Ling Luochen stood frozen to the floor, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped beast.

Her mind was a chaotic vortex of panic, embarrassment, and a deep, long-suppressed desire that she had never dared to voice aloud.

She kept her eyes glued to the pattern of the jade floorboards, her hands shaking as she tightly gripped her blue dress, completely paralyzed by the sheer proximity of the man she had secretly envied her friend for hugging earlier.

"Luochen," Haoran’s voice drifted through the steam, a low, guttural growl that carried the absolute, unyielding weight of a command.

Hearing her name spoken in that heavy, predatory register caused a visible shiver to run straight down her spine.

Slowly, helplessly, as if her neck were being pulled by the threads of fate itself, she raised her head to look at him.

Haoran was observing her with a pair of intense, molten gold eyes that seemed to burn straight through her blue silks, stripping away her mental defenses with a single look.

The cold, unbothered arrogance that usually defined his posture was gone, replaced by a raw, unadulterated hunger that demanded immediate compliance.

He shifted his weight on the edge of the bed, his strong arms resting on his knees as he tilted his chin upward.

"I’m currently not in my normal state right now. Can you please call Xueli?" Haoran murmured, his gaze locking onto her trembling lips. "Or...would you like to help me yourself?"

"I... I..." Ling Luochen’s voice was a fragile whisper, her throat completely dry.

The cold, aloof facade of the peerless beauty who had braved the horrors of the Saint Burial Realm had entirely dissolved, and was entirely defenseless before him.

"Choose," he commanded softly, extending a single, strong hand toward her. "Would you call Xueli, or come to me?"

The words acted as the final catalyst, completely severing the remaining strings of her hesitation.

Ling Luochen took a deep, shuddering breath, her eyes suddenly locking onto his golden pupils with a fierce, desperate clarity.

Next time for sure, she had promised herself in the courtyard.

She realized with a jolt of electric excitement that the "next time" was right now, handed to her on a silver platter by the universe itself.

Moving with a slow, trembling grace, she stepped forward, her boots clicking softly against the stone before she stopped right at the edge of the silk mattress.

With fingers that shook from a volatile mixture of intense fear and soaring anticipation, she reached for the silver fastenings of her blue dress, undoing the silk ties and letting the heavy layers of fabric slide down her porcelain shoulders, pooling around her ankles on the floor.

She stood before him in nothing but her thin, white silken undergarments, her fair skin bearing the faint, beautiful blue lines of her ice-attribute meridians.

Her breathing was frantic, her massive chest rising and falling in rapid succession as she looked down at the golden youth.

"Young master..." she whispered, her voice thick with a profound, unyielding devotion as she climbed onto the mattress, her knees sinking into the soft silk sheets. "Please... take everything I have."

Haoran didn’t waste another microsecond on words as he reached forward, his strong arms wrapping around her waist like bands of iron, and violently pulled her down onto the bed beneath him.

His lips descended instantly, capturing her mouth in a bruising, non-stop kiss that completely cut off her breath.

Haoran’s weight pressed her into the mattress, his body a solid, unyielding wall of heat against her trembling flesh.

Ling Luochen’s breath hitched as his lips claimed hers—not gently, but with a hungry, possessive urgency that stole the air from her lungs.

She was pinned beneath him, naked, exposed, every inch of her skin tingling where his chest brushed against hers.

Her hands fluttered uselessly at her sides, too shy to push him away, too scared to pull him closer.

He deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding along the seam of her lips, demanding entry.

She hesitated for a moment, but eventually parted them obediently, a soft whimper escaping as his tongue swept inside, tasting her, claiming her mouth as his own.

Her shyness made her stiffen, but Haoran only grew bolder, with one of his hand sliding from her shoulder down to her waist, fingers splaying across her hip, gripping her flesh with a firmness that left no room for hesitation.

"Relax," he murmured against her lips, his voice a low growl that vibrated through her bones. "I’ve got you."

