Nian Zhen had been awake the whole time, watching An Ning as she slept, his hands running up and down her body not in pa.s.sion but in gentle caress. He made particular attention to her stomach, flat and soft, imagining her pregnant with his child, imagining her by his side this time, driving her to doctor appointments and feeding her the sweets she liked. He caressed her skin, her soft milky white skin that bruised easy, that always seem to carry a faint sheen of blush. He held her hand and studied her fingers, slim and shapely yet it was not the hand of a lady of leisure. The pads were a bit rough, the palm even rougher.

Nian Zhen gazed at the perfect b.r.e.a.s.t.s with their pert pink nipples peeking out of her gaping robe. The globes fit perfectly in his cupped hands, the tips hardening as his nails sc.r.a.ped lightly at the engorged crowns. He ran one hand down her thighs, her long shapely legs that could ran sleek and fast as a cheetah and yet squeeze him l.u.s.tfully and lasciviously as he pounded between them eagerly with his blood raging c.o.c.k. And her sheathe which encased him perfectly, hot and tight and wet, milking him lewdly with each thrust of his hips.

Their electrifying coupling a short while ago had temporarily quenched his desire but underneath his blood quietly boiled as it always did when he looked at her or when she was near, his body stirring to life as he inhaled her smell, the smell of him and her mingling together, the scent of s.e.x stronger than any aphrodisiac.

When An Ning opened her eyes, it was to see Nian Zhen's burning gaze above her. He was looking at her as if he couldn't get enough, memorizing the contours of her face like it was a map. His fingertips grazed against her lips, following the soft curve as if it was the most luscious fruit he had ever seen. When his eyes met An Ning's, An Ning blushed scarlet at the naked l.u.s.t in their depths. He was not hiding his feelings, letting her know of his desire, of his love, of his need to touch and smell and possess her again.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked, her long lashes covering the embarra.s.sment she felt. But she could not escape his eyes, which watched the tide of red suffusing the smooth perfect skin with interest.

"Not long," he said huskily, then in a swift, surprise move, he pressed her against him, his knees nudging her legs apart as his c.o.c.k penetrated her in one smooth thrust.

"Nian Zhen, you have to stop," An Ning moaned, trying to push him away.

"Why? You like it," he whispered hotly in her ear, teasingly pulling out then pus.h.i.+ng himself in again inch by inch in her wet, clasping sheath.

"I don't," An Ning pouted. "They must be looking for us by now. Let go," she said, her words ending in a gasp as Nian Zhen hit a spot inside her body which literally made her see stars.

"I'd like to see you pregnant again, Ning Ning," Nian Zhen rasped softly, his arms on her back, supporting her as he bounced her up and down his d.i.c.k. "See you swollen with my child. I could eat you alive, you know that, don't you?"

"Nian Zhen," An Ning threw her head back, her long white throat arching in a soft wail as her body convulsed and shuddered against him. Nian Zhen rode on her o.r.g.a.s.m and with one long perfect thrust his body tensed and he followed her to completion a few seconds later.

They were out of breath when the world righted again. An Ning attempted to get off his lap but Nian Zhen would have none of that. He clasped her tighter against him, his softening c.o.c.k still buried inside her, then lifted her chin so their gazes locked together without a chance of escape.

"Did you hear what I said?" he asked, refusing to let her evade his gaze. "I think I'm beginning to like the idea of you having my child again," he said.

"And have my father run you out of your own kingdom? No thanks."

"An Ning, we have to let them know soon. I don't want to be a stranger to my own children anymore. I don't care if your dad hates me or even if he wants to kill me. All I care about is you and our kids. I want us to be a family and we can't do that if we keep hiding who I am."

"I have an idea that mom and grandmama already knows though," An Ning said thoughtfully. "Mom knew when she first saw Han and she called him a soul eater. And grandmama is so wise and powerful you can't hide anything from her, so of course she knows. I think even grandpapa does, too, as well."

"But why have they been quiet about it?" Nian Zhen asked, frowning.

"I don't know. Perhaps they're waiting for me to say something. Unlike dad, mom is not the sort to b.u.t.t into my business without an invite. As for grandmama, she's watching you. Watching us. Waiting how all this will turn out. I think she'll only lend a hand when she sees us running around like headless chickens."

"So, the only one left to worry about is really your dad."

