Instinctively, she moved forward, and slowly and slowly, he pulled her up.
When she landed on her feet, long Jie clasped her hand in his and ran before the landslide could reach them. Or any danger could touch them.
They ran and ran and ran till the dark clouds started showering and drenching them as if blessing them to complete the love tale that was once left unfinished .
The clouds were beaming, the tresses were dancing,
the moon, the stars hidden behind the dark clouds were blessing the new yet very old lovers, who had their hands entwined, trotting in the unfamiliar mountains with the familiar feelings in their hearts.
Who would have thought a natural disaster would bring them closer even when their engagement couldn't.
And it was their first step of embracing what nature had conspired for them.
After what seemed like an eternity, they saw an old bunker made by trekkers to rest. He took her inside to escape the rain.
To keep the chill at bay, Long Jie lit a fire with the stuff he found in that old bunker. They decided to spend the night there until someone came to rescue them.
The sun was about to rise in few hours only if the rain stopped and the stony bunker was cloaked in darkness, except the little glow of fire .
While the Zhenyi was drying her clothes , Long Jie was staring at her.
Finally, when her eyes fell back on Long Jie, she found him watching her. He didn't look away like most people would when caught staring. Instead, he just stared harder, as if she was a book he was trying to read, but it was in a language he didn't understand.
"You should rest." He said after sometime.
"I should." She replied still looking into his eyes.
Being this close, nothing separating them but the fire, it felt dangerous. An electrical current seemed to flow from him to her , an invisible line that crackled with electricity. If she reached out and touched him, she wondered if a spark would go off in the dark.
Something inside of her wanted to whisper, 'kiss her, touch her, make her forget her body belongs to her'
The need felt innate and instinctive, like an immense thirst or insatiable hunger for food. But as usual, he overwhelmed her when he turned those grey eyes on her.
The depth of his eyes speak the unspoken promises he appeared to have made when she was kissing the death, few moments ago.
She could hardly take a breath.
Long Jie cleared his throat, loud. "Zhenyi."
"Yes," she whispered instinctively .
"You should rest now. We had a long night." He pointed to the area, she prepared for resting, which was beside her.
"And you too. There is plenty of space for two of us."
He tried to hide his smile but failed. "No. I'm good."
She stood up and went near him. " There is still few hours left before sunrise. Lie down for a moment." And took his hand in hers and fetched him to the self-made bed on the floor.
"We will be in danger Zhenyi, if one of us don't back down now."
" I just kissed the death Long Jie and returned untouched. Tell me if it's still more dangerous."
He looked every where but at her.He knew where they were heading. It was not that he didn't want to. He just didn't want her to regret.
As Zhenyi could miraculously read his mind, moved towards him and shook him to look at her. "You think I will regret it?"
Off course he thought in her mind. Any sane man would think so.
His eyes came up slowly, and in the fire glow, the flecks of golden or brown or perhaps it was green could be seen in his gray eyes.
"You don't want me to touch you?," She asked lowly . They had kissed before in his penthouse, when she abruptly asked him to take her with him.
She didn't accepted that time but it was true she didn't want to be alone. She had almost lost her best friend that night.
And it was him who offered her his company and she took it gladly. Now she was asking again but he chose to refute, afraid she would regret it