But she couldn’t relax.

Every single nerve of hers was on fire, his knee nudged her thighs apart, settling between them, and she felt the hard length of his cock against her wetness—so close, so intimidating.

Her eyes fluttered open, wide and fearful. "I... I’ve never..."

"I know," he said, cutting her off with another kiss, softer this time, but no less commanding.

Then, his hand traveled lower, over her belly, down to the nest of dark curls between her legs.

His fingers brushed her folds, and she gasped, her hips jerking involuntarily.

She was already slick, her body betraying her nervousness with a warmth that pooled at her core.

He traced her slit with one finger, dipping just inside, watching her face contort with a mix of pleasure and panic.

"You’re so tight," he breathed. "It seems like you’ve been expecting this..."

Ling Luochen bit her lip, her cheeks flaming as she turned her head away, unable to meet his gaze, but he caught her chin with his other hand, forcing her to look at him.

"Don’t hide from me. I want to see every reaction."

She stared at him with teary eyes, and he couldn’t help but smiled.

He eased a finger inside her, and she cried out a strangled, breathless sound.

The intrusion felt foreign, stretching her virgin walls, making her clench around him as he moved slowly, curling his finger to find that sweet spot inside her, and her shyness warred with the rising heat in her belly.

"That’s it," he praised, his thumb circling her clit with deliberate pressure. "Let your body feel all the pleasure."

She whimpered, her hands finally moving to grip his shoulders, nails digging into his skin.

The pain was dull, mixed with a blossoming pleasure she didn’t understand.

Then, he added a second finger, scissoring them, preparing her for what was to come as she gasped, her hips lifting slightly, seeking more despite her fear.

Haoran withdrew his fingers and positioned himself at her entrance, the head of his cock pressing against her slick folds.

He leaned down, kissing her neck, her collarbone, leaving a trail of heat.

"Look at me," he ordered.

She obeyed, eyes glistening with a mix of tears and desire, then, he pushed forward, just an inch, and she felt the stretch, like a burning, full sensation that made her gasp.

He stopped, letting her adjust, his forehead pressed to hers.

"Breathe," he whispered.

She took a shaky breath, and he pushed deeper, filling her inch by inch until he was fully seated inside her.

Her virginity surrendered with a faint pop of resistance, a sharp sting that made her cry out, but he held still, letting her body accommodate him, his own muscles taut with restraint.

"You’re taking me so well," he said, his voice thick with lust. "So perfect."

She trembled beneath him, her shyness burning bright, but the fullness inside her felt... right.

Isn’t this what she had been imagining all these time?

He began to move, slow and deep, each thrust a deliberate claiming as her body responded despite her mind’s nervous chatter—hips rocking to meet his, breath coming in ragged moans.

He took her mouth again, swallowing her sounds, his tongue mimicking the rhythm of his hips as one of his hand tangled in her hair, tugging gently to tilt her head back, exposing her throat.

He kissed down her neck, biting lightly at the pulse point, leaving marks that would bloom later.

"You’re mine now," he murmured against her skin. "This pussy belongs to me."

She could only nod, overwhelmed, as he increased his pace, driving into her with a possessive force that erased all thought.

The room filled with the sounds of wet skin slapping, her pleasured cries, his guttural grunts.

Soon, her shyness dissolved into raw sensation, the burn of being filled, the ache of stretching, the coil of pleasure tightening deep in her belly.

He reached between their bodies, rubbing her clit in tight circles, and she shattered, her orgasm ripping through her with a broken scream.

Her walls clenched around him, milking his cock, and he followed with a groan, spilling his seed deep inside her, claiming her from the inside out.

When he stilled, he remained buried in her, kissing her softly, tenderly now.

Ling Luochen’s body felt wrecked, her shyness returning in a flush of embarrassment as she realized what she’d done.

But Haoran only smiled, brushing the hair from her face.

"Good girl," he said. "We’re just getting started."