Sealed in the Secret Realm with My Rival novel · Chapter 24 of 24
Chapter 24: Aftercare
The bathhouse at Ember Court was a red-tiled room with a deep stone tub, and Lu Baichuan had chased every servant out of it.
Steam rolled off the water in slow sheets.
Qin Heyan stood in the doorway in a borrowed crimson robe, and found that his hands would not stop shaking.
The Gate master had been marched off between two elders, and his disciples knelt in the courtyard.
Shi Wangshu had quietly handed Lu a jar of tea for the road.
Now there was only the quiet.
"Come in," Lu said from the tub. "I'm clean. I'm going to be extremely clean."
"You're laughing at me."
"I'm very fond of you. It's different."
Qin let the robe fall.
The water was hot enough to sting.
He sank into it with a sigh and Lu drew him back against his chest, and settled his arms round him from behind.
They were both quiet for a while.
Qin leaned his head on Lu's shoulder.
Under his shoulder blade he could feel a heartbeat, slow and even.
Underneath it, a second one answered.
"It's strange," Qin said.
"What is?"
"I can tell exactly where you are. Even with my eyes shut."
"I can tell where you are too. You're thinking about whether to say something soft."
"I am not."
"You are."
Qin turned his head and kissed his jaw.
"I'm thinking you're alive."
"I'm alive."
"I'm thinking I would like to touch you for several hours."
Lu's laugh shook against his back.
"Heyan. Look at you, asking."
"I'm not asking. I'm telling."
"Oh, tell me."
Qin shifted, in the hot water, until he was sitting in Lu's lap with his back to Lu's chest.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of Sealed in the Secret Realm with My Rival are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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