Be Gentle, Immortal Master

Bai Ye almost pushed me away by reflex—I hadn't kissed him in almost a week, and we both knew why. He shoved on my shoulder like I was a poisonous snake, but when I didn't pull away at his signal, his force softened into a gentle nudge.

"Qing-er," he said in a begging tone that I had grown too familiar with over the past few days. "Don't—"

I chuckled, knowing what he was thinking. "I … I'm fine now," I said.

He stared at me, as if he couldn't believe what I just said. "Since when?"

"Since … yesterday."

He kept staring, and suddenly his eyes narrowed. "Since yesterday?" The hand that was still on my shoulder slid beneath my chin, holding my head up so that I couldn't look away from him. "Since yesterday, and you didn't tell me until now?"

"…"

I had thought that I was shameless enough to miss him so badly after merely a week. And yet, it sounded like he was—

Before I could even finish the thought, his long fingers had already slipped through my hair, and he leaned over me in a hard kiss.

The sweeping sensation of him crashed over me, utterly unlike the little peck that we just shared. His scent, his taste, his fire, everything that was unmistakably him surrounded me and drowned me, awakening all the itches and aches that had been lying dormant inside me all this time. I moaned into his mouth. Heavens, I didn't know how much I had missed this until now. I gripped him, digging my fingers into his nape and pulled myself closer, reciprocating what he gave me with everything I had.

He rarely kissed me this way, so fiercely and so possessively that it was almost savage, his heat burning me like the hottest flame I had ever seen. He conquered me with his lips and tongue, sucking and stroking and demanding every inch inside my mouth relentlessly until I whimpered out of breath. "Bai Ye …" I panted as I gasped for air. This feeling was almost foreign, yet it was so thrilling, so satisfying.

He gave me no break, taking a step forward and sealing my lips once more. I stumbled a little, taking a step back to steady myself. He took another step forward. In an alternating sequence that was almost like a dance, we moved away from the gate, and I kept backing until suddenly my back hit something hard.

I gasped, my eyes flying open. He released me, and I found myself staring right into his gleaming eyes under a golden canopy.

We were under the big poplar tree at the center of the garden, me edged against its trunk. Although it was only early autumn, the leaves had already turned yellow from the cool mountain evenings. A breeze rustled past, stirring the sunlight sparkling through the foliage, and a tiny golden shower fell on his shoulders, catching on the silky waterfall of his hair.

"Qing-er." He leaned in, tickling my cheeks with his breath. His hand deftly reached beneath the folds of my robe. "Say you want me."

His words thundered in my ears, and I almost jolted. Those were just like what he had said to me in that dream weeks ago, but the way he said it now was completely different, with an edge to his voice that I couldn't quite place. "Bai Ye—" I breathed, but the rest of my sentence was replaced by moans the moment he traced his kisses down my neck and took my earlobe into his mouth.

The familiar tingles roared through me, pulsing sharper than ever before as he licked and suckled gently. His hand slid up my chest, cupping my breast, and he played with my sensations with his lips and tongue and fingers. I moaned again, my arms starting to tremble against his shoulders. All other thoughts vanished from my head, and the only thing I knew was the irresistible feeling of him on me, so overwhelming that my knees started growing weak. I would've fallen if he wasn't pinning me against the tree.

"Say it," he commanded, his breath whistling into my ear and awakening more ripples of tiny tremors.

"O-Of course I do …" I stuttered, trying to catch my breath. We both knew how much we missed this … and more. Why did he need to ask?

His lips grazed over mine again, taking me in another deep kiss. He held nothing back, sealing my senses and my breath with such force that I had never felt from him before, and he pushed into me so hard that I thought the ridges of the tree bark might etch into my skull. This definitely wasn't the usual him … but this fire, this desire, scorched me and ignited me like no other.

It must be the long wait, I thought with the small part of my mind that was still capable of thinking. Shameful as it might sound, a week was the longest we had gone without each other ever since we crossed that line. I couldn't blame his eagerness, and in all honesty, I felt just as impatient. "Bai Ye …" I mumbled into his mouth as my hands clawed at his clothes. "I want you … Right here, right now."

He let out a soft puff of laughter, and his hand glided down, gripping my underlayers. With a rip of fabric, he tore them away.

My eyes went wide. This … This was the Bai Ye in my dream. This was what I would've never expected of him in real life. And yet—

I had no more time to ponder. He didn't break our kiss when he steadied me with one arm and parted my legs with the other. "Qing-er," he whispered against my lips, and for a fleeting moment, I heard a thousand emotions in his voice.. He pressed his body into mine, so hard that I thought we might become one with the tree, and he thrust deep into me.