Wen Ci took about ten minutes to finish washing the dishes. After shaking the water from her hands, she suddenly remembered the wool sweater she'd bought for Huo Jingyuan.
She walked to the master bedroom doorway and beckoned to Huo Jingyuan, who was sitting on the sofa. "Huo Jingyuan, come here for a second."
"What is it?"
Huo Jingyuan's expression was placid, betraying no emotion, but he'd heard from Xue Li earlier that afternoon that Wen Ci had bought him a wool sweater.
"C'mon, come here."
Wen Ci didn't know yet that Huo Jingyuan was already aware she had a gift for him.
Huo Jingyuan walked over to Wen Ci. The temperature fluctuation between day and night in the Northwest was significant, so he had deliberately put on a dark green military jacket.
Wen Ci reached out, her lips curling slightly as she rose onto her tiptoes. "Let me help you out of those clothes."
The man's eyes widened in alarm as he stared at her in silence.
"Why, Mr. Huo, you look a little flustered."
"I'm not."
As he spoke, Huo Jingyuan took off the jacket himself. He was wearing a short-sleeved training shirt underneath, revealing the perfectly defined muscles of his arms.
Wen Ci was practically drooling. Once she composed herself, she hooked a finger in his belt, her red lips parting in a seductive smile. "Mr. Huo, it looks like you work on your fitness a lot."
Hearing her soft, delicate voice, the man's gaze darkened. He stared at Wen Ci's glistening red lips and swallowed hard. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"
'Wen Ci clearly wasn't wearing any makeup.'
'Yet her lips were so red and glistening.'
Wen Ci didn't respond, just giggled.
The bedroom lights weren't on, leaving the room in darkness. Wen Ci had no intention of turning them on; her eyesight was good enough to see clearly in the dark.
Wen Ci kept her finger hooked in Huo Jingyuan's belt, her index finger keenly aware of a searing heat emanating from him. Lowering her voice, she leaned close to his ear. "Why don't you guess what gift I have for you?"
Huo Jingyuan's eyelashes fluttered. "I don't know."
The words had barely left his mouth when Wen Ci released his belt. It was a strategic retreat; she wanted to toy with him, to stoke his desires until he could no longer contain his primal urges.
'When she'd seen Xue Li at the door earlier...'
'...Wen Ci had already guessed that Huo Jingyuan knew about the sweater.'
'That's why the real gift for Huo Jingyuan was herself.'
In the darkness, Huo Jingyuan couldn't make out Wen Ci's form. When he felt her hand slip away from his belt, a flicker of panic entered his ink-dark eyes.
Guided by the faint light from outside, Huo Jingyuan located Wen Ci, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her flush against him.
The man lowered his head, his gaze locking with hers. Desire colored his eyes, and he licked his dry lips. "Are you absolutely sure about this?"
Faced with his repeated questions, Wen Ci's lips curled. "I've been so obvious, and you still don't understand? Or do I have to be the one to take the lead before you're willing, Ah Yuan?"
Those two words, "Ah Yuan," shattered Huo Jingyuan's last shred of self-control.
He could no longer suppress the heat raging within him. He leaned in and kissed her, his distinctly masculine scent overwhelming her, giving Wen Ci no chance to make the first move herself.
"Mmph—"
Wen Ci hadn't expected Huo Jingyuan to catch on so quickly. His foreplay was terrible, though—all he knew was how to take. And somehow, in the process, their clothes vanished.
During a brief lull, Wen Ci caught her breath. Her hand gently brushed against Huo Jingyuan's earlobe, and the tingling sensation shot straight through him, making his blood run even hotter.
Wen Ci, kissed until she was breathless, pushed Huo Jingyuan away. The rise and fall of her chest made her cleavage all the more enticing. "Huo Jingyuan," she said disdainfully, "is kissing all you know how to do?"
"What do you think?"
The moment he spoke, Wen Ci's brow furrowed. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
"Good girl, Ah Ci. Relax."