Chapter 214
Chapter 214
His fingertips sank into the lifelike magnolias embroidered at her waist, wrinkling the lustrous silk as her sweet fragrance surrounded him.
Ji Hanyi lay on her side against the silver pillow. The curve of her waist rose like green hills, while the fullness of her chest was plainly outlined.
Shen Si had restrained himself for three days after their wedding so that she would lower her guard. Seeing her before him now, her features drowsy and languid, heat tightened through his heart.
His heart had always been still, untouched by such emotion. But after tasting Ji Hanyi, he could not forget the soul-stealing pleasure.
Though he had not truly possessed her, his blood surged for her with humiliating ease.
His hand tightened at her waist. Half dreaming, Ji Hanyi shifted as though asleep.
Shen Si saw the tiny mole on her neck and leaned over her. Her soft sweetness enveloped him. Bracing one hand beside her face, he watched her for a long moment. Her thick lashes stirred in the clear window light; her breathing remained even.
Unable to resist, he bent toward her full red lips and kissed her.
The sleeping woman was wholly unguarded. He easily parted her lips and deepened the kiss.
Her mouth tasted faintly of chestnut cake and sour plum. The plum pit still rested between her lips. Shen Si drew it into his own mouth just as she slowly awakened.
At first Ji Hanyi saw only the purple fabric before her. Her thoughts wavered. Then she looked up into a pair of deep, ink-dark eyes.
Recognition came at once. In a sleep-roughened voice she murmured instinctively, “Lord Shen…”
Only last night he had forbidden her to call him that in private and ordered her to call him husband. Clearly, she had ignored him.
Shen Si felt helpless. Yet her languid eyes told him she had suffered today. He had asked what she had done and learned she had stood for half the day. Of course she was tired. His annoyance vanished into concern as he stroked her smooth cheek. “Tired?”
Ji Hanyi nodded honestly, then worried that complaining would criticize his elder sister. She quickly shook her head. “Only for a while. I’m not tired now.”
Shen Si understood and smiled. Looking into her misty eyes, he felt heat stir again. “Was the sour plum good?”
Ji Hanyi blinked and nodded. “It was…”
Holding the pit between his teeth, he gave a low laugh and spat it onto a handkerchief. “What if you swallowed it?”
Ji Hanyi stared, then understood how he had obtained it. Her cheeks burned. Too ashamed to speak, she wanted only to bury herself in the pillow rather than meet his gaze.
Tenderness and desire rose together in Shen Si. He gave her no time to answer. Interlacing their fingers, he kissed her again with the force of long-frustrated hunger. Ji Hanyi’s free hand pushed weakly against his chest, accomplishing nothing as he conquered her mouth.
Amid their unsteady breaths, Shen Si lifted his face. A silver thread still linked their lips, filling the room with intimacy.
Ji Hanyi stared at him dazedly, her heart racing.
Shen Si was nowhere near satisfied. Had they not been in the Empress’s palace, he might have lost control.
She kept looking at him, lips parted, pearly teeth faintly visible. The sight was endearing.
When she left the palace, he would restrain himself no longer-not for a single moment.
Even if she still did not love him, even if she still feared him, he could endure no more.
Looking at their joined hands, he straightened and offered another sour plum to her lips. “Endure another half month. I will visit every day.”
Ji Hanyi’s heart trembled and she wanted to avoid it, but he held the plum at her mouth.
She reached to take it. Shen Si moved it away, his dark gaze fixed on her and his lips pressed tight with an authority that permitted no refusal.
Subdued by his expression, she obediently opened her mouth.
He pushed the plum between her lips, never looking away from their damp sheen. “I will arrange everything. You will not be made too tired.”
Ji Hanyi thought some distance from him might be welcome. The past two nights had overwhelmed her. She feared returning to share his bed and having him touch those shameful places until she could no longer resist.
She did not understand her own feelings.
Even she was confused.
She sometimes felt Shen Si had deceived her.
Under his burning gaze, she nodded obediently. “Rest assured, Lord Shen. I will remain properly beside Her Majesty the Empress.”
Seeing that she seemed almost eager to stay, Shen Si’s mouth flattened and his solemn chill returned.
He pinched her soft cheek. What a heartless woman.
It hurt. Ji Hanyi avoided his expression and stared at the low table as if she might bore a hole through it.
At last his low voice sounded above her. “Is Ah Yi so obedient in everything?”
His refined tone revealed no emotion.
Ji Hanyi looked up in confusion.
He raised a brow. “Will you cooperate with me in everything?”
She opened her mouth, but he sealed it with another kiss. His husky voice brushed her ear. “When we return, will you obey me in bed as well?”
“Hm?”
The hand at her waist tightened. Her face turned crimson. How could this righteous, solemn man say such things? “Of course… of course n-”
Shen Si did not allow her to finish. The final word dissolved into the lingering end of their kiss.