Chapter 54 - First Kiss

"This..."

What followed next took Jiang Ying Yue with complete surprise.

The kiss that Silver landed on her lips was not what she was expecting... or maybe... it was exactly what she wanted deep down in her heart. It was probably what her soul sought to experience.

At first, she stood there like a statue with her eyes closed. She just let herself feel the warmth and softness of his lips as he kissed her. His lips moving against hers in slow and soft strokes, making something flutter in her stomach. 

He let one of his hands move to cup her nape while his other hand tightened its hold around her waist as he deepened the kiss, making her gasp which allowed him the opening that he was searching for.

Jiang Ying Yue finally decided to let go of her insecurities and to enjoy the moment. She finally decided to let herself enjoy their first kiss. Her arms snaked around his shoulders while she started moving her lips in sync with his, opening up and allowing him to take control over the kiss.

The kiss was not slow, neither was it sensual nor sweet. Instead, it was hot, full of passion, need, and years of longing that the two of them had for each other. It was full of desire which was melting Jiang Ying Yue into a puddle.

Her legs started to become jelly as she experienced the hottest kiss of her life. It made her body burst into soft but powerful tingles of pleasure and need as she tightened her arms around him, pulling him closer if that was even possible at this point where their bodies were literally jammed together. 

A groan escaped Silver's mouth as he felt his desire for her rising with each passing second. He just wanted to forget about everything and just claim her as his mate. He wanted to complete their bond and bound her with him together for eternity.

However, just when he was letting himself sink in the ocean of happiness and pleasure, a painful gasp from Ying Yue made him end the kiss as he suddenly pulled back to look at the girl. Only after their kiss ended did he realize that his soul mark was burning.

Jiang Ying Yue took a few steps away from Silver as she massaged her wrist where her soul mark was still burning slightly. The good thing was that they stopped before it was too late. Looked like even though her bonds with her other two mates gave her and Silver some leeway, it was still limited to a certain extent.

"Are you alright?" Silver asked as he watched her massaging her wrist.

"Yeah, I'm fin... mmph..." 

She got silenced before she could finish her sentence as the man suddenly sealed her lips with a soft and quick kiss.

It was short, lasting for barely a couple of seconds but it was still enough to shake her from inside out, not because she was thrilled but because she was scared for his safety.

"Are you nuts?" She shouted at him as soon as the man pulled back with a huge smile playing on his lips. He seemed to be happy after finally enjoying an almost proper kiss with the girl whom he loved more than his own life.

Instead of replying to her, he made her face the bed and started her pushing towards it lightly. "Come on! You have a physical training class in the morning. Get as much sleep as possible because you won't be getting any rest tomorrow. Hurry up!"

"Silver..." Jiang Ying Yue tried to talk to him but was silenced when the man put his finger against her lips.

Letting out a soft sigh, she climbed onto the bed and laid down as he covered her with the duvet. 

"Good night, my Queen."

That was the last thing she heard before her eyes became too heavy to stay open and she was pulled into a dreamless sleep.

*****

Jiang Ying Yue was smart. Since she did not want to be tortured alone by exercising every morning, she grabbed the Li sisters from the fourth courtyard even before dawn arrived and made the two girls practice some basic warm-up exercises along with her. 

The only person who seemed cheerful after spending an entire hour doing the so-called basic exercises was Min Gu. The little girl was filled with energy while the other three young women were sprawled in the garden as they tried to catch up their breaths. 

"My l-lady... w-why are... are we torturing... I

our-ourselves like th-this... so early in the m... morning...?" Li Qi asked as she huffed to get as much oxygen inside her as she could.

"This is not torturing in any way. You guys need to grow your physical strength if you want to keep yourself hidden and protected from that Empress Dowager of yours." Min Gu spoke in a calm tone as she gave a hard look to all the three young ladies.

The mention of Empress Dowager made both the Li sisters become stiff as they hurriedly looked around as if to make sure that the old woman was not lurking somewhere around them.

"Wait! What has the Empress Dowager to do with all this?" Li Wu questioned as she turned to stare at Min Gu.

The little girl sighed as she shook her head as if she was tired of the stupid questions. "Ladies, remember this. The only thing that will help you in running away from that old woman is your legs and stamina. When she will be hunting you guys down, only your physical strength will be able to save you."

The expressions on the faces of the Li girls we're clearly showing their displeasure. The two girls stared at Min Gu as if they were looking at a jinx. 

It was Jiang Ying Yue who decided to break the ice, "Enough! No matter whether you like it or not, but this is going to become permanent. From today onwards, one hour before dawn will be reserved for our physical training class. Now, let's get to work. There's a lot to do today."