The King's Mate - Part 3: Guishi

Chapter 12

I didn't quite manage to get the chapter out on Friday, but hey, at least now I can pretend that I planned to get this chapter out on gege's birthday, right? xD

Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy the ending of what turned into a way too long story at some point ... 😅

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When Xie Lian came to, it was already dark; only some candles had been lit to grant Xie Lian some ability to see his surroundings. Not that he needed to; Hua Cheng was lying right beside him, enveloping Xie Lian in one of his most comfy hugs.

"You're awake?", Hua Cheng asked in a low voice.

"No", Xie Lian sighed, and burrowed deeper into his alpha's arms.

His response caused Hua Cheng to chuckle warmly.

"Dianxia is lucky he woke up so late. Otherwise we might have been urged to get moving right away", Hua Cheng said, sounding annoyed, though he was very much feeling amused.

"Really?", Xie Lian yawned. "The oh so mighty emperor lets himself get hurried along by his subjects?"

"Only to get them off my back", Hua Cheng grinned, before kissing Xie Lian's head.

"How long was I out for?", Xie Lian asked, once he was done purring.

"About six hours, give or take. I would have been worried if your breathing hadn't been as obvious."

Hearing this, Xie Lian couldn't help but feel a little sheepish. By now, it was no surprise to either of them that he tended to conk out completely right after their lovemaking when it felt as intense to Xie Lian as their activities a few hours ago did. Still, it never quite stopped being at least a little embarrassing for Xie Lian.

After all, he was still filthy from his heat, and that last session certainly hadn't helped in that regard. Sure, Hua Cheng had done his best to clean him, but that had some obvious limits. Therefore, Xie Lian was more than eager to get all the old sweat and... other fluids... off of him.

"Let's take a bath", he said, and made no move to get up.

"Of course", Hua Cheng replied, also not moving.

Thus, they kept cuddling for a while longer, both of them snickering at themselves for being unable to let go of each other.

Eventually though, the desire to be clean again grew so strong that Xie Lian couldn't ignore it any longer, and they did manage to get out of bed.

The bath was a little on the cold side, but it did wonders to wake Xie Lian up properly, and when he got out, Hua Cheng was ready for him with a towel, which he wrapped around Xie Lian the moment he stepped out of the small wooden tub. Hua Cheng proceeded to rub Xie Lian dry, and he even would have thanked his mate, if he hadn't blown a raspberry on the left side of Xie Lian's butt cheek. So instead he just squealed like a three year old, and hit his alpha at the sheer audacity.

Xie Lian should have known that he would only get a cheeky grin in return.

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They continued their journey to Guishi in the early morning. They were already well behind schedule because of Xie Lian's heat, and therefore needed to at least try and make up for some of the delay.

Despite their attempt, they only arrived in Guishi three days later.

However, once their day of arrival had become clear to everyone, Hua Cheng had sent one of the guards ahead to play messenger, and inform everyone in Guishi that the King would be arriving on this particular day.