Chapter 135: You Changed The Agreement

The immediate answer tested the last of Hanchuan’s restraint.

His hand moved from the back of Zhiyi’s neck to her cheek.

She had asked him to kiss her, allowed the remaining three minutes to expire and admitted that she hadn’t wanted him to stop. Nothing in her expression suggested that she intended to return to work now.

"Do you want to stay here or go into the bedroom?" he asked.

"The bedroom."

Hanchuan stood with her in his arms.

Zhiyi caught his shoulders more firmly as the sofa disappeared beneath her. Surprise passed through her expression, but she settled against him before pointing out, "I can walk."

"I know," he assured her with a smirk.

"The exercise circuit was not strenuous enough to impair my legs," she continued.

"I know that too."

The sitting room belonged to their private suite, with only a short hall separating it from the bedroom. Hanchuan carried her toward it without loosening his hold.

Zhiyi studied him as he carried her through the short hall. Her earlier objection had apparently been resolved; one arm rested comfortably around his shoulders while the other lay between them.

"You prefer carrying me," she observed.

It wasn’t a question, and Hanchuan saw no reason to pretend otherwise. "Yes."

Her gaze dropped briefly to the arm supporting her legs before returning to his face. "Why?"

"Because I can."

The answer should have required more explanation. Instead, Zhiyi considered the satisfaction he took from holding her against the minor inefficiency of allowing it, then settled more fully into his arms.

Her head came to rest against his shoulder.

Hanchuan tightened his hold and carried her into the bedroom, privately deciding that her acceptance had proved his argument better than anything he could have said.

The smart glass had darkened against the afternoon glare, leaving a narrow border of red light around the window. Beyond the protected walls, Yunzhou had become hot enough to kill anyone trapped without cooling. Inside, filtered air moved steadily through the dim room.

He placed Zhiyi on the edge of the bed but didn’t move away and her hands kept in him place.

Taking her cue, Hanchuan stayed between her knees, watching her in the dim light as she continued to look up at him like he hung the moon.

The walk had loosened several strands of her hair, and his kisses had left her lips slightly swollen.

She looked less composed than she had when he pulled her away from the communications wall, but her attention was no longer divided between him and the problems waiting downstairs.

For the first time that afternoon, he had all of it.

He had finally brought her away from the city’s demands, but part of him was still absorbing the fact that she had chosen to come willingly—and had been the one to ask.

Zhiyi touched the line between his eyebrows. "You’re still thinking."

"About the agreement you’re going to accuse me of violating."

Recognition entered her expression. Their original 30 minutes had expired before they left the sitting room, though only one of them had made any effort to observe the limit.

"You were the one who exceeded it," she pointed out.

Hanchuan placed one hand beside her on the mattress and leaned closer. "You told me that you didn’t want me to stop."

"That wasn’t permission to keep the rest of my day."

"No." His mouth brushed hers as he spoke, turning the denial into a promise rather than a concession. "You only asked me to bring you to bed."

Zhiyi’s fingers moved from his brow to the back of his neck. She had been precise enough when they were downstairs, and she knew he remembered every word.

"My request was more specific than that."

"It was."

The agreement had already ceased to matter.

Hanchuan saw the moment she decided not to argue over the time he intended to take. Her grip tightened, drawing him close enough to eliminate the remaining distance between them.

She waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, her fingers slid into his hair and drew him the remaining distance.

Hanchuan kissed her without the patience he had maintained in the sitting room as Zhiyi leaned into him immediately.

Her knees tightened against his hips, holding him close while his hand moved beneath the hem of her shirt. Her skin was warm from the walk, though the bedroom remained cool, and a faint shiver followed the path of his fingers along her waist.

He knew the response. He also knew what would follow when his thumb passed beneath her ribs and his mouth moved to the side of her neck.

Zhiyi’s head tilted before he reached the place he wanted.

The anticipation tightened something inside him.

"You knew what I was going to do," he murmured against her skin.

She hummed in agreement, a drunk look on her face as she bared her neck for him.

Her fingers tightened in his hair when he kissed the sensitive place below her ear. "Then the result shouldn’t surprise you."

Hanchuan smiled against her neck. "It never becomes less satisfying."

He felt her inhale when his hand moved higher beneath her shirt. She didn’t ask him to slow down. Instead, she pulled at his shirt until he straightened enough to let her remove it.

Zhiyi pushed the fabric from his shoulders and placed both hands against his chest.

Her touch was familiar, but not careless.

She traced the muscle beneath one palm as though confirming something she had already learned, then leaned forward and pressed her mouth against his skin.

Hanchuan closed his eyes for a moment.

She kissed the center of his chest before moving to the scar near his ribs.

Nothing about the touch was hesitant. She knew his body as well as he knew hers, including every mark that remained after injuries had healed.

His hand curved around the back of her neck. "You asked me to kiss you."

"I did."

"You’ve changed the activity."

Zhiyi lifted her head. "Do you object?"

"No." He drew her upright and caught the hem of her shirt. "But I’m not letting you redirect all of my attention."

She raised her arms without being asked, allowing him to pull the shirt over her head. He tossed it toward the chair without looking to see whether it landed.

Zhiyi followed its path with her eyes.

"It missed," she informed him.

"I don’t care."

"It’s on the floor."

"It can stay there."

"You normally object when Zeyu leaves clothing on the floor."

"Zeyu isn’t sitting on our bed half-dressed."

Her gaze returned to him. "That distinction seems relevant."

"It is the only distinction that matters."

Hanchuan kissed her before she could analyze it further.

His hands moved over her with the certainty of memory.

He knew where pressure would make her lean closer and where a lighter touch would draw a quiet breath from her. He knew that she preferred his mouth against her neck but his hands firm enough that she never had to question where he wanted her.

Zhiyi knew him too.

She recognized the moment his restraint began to fray and deliberately moved closer. Her mouth found his again while her fingers worked at the fastening of his pants.

Hanchuan caught her wrist.

She looked at his hand, then at his face. "Why did you stop me?"

"Because you’re wearing too much."

"That problem applies to both of us."

"I’ll address both."

He removed the rest of her clothing without rushing, although Zhiyi appeared increasingly unimpressed by the delay. She helped until he caught both her hands and pressed them into the mattress beside her.

"Hanchuan."

The warning in his name was weakened by the way she looked at him.

"You gave me the remaining three minutes," he reminded her. "You didn’t specify how efficiently I had to use them."

"They expired before we entered the bedroom."

"Then everything happening now belongs to me."

"That wasn’t the agreement."

"No." He kissed the center of her chest, then moved lower. "This is additional time."