The rain had started again, soft and rhythmic against the balcony doors. Thunder murmured far away, like a beast pacing behind a veil.
Allison sat up slowly, the glow of her pendant fading back into stillness. She wanted to go check on Lucian then she heard a knock.
Lucian stood in the doorway, barefoot, his white shirt slightly unbuttoned, hair tousled like he hadn't even tried to tame it looking as charming as he always has.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"I couldn't sleep."
Allison's eyes lifted to his.
Neither moved for a breath.
Then she slid her blanket aside. That was all the invitation he needed.
The room became a symphony. Not of music but of another sound. The whisper of silk sheets, the rustle of discarded clothing, one piece at a time. The soft intake of breath when his lips brushed her shoulder. The creak of the bed frame as he leaned over her, bracing himself with arms on either side.
She looked up at him, heart pounding, fingers curled in the fabric of his shirt still clinging to his body.
"Are you scared?," he murmured.
"I'm not scared, after all you took my first time and it's not our first time," she said.
"I am" he admitted.
She blinked.
"I'm scared of breaking you, I might not be so gentle" he continued. "Scared of what happens after this. Of wanting more." His eyes darkened.
She reached up and touched his cheek.
"Then break me gently" she whispered.
Their kisses were slow, unhurried, memorized between gasps. The air warmed, and not from magic. From skin and breath and the tension of months unraveling between them.
A soft moan left her lips when his hand grazed her ribs, sliding under her camisole.
The sound involuntary made him pause. He kissed her again, deeper this time, until even the rain faded into the background.
She arched into him, the room filled now with the soft rhythm of their joining. Quiet sighs, low groans. The occasional whispered name, his name.
Lucian...
Over and over, like a prayer she didn't know she believed in until now.
The room was dark, the only light coming from the moon and the flicker of the fireplace. Allison lay curled into Lucian's side, his breath warm against her forehead.
Neither spoke for a long while. The storm inside the had passed and well— outside too.
She traced a lazy circle on his bare chest, listening to his heartbeat. "If we're attacked, if the gates breaks or opens, if I lose myself…"
"You won't," he said softly, almost fiercely.
"You don't know that."
"I do." He turned toward her, cupping her face. "Because I won't let you."
She looked into his eyes, and for the first time in a long time, she believed they would come out unscathed.
Not because of fate. Not because of bloodline. But because of him.
Lucian. The man who made her tremble without fear.
---
Elsewhere – A Forgotten Sanctuary
Beatrice knelt in a burned-out chapel, staring at the floorboards warped by time.
The whisper had led her here.
A single phrase carved beneath the altar:
*She will open the gate. And your child would help her do that". Beatrice hands shook.
Behind her, a shadow moved and a child's voice echoed from the darkness.
"Mama?" She was scared. Her child was at home. Tianlei is her weakness,they knew. That was why they brought he where using Tianlei's voice. She hurriedly walked out of there.
*******************
The morning sun barely crept through the half-drawn curtains, golden light pooling softly at the edges of the king-sized bed. Allison squirmed slightly under the silk sheets.
Her body ached.
No, it tingled. As if kissed by fire and moonlight both.
Lucian's bare chest was pressed behind her, his arm casually draped around her waist, his breath tickling the nape of her neck. He had woken her before dawn not with words but with heat, hands, and lips that knew too well how to make her forget logic. She had told him 'no' the first time. But Lu Quing had a way of making later feel like now—and now feel like forever.
Last night, she hadn't slept until the moon was swallowed by morning.
She muttered inwardly, "I couldn't sleep yesterday because of him…" Her thighs pressed together instinctively at the memory.
He stirred behind her.
"Allison," his voice rumbled low, thick with a lazy kind of hunger. He nuzzled into her neck, kissing her jawline like he owned her, "Why don't you be good… and give me another of your time?"
She gasped quietly, turning slightly. "Lucian. We have work—"
"We have time," he murmured, lips brushing her cheekbone. "Don't be cruel. You were moaning my name last night like it was your favorite word."
Her cheeks flared crimson. Before she could protest again, he leaned over her, pinning her softly beneath him, his eyes hooded with desire, yet tender. "I missed you," he whispered, as if confessing a sin.
Then—
BANG!
The door flew open.
Allison froze but Lucian did not.
He was still kissing the corner of her mouth.
A tiny gasp came from the doorway.
