Chapter 317: Chapter 317; You are truly impossible
Tang Fei’s cheeks burned crimson, water streaming down her face, mixing with her tears of frustration and need. Her body quivered against his, strung tight like a bow, yet denied release.
Instead, he kissed her again, deep, bruising, possessive, and his tongue claimed hers until she sagged helplessly in his hold, her legs still locked around his waist. Slowly, carefully, he lowered her back onto her feet, his hand steady at her waist to keep her from collapsing.
Her lips were swollen, her breath ragged, her body trembling in a storm he had deliberately left unfinished. She wanted to scold him, to cry, to plead, yet all she could do was cling to him, undone.
Huo Ting Cheng reached for the towel, wrapping it firmly around her trembling frame. His voice dropped to that low, dark timbre that always left her weak.
"Remember, Fei’er... you’re mine. Every shiver, every breath, every ache I put into you. And I’ll keep you like this until you learn...." he paused, brushing a wet strand of hair from her flushed cheek, "that I don’t need to finish you to own you."
Tang Fei buried her face against his chest, muffling a frustrated whimper as his hand stroked down her damp hair in something cruelly tender. The ache inside her remained, unfulfilled, yet wrapped in the dangerous comfort of his control.
When he finally bent, lifting her once more into his arms, his smirk returned. "Now... let’s get ready. The children are waiting."
Steam still clung to their skin as Huo Ting Cheng shut off the water, his hand steady at Tang Fei’s waist as though she might collapse again. He reached for a towel, wrapping it snugly around her trembling frame before pulling another over his own shoulders.
She slapped his hand lightly when he leaned in to dry her hair, muttering, "I can do it myself. Leave me alone.." But her protest sounded thin, breathless, still betraying the way he had unraveled her moments ago.
He only smirked, lips brushing against her temple. "You’re shaking. Let me."
Tang Fei bit her lip, turned her face away, and snatched the towel from his hand. "Enough. I will do it by myself!"
He chuckled low, the sound infuriatingly calm as he trailed behind her into the walk-in closet. The vast space smelled faintly of cedar and lavender, sunlight seeping in through the high window to spill over rows of neatly hung clothes. Tang Fei dropped her damp pajamas into the basket, tugging on fresh underclothes with jerky, annoyed movements.
Huo Ting Cheng leaned lazily against the doorframe, still bare-chested, watching her with that infuriatingly satisfied glint in his eyes. "Why are you so moody, Fei’er? You should thank me for holding back."
Her head snapped toward him, cheeks blazing. "Holding back?!" She yanked a silk dress from its hanger with unnecessary force. "You call that holding back? You... you drag me into the shower, tease me until I can barely breathe, and then just leave me like this?! Damn it! What kind of man does that to his woman?"
He pushed his body off the doorframe, stepping closer, his hand reaching for the buttons of her suit jacket. "You say that as if you didn’t melt against me. I saw every little shiver, every little sound..."
Tang Fei slapped his hand away, spinning around to glare at him, her damp hair clinging to her cheeks. "Don’t you dare." She tugged the jacket on with brisk, angry movements, her shoulders stiff as she smoothed the lapels.
Her voice sharpened as she fastened the buttons one by one. "You think you can drag me into the shower, toy with me until I’m shaking, and then stand there smug while I have to pretend like nothing happened?! You are evil... Purely evil..."
Huo Ting Cheng’s smirk deepened as his gaze trailed down the fitted lines of the suit, lingering with deliberate appreciation. "Pretend? Fei’er, even now you can barely keep your hands steady."
Her jaw tightened. She yanked on her trousers, sliding the zipper up with force. "You are really infuriating."
"Mm." He stepped behind her, his warmth pressing close, his reflection towering in the mirror as she adjusted her blouse. His hand brushed her wrist, sliding up as if to button her cuff. "And yet you let me this close."
Tang Fei jerked her arm free, spinning around to face him, her cheeks flushed hot. "Because you don’t give me space! You push, you tease, and then you just leave me burning, like it’s some sort of game to you!"
For a moment, his smirk eased, his eyes darkening into something sharper, heavier. He reached up, brushing a strand of wet hair from her face. "It’s not a game. It’s a reminder. Every time you walk out that door, every time you smile at someone else, every time you think of anything but me... I want you to feel this. To ache with me."
Her chest rose and fell sharply, her pulse racing beneath the suit’s neat collar. Tang Fei swallowed, anger and heat tangled in her voice. "You are truly impossible."
"And yet," he murmured, lips brushing dangerously close to her ear, "you’re buttoned up in a suit I’ll be thinking about tearing off all day long."
Tang Fei shoved him back a step, grabbing her heels from the shelf with jerky motions. "Stay out of my way, Ting Cheng. I don’t have time for you this morning."
He let her pass, but his eyes lingered on her retreating form, calm and smug, like a man who knew he’d already won.
Tang Fei stormed out of the walk-in closet, her heels clicking sharply against the polished floor as if each step could hammer away the frustration knotted in her chest. Her pulse was still racing, her body still trembling faintly with the cruel ache he had left her in.
By the time she reached the vanity, she sat down with a heavy exhale, dragging the comb through her damp hair in impatient strokes. Her reflection stared back at her, cheeks flushed, eyes too bright, lips swollen. She looked less like a poised mistress of the Huo household and more like a woman who’d just barely survived a storm.
Behind her, she caught sight of him moving unhurriedly, pulling on his shirt, sliding each button through the holes with deliberate ease. No rush, no fluster, just that maddening calm, as though he owned the entire morning, including her.
Tang Fei bit the inside of her cheek, resisting the urge to throw the comb at his smirking face. Why does he always have to win? Why does he always leave me like this, burning, unfinished, and furious, while he walks away looking untouchable?
"Fei’er," his deep voice cut into her thoughts, smooth and commanding.
She ignored him, fastening a pair of pearl earrings with clipped precision.
A moment later, his reflection appeared behind her in the mirror, his tall frame leaning just enough to cast his shadow across her. His hand reached for the hairdryer resting on the table. "You’ll catch a chill if you leave with your hair wet."
Her fingers tightened around the earring. "I said I can do it myself."
"You’re still trembling," he countered softly, switching on the dryer, the hum filling the silence. Warm air brushed over her damp strands as his fingers combed through with gentle precision.
Her throat tightened. The intimacy was maddening. She wanted to shove him away, to scream at him for his arrogance, but the steady heat of the dryer and the quiet care of his hand made her heart ache differently.
"Stop it," she whispered, her voice breaking against her will. "Don’t... don’t act tender after what you just did."
His gaze met hers in the mirror, dark and unreadable. The smirk was gone now, replaced with something heavier, more dangerous. "I will never act with you, Fei’er."
Her chest tightened, a mess of anger, longing, and the unbearable ache he had left her with. She looked away, slamming the lipstick back into its case. "If you want to help me, Ting Cheng, then stay out of my way for once."
The hairdryer clicked off. Silence stretched between them.
And then, slowly, deliberately, he bent down, brushing his lips against the crown of her head before straightening. "Too late for that. You’ll never be rid of me."
With that, he walked out of the room, leaving her trembling again, not from desire this time, but from the dangerous truth in his words that was unmistakable.