Chapter 436: This Counts as Clean
Chenghai stood between my knees and wet the corner of a clean towel. He started with my face, wiping mud from my cheek and jaw before moving down my neck.
His touch was slow, but there was nothing delicate about the way he held me. One hand stayed firm around the back of my thigh while the other cleaned every place the mud had reached.
The towel passed over my shoulder, then beneath the strap of my tank top.
Chenghai’s eyes followed it.
My skin warmed despite the cold water around my feet.
He cleaned the other shoulder, then moved lower along my arm. When he reached my hands, he washed each finger separately, rubbing away the dirt trapped around my nails.
It should have felt practical.
It didn’t.
His hands were too warm, his body was too close, and the mud had stopped being a problem several minutes ago.
I placed my palm against his chest.
Chenghai’s fingers paused around my wrist.
Water moved quietly around the rock while I traced one of the scars across his ribs. It was wider than Zhenlan’s and uneven near the end, as if whatever caused it had torn instead of cutting cleanly.
Chenghai watched my fingers move along it.
He didn’t explain.
I didn’t ask.
I leaned forward and pressed my mouth to the scar.
His hand tightened around the back of my thigh.
That was the only warning I got before he pulled me to the edge of the rock and kissed me.
My knees opened around his hips. Chenghai stepped closer until my legs rested against his sides and his wet skin pressed against mine.
The kiss deepened quickly. His hand moved beneath my hair and held the back of my neck while the other slid higher along my thigh, pushing the hem of my shorts with it.
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
The creek kept rushing past us, but Chenghai stood steady in the middle of it. He kissed like the rest of him—heavy, sure, and completely uninterested in pretending he didn’t know what he wanted.
When he finally pulled back, his mouth stayed close to mine.
His thumb rubbed along the inside of my thigh, just below my shorts.
The date had been fun before.
And it was only getting better.
Chenghai’s thumb moved higher along the inside of my thigh.
The wet edge of my shorts clung to my skin, and his hand was warm enough that I barely noticed the cold water around my feet anymore. He stood between my knees with one arm around my waist, keeping me near the edge of the rock while his mouth returned to mine.
The kiss stayed slow at first.
Then I pulled him closer.
Chenghai made a low sound against my mouth and stepped farther between my legs. Water pushed around his calves, but the current didn’t move him. It probably could have turned into a flood and he still would’ve stood there like someone had poured him into the riverbed.
His hand slid beneath the edge of my shorts.
I tightened my legs around him.
That was apparently all the encouragement he needed.
His fingers pressed into the bare skin near my hip while his other hand moved from my neck to my back. He held me against his chest and kissed me until I forgot we had come down here because we were covered in mud.
I remembered when something cold touched my stomach.
I jerked away and looked down.
The wet towel had slipped between us.
Chenghai caught it before it fell into the creek and tossed it onto the bank.
"That was freezing," I complained, sticking my bottom lip out.
His mouth brushed my cheek. "You’re sitting beside a creek."
"That doesn’t mean the creek needs to touch me."
His arm tightened around my waist before he lifted me from the rock.
I grabbed his shoulders. "What are you doing?"
Chenghai stepped backward into deeper water.
The creek reached his knees, then his thighs.
I looked down at it. "Don’t do it."
He kept walking.
"Chenghai," I warned him.
His face stayed calm, but I could see the smile starting before he dropped me.
The water closed over my legs and waist.
Cold punched every bit of air out of me.
I came up swearing and grabbed the front of his pants to keep my feet beneath me. Chenghai caught me around the middle while I tried to climb him like the nearest available tree.
"You asshole!"
His chest shook against mine.
He was laughing.
Not the quiet little breath he usually gave when something amused him. He had one arm locked around me and his head bent near my shoulder while he laughed hard enough that I could feel it everywhere we touched.
I slapped water into his face.
That only made it worse.
Chenghai wiped his eyes and pulled me closer before I could do it again. Water ran down his hair, face, and bare chest. The mud was mostly gone now, but that didn’t mean I forgave him.
"You knew it was cold."
"Yes."
"And you still dropped me."
"Yes."
At least he didn’t waste time pretending it had been an accident.
I shoved both hands against his chest. He didn’t move, so I hooked one foot behind his ankle and pushed harder.
For one glorious second, Chenghai lost his balance. His eyes widened slightly and then he went backward, taking me with him.
We hit the water together.
The creek wasn’t deep enough to cover him completely, but I went under because I was still wrapped around his waist. I came up coughing, hair stuck across my face, while Chenghai sat in the water with one hand braced against the rocks.
He looked far too pleased.
I pushed my hair back. "You were supposed to fall alone."
"You were holding onto me."
"I was trying to drown you."
"That will take more water."
He stood with me still in his arms.
The wet tank top clung to my chest, and my shorts had become heavy enough that they felt like they were trying to slide off. Chenghai’s eyes moved down my body before returning to my face.
His smile disappeared.
That was much better.
He carried me toward the bank and placed me on the warm rock again. Water poured from both of us, running across the stone and back into the creek.
Chenghai reached for the clean towel.
I caught his wrist. "That one is for after."