YiJun's POV

After the Zhu siblings had left, I had not been able to think or act. I had stood at the door and recalled how Xian had behaved and the things he had said just moments ago. 

I realize that I am scared to face him; I feel my legs give way and lean on the door.

So I was right after all. Xian didn't love me. Or even if he did, he didn't anymore. Our moment was over even before it had begun. Now that he had acknowledged how boring and old I was, will he leave me?

In a way, I don't blame him. I knew this was inevitable: him discarding me. Maybe Qing is better for him. They are the same age. They probably have a lot in common. She is beautiful, young, and seems to like Xian a lot. She hails from a respectable family.

Yes, it would be better for him to stay away from me. What could I offer him except danger? I was, after all, heaven's fugitive. If Heavenly Father were to get a whiff of my existence, he wouldn't hesitate to capture and end my existence once and for all.

What if he gets his hands on Xian? 

No, I couldn't let that happen. 

I am brought out of my heart-breaking thoughts when I feel Xian's arms around me. As he turns me to face him, the smile slips off his face and gets replaced with concern. He urges me to open up. He asks if I was upset because of something Hua had said. When he wipes my cheeks, I realize that somehow as I was contemplating about Xian's future away from me, I had ended up in tears.

"Tell me, Jun." He pleads.

Don't you know that I have only ever cried for you, Xian? Don't you know that only you have that power? 

I start to tell him, but he interrupts me and explains the reasons behind his action. Elation replaces desolation when he teases me; stepping closer, he bathes me in vanilla and honey.

Oh, how I have missed it, the intoxicating, seductive, sinful scent that is him, all him.

He caresses my arms casually.

Do you know what you are doing to me, Xian? 

I try to form words but fail; I can't think. The scent is overpowering me, stirring things that shouldn't leave their slumber. Does Xian not know what he is doing? Does he not care?

I want you, Xian. 

Moving closer, he leans in. His hot breath caresses the shell of my ear, sending shivers down my spine, making my rebelling heart flutter. Words like beautiful, gorgeous leave his mouth. They are for me, only me.

I am aching for you, Xian. 

My control slips. I turn us around, and his back collides with the door. I can feel his heart race. But now I know that I don't scare him. The fragrance of vanilla, now thick and heavy, makes it hard for me to breathe. The need to touch the source drives me with want.

His perversely slender waist that fits so perfectly as I hold him in place mocks me. I look into his eyes: desire, joy, mischief.

I don't scare you at all, do I, Xian?

"Don't tempt me," I warn, pressing myself closer, begging him to understand my desperation, my heart. Color rises to his cheeks; he calls my name. It's tender and soft, yet hesitant.

Why are you hesitating, my prince? I want to know, but instead, the intense need to feel him takes over me. I bring our foreheads together, and my hand moves lower on its own accord.

Stop, Jun. 

He asks me questions that I am ashamed to answer; things about being ready, about making love.

Don't, Xian, don't go there.

My knees give way again, and I try to stop myself from moving closer. 

 It's is not right. It can't be. 

 A moment later, I find myself in his hot embrace. I don't move away as I should. I bury my face in the nape of his neck. And breathe him in, filling my entire being with the scent.

Bliss.

I crave more. 

Xian winces, making me realize my mistake. I had bitten him without even meaning to do it. I almost break the spell Xian's scent was casting on me. I struggle to regain my sense of morality. But before I can succeed, he rakes his fingers through my hair and pulls me closer.

Did you perhaps like that, Xian?

Would you like it if I were to mark your body like this?

Would you let me? 

WRONG! FILTHY! TRAITOR! The words of my brother, sister, and father echo in my mind, holding me back, reprimanding me.

I deserve it. After all, Xian was not just someone I had chosen to sleep with; his happiness and safety were above everything.

I needed to tell him. I needed him to understand my heart and accept me with and despite the lines that I had drawn, lines that I couldn't cross, at least not till I had all the answers. I do precisely that and pray for him to bear with me, to wait for me.

Surprisingly, he agrees, and I am about to let down my guard, but just before I do, he asks, "Can't we do anything?" his eyes search mine; I know what he will see in them. And I am afraid. I look at the now reddening mark on his neck, hoping it to shake me out of this haze of greed and lust. Hoping that it will remind me of the error of my actions, but it doesn't. Instead, it fuels my desire.

"Jun?" Xian calls and cups my face, "Won't you answer me?" He enquires, playing with the strands of my hair at the base of my neck.

I want you.

I embrace him, "We can do this." I reply, ruffling his hair, and he throws his arms around me, "Something is better than nothing." He agrees and kisses my cheek before pulling me to his room.

Warning bells go off in my mind, and I stop, refusing to enter it. Xian smirks, "Don't you want to know what we did when we were in my room, Qing and I?"

Yes. I want to know. 

"It doesn't matter. As long as that girl is not the one in your heart, I don't care."

"See, this is why I called you boring." He chuckles and takes my picture with his phone; shaking his head, he adds, "Jun, you don't look like a scary Archangel at all when you are pouting like this."

Archangels don't pout; I don't.

"You don't believe me, do you, Jun." He pauses and hands me his phone, "See if I am lying."

"Don't want." I ignore the offer and make my way towards the kitchen, "Dinner." I remind him, and his stomach agrees. It's his turn to pout.

