Whirlpool

"Can we not use the Inhibitor?"

Before Shi Qi could react, Shang Sui pressed a kiss to her cheek and promised softly, "I'll try to make you feel good."

Shi Qi met his dewy eyes. Her body grew hotter.

When no answer came, Shang Sui simply nuzzled her cheek with his. "Please."

Compared to her, Shang Sui always ran cooler. His cool, smooth cheek pressed against hers in a nuzzle, and Shi Qi found herself thinking the much taller Alpha was like an affectionate pet.

Unlike the coquettish gesture, the honey scent grew richer, even taking on a hint of aggression, eager to wrap around her.

At the thought of going all the way, an irrepressible anticipation rose in Shi Qi's chest.

Whether from the Heat Phase or simple excitement, her fingertips trembled slightly. She said, with studied composure, "Then let's try."

Shang Sui's eyes lit up at once.

Shi Qi said deliberately, "If I don't like it, stop."

The Alpha agreed without protest, "Okay."

Having said this, Shang Sui cupped her face, his eyes curving—he seemed very pleased.

Shi Qi asked hesitantly, "You don't want to do it here, do you?"

"Here?"

Shang Sui froze for a full three seconds, glanced instinctively at the layers of flowers around them, and once he understood, laughed despite himself.

A moment later, he laughed again, unable to help it.

He couldn't even imagine such a scene. What was going on in Shi Qi's head?

"So Xiao Qi likes it like this," Shang Sui deliberately twisted her meaning, his words suggestive. "Outdoors isn't out of the question."

"I don't like—"

The curse died on her lips. Seeing him laugh without restraint, a surge of annoyance rose in Shi Qi. "What are you laughing at! If you laugh again, we're not doing this!"

As she spoke, she kicked Shang Sui. Though unhappy, she remembered to hold back.

Shang Sui seized her wrist, pulling her into his arms. Shi Qi stumbled, and Shang Sui took the chance to lift her:

"Of course we go to the bed."

Shi Qi's ears flushed hot. She stopped struggling.

A moment later, she felt it was wrong.

If they're going, they're going. What's there to be embarrassed about? Shang Sui didn't look the least bit shy.

Shi Qi refused to lose to him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and hung off Shang Sui entirely.

To Shang Sui, her weight was like a feather.

So as not to block Shang Sui's view, Shi Qi buried her face in his neck. A moment later, the Omega couldn't help leaning toward his gland and inhaling softly.

The effect was like a scatter of sparks trembling, then suddenly exploding.

Her still-lucid mind went dizzy in an instant. Shi Qi was like a cat dazed by catnip. The sweet, rich scent made her gland swell slightly, pulsing impatiently beneath her skin.

"Shang Sui..."

She wanted more.

From the corner of his eye, Shang Sui saw Shi Qi's pale-gold hair brushing against him, as if she couldn't wait.

Holding Shi Qi with one arm, he entered the room and locked the door behind him. He answered with a smile, "I'm here. Good girl."

Inside the small Western-style house, the walls were a distressed pink. The furnishings were dominated by velvet and wood—an extravagant vintage style that called to mind the decadent glamour of last-century films.

Shang Sui carried her up the spiral staircase to the second floor and kicked open the master bedroom door. Just as she remembered, Shi Qi saw the walnut bed centered in the room, piled with linen pillows.

She'd dreamed of it many times. Seeing it in person was the first time in six years.

Shang Sui set her on the bed and removed her shoes. Shi Qi's limbs were soft, her whole body as if soaked in hot water. She knelt at the bed's edge, instinctively tracking Shang Sui's movements with her eyes.

With their movements, the pillows on the bed tumbled one by one onto the carpet. A dream from high school flashed through Shi Qi's mind.

The faceless Alpha from the dream now had a clear face. He reached out and tenderly stroked her flushed cheek.

Shi Qi met those fox-like eyes. Her heart pounded.

She finally understood why she'd imagined such a scene. At the thought of the dream Alpha kissing her while stroking her spine, Shi Qi's breathing grew heavier:

"Get on the bed," she commanded. "Kiss me."

Shi Qi tilted her head back. Her usually pure, pretty face was suffused with color. As if the invitation weren't clear enough, her rippling gaze held him without blinking, looking up at him from below.

