What an adorable and rare face.
I stared down at her and decided I needed to keep this exact expression in my head for a long time. The red-rimmed eyes, the damp lashes clumped together from crying, the completely unguarded look she wore after breaking down. Her skin was still flushed from the rut, a warm uneven pink across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. When I held the mirror up and forced her to see herself, she had looked even cuter. Soft. Defenseless. Nothing like the sharp, composed Alpha who usually argued with me over every small thing.
I kept my weight settled over her hips. The heat of her bare skin bled through the thin layer of the sheet between us. Every small breath she took made her stomach rise against me. The air around the bed was thick with her scent, heavier and sweeter than usual, the unmistakable edge of rut clinging to every inhale.
I studied her for another moment.
“What do you want?” I asked. My voice came out quieter than I expected. “You have such a cute face right now. Tell me.”
Wen Xiao’s throat moved as she swallowed. The motion was slow and visible. Her eyes were still wet, the lower lids glistening. She looked away for a second, then back at me, clearly struggling with whatever answer sat on her tongue. A faint tremor ran through the muscles of her abdomen beneath me.
“To put it in,” she whispered.
I almost smiled.
I lifted my right hand and slowly pressed two fingers against her lower lip. The skin there was warm and slightly chapped. She parted her mouth without resistance. I slid the fingers inside and felt the soft, wet heat of her tongue immediately. Her breath hitched around the intrusion, a small wet sound escaping her throat. I pushed a little deeper, feeling the silky drag of saliva and the way her tongue instinctively pressed up against the pads of my fingers. Her teeth grazed me lightly when she tried to close her lips around them.
I tilted my head and kept my voice low.
“Look at your face right now. You look like you are so fucking wet.”
Her cheeks burned a deeper red. Fresh saliva gathered at the corner of her mouth and threatened to spill. A thin strand connected my fingers to her lower lip when I shifted them. Her eyes had gone hazy, pupils wide, the earlier tears still clinging to her lashes. She looked wrecked and embarrassed and too far gone to hide it. I moved my fingers slowly against her tongue, just enough to make another soft, involuntary sound catch in her throat. The heat of her mouth and the heavy scent of her rut made my own pulse pick up.
Wen Xiao’s voice came out small and shaky when she finally managed to speak around my hand.
“Make me cum.”
The request was quiet, almost reluctant, as if the words themselves embarrassed her. I could feel the words vibrate against my fingers.
I pulled my fingers free. A thin string of saliva stretched and then broke. I wiped the wetness lightly against her lower lip, watching the way her mouth stayed slightly open afterward.
“No.”
“I am not going to make a move on a sick person,” I said. “You can barely keep your eyes focused. You collapsed on the floor a few hours ago. I am not doing that while you are still in this state.”
She stared up at me, frustration and need and leftover tears all mixed together. The flush on her face had spread down her neck. I could see the rapid flutter of her pulse there. For a moment I thought she might argue. Instead her voice dropped even lower, rough around the edges.
“Stay with me.”
The words were simple. They landed harder than the previous request.
I looked at her flushed face, the mark of tears still visible on her temples, the way her hands had curled weakly into the sheets. The heat of her body still pressed up against me. Refusing suddenly felt impossible. The same person who had slapped me the night before was now asking me not to leave, and something in my chest refused to ignore it.
I let out a quiet breath.
“Fine.”
I shifted off her hips. The cooler air of the room rushed in where our skin had been touching. I lay down beside her on the bed. The mattress dipped under my weight and the sheet whispered as it moved. Wen Xiao turned her head toward me immediately, as if checking that I had actually stayed. Her scent wrapped around us both, thick and restless. I reached out and pulled the blanket up over our bodies. The fabric settled lightly across my arm and her bare shoulder.
Neither of us spoke after that.
I stayed. The only sounds left were the quiet rhythm of her breathing and the faint rustle of the blanket whenever she shifted closer.