Tianlei stood there, rubbing his eyes with his little fists, his hair sticking out like a bird's nest a contrast to his old self when he attacked Allison. He was wearing little dinosaur pajamas and holding a plush carrot.
Then he blinked once… twice…
And said,
"Uncle Lucian… Why are you eating Aunt Allison's face?"
Allison practically levitated off the bed.
"I—I—I—Tianlei?! Don't you know how to knock?" Her cheeks already burning red.
Lucian calmly sat up, the sheets sliding down to his waist, revealing his perfectly sculpted body. "He did knock," he said, unbothered. "I just didn't let him in."
Tianlei tilted his head. "You're weird, Uncle Lucian. Why are you adults always clingy?"
Allison turned red.
"I—Lucian, do something!"
Lucian smirked as he stood, not even bothering to be embarrassed, and walked toward the closet, shirtless. "Come here, little dragon," he said to Tianlei, ruffling his hair. "Let's get you ready for breakfast."
Tianlei made a face. "You smell like aunt Allison."
Allison collapsed onto the pillows and screamed into them.
Later at the breakfast table, Beatrice placed a bowl of warm dumpling soup in front of Tianlei.
Allison refused to look up from her teacup. Her hair was pulled into a clean bun, her cheeks still slightly pink.
Tianlei munched happily, then asked with absolute innocence as he turned to his mother.
"Mommy, do people fall in love by licking each other's faces?"
Allison choked on her tea.
Lucian didn't blink. "Sometimes."
Beatrice sighed. "Tianlei. Don't say everything you see."
Tianlei blinked thoughtfully. Then, with the utmost sincerity, he added
"But I want to fall in love too. If Aunt Allison ever has a daughter that looks like her… I would like to gently lick her face."
Beatrice spoon fell. She didn't know who her son took over. Ren or her?
Allison swore she was going to die at this breakfast table. Lucian was speechless, he thought of how adorable their daughter would look but his eyes darkened when he thought of what Tianlei said about licking his daughter's face.
The room fell into an icy temperature. All eyes were on Lucian, that was when Tianlei knew he had said something that might have provoked him. But Tianlei didn't mind, he continued eating his breakfast.
The dumpling soup steamed gently, but the room had gone cold.
Lucian's stare was fixed on Tianlei, unreadable and sharp in a way that made even Beatrice pause mid-reach for her tea. Allison cheeks still burning from earlier, noticed the change.
"Lucian…" she said cautiously.
His jaw ticked once, then twice before he slowly looked away, schooling his face into impassive calm. "My daughter," he murmured, almost to himself, "would not be licked by anyone."
Tianlei paused mid-bite, blinked at him… then shrugged.
"She might like it," the boy offered helpfully, chewing like he didn't care for his opinion.
Beatrice raised her eyes to the heavens. "Tianlei—"
"I'm just saying. Aunt Allison smells like peach candy. Her baby will smell even nicer."
Allison choked again. "Wh-What baby?! Who said I'm having a baby?"
Lucian's eyes flicked to her belly with a subtle heat, then back to his coffee. "It's not impossible" he said coolly.
Beatrice dropped her chopsticks this time.
Tianlei clapped. "Yay! A baby. I'll name her Carrot," he laughed.
"No—" Allison slapped her palm against the table. "There is no baby."
Lucian leaned back in his chair, relaxed almost smirking.
"We'll see."
---
Allison stormed out onto the garden path, hands clutching her robes, muttering to herself.
"Peach candy… Licking babies… Carrot?"
Behind her, Lucian followed lazily, like a shadow she couldn't shake.
He caught up with ease. "You're excited this morning."
"I'm mortified."
"You're beautiful when you're mortified."
She stopped then turned to face him. "Are you seriously entertaining the idea of me being pregnant?"
He tilted his head, smiling slightly. "You don't think about it?"
Her silence said more than denial ever could.
"I don't want to lose anything precious to me " she whispered. "My world is getting more chaotic ".
Lucian took her hand, threading his fingers through hers.
"You won't," he promised. "Not while I'm still breathing."
From the villa, Tianlei's voice rang out: "Uncle Lucian, if you kiss her again, I'll tell mommy you made weird noises last night."
Allison groaned as she gave a death glare to Lucian.
Lucian laughed, low and wicked. "He's definitely your friend."
"No" Allison said firmly. "He's your little monster now."