44: Chapter 45 The Aftermath of Lust

In an instant, his blood seemed to rush to his head, then surged downward just as quickly.

His masculine instincts were instantly ignited by this sudden, aggressive kiss.

His stiff body reacted, and his hovering hands almost fell uncontrollably to embrace the delicate body that had thrown itself into his arms, filled with fatal temptation.

His brain gave a "buzz," plunging into a brief void.

All his reason, principles, and promises to Yin Tianxue were shattered at this moment by the scorching touch on his lips and the trembling of the soft, warm body in his arms.

Shen Nian's kiss, filled with despair and madness, was like a prairie fire, instantly igniting the most primitive, long-repressed desires of a man within him.

With a low growl, his hovering hands suddenly dropped; one hand tightly gripped Shen Nian's slender waist—barely a handful—pressing her closer to him, while the other hand plunged into the hair at the back of her head, anchoring her, allowing no room for retreat.

Then, he kissed her back.

This kiss was more domineering and deeper than Shen Nian's, carrying a force born of provocation, almost punitive in its intensity.

He easily pried open the teeth she had already been trying to breach, driving straight in, savagely plundering every inch of breath from her mouth, sucking and tangling, as if he wanted to devour her whole.

He sucked the tears from her face, mixed with the smell of alcohol and saliva between their lips and tongues; the taste was salty, bitter, and alluring.

Shen Nian was stunned by his sudden, intense response, followed by overwhelming ecstasy and an even deeper descent into surrender.

She let out a whimper, and instead of resisting, she responded even more passionately, her arms tightly circling his neck, her body wrapping around him like a vine, surrendering herself completely, letting him take whatever he wanted.

At the silent hotel entrance, under the dim light, the two kissed passionately, their bodies pressed tightly together, as if trying to merge into each other's flesh and blood.

Even the night breeze seemed to grow sultry, unable to disperse the alluring, scorching air.

Yu Bo's palms caressed her slender yet strong waist, and through the silky fabric of her dress, he could clearly feel the warmth and elasticity of her skin.

Her alluring curves pressed tightly against him, every rise and fall of her breath bringing a fatal friction.

His kisses trailed down from her swollen lips, landing on her delicate chin and graceful neck, leaving ambiguous red marks on her fair skin.

Shen Nian tilted her head back, letting out an unbearable moan; her body trembled slightly under his kisses and caresses, her fingers unconsciously clutching the fabric on his back, pressing herself even closer to him.

Intoxicated and infatuated, it was like a thunderbolt striking a wildfire.

All reason, morality, and restraints were burned away at this moment.

In Yu Bo's eyes, there remained only the beautiful, moving body in his arms and the overwhelming, crushing desire to possess her completely.

His hand reached uncontrollably toward the back of her dress, fumbling for the zipper...

However, the moment his fingertips touched the cold metal zipper pull, it was as if an extremely faint electric current from the depths of his soul suddenly pricked him.

"Yin Tianxue..."

This name, like a thunderclap, flashed in his mind—which was completely controlled by desire—extremely faintly, yet with unparalleled tenacity.

Following it came the gentle smiles that occasionally appeared on her cool, aloof face, the serenity of her sleeping peacefully in his arms, and the faint trace of regret and the admonition in her eyes when she saw him off at security...

"Mind your boundaries."

"I miss you, come back soon."

The voice was very soft, yet like a cold awl, it stabbed fiercely into his scorching desire and chaotic consciousness.

"No! This is wrong!"

Yu Bo's whole body gave a violent jolt, and all his boiling blood seemed to freeze instantly.

He seemed to have awakened suddenly from an absurd nightmare; his pupils constricted, and the desire in his eyes receded like a tide, replaced by immense horror, lingering fear, and... unbearable shame!

"What am I doing?!"

He pushed Shen Nian away violently; the force was so great that Shen Nian, who had been immersed in the moment, let out a cry of surprise and fell to the ground, caught off guard; her dress was disheveled, and she looked at him with a dazed and stunned expression.

Yu Bo stumbled back a few steps, leaning against the cold glass door of the hotel; his chest heaved violently, his breathing was heavy, and his eyes were filled with lingering passion and even deeper self-loathing.

He raised his hand and wiped his face hard, as if wanting to wipe away everything that had just happened in that madness.

He looked at Shen Nian, who was sitting on the ground, disheveled and looking at him with teary eyes; his heart felt like it was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, painful and suffocating.

"I... I'm sorry..." Yu Bo's voice was terribly hoarse, trembling violently. "I... I lost control... I'm sorry, Shen Nian..."

He was incoherent and didn't even dare to look at her again; he turned and fled, almost like a fugitive, stumbling into the vast night, his silhouette panicked and wretched.

Shen Nian watched the direction where he disappeared; the color drained from her face bit by bit, and the daze in her eyes gradually turned into a dead, icy coldness.

He had kissed her back—so intensely, so realistically... yet in the end, he still pushed her away.

So, in his heart, she couldn't even have a single moment of intoxicated possession.

Even if his body's reaction was so honest, his reason, his heart, would forever belong only to that woman named Yin Tianxue.

"Yin Tianxue..."

Shen Nian chewed on this name silently, a complex mix of jealousy, unwillingness, despair, and... a trace of indescribable resignation surging in her heart.

What magic did that woman possess to make Yu Bo able to pull back from the brink even in such a situation?

Was it because she was more beautiful? Perhaps. Was it because of her family background? Possibly. But Shen Nian knew it was definitely more than that.

The way Yu Bo looked at Yin Tianxue was something she had never seen in any other occasion or in the eyes of any other man—total trust, tenderness, cherishing, and a sense of belonging rooted deep in his soul.

That was the one thing she, Shen Nian, could never get from Yu Bo, no matter how hard she tried, how excellent she was, or even if she were willing to cast aside her dignity to offer herself.

She walked to the mirror-like glass door of the hotel, looking at the dejected, defeated-dog-like woman reflected within; she tugged at the corners of her mouth, wanting to smile, but it was uglier than crying.

"Shen Nian, oh Shen Nian," she whispered to herself in the mirror, her voice hoarse. "Look at yourself now. Is it worth it, turning yourself into this state for a man?"

The woman in the mirror did not answer, only looking at her with a pair of hollow and sad eyes.

Is it worth it?

She didn't know. She only knew that the heart-fluttering was real, the unwillingness was real, and the deadened heart at this moment was also real.

But she, Shen Nian, was never someone who would be completely crushed by a single failure.

In terms of relationships, she might have been a total failure, losing completely and utterly, battered and bruised; but life was more than just relationships.

She took a deep breath, straightened her spine, raised her hand, wiped the tear stains from her face, and tidied her messy hair and dress.

Although the sadness and exhaustion in her eyes could not be wiped away immediately, that coldness and stubbornness characteristic of a strong woman returned to her face.