Shang Sui's movements paused. His eyes flickered.

One foot on the floor, his knee bent onto the bed, he half-knelt at Shi Qi's side.

Just as Shi Qi thought they were about to kiss, Shang Sui leaned back, his lips touching the Omega's jade-white neck.

The Heat Phase made Shi Qi especially sensitive. Wave after wave of heat radiated from her gland.

Shang Sui nipped along her neck, one point at a time. The scented, warm-wet touch was addictive. A small whimper rose from Shi Qi's throat, and she held him tight without thinking.

So good.

Her whole body floated, as if on a cloud.

Pleased by her adorable reaction, Shang Sui asked softly, "It seems I can keep going?"

Without waiting for her answer, his teeth pressed against the gland at the Omega's nape and sucked harder.

A faint sting sent Shi Qi tumbling from the clouds. She shuddered, half-sitting on a pillow, her legs pressed tightly together.

Shi Qi's legs were long and straight, her bent knees showing a thin veil of pink. Shang Sui's cool fingers brushed over them lightly. The black shorts rode up, revealing a small red mole at the base of her thigh.

Her Pheromone spilled out uncontrollably. The scent of Lily of the Valley drifted in the air. The Omega was like a flower slowly opening.

"Does it feel good?"

"Mm..." Shi Qi answered drowsily. "More."

Compared to the gentle kissing and sucking, she wanted something heavier, rougher.

Too embarrassed to voice her hidden craving, Shi Qi could only hope Shang Sui would go further.

She wanted to be marked. She wanted to be bitten.

Instinct nearly drove her to rub against Shang Sui wildly, but he only nipped at her neck, showing no intention of going further for the moment.

Shi Qi wanted to urge him on, but felt that speaking would make her seem too eager. She could only look around to distract herself.

In the corner, a shelf held jars of vibrant paint; on the table, lush double-petaled peonies stood in a vase—as if the owner had never left.

"Did you... prepare all this beforehand?"

Shang Sui gave her neck one last reluctant lick, as if tasting something exquisite.

Shi Qi could feel his breathing grow heavier, as dazed as she was. His tone was barely steady: "I thought revisiting the old place might help you remember part of the past. I didn't expect Shen Qianyu to give you the medicine first and not tell me."

Shang Sui gave an ambiguous verdict: "He does have professional ethics."

"Will you be angry with him?"

"Of course not. I'm thinking how to thank him properly."

Shi Qi's mind was burning, but she still remembered to say, "I've already repaid him."

Realizing Shi Qi's "repayment" referred to Jiang Yan, Shang Sui burst out laughing.

His fingers lifted the hem of Shi Qi's shirt and turned her over:

"Naughty cat."

Shi Qi's face was pressed into the bed. A sudden chill ran over her body.

Fingers slid along her spine. Shi Qi's face flushed crimson and she cried out.

……

Her thighs trembled continuously, eventually twitching, but Shang Sui held her firmly in place. She couldn't escape.

Shi Qi struggled instinctively: "No—don't!"

But she hadn't expected the other person to actually stop.

She felt suspended between two unbearable states, unable to find relief either way. It took Shi Qi a long moment to believe Shang Sui had truly stopped moving.

Nearly driven mad, she turned her face to demand, "Why did you suddenly—"

Stop?

Compared to her disheveled, undone state, Shang Sui appeared entirely unaffected. He even had the leisure to bring up their earlier exchange:

"I promised you. If you don't like it, I stop."

Shi Qi's mind went blank. For a moment, she could have sworn she saw devil horns sprouting from the Alpha's head.

Furious and ashamed, she kicked out in rage. But Shi Qi had no strength now; her legs barely kicked against Shang Sui before he caught them.

"Still kicking, Xiao Qi?"

Shang Sui's face showed keen interest. He seized both ankles and pulled Shi Qi toward him.

His lowered gaze had weight to it, crawling over Shi Qi's skin inch by inch like a snake.

Shi Qi wore only a T-shirt pushed up over her chest. Realizing Shang Sui was looking her over without restraint, she was so ashamed she decided to throw caution to the wind:

"Keep going! Faster! Keep going!"

