Chapter 603 - 600: Pulling Out All the Stops

Chapter 603: Chapter 600: Pulling Out All the Stops

Bai Wanwan’s heart gave a little leap before being filled with immense joy.

She quickly and carefully handed the mermaid baby to Hua Han beside her, then scrambled to her feet and all but ran outside.

The moment she stepped out, she saw Jin Yi standing with Yin Ze. Though travel-worn, he still looked incredibly handsome and stood tall and proud.

The instant his golden eyes met hers, they seemed to melt like honey, overflowing with a longing and tenderness so thick it was tangible.

"Jin Yi!" Bai Wanwan hurried forward, but before she could say more, Jin Yi opened his arms and pulled her into a tight embrace.

His familiar scent instantly enveloped her.

She buried her face in his firm chest, her voice holding a subtle note of relief. "You were gone for so long, I was starting to think something had happened."

She hadn’t been able to rest easy these past few days without him.

Jin Yi felt his mate’s undisguised worry and reliance, and a warmth spread through his chest.

He lowered his head and placed a cherished kiss on the crown of her head, her hair smelling faintly sweet. His voice was deep and reassuring. "I’m fine. Things were just too chaotic for a while, and the Golden Lion Tribe needed help stabilizing the situation, so I stayed a bit longer. Everything has mostly settled down now."

His arms tightened around her, his voice laced with apology and deep affection. "I’m sorry I made you worry."

Reassured, Bai Wanwan smiled at Yin Ze, who stood a short distance away. "Yin Ze, you’ve been traveling for days. Go get some rest. I’ll come see you later."

Her words were enough for Yin Ze. Satisfied, and understanding that she and Jin Yi needed time alone after their long separation, he turned to go see the young ones.

Bai Wanwan took Jin Yi’s large, warm hand and led him back inside.

After so many days apart, longing had coiled around their hearts like vines. A single glance was enough to feel the intensity of the other’s emotions.

Hua Han cleared his throat, and only then did Jin Yi realize there was another male in the room.

He turned to look at Hua Han. Fortunately, Hua Han wasn’t looking for trouble. Seeing that Jin Yi had no intention of letting go, Hua Han thought to himself, ’Next time it’s my turn, I’ll pull out all the stops to make sure Wanwan can’t get me out of her head.’

"I’ll go check on the little ones, then."

As he left, he was considerate enough to close the door behind him.

The faint sound of the door clicking shut had barely faded. In that instant of silence, Jin Yi could no longer hold back.

He wrapped an arm around Bai Wanwan’s still-slender waist and, with a gentle pull, drew the woman he’d longed for day and night tightly into his arms.

Then, a scorching, urgent kiss descended, sealing away all unspoken greetings and worries.

In an instant, their breathing grew ragged and intertwined.

His hand was searing hot as it roamed her slender waist. Even through the thin fabric, she could feel the rough pads of his fingers against the delicate warmth of her skin.

Soon, that restless hand slipped deftly under the hem of her clothes with an undeniable possessiveness, stroking the smooth, supple skin of her back...

A blush of passion instantly bloomed across Bai Wanwan’s beautiful face, like the first peach blossoms of spring. Her gaze grew hazy.

Jin Yi’s lips were no longer content to linger on hers. His breath hot, he trailed a line of tiny, close-set kisses down the elegant curve of her neck, his intentions all too clear.

However, just as they teetered on the edge of losing control in their passionate haze,

"Ma..."

A small, questioning sound, soft and indistinct, rippled through the air like a pebble dropped into a still lake.

The two, lost in their passion, both froze.

Bai Wanwan reacted first, whipping her head around toward the sound.

On the large bed, which was covered in thick, soft animal hides, the chubby mermaid babies were lined up in a row. They gripped the edge of the bed with their fleshy little hands, struggling to prop themselves up. Their large eyes, like the purest of sapphires, stared unblinkingly at the couple’s intimate embrace.

One of the little ones seemed extremely curious about their actions. It smacked its rosy little lips and let out another unintelligible syllable.

It was like having a basin of lukewarm water dumped over her head. Bai Wanwan snapped back to reality, her face flushing an even deeper red—this time, more from mortification than passion.

She frantically clutched the disheveled collar of her dress and pushed at the male before her, whose breathing was still ragged and who seemed intent on continuing. "Jin Yi! Stop..." she panted, her voice urgent. "The... the babies are watching!"

Forced to a halt by her push, Jin Yi’s passionate advances were interrupted. He turned his head in annoyance and, sure enough, saw a ridiculously beautiful little mermaid on the bed, staring at them with the purest, most innocent eyes.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. He let out a heavy sigh filled with frustration and extreme reluctance. Forcibly tamping down his surging desire, he finally released his hold on her. Then, with movements that were a bit clumsy but exceptionally earnest, he carefully straightened the collar of her dress that he had disarrayed.

His large hands, however, remained stubbornly at her waist, unwilling to retreat completely, as if only this contact could soothe the ache of their long separation.

He lowered his head, resting his forehead against hers. His voice was thick with lingering desire. "They’re so little... they don’t understand anything."

Half-annoyed and half-amused, her face still flushed, Bai Wanwan pinched his firm side—not too hard, not too soft. She shot him a look from her beautiful, reproachful eyes, silently warning him not to speak so freely in front of the babies.

The faint sting and resulting itch on his side made Jin Yi grunt, but then he chuckled softly. He seized her "offending" hand, enveloping it in his broad palm and suggestively caressing her knuckles and the back of her hand with his fingertips.

He leaned close to her ear, his hot breath ghosting over its sensitive shell, and whispered a request in a voice full of temptation and eager anticipation:

"You’ll make it up to me tonight?"

Bai Wanwan’s eyes were still glistening with unshed moisture. Under Jin Yi’s burning, expectant gaze, her cheeks grew warm. In the end, she followed her heart and gave a soft, "Mm."

Her quiet assent made a deeply satisfied and joyful smile bloom across Jin Yi’s handsome, noble features, like ice melting in the first rays of spring sunshine.

He suppressed the fresh wave of desire that surged through him, placed another light kiss in her hair, and then reluctantly loosened his hold.

"It’s getting late, Wanwan. Let’s take the babies and go home."

Bai Wanwan glanced out the window. The afterglow of the setting sun had painted the sky a warm, orange-red. It was indeed time to head home.

"Okay. Let’s take all the babies, go back and start dinner, and we can all eat when Zhu Xiu and the others get back from their hunt."

Bai Wanwan carefully wrapped the mermaid babies in special, pre-soaked blankets made of soft seaweed to ensure they would remain comfortable out of the water.

Outside, Hua Han hadn’t gone far. His gaze kept drifting back toward the door.

His mind involuntarily conjured images of the amorous reunion likely unfolding inside, and he felt his own blood begin to stir.

Just as his imagination was running wild, the door was suddenly pulled open. Seeing Jin Yi and Bai Wanwan walk out side by side, he blurted out before he could stop himself, "That was fast?"