How To Polish A Pearl

Chapter 40 - Stirring

Wen Ke Xing watches the maids giggle as they scurry across the walkway, obviously heading for the kitchen to pick up the food that annoying ant had promised to get for his man. She had even had the audacity to lure him with his favorite steamed buns. She is lucky I didn't kill her on the spot.

Inside, Zhou Xu has made it to the hot spring. Stripping down to his skin, the cold stone floor somehow always sending shivers up his apparently sensitive feet. Not bothering with the steps, he slips into the water directly from the pool side. Submerged in the water, he sinks with his back towards the bottom of the pool, the strand of pearls glimmering against his pale skin as he moves through the water. Staring upwards, the image of his surroundings is slightly obscured by the surface. The candles casting shadows that dances across the ceiling.

At the bottom of the spring, where no one can see him, where he is all alone, he screams for all he is worth. He screams for all his pain. He screams for all the frustration. He screams for all the longing. He screams until the bubbles stop and his body contracts.

The bubbles rising to the surface carries nothing but air, the sound already consumed by the hot water. With his lungs entirely emptied, his body sinks to rest on the stone at the bottom of the pool. His thoughts always wandering to the same place. The same fiery eyes. The same cold lips. The same muddled feelings. The same demanding person. The same murderous ghost.

When the burning feeling of his lungs is begging for air, the need to inhale pounding so loud from within that his body shudders, he closes his eyes. Shifting to push off, he breaks the surface and greedily inhales the humid air.

Arching his neck, he dips his head and shakes his hair behind his shoulders, the pearls clattering on his chest. Moving back to the edge, he takes one of the peach blossom soap bars from a basket. Scrubbing his entire body, he washes away todays dust, sweat and dirt along with today's longing of how he wants his skin to be touched. Breathing in this scent that has somehow become familiar, soothing, comforting, the smile returns to his lips.

Stepping out of the pool, realizing that he forgot to bring a clean inner robe, he shrugs and only puts on his boots before he heads back towards his bed chamber. Stepping into the room, he hears a shriek and jolts.

The maid is already back and in the middle of arranging plates of food and jugs of his favorite wine on the table. Without turning around, she stares at him without even blinking, her face so flush even her neck is radiating. The door is pushed open so forcefully it dislodges from the tracks and hangs askew. The cold wind blowing in from the opening ruffles the bags with the plants that are waiting for attention inside the door. Within seconds Wen Ke Xing is standing before him, obscuring the view for the maid that still hasn't blinked, his body radiating a blur of emotions.

"Wha-", Zhou Xu doesn't even have time to finish reacting before he is swept up by the man in front of him, allowing himself to be moved across the room and in behind the screens where a fresh set of robes is hanging.

"What the hell are you doing?" Wen Ke Xing's eyes are flashing with rage, his entire body somehow growing even taller in his attempt to scold his husband.

"What? I just stepped out of the bath." Amused by this reaction and by the fact that this is the first time Wen Ke Xing hadn't killed the servant, Zhou Xu holds back a smile as he looks within those black eyes.

"Have I not gotten you enough clothes? Have the maids not cleaned them for you?"

"Lao Wen, calm down."

"Why are you walking around naked in front of the maid?"

"I'm not naked. I am wearing boots and my pearls." Zhou Xu slowly traces the pearls from his collar bone to his chest whilst watching Wen Ke Xing's eyes staring at his fingers.

Taking the soft mauve colored inner robe, Zhou Xu casually throws it on, covering the pearls, and ties the belt as he walks out from behind the screen. "Daiyu, it is Daiyu isn't it?" He says, his voice soft and inviting towards the maid.

"Yes, Nu Zhuren." Her face is still flushed and her lips are slightly parted, yet her voice and gaze are steady as she meets his eyes.

"Daiyu, thank you for bringing the food." Zhou Xu is moving towards the table when he sees her eyes shift towards something behind him. He feels Wen Ke Xing's hand around his waist as he is spun around, his lips instantly covered by those cold ones.

With his eyes open, Zhou Xu studies Wen Ke Xing's closed eyes, his hard and pale face as he almost feeds on his lips. The kiss is possessive, demanding, eager and frustrated. It is everything that Wen Ke Xing is so obviously feeling and projecting onto him.

Slowly walking backward towards the table, the man that is glued to his lips follows, guided across the floor like metal to a magnet. Zhou Xu pushes Wen Ke Xing down onto the chair, sitting down in his lap facing that frozen face with dark eyes staring at his mouth. The door creeks behind him as the maid slips out through the opening.

Placing his hands on each side of Wen Ke Xing's jawline, Zhou Xu tilts the other's head slightly and slowly licks the lips as he unblinking examines the reactions. Seeing the man close his eyes, those lips crashing into his as the arms are flung around his waist to force him closer. Possessive and demanding. Zhou Xu instantly pulls back, holding firm against the pulling and waits. Those black eyes spring open in search for an explanation. 

Still watching Wen Ke Xing, Zhou Xu licks those cold lips again, feeling them tremble to the light touch as they instantly crave for more. Gradually parting the other's lips, yet barely letting the other's tongue touch his. Inviting him to slowly search for his. When the pressure gets intense, he pulls back to force the other to search, to explore and to feel.

Deepening the kiss without increasing the pressure, the tongues almost melts together in the wetness. Shifting a hand from the jaw to place it on the chest, he transfers some of his qi through his palm and into the others core. Feeling the body relax under his touch he knows that he is now in control.

Wen Ke Xing's head is buzzing. The feeling of warm energy is flowing through his solar plexus. It merges with the tenderness spreading from the tongues, through the back of his head and down his spine, making his core hum. When he feels himself relax, under what can only be described as comfort from the man sitting on his lap, those magical lips pulls back leaving his lips abandoned and still tingling.

Zhou Xu smiles that crooked smile and winks before he turns and takes two of the steamed buns from the large plate. Taking a bite out of one of them, he stands up and moves around the table, picking up one of the wine bottles and heads out the door.

Inside, the man on the chair is confused. Confused over the craving his arms are feeling when his man had left his embrace. Confused over how much he wants to see that smile from his dream become a reality on this man that had just been one touch away. Confused over the tenderness inside his chest that is unmatched in strength against the other part of him that wants to run out through that door and drag his man back to bed, no matter the cost.

Shifting his qi to his legs, Zhou Xu sores up on to the roof, amusingly enough sitting down on the exact same spot that Wen Ke Xing had sat after their wedding night. The buzzing in his head from that kiss too loud to notice the almost soundless footsteps that are moving down the walkway from Hua Men.

c( O.O )ɔ