Someone Will See

It was simply that he had the leisure and inclination to coax her and tease her, yet at this moment, despite knowing how cold and unfeeling Zuo Tingyue was at his core, Xun Yuan still felt a warmth in her heart. She truly fell into his trap and had no desire to escape.

"Will you stay with me?"

Xun Yuan's red lips curved into a smile, her allure spilling over as she asked him outright whether he would stay with her.

Zuo Tingyue was looking at the screen before him. At her words, his thin lips moved, his voice taking on a teasing note.

"How old are you?"

Xun Yuan felt displeased, knowing he was teasing her for still needing company at her age. Her tongue showed no mercy.

"Not as old as you. All those years, and you still bully people."

Zuo Tingyue chuckled softly. "How am I bullying you?"

Every word rumbled in his deep bass voice, as though he were flirting with her.

"You're complaining because I want you to come with me."

Xun Yuan spoke softly, her beautiful eyes fixed on him, brimming with moisture and spoiled defiance, bewitching and seductive.

"But you were the one who said I was pretty enough to attract unwanted attention."

She paused before continuing, her words languid yet earnest, her low voice carrying a trace of discreet grievance, deliberately trying to stir his tenderness and guilt.

She was laying siege to his heart.

Xun Yuan reached out with her jade-white hand and gently tugged at the man's shirt sleeve. She tilted her face up toward him, exposing every trace of the allure in her eyes to his gaze. Her slightly upswept eyeliner was richly vivid, the hint of crimson trailing from the corners of her eyes so decadently beautiful it was almostdemon-like.

A temptress through and through.

That was Special Assistant Lin's first thought when he stepped out of the room and saw Xun Yuan.

Only the crown prince could handle her. After all these years passing through gardens of flowers, what sort of breathtaking beauty had he not seen? Xun Yuan was indeed a temptress, but the crown prince specialized in subduing them.

As Special Assistant Lin thought this, his feet never stopped moving. He turned, went back inside, and shut the door in one seamless motion. He would never dare disrupt the charged, intimate atmosphere between those two outside.

Xun Yuan knew very well how to use her advantages.

In all fairness, Xun Yuan was so very beautiful, the kind who appealed to men and women alike. She made men want both to conquer her and to protect her. Someone like her was truly hard to find in this world.

An adapted song lyric described her best-

Among this world's hundred charms and thousand blooms, she stood unquestionably above the rest.

Xun Yuan was still adding one final spark to the fire, her red lips opening and closing.

"Won't you protect your own woman?"

That single short sentence pushed the man's possessiveness to its peak. She had calculated the baser instincts of men and struck home in one blow.

Did Zuo Tingyue not understand?

A man who had fought his way through circles of power had seen more than his share of romance and affairs. He understood perfectly well.

But any man, no matter what kind, had the same possessiveness in his bones.

And those who held power and influence were especially prone to it. A privileged young master who had gotten whatever he wanted since childhood, the head of the Zuo Family nearing thirty, would only feel that possessiveness more intensely.

Zuo Tingyue was willing to indulge her, too. His thin lips moved, his smile laden with meaning.

"I can protect you."

His gaze had long since left the laptop screen. He looked down at her lovely face, his strong arm drawing her against him, his broad, handsome palm settling against the small of her back.

Scorching, snug, without a sliver of space.

The thin fabric over Xun Yuan's lower back seemed to vanish. That searing heat touched her skin, making her body tense and her toes curl involuntarily.

Zuo Tingyue towered over her, his voice spilling down from above her head.

"Who's old?"

"Hmm?"

Nervous, Xun Yuan unconsciously licked her lips. Her cinnabar-red lips glistened with moisture, looking just like ripe fruit, sweet and tempting.

"I..."

Zuo Tingyue's eyes darkened. Everything Xun Yuan had been about to say was sealed between their lips and teeth, swallowed back down her throat.

His kisses were always fierce as a sudden storm, so domineering they allowed no resistance. Xun Yuan could not withstand them. Every time she tried to dodge, he held her body in place. Zuo Tingyue kneaded her waist and pressed her against him, refusing to let her flee the field.

She had seduced him first, deliberately flaunting those red lips right beneath his eyes. Who could stand that?

The kiss left no room to breathe, long and fierce. When it ended, mist shimmered in Xun Yuan's eyes, and her lips were so vividly red they seemed ready to drip blood.

Her limbs were weak as she gazed hazily at the man before her, beauty shimmering in her misted eyes.

"Who bullies someone like this?" Xun Yuan complained breathlessly.

Zuo Tingyue gave a short laugh, the low sound rising from his chest. Leaning against him, Xun Yuan could feel the powerful vibrations of his muscles.

Broad, warm, utterly reassuring.

"Like what?"

He countered in a husky voice, his hot breath brushing the side of her neck and sending a shiver through her. Tiny, densely clustered, milky-white bumps visibly rose over her white-jade skin. She tucked her neck in and leaned against his chest.

Xun Yuan wore a champagne-colored qipao with gold detailing. Their movements had sent its restless hem sliding upward, revealing soft, fair skin at the thigh-high slit, her legs straight and slender in just the right measure.

"Like this?"

Accompanying his husky, magnetic voice, Zuo Tingyue's free hand slipped through the slit of her qipao and touched Xun Yuan's silky skin.

Her delicate body visibly trembled, her hands still raised, hanging onto him.

"Or like this?"

Zuo Tingyue continued, his warm fingertips roaming over Xun Yuan's skin. His hand pushed the slit of her qipao higher, the champagne silk gathering in disordered folds at her waist.

Heat lingered over Xun Yuan's body like a spring breeze setting a blaze.

"Don't..."

Her body no longer obeyed her. Sweat seeped out, dampening the wisps of hair around her face, leaving her body drenched and sticky.

Zuo Tingyue bit at her ear. Her small, pale earlobe turned so red it seemed about to bleed. He said quietly, "Choose another word."

Xun Yuan was so sensitive that her whole body burned, her mind refusing to work. It took several seconds before she understood what he was saying.

She drew a deep breath, struggling to escape the vortex Zuo Tingyue had drawn her into, her voice breaking.

"Don't... not here."

Someone would see.

Desire colored Zuo Tingyue's deep-set features. A small patch of his black shirt collar was soaked with sweat and clung to his skin, sexual tension spilling over.

Thump, thump, thump-

His heart pounded powerfully in his chest. Several shirt buttons had come undone, the hot dampness of sweat tracing the contours of the muscles beneath, full of masculine strength and the scent of hormones, sensual and stirring.

"There's no one."

His voice was hoarse.

Other than them, there was only Special Assistant Lin, playing ostrich inside the room. No one would appear.

His hand was just about to undo the knotted buttons over Xun Yuan's chest when, at the critical moment, she hastily pressed down, her hand resting loosely over his. Her hand was weak, but firm enough.

"...No," Xun Yuan said in her soft voice.

Zuo Tingyue really had been stirred to desire by her. He was impatient and did not want to wait, but his aristocratic breeding would not allow him to go against someone's wishes. Between men and women, he had always insisted on mutual willingness. Helpless against this troublesome temptress, he swore under his breath, picked her up, and carried her to his room.