Yu Xiang's hand suddenly halted against his face, her fingers loosening their grip on the bed sheet. The thin fabric slid away slowly as she met his eyes, her breath catching at the mischievous glint she found there.
"Hey, what happened?" Tianlong asked, noticing how her expression had shifted from protective panic to something deeper, more vulnerable.
He blinked in surprise as her hands moved to the front of her robes, fingers trembling slightly as they began to work at the silk ties across her chest. The purple fabric whispered against itself as she started to part it.
"Are you really gonna do that?" he asked, his voice dropping to a rougher register as understanding dawned.
She halted, her violet eyes lifting to meet his with sudden uncertainty. "You don't want?"
The question hung between them, raw and honest in its simplicity.
"I want, definitely," he replied without hesitation, his crimson-gold gaze never leaving her face.
