Pu Yu was dazed by his kisses. Tears still clung to her lashes as he pressed her back into the soft bed.
"Yuan..."
She wanted to push him away and keep asking, to ask about that scar, about those two missing years, but Yuan Su gave her no chance to speak.
His kisses trailed down from the corner of her mouth, landing on her slender neck and in the delicate hollow of her collarbone. The skin there was thin and sensitive, flushing pink beneath his scorching breath.
"Don't ask."
He murmured in her ear, his voice impossibly hoarse. "It's my birthday tonight. Let's not talk about that, okay?"
He knew her too well.
If he let her keep asking, if he let her learn the truth, this birthday that should have been beautiful would turn into a confession full of tears and guilt.
He didn't need her guilt.
He only wanted her love.
Her love had saved his life.
Her love had made him want to climb back up even from the depths of despair, just to see her one more time.
Pu Yu's reason crumbled little by little.
He was far too good at this.
At some point, his hand had slipped inside her bathrobe. His hot palm rested against the delicate skin at her waist, stroking gently and sending tingling currents through her.
This was no longer a simple kiss.
It was a silent, fierce struggle.
This was how he told her: Don't ask. Don't think. Look at me. Feel me.
The sensation was so unfamiliar, so overwhelming.
Under his kisses, Pu Yu lost ground again and again, her whole body going weak.
She tried to push him away, but the moment her hand touched his chest, he caught it and pinned it above her head.
"Pay attention."