The houses built on C City Special Ops grounds were entirely sound-proof and insulated against radio and electromagnetic interference. It was simply not possible for anyone to eavesdrop or spy on any of these houses.
After kicking Chen Lie out, the house was now empty save for Huo Shaoheng and Gu Nianzhi.
At the moment, Gu Nianzhi had already lost her senses and was therefore not really there. Huo Shaoheng was the only one alert and in full control of his faculties.
He was still in uniform. He sat on the white hardwood sofa—his long, boot-clad legs were stretched out, and he gazed in the direction of the bed.
The night grew darker. Inside the house, the lights were off. The thick, sound-proof, black-out velvet curtains were drawn. They hung from the ceiling to the floor, motionless.
Opposite him was his bed, covered with a clean and fresh ivory-white striped bed sheet. It was Egyptian cotton, with a thread count of 1800. Gu Nianzhi had picked it out for him.
Huo Shaoheng did not actually care about the little things. He had slept in all kinds of places during his missions: in snow, in mud, at the polar regions, up on a mountain, in the desert, in a swamp—he had experienced them all.
But he always depended on Gu Nianzhi when he was back home.
Gu Nianzhi had good taste for someone her age. Everything she bought for Huo Shaoheng suited him perfectly.
The ivory-white striped bedsheet, for example, was extremely comfortable and the perfect choice for a neat freak like Huo Shaoheng.
The pillow on the bed was of the same color and material. It was Egyptian memory foam and was supposedly good for the spine and back. Gu Nianzhi had especially chosen this for him too.
The only thing difference with the bed today was the addition of a living, breathing, and impossibly supple girl—Gu Nianzhi.
Huo Shaoheng couldn’t resist lighting another cigarette. He watched Gu Nianzhi for a long time.
He did not smoke his cigarette: he had only lit it out of habit. When the cigarette finally died out between his fingers, he peeled his eyes away from Gu Nianzhi and pressed the cigarette into an ashtray.
There was a hint of cigarette smoke in the air. Huo Shaoheng found the remote and turned on the ventilator. The smell of smoke quickly disappeared as fresh air came rushing in.
He slowly removed the cigarette pack in his pocket, tossing it onto the table. He laid back on the sofa and let out a long sigh.
He was suddenly aware of the zippo lighter in his hand. The lighter, too, was also a present from Gu Nianzhi.
Huo Shaoheng raised the lighter. His face was blank and unreadable. He flicked the lighter: On. Off. On. Off. On. Off.
He continued playing with the lighter for a while.
The room was getting darker by the minute. The intermittent light produced by his lighter illuminated his chiseled features: beautiful, forbidding, and heart-wrenching.
It was quiet, save for Gu Nianzhi’s continuous moaning.
Huo Shaoheng could not tell how much time had passed, when his phone suddenly lit up in the dark.
He glanced at it.
It was a message from Chen Lie: Remember to keep an eye on her heart rate. If it goes up, call me right away, I’ll send someone to head over.
Huo Shaoheng’s brow wrinkled. He threw his phone to the floor, smashing the screen, and tossed the lighter aside. He stood and watched Gu Nianzhi for a long moment, before finally walking over to the bed and sitting on it.
He patted her cheek and in a hoarse voice asked, “Does it hurt? Do you need relief?”
His gaze was dark and unfathomable. It was impossible to know what he was really thinking.
Gu Nianzhi drifted in a hazy stupor. She lay meekly on the bed, her mind gone.
Suddenly, she caught a whiff of male pheromones. Gu Nianzhi eagerly arched towards him.
Huo Shaoheng had excellent night vision.
Although the room was dark, his eyes had already adjusted to the gloom.
There was a subtle, sweet scent in the air. Gu Nianzhi’s face was unusually flushed, and her eyes, although unfocused and empty, were wet and bright. All this only served to make her look all the more alluring.
Huo Shaoheng looked away. He grabbed one of the unused Hermes scarves from the bedside table, and pulled it over her face. He lifted her head and knotted the scarf together at the back of her skull, effectively blindfolding her.
The dark blue Hermes scarf hid her bright, misty eyes.
The blindfold was unnecessary, as Gu Nianzhi could not actually see a thing. Her mind was in complete shambles. It was as though she was trapped in a dark room, with no exit in sight. She could only wait and hope for the best.
Deep down, in the darkest recesses of her mind, something told her that this was not the first time she was experiencing this.
