Lu Xueqi's Temptation

"You're lying." Lu Xueqi huffed and lightly pounded his chest with her fist.

"I'm not." Lu Jiuyuan reached out and flicked her nose.

"Then why were you sitting so close to her?" Lu Xueqi pouted, sounding a little displeased.

Lu Jiuyuan paused, then couldn't help laughing. "So you're jealous?"

Lu Xueqi didn't answer. She simply downed another cup. The alcohol was going to her head; her cheeks grew rosier, and her breathing grew uneven.

She set down her cup and suddenly shifted closer to him, her shoulder against his and her arm against his.

"Senior Brother."

"Hmm?"

"Are you cold?"

"No."

"I am."

Lu Jiuyuan chuckled. He was about to take off his outer robe and drape it over her when she reached out.

She wasn't taking the robe. She was pressing her hand directly against his chest.

Her hand was cool, her fingertips trembling slightly as they rested over his heart through the fabric.

Her palm against his chest could feel the rhythm of his heartbeat.

"Xueqi?"

"Your heart's beating so fast." Lu Xueqi looked up at him, her gaze hazy, a sly smile playing on her lips. "Senior Brother, are you nervous?"

Lu Jiuyuan's Adam's apple bobbed. "You've had too much to drink."

"I haven't." Lu Xueqi shook her head, her hair brushing against his chin and tickling him.

Her hand didn't pull away. Instead, it moved higher, her fingertips tracing his collarbone. "Senior Brother, your clothes are so thick."

"Xueqi!"

"Hmm?" Lu Xueqi tilted her head at him.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

Lu Jiuyuan gazed at Lu Xueqi, her face flushed and her every breath radiating temptation.

Lu Xueqi lifted her head and looked straight at him with those hazy eyes.

Moonlight fell across her face, illuminating her stunning features. The blush hadn't faded from her cheeks, and her lips glistened. There was a girlish innocence in her shifting gaze, along with a bewitching charm she seemed unaware of.

"I know." Her voice was soft, husky with drink. "I'm taking advantage of you."

Lu Jiuyuan's breath caught for a moment.

Her hand was still on his chest, her fingertips drawing small circles. The movement was slow and light, as if she were tracing some pattern. Through the fabric, he could feel the warmth of her fingertips—not cool anymore, but growing hotter by the moment.

"Senior Brother."

"Hmm?"

"Don't you feel hot?"

He did.

Very hot.

Lu Jiuyuan drew a deep breath and caught her wandering hand. Her hand was small, entirely enclosed in his palm, like a piece of warm jade.

"Xueqi, that's enough."

Lu Xueqi looked at him, a hint of hurt in her eyes. "Senior Brother, you don't like it?"

"It's not that I don't like it." He gritted his teeth. "This isn't the right place."

Lu Xueqi blinked, seeming to mull over his words. Then she leaned closer again, nearly pressing her whole body against him.

Her other hand climbed up to his shoulder, her fingertips brushing the back of his neck and sending a tingling sensation through him.

"Then what would be the right place?" She leaned close to his ear, her voice as light as a feather's touch. "After we return to the Qingyun Sect?"

Her warm breath brushed his ear, carrying the sweet fragrance of Osmanthus Wine.

At that moment, Lu Jiuyuan's restraint nearly snapped. He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. When he opened them again, a banked fire smoldered in his gaze.

"Xueqi, if you keep this up..."

"What?"

Lu Xueqi lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him from inches away.

Moonlight broke into a spray of starlight in her eyes, hazy and alluring.

Her lips parted slightly, flushed with drink, as if waiting for something.

Lu Jiuyuan tightened his grip on her hand.

She couldn't drink any more.

If she kept drinking, he truly couldn't guarantee he'd be able to hold back.

He reached out and moved her cup away.

"Don't drink any more."

Lu Xueqi frowned. "I want more."

Lu Xueqi frowned. "I want more."

"You're already drunk."

"I'm not." She reached for the cup, but Lu Jiuyuan stopped her. Undeterred, she leaned over to reach for it, nearly sprawling across him, her long hair spilling over both their shoulders.

"Give it to me!"

"No."

"Lu Jiuyuan!"

She rarely called him by his full name. Her voice was petulant, with a hint of playful anger.

Lu Jiuyuan held down the cup with one hand and put his other arm around her waist, keeping her from slipping off the stone.

She squirmed in his arms but couldn't break free, so she gave up struggling.

She leaned against his chest and looked up at him, her gaze so hazy it seemed veiled in mist.

"Senior Brother..."

"Hmm?" Lu Jiuyuan looked down at her.

"Do you know how angry I was when you talked to Jin Ping'er today?"

Lu Xueqi sounded jealous and a little hurt.

Lu Jiuyuan paused.

"I saw you sitting together. She was so close to you, and you even smiled at her!" Lu Xueqi's voice grew quieter as her fingers absently clutched his lapel. "I was lying here, unable to fall asleep no matter what. All I could think about was the two of you laughing together!"

She raised her head, her eyes growing slightly red.

"Senior Brother, are you this nice to everyone?"

Looking at her reddened eyes, Lu Jiuyuan suddenly felt his heart melt.

This woman, usually as cold as ice and keeping everyone at a distance, now seemed like a child afraid of losing someone. She clutched his lapel, her eyes full of hurt and insecurity.

"No." Lu Jiuyuan raised a hand and gently wiped the moisture from the corner of her eye. "Only you."

Lu Xueqi's lashes trembled.

"Really?"

"Really."

She stared into his eyes for a long time, as if checking whether he was lying.

Then she suddenly smiled, her expression soft and childlike with drink, utterly unlike her usual cool self.

"Then kiss me."

Lu Jiuyuan froze.

"Kiss me, and I'll believe you." She tipped her face up toward him, her gaze hazy but earnest, as if she were stating the obvious.

The night breeze blew past. The campfire was dying, and the moonlight flowed like water.

Her face was right before his, so close he could see the tiny flecks of starlight caught on her lashes and feel the warm breath, sweet with Osmanthus Wine, coming from her lips.

Her lips parted slightly, glistening in the moonlight.

Lu Jiuyuan's reason told him he should help her back to bed, that he should wait until she was sober, that he should...

To hell with what he should do.

He lowered his head and kissed her.

Her lips, still tinged with wine, were soft as petals and carried the sweet fragrance of Osmanthus Wine.

Lu Xueqi froze for a moment, as if she hadn't realized what was happening. Then she slowly closed her eyes.

Her fingers loosened on his lapel, then slowly tightened again.

Moonlight fell over them, blending their shadows together until it was impossible to tell one from the other.

After a long while, Lu Jiuyuan finally let her go.

Lu Xueqi leaned against him, her cheeks flushed and her gaze even hazier than before.

Her breathing was still unsteady, and her lips glistened more than they had before.

"Dear!"

"Hmm?"

"Have you had enough?" Lu Xueqi said coyly.

Lu Jiuyuan looked down at her, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "What about you?"