Chapter 98: Almost Said Her Name in the Dream
That motion broke the bone-deep kiss.
Bai Ye clearly hadn’t expected Yun Sheng’s sudden outburst. He pulled back slightly, but his arms remained wrapped around her, not letting go completely.
His breathing was unsteady. A deep, lingering desire still churned in his profound eyes, along with a trace of shock at being interrupted.
He looked down at the woman imprisoned in his embrace.
Even though he couldn’t see her face clearly, he could make out the misty sheen in her eyes, her flushed cheeks, and her lips, which were now an especially deep red—swollen and moist from their kiss.
"Let me go..."
Yun Sheng turned her face away.
The image of Si Jin that had just flashed through her mind threw her into turmoil. She had a faint sense that her feelings for Si Jin had, at some point, changed.
’It seems I’ve started to care about Si Jin far too much!’
Bai Ye’s eyes darkened.
Just moments before, he had felt her surrendering, her initial rejection giving way to acceptance. But now, her withdrawal and resistance were so stark it was as if her previous indulgence had been nothing but an illusion.
’Did she remember something? Or... was it because of someone?’
The thought instantly cast a shadow over the nascent softness and stirring he had felt in his heart.
The arm around her waist tightened unconsciously, his thumb pressing into the soft flesh of her side with a near-punishing pressure that was neither light nor heavy.
"Ngh..."
Caught off guard, Yun Sheng’s waist gave way, and she almost lost her footing. A muffled grunt, equal parts surprise and anger, escaped her lips.
"Weren’t you the one who actively entangled my spiritual power and pulled me into this dream? And now you want to run?"
His accusation, combined with the undeniable pressure on her waist, completely ignited the anger she had been suppressing.
The uncertainty she felt from thinking of Si Jin was instantly replaced by a more direct, humiliated anger.
Yun Sheng snapped her head up, glaring at the man just inches away.
The dream’s soft light fell on his chiseled features. It should have been a gentle scene, but the lingering lust in his eyes and his entitled, questioning demeanor made him look utterly detestable.
"Who’s trying to run?"
Her voice was sharp with indignation. She tried to break free from his hold, but it was futile, leaving her to do nothing but glare at him more intensely.
"And another thing, what right do you have to question me?"
Yun Sheng remembered his cold indifference in their previous dreams, his relentless scrutiny in reality, and his sudden, bizarre display of goodwill today. Contrasting all that with his domineering behavior in the dream now, a nameless rage flared within her.
"In our other dreams, weren’t you the one who didn’t want to see me? Weren’t you always telling me to ’let go’ or calling me ’insolent’?"
Yun Sheng spoke rapidly, each word like a small stone hurled in his direction.
"So what, now you’re turning around and questioning me? If anyone’s acting crazy, it’s you!"
Her string of barbed retorts made Bai Ye’s gaze freeze.
Back then, he had been wary and dismissive of this inexplicable, uncontrollable connection in their dreams.
But now...
His gaze swept uncontrollably over her cheeks, flushed an alluring shade from her anger; her lips, slightly swollen and impossibly tempting; and her wide eyes, burning with fire.
This vibrant, spirited, even slightly feral appearance of hers was... real. And incredibly attractive.
"Crazy? You started it. You provoked me first. Since you’re the one who pulled me in here, you should be the one to... see it through to the end."
Bai Ye’s fingertips pressed against her side like a brand. They traced the slender, smooth curve of her waist, sliding upward inch by suggestive inch, as if mapping out territory that belonged solely to him.
The thin fabric of her clothes was practically useless against the searing heat and pressure of his touch, sending a fine tremor across Yun Sheng’s skin.
And this time, he gave her no more chances to retort or escape.
He raised his other hand. His fingertips gently brushed away a stray lock of hair from her cheek before his hand settled on the nape of her neck, tilting her head up slightly.
His gaze was almost tangible as it traveled from her furious eyes, slowly downward, past the rise and fall of her chest with her heavy breathing, and finally settled on the delicate, fragile line of her neck.
Her skin there was pale as snow, the veins faintly visible beneath the thin surface, pulsing gently with her racing heart.
Bai Ye’s lips, searing hot, pressed against the frantic pulse on the side of her neck.
"Ngh!"
Yun Sheng’s entire body went rigid, and she sucked in a sharp breath.
It wasn’t a rough bite, but a slow, patient, and aggressive act of tasting and marking.
A current of bone-deep, numbing pleasure shot straight to the crown of her head.
She could clearly feel the subtle scrape of his teeth against her skin. But what truly shook her to the core was that, with this intimate physical contact, Bai Ye’s vast and stable spiritual power began to coil around her own—active and torrential, yet guided like a deliberate stream.
A shudder that struck the very depths of her soul swept through her entire consciousness like a tsunami!
The sensation was indescribable—a mix of pain and pleasure, resistance and surrender. In the end, she couldn’t even tell what she wanted anymore.
"Ngh... no..."
A broken whimper escaped her lips. Her body went completely limp under his hold and the twofold assault, supported almost entirely by the strength of his arms.
Her mind was a chaotic mess, leaving only the all-pervasive sensory assault and the tremor of her spirit being forcibly pried open.
Bai Ye felt her body go limp and pliant in his arms.
A faint, intimate red mark now graced the skin of her neck. Under his guidance and influence, her spiritual power had gone from sharp resistance to a state of disarray, then compliance. It even began to unconsciously twine around his own, absorbing his strength.
This undoubtedly fueled the unfamiliar desire to conquer and explore that was growing within him.
He wanted more. He wanted to know more.
"Tell me..."
Bai Ye’s lips brushed against the shell of her ear. His voice was impossibly hoarse, thick with suppressed desire and an urgent need for answers. The moist heat of his breath made her tremble.
"Who are you, really?"
Yun Sheng’s consciousness was already a chaotic vortex.
The strange sensations in her body, the push and pull of their melding spiritual power, the searing breath and low, raspy question by her ear—it all made her feel as if she were floating in the center of a vortex where warm water and raging fire intertwined, robbing her of nearly all ability to think.
"I..."
She opened her mouth unconsciously, a familiar syllable on the verge of breaking free from her throat.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Just then, a series of urgent knocks sounded, striking her ears like a clap of thunder that violently split through her muddled consciousness.
She jolted violently. All the intoxicating, bewildering sensations receded like a tide, replaced by the instant, sober shock of horror and panic.
’So close... I was so close. I almost told Bai Ye my name.’