After blindfolding her, Huo Shaoheng caressed Gu Nianzhi’s cheek. Her skin was warm and soft to the touch, but at the same time his hand came away wet with her sweat.
He could not afford to wait any longer.
Huo Shaoheng took a deep breath, and rose from the bed. He undid the buckle on his belt, and threw it to the floor before moving on to the buttons on his uniform. He started from the bottom, his slender, powerful fingers moving upwards, undoing the buttons one by one. Upon reaching his neck he stopped and hesitated, then slowly unhooked the clasp on the collar.
He removed his uniform and tossed it onto the sofa beside the bed. The knee-high army boots soon followed. He walked into the bathroom, clad only in his gray-black boxer briefs.
Soon after, the sound of running water came from the bathroom. The naked figure of a beautiful, well-toned man could be seen as an indistinct outline through the frosted glass door.
…
When he was done Huo Shaoheng walked out of the bathroom, naked except for the brown towel wrapped around his waist.
He turned on the corner lights of his bedroom. The shadow of his tall, strapping body—like that of an ancient Greek god’s—moved along the beige wallpaper.
His skin was slightly tan, and his shoulders were broad. Complementing his eight-pack was his prominent Apollo’s belt. The V-line abs appeared to plunge and disappear into the hidden recesses of his towel.
His waist was muscular and taut, and his buttocks were full. Below that were his long, powerful legs: they seemed to be full of hidden power, like a tightly-coiled spring.
He stood beside the bed, his head lowered. A drop of water rolled off the ends of his hair, slowly making its way down his neck and onto his strong, muscular chest.
Gu Nianzhi was struggling violently on the bed, as though fighting for her life. Her clothes were a rumpled mess, and her exposed skin was all pink.
Huo Shaoheng looked at her, his face devoid of expression. He pulled his towel off and tossed it onto the sofa.
He had a pair of gray-black boxer briefs on underneath the towel. He sat on the bed, clad only in his underwear.
Gu Nianzhi sensed that someone had come. The scent coming from him was exactly what she wanted: she arched desperately towards him.
Huo Shaoheng put his arms around her shoulders. Holding her in his arms, he watched as her plump, pouty lips tilted up towards him. He lowered his head and kissed them.
The scent of male pheromones helped slake Gu Nianzhi’s thirst. She returned the kiss eagerly. As their tongues entwined, she felt as though a cool, refreshing breeze had come to soothe her fiery body. The tingling feeling deep inside her subsided a little.
She couldn’t help but get closer.
Huo Shaoheng’s brows were knit together. He was reacting to her.
All those years of anti-seduction training—had they all been for nothing?
During his training, he could take an aphrodisiac and still remain cold and aloof towards the most seductive women. He had never once lost his composure.
In all these years, he had never actually used his “equipment” in “actual combat”; this was partly due to his incredible willpower and self-control. No one had ever succeeded in making him lose himself in his desires.
He had always thought of himself as the perfect war machine.
Which was why Huo Shaoheng could not understand why his body was reacting now. He was not happy about it.
He took a deep breath, and flopped onto the bed, his brows furrowed together. The bed sank under his weight.
With a press of a button he switched off the corner lights on the wall. The bedroom was immediately plunged into total darkness.
By this time, Gu Nianzhi’s instincts had taken over her body.
She gave a low moan, and eagerly inched closer to Huo Shaoheng’s side of the bed.
Huo Shaoheng gently stroked Gu Nianzhi’s head, before he twisted on top of her. He said in a low voice, “I’m sorry. I have to do this to save you from the aphrodisiac.”
Gu Nianzhi was rolling about in her thirst. Huo Shaoheng was like a fine wine to her, and she felt like she could get drunk on him.
The stirring masculine scent filled her nose and clouded her mind. She couldn’t think; everything was a blur to her. She only wanted to touch and hold the body that was so close to her, and satisfy her hunger.
But her arms and legs were securely bound. She could not move.
…
Huo Shaoheng was a very handsome man, but there was an edge to his beauty, one that could bring women to their knees.
But here, inside the dark bedroom, his eyes watching Gu Nianzhi, the edges on Huo Shaoheng uncharacteristically melted away. His pristine fingers, slender and strong, gently caressed her cheek.
Gu Nianzhi turned her head, and pressed her cheek into the palm of his hand. She breathed in his scent greedily.
A fire was burning inside her chest. She wanted to get closer… closer…
Closer.