"Who is the most irrational of all since he doesn't like you, doesn't like me near you, and will probably create the most fuss if you so much as tell him that it was you who pulled me into this world. Dad is not rational when it comes to me, Nian Zhen. Remember, this is the man who stayed with Yu Yan, whom he disliked but never divorced, for over twenty years because he didn't want to see his only daughter left with her. So, we have to tiptoe around him otherwise..." An Ning shrugged.

"And the kids?" Nian Zhen's eyes were anxious.

"Give me time. A week maybe. To tell them who you are and what's really happening."

"And do you forgive me?" he whispered, watching her with hawk-like eyes.

An Ning again shrugged.

"I know I hurt you and it was your first time," Nian Zhen's voice was tinged with regret, and the arms holding her close to him tightened. "I was a fool, darling. A lovesick fool. And when you pretended afterwards like nothing happened and I wasn't responsible for your pregnancy, I just saw red. I wanted to kill you and Han and love you again and again at the same time until you cry for mercy."

"I...I could have slept with Han after that," she peeked at him, wondering what he was going to say and saw his jaw tighten, the expression on his face frightening.

"You could but you didn't," he said, kissing her lips. "I knew it was mine the moment Han told me."

"Did..did it happen only once?" An Ning was curious. If the s.e.x had not been consensual between them the first time they did it, then surely the odds of her getting pregnant at only one encounter was low, right?

"Nian Zhen?" she asked suspiciously when he ducked his head. "Was it the only first and only last time you forced me to sleep with you? I'm asking because the image I saw inside the tunnel showed me only one encounter. Was it?"

His look was both shamed and sheepish.

"You...you are hopeless," An Ning raged. "Not content to force a woman to have s.e.x with you, you have to force her again and again, is that it? You lousy, contemptible b.a.s.t.a.r.d. How many?"

"Four or five times," Nian Zhen managed to squeak.

An Ning glared at him.

"You're lucky I don't remember any of this or I'll have your head."

"What about my other head, darling? You can have him, too, anytime you like," he asked impishly, settling himself between her legs in a provocative move that annoyed An Ning, who threw him a glance of reproof. She again tried to wiggle out of his lap but he put a stop to that by grabbing her legs and circling them tightly around his waist.

"How can we have a rational conversation when all you think about is s.e.x?" An Ning asked, exasperated. "At least, let me put my clothes back on. I'll be so embarra.s.sed if somebody finds us like this."

"What? f.u.c.king? But I love you, darling. And you love me. We're both single adults who like each other. What's wrong with that?"

"I want to at least pretend I'm still a chaste woman in front of my two grown kids, d.a.m.n it!" An Ning snapped, annoyed. "How can I do that when you keep dragging me to bed and forcing me to...to...do these lewd acts!"

"Like this?" Nian Zhen asked, bending his head and kissing and sucking hungrily on one turgid peak near his mouth.

"Nian Zhen!" An Ning was incensed, struggling ineffectually against his arms. "Let me go! Let me go, d.a.m.n you! We have people wondering where we are by now. Aren't you even worried?"

"Why should I?" he shrugged, nuzzling her neck. "I'm loving my wife, which I've been wanting to do since two days ago. Darling, I very much wanted to show everybody how I feel but I can't and it's making me jealous. Why can't I kiss you in public like your dad can with your mom? I love you but I feel like you're hiding me from the world. You take advantage of me but won't take responsibility," he pouted.

"I take advantage of you?" An Ning laughed sarcastically. "You've taken advantage of me since the day we met. Without a by your leave, you drag me to your bed and seduced me like it was your right to. And I have to accept it willingly or not," she harrumphed, then gasped as Nian Zhen's c.o.c.k, which had been stirring to life the moment she started ranting at him, thrust forcefully in and out of her again, perfectly hitting that sweet and aching spot in her wet pa.s.sage.

"Ning Ning, let's get married," Nian Zhen groaned huskily, his lips forcing hers open as his tongue licked and sucked and tangled with hers, just as his hands were cupping and pinching her nipples, just as his powerful c.o.c.k was doing the same to her weeping core.

"Nian Zhen," An Ning suddenly alternated between ecstasy and exasperation. "We have to tell my parents and the kids first, remember?"

"But afterwards, say you'll marry me and be my wife again?"

