Long Yat-sen did what he told himself he would not do. He fucked her.
His wife had not finished settling in, had not spent an entire night in his apartment, and yet he had already yielded every ounce of self-control, stepping into the final dance of the night with her—the consummation.
It began when he had his first taste of her at their wedding in front of an audience, knowing that exact moment sealed what was brewing between them. He wanted more then, but he told himself that once they got home, he would go to his spare room, fist his cock, and that'd be it. He would leave her alone.
But when Shao Lin started stripping her beautiful wedding dress in front of him, saying the words he longed to hear, "What if I want it?" That was when every rational thought he had, left him.
Shao Lin was attracted to him. Many people were. It was no secret to Long Yat-sen. But his wife's attraction to him made him feel elated, like he could touch the clouds without climbing a mountain like he could do ten simultaneous backflips without hurting himself. But he never knew that this knowledge of her attraction to him could make him feel so pleased, so joyous.
When she initiated their first time together, he did not have the strength to deny her from what she wanted—from what they both wanted. He would give her anything.
Her wants and needs became his wants and needs. That was how much he adored her.
When he first tasted her flesh, when he entered her for the first time, he never knew such pleasure. He only allowed his imaginations to think of what it would feel like to be inside her; it did not compare to the real thing. Listening to Shao Lin's moans felt like music to his ears. Feeling her tighten around his cock, made him want to bury himself so deep inside her so he could never leave.
Long Yat-sen reached over to entwine his fingers in Shao Lin's hair as she was fast asleep next to him, a single sheet barely covering her naked body.
She breathed softly as he watched.
He adored her innocent expression, the feel of her silky brown hair, the way she smiled in her sleep.
Long Yat-sen was surprised when he learned that Shao Lin had let him be her first. He knew she was in a relationship with someone else before. She was dating another man, even while Long Yat-sen thought of her, even when he told himself he was all right with it, so long as he made her happy.
Zhong Bai didn't.
Long Yat-sen wanted to kill him when he learned what he did to Shao Lin. His informants had told him that Zhong Bai had long disappeared before the police arrived, even with the bullet wounds deep in each arm his sister had inflicted on his behalf. Long Yat-sen would have done worse, but he only cared about getting Shao Lin to safety—to home.
His wife shifted in her sleep. Long Yat-sen had to clean himself as well as her. But he waited for her to get some rest first since she collapsed shortly after having sex.
Long Yat-sen stirred out of bed, quickly washing in the shower before he turned the bath on. He went back into the room, sweeping Shao Lin in his arms, taking her to the warm bath. She woke when he began to clean her, and she looked at him with a sleepy expression, her cheeks flushed. Shao Lin reached over to peck his lips softly, and Long Yat-sen felt like just the slight brush of her lips on his had undone him forever.
She closed her eyes again, exhaustion overtaking her, so Long Yat-sen finished washing her. When he removed her from the bath, he dried her and dressed her before taking her back to bed. Shao Lin kept lulling back to sleep, moving over, searching for his warmth.
Long Yat-sen could not help but give in to his cute wife. He slid into bed next to her, and she smiled satisfyingly in her sleep when she felt him against her.
He watched as her breathing deepened, her head resting on his chest, her legs crossing over his.
Long Yat-sen knew how he got Shao Lin like this, but he still wondered how he had been lucky and cursed.
He was determined to follow the wishes of a desperate man to protect her, and that was to keep her away from everything related to the Underworld. That included the Long's. It became his wish, too. Shao Lin should have never gotten entangled with him. Long Yat-sen had many enemies. His wife would be a target, especially a wife he cared for. If his rivals ever catch his affections for her, it would be used against him. And the thing he feared the most is to hold Shao Lin in his arms, drenched in blood. It's a nightmare that would never escape him.
He would make sure it never happens.
To his father, the marriage between them was the perfect match. Long Yat-sen ruled the first organization, while Shao Lin had the power to rule the eighth. It benefited them to keep the Ox organization at bay.
It was common for the strongest warriors in the eight organizations to take spouses within members of the houses because they, too, were raised in these cruel worlds, but for Shao Lin, it had been concealed from her.
Some selfless part of him wished she had continued to live her life without having to cross paths with him again, even if she had forgotten the first two times.
The other selfish part of him was gratified that she had chosen him, married him, and bedded him, and all with her choice, bounding herself to him in many sacred ways.
But Long Yat-sen knew another detail. He reached out to his wife, brushing his fingers along the side of her face softly as he whispered, "I do not deserve you."
Shao Lin was too perfect, too innocent, too good for him. Had she known the things he did in his life to get to where he was, she may not want him. While she had a love of good things and flowers, Long Yat-sen's life was that of blood and violence.
Shao Lin deserved a peaceful life, a peaceful co-existence. Not someone like him.