Adorable.

"Fine. Let's have dinner."

Xian whips up a stir fry and pasta at light's speed as I set the plates. Placing it on the table, he attacks it, gobbling it down with a vengeance.

"Don't rush. Go slow." I offer, but it falls on deaf ears. Continuing to stuff spoon fulls of pasta and stir fry into his mouth, he keeps smiling at me sweetly. And even before I had had half of what I had intended to, he takes my plate away, "All done!" He chimes.

"Xian, I am not done." I try to grab my plate from him, but he puts his hand out. "Pay me."

"Mn?"

"I will let you finish your dinner if you pay me." He wiggles his brows, half teasing, half challenging.

"Fine. What do you want?" I fold, and he throws his arms open. "Hold me." He pauses and tilts his head to a side, exposing the crimson mark on his neck.

I feel my throat go dry. I look away. "Xian, that's not funny."

"No, it's not. It was hot. Jun, you already did it once; you can do it again."

Freeing myself from his hold, I walk away, putting as much distance between us as I can without it rousing his suspicion; I down a glass of water, both for quenching my thirst and buying time, I fail on both accounts.

With confident strides, Xian closes the distance between us, "Don't forget, angel, you are mine."

I soft whimper leaves my chest, and I find myself in Xian's arms. He strokes my neck and bears his once again, "Jun, please." He urges, guiding my lips to the spot.

My eyes fall on the scarlet mark: a testament of my failed restrain; I kiss it and try to lean away. I had already crossed a line; I knew I shouldn't anymore, but he is relentless. He presses himself close, connecting our lower bodies, making me feel him. "Jun, give me something, won't you?" He whispers, licking the shell of my ear. My mind empties as blood pools under my belly.

My hunger for him, to mark and consume what I knew in my heart to me Mine, grows, and before I can stop myself, I pick him up and seat him on the jet black countertop. I step between his legs and capture his lips. I can hear his heart thunder; It's the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. He wraps his arms around me. The now-familiar feel of his fingers fisting in my hair sends jolts of pleasure through me. I press myself closer and caress his narrow waist, making him smile into the kiss.

I feel powerless. I am a puppet in Xian's hands. I know it, yet I couldn't care less. My hand wanders to his front, taking in the feel of the taut muscles of his abdomen and chest through the layer of fabric hiding him from me before landing on the nape of his neck.

I deepen the kiss, wanting to taste all that was on offer. Our tongues meet and caress each other, and I drink in the sweet flavor of honey and vanilla.

Nothing can compare. Be it the nectar from the sweetest flowers on the mortal realm or the elixir of the Gods, none of them come close to the taste of him. Not wanting to let go, yet wanting to do more, I let go of the ruby wonders. I push his shirt away from his shoulder, run my fingers over the smooth ivory expanse and sink my teeth into the flesh, dragging another broken moan from my prince.

Inviting... Enticing... Mine.

He pulls me close and heaves. His hands wander over my back. He gasps as I start sucking the bruise: the mark my teeth had left on him. I can feel his body grow warmer through the layers of clothes that separate us.

"Jun..." He tugs my hair; he doesn't use words, but I know what he wants. I lick the mark, making it glisten, and he shudders in my arms before pulling away, "Are you still hungry, or has marking me satisfied you?" He demands, caressing the spot.

My heart thumps. A need to go down on my knees in front of this barely adult boy fills me.

How is it that this boy can hold such sway over me? 

Then it comes to me. Only someone more powerful than me can have this effect on me. The red eyes, The Voice, the fact that Xian could see my aura, everything hinted at only one thing. Over the past few days, I had been contemplating about Xian's parentage and had already concluded that Xian was not part human, part archangel as I had thought. He couldn't be. For him to be this powerful, he had to be an offspring of two powerful celestial beings. But, that couldn't be, for I was sure that neither me nor Jian had ever laid a finger on our sister.

There were other puzzling parts too. For instance, the archangels could bear cold weather with ease, but Xian couldn't. He hated it. Instead, it was the heat that did not bother him. Thinking back, he had never once complained about the bathwater being too hot. He loved being warm. How come? What exactly was he? He had some of the qualities of celestial beings, but there were things that he could do that no angel could, not even me.

The Voice that Xian had used on me a few times, I couldn't go against it. Though I had never personally witnessed The Voice in use, there was one being who, it was said, used it often. A creature so twisted and ruthless that once upon a time, I had vowed to end his existence.

No, it couldn't be. Could it?

Meimei, did you give your heart to a human or-

"Jun?" A worried voice drifts over to me as if from a distance, pulling to back to the here and now, and Xian's anxious face stares back at me, "Jun, I am sorry, did I make you do something against your will?" He asks softly as a lone tear rolls down his cheek.

Wiping his cheeks, I look into his beautiful orbs and decide that he needs to know the things that I had been keeping from him, "Xian, we need to talk."

{Note : That's it for this update. Hope it was to your liking.

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On another note, Erus555 and I have started co-writing a novella for the open novella contest. It's called 'Mission Status: (Barely) Managing' and is an original novella being published on her account. So far, the intro, prologue and chapter one are up. It would mean a lot to both of us if you would give it a chance. (You can find the link to it on my message board)

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