"No," An Ning groaned, as the pleasure of f.u.c.king threatened to push her over to the edge again.

"Then I'll just continue doing this until I get you pregnant and you have no choice but to marry me," Nian Zhen threatened, flipping her beneath him so that his c.o.c.k drove deeper into her drenched p.u.s.s.y, nailing her to the seat with the brutal power of his thrusts.

"Stop," An Ning begged. "I'm sore, Nian Zhen. You have to stop."

But Nian Zhen was deaf to her pleas. The woman beneath him was softer, her scent sweeter, the clasp of her body tighter. He pulled her squirming hips closer against him until their joined bodies were almost melded to each other, An Ning's legs tightened around his moving hips, as his lips devoured her tongue and explored the inside of her mouth.

"Promise you'll marry me, Ning Ning. Promise or I'll never let you go," Nian Zhen growled against her throat, the forceful pounding of his hips between hers became even more jarring, more uncontrollable as his c.o.c.k invaded her body like he was trying to imprint himself in her womb.

"Nian Zhen...," An Ning's voice was hoa.r.s.e with desire. "You're a louse."

"And you're sweet and hot and so wet...,"Nian Zhen groaned. "I love you, my wife. I love you." One powerful thrust drove them over the edge. An Ning screamed, her nails digging into his back, her lips biting Nian Zhen's shoulder as her body soared then crashed the heights. Nian Zhen followed behind her, his climax so intense that it literally shook his entire body, his seed spurting inside the wet, hot folds that encased him like a glove.

When they went back to the palace, it was to find that n.o.body actually missed their absence since everybody was having fun playing an old fas.h.i.+oned darts set. But Ceres' eyes noted the pink blush on her daughter's cheeks and the unusual brightness in Nian Zhen's eyes. Hippolyta was more cunning since she actually spotted the tiny kiss mark on An Ning's white neck where Nian Zhen playfully bit the flesh between his teeth.

Of course, the two women pretended like they saw nothing. Hippolyta's eyes met her husband's. Li Cheung narrowed his eyes at Nian Zhen but said nothing, following his wife's decision to let the kids sort out their own problems. Even though An Ning's soul currently resided inside the body of a sixteen year old teen, she was in actuality in her middle twenties, old enough to make her own decisions without anyone's interference. Of course, the only one left in the dark was An Ma who unlike his wife and his in-laws would have raised a fuss and demanded Nian Zhen's head on a platter for daring to even put his dirty paws on his beloved daughter's milky white skin.

Bedtime that night was also fun for An Ning and the twins. They reverted back into the old habit of sharing small talk inside Lux's bedroom, which was located in the back courtyard. Mother and daughter of course traded gossip about the people left behind in Saravia, about Lux's favorite movies and the latest trend in fas.h.i.+on while Cas listened to them indulgently, not saying anything, just leaning against An Ning as he played games in his phone.

Not long after, the sound of gentle snoring can be heard inside the room. When the door opened and Nian Zhen silently came in, he saw An Ning sitting up in the middle of the bed, the twins curled on either side of her fast asleep. An Ning had her arms wrapped around the children protectively, guarding them even as she slept.

Nian Zhen looked at this tableau and felt his heart twinge with regret. He very much wanted to slip beside An Ning and keep her and their children in his embrace, watching over them as they quietly slept beside him free from nightmares. In the end he settled for pulling a chair close to the bed and, holding An Ning's hand tightly in his, his eyes closed and he went to sleep, his head pillowed on his other arm next to Cas.

Nian Zhen slept so soundly that he didn't wake up even when one of the two young people staring at him gave a soft cough. Castor and Pollux stood at the foot of the bed watching with impa.s.sive faces at Nian Zhen who was sitting on a chair sleeping with both arms outstretched, holding tightly to An Ning who slept soundly beside him.

The glow from the morning light cast a soft shadow on their sleeping bodies, making them appear somewhat ethereal and unreal. The hand that held An Ning tightly refused to let go even when she made a move to turn away, her naked leg making a leisurely arc on the vast bed. In the end, she settled down again and went back to sleep, her tousled head pillowed on his arm, his other arm firmly anchoring her to his side.

Castor and Pollux stared at each other quietly. Then without speaking a word, they tiptoed to the door, silently closing it behind the couple sleeping peacefully and soundly in each other's arms.