to your chest?”

There is a bite mark on his sun-browned skin, with a faint bead of blood along its edge.

He gives me an odd look.

“A dog bit me.”

That dog has excellent taste.

I am almost jealous.

With the month slipping away, I redouble my efforts to seduce Song Xuye.

He still refuses to bite.

Late one night, the dream comes again.

Only this time, before I can force him into much of anything, the dream turns unbearably hot.

Terrifyingly real.

I even lose control and release a trace of succubus fragrance.

That fragrance is a sign of arousal.

No matter how many times Jiang Yancheng and I kissed, I never experienced anything like this.

I can even hear a man panting in the dream.

“Yun Chu, you… Fuck. That suppressant was a complete waste.”

The air grows damp and heavy with lust.

Then something crashes.

I jerk awake.

I am in Song Xuye’s bed.

And he is in the bathroom!

I dash through the water on the floor and burst inside.

The sight before me leaves me stunned.

Song Xuye lies in the bathtub, his head tipped back against the rim. His Adam’s apple stands out, and his chest rises and falls with each heavy breath.

His shoulders fill more than half the tub. One arm hangs over its side, slick with water and sweat. His brown skin gleams, making him look even more sensual.

Eight hard ridges mark his abdomen, a black fish-shaped pattern resting above them.

So the little cake was modeled after him.

Below his waist, scales begin to appear.

A huge, magnificent tail lies half submerged and half draped over the side of the tub. Its dark color shades into purple, glinting faintly gold beneath the light.

Song Xuye’s eyes are half-lidded. His hard features have turned dangerously seductive beneath the strain of his breathing.

His gaze burns when it meets mine.

My knees give way, and I topple straight into the bathtub.

I am soaked.

My body goes limp.

Succubus fragrance pours from me as if I have been marinated in it.

The intoxicating scent deepens my breathing.

My voice turns soft.

“Song—Song Xuye… This time… you’re the one who seduced me…”

I bend down and kiss him.

The sleeveless shirt tears.

“Who was it?”

“Who was what? You’re already all the way—!”

“Who seduced whom? Be specific.”

…

That night, the bathwater spills over, settles, then spills over again.

Moonlight pours through the window, rocking on water battered by a furious storm until it suddenly pierces the surface.

Then the phone rings.

I reach out to reject the call.

Water drips from my fingers and answers it for me.

“Yun Chu.”

Jiang Yancheng.

Only my best friend knows this number.

Could it be…

“What… is it?” I manage.

“So you really aren’t dead.”

He gives a derisive laugh.

“You don’t even know how to come home. I thought you’d starved to death. See? You can go without eating and still live.”

He sounds openly mocking.

This man…

After what happened, I will never like him again.

But we grew up together. Can’t he at least treat me like a friend?

I grit my teeth, ready to curse him out.

The tail behind me suddenly lashes hard against my body.

I yelp and slap a hand over my mouth.

Then I turn and glare at Song Xuye.

He grips the back of my neck and commands in a voice gone rough, “Swallow every last bit.”

Jiang Yancheng falls silent.

Then he erupts.

“Yun Chu, what are you doing?

“Who is that man with you? Don’t forget that you’re engaged to me. A bond—you said you would form a bond with me.

“If I find out who that bastard is, I’ll kill him!”