"How will you walk in those heels till the wedding venue", remarked her mother.

The wedding was to take place in the nearby hotel, which lay close by but uphill from the Lin residence.

"Mom, Tang is getting his car and picking all three of us", she said with feigned calm.

She had been worried that her mother would object to her going with Tang and hadn't mentioned about it till the last minute. She breathed a sigh of relief when her mother didn't make a fuss about the announcement.

"Have a good time tonight and don't be too late", she warned though.

Jia Li kissed her mother's cheek and rushed out as she heard the car honk. The boys received her with wolf whistles, appreciating her appearance.

"For a change you look like a girl today", quipped Chung.

She stuck out her tongue at him while the others laughed and ribbed her some more. Reaching their destination, Tang got out of the car and opened the back door, waiting for Jia Li to alight.

"Why don't you guys go ahead? We'll join you in a minute", he told the boys.

At her questioning look, he took her hand and directed her towards the cl.u.s.ter of bamboo trees that overlooked the hills, behind the venue. Wordlessly, she followed him, her heart matching the tattoo of her clicking heels. They arrived at the secluded spot and he looked around to make sure they were alone. Tang pushed her slightly against one of the trees so that she was completely hidden even if someone walked past them.

"What are we doing here, Tang?" she whispered.

He framed her face with his cold hands and tipped her chin up, "you look enchanting tonight. Do you know that I have been imagining this moment ever since we were twelve years old?"

With those words, he brought his lips close to hers, hesitating for a second. She smiled, knowing that he was waiting for her consent. She closed the remaining distance between them. The kiss was magical and she loved the way Tang's slight whiskers rubbed against her cheeks. He covered her face with tiny kisses before reclaiming her lips.

This time though, the nature of the kiss changed. He bit gently into the plump lower lip and Jia Li gasped at the sensation. Using the opportunity, he pushed his tongue inside her mouth and explored each and every crevice inside. He held her head firmly as he felt her go limp in his arms. Thoroughly aroused and drunk on her first kiss, her tongue decided to mimic and mate with his, making him groan with pleasure.

Their teeth clashed, tongues fought and lips moulded against each other. He was devouring her and she was loving every minute of it. His hands dug into her back, bringing her body upright against him. Trapped between the tree and his body, she could feel her contours fitting into his hard angles. There was an urgent need building inside her.

For the first time in her life, she felt like a woman – awakened and deliciously wicked. Her fingers inched up slowly and lost themselves in his hair. Slowly, with her eyes shut, she explored the taste of his jaw. She dipped her tongue in the cleft of his chin and inched sideways towards the cheek, nipping his skin slightly with her teeth.

The chemistry between them had always been subdued or so Jia Li had thought. Tonight she realised that it had been simmering right under the surface and got inflamed the minute their mouths touched.

"Are you aware that your lip has the s.e.xiest mole and it has been driving me insane since school days. I wanted to bash up everyone who even fantasised about it, forget talking about it", he growled, as they came up for air.

Like other girls, Jia Li had imagined her maiden kiss to be special but what just happened wasn't anything close to the chaste girly emotions that she had expected. Though she was eighteen years old already, today was the day when she had breathed someone else's air, bit someone else's lips, felt someone else's tongue in her mouth.

"You better be ready for the consequences if you plan to continue this survey of my face", he said roughly, in a l.u.s.t thickened voice.

"I love you, I always have and I always will", she murmured in his ear.

"What did you say? I can't hear you. Can you repeat it for me, please?" his breath tickled her ear as he teased her.

"Tang...Jia Li, where are you guys?" shouted Li Jie in a frenzy.