Shang Sui bent down with a smile, and Shi Qi only then noticed something off about him.

Unlike his composed exterior, Shang Sui's reaction was even more intense than hers. Pressed firmly against him, Shi Qi's whole face burned.

She asked softly, "How long have you been...?"

"Like this for a while now."

In front of Shi Qi, he didn't have that much self-control.

Or rather, he'd been holding back to the point of bursting.

This time they faced each other. Shang Sui kissed her while continuing what he'd been doing.

……

Shi Qi briefly lost consciousness. When she came back, she stared at the dazzling floral chandelier on the ceiling and felt the world had shattered into crystalline fragments.

A moment later, she realized the corners of her eyes were wet with tears.

But just his hand didn't seem to be enough.

The kissing and the earlier intimacy only made her want more. The heat inside her was nearly uncontrollable.

"Baby, your face is so red."

Shang Sui cupped her face, gathered the limp Shi Qi into his arms, and brushed stray hair from her forehead. "Your eyes are wet. So pretty."

Shi Qi glared at him, unable to bear it. Shang Sui's gaze paused, then grew even more adoring: "The way you glare is pretty too."

"..."

Crazy.

Even knowing Shang Sui wasn't quite right in the head, Shi Qi couldn't help being infected by the love in his words. Her body went soft under the sweet talk.

Only then did she notice Shang Sui's clothes had somehow ended up on the floor, and the extra linen pillows had rolled aside.

Under the brilliant light, every inch of the Alpha's skin was flawless. His long, solid limbs radiated explosive strength. The butterfly tattoo on his collarbone seemed about to take flight.

Shang Sui reached around her slender back, pressed her into his arms, and bit her through the thin T-shirt.

The once-dry linen sheets grew slick. Shi Qi stomped on the last pillow in frustration, then couldn't help kicking it away.

They were pressed close together when Shang Sui stopped without warning.

Tossed and tormented off and on for so long, Shi Qi finally couldn't take it anymore.

Face crimson, voice blurred, she cursed: "Are you—are you sick? Are we doing this or not?"

"Didn't we agree?"

Shang Sui laughed softly, lifting her chin: "Without your permission, I can't continue."

Unlike his earlier playful manner, his curled fingers stroked Shi Qi's skin gently. The motion was tender, yet carried an invisible pressure.

"Like it or not?"

As he spoke, he pressed against Shi Qi, his words and actions heavy with implication.

Shi Qi gazed at the flush spreading from the corners of his eyes, as if enchanted. Dazed, she answered: "I like it. I like you."

The Omega's pale cheeks were flushed peach-blossom pink, her small upturned nose filmed with a thin layer of sweat, her eyes like spring water—innocent and adoring as she said she liked it.

That's cheating.

Clearly not the right answer.

Shang Sui's breath hitched. He changed the question, pressing her: "What do you want me to do?"

"You clearly know...!"

"I know. But I want to hear you say it."

Shi Qi forced a thin sound from her throat, driven to the edge of collapse. She couldn't tell if she wanted to cry or curse him.

"Why cry? Haven't I always listened to you?"

Shang Sui went further, leaning in to lick her tears.

Whether from his obsession with Shi Qi or the Pheromone's influence, her tears seemed to carry the scent of Lily of the Valley, like morning dew rolling from petals.

Shi Qi finally realized Shang Sui had planned everything from the start, even predicted her reactions, simply waiting for her to fall into his trap.

Unlike his seemingly obedient words, Shang Sui's actions were utterly ruthless.

Her burning, sluggish mind turned slowly. Remembering Shang Sui's earlier words about waiting, Shi Qi finally understood what he wanted to hear her say.

"I—I want you—"

Shi Qi bit her lip, unable to get the words out.

Her gaze shifted, and she only then noticed the thin sheen of sweat on Shang Sui's forehead—he was enduring just as much.

Seeing her watching him intently, Shang Sui coaxed softly:

"Say it, Xiao Qi."

"As long as you're willing, we'll both feel good."

Shang Sui's voice was like a spell, pulling her into a bottomless whirlpool.

Shi Qi trembled all over, beyond thought. Crying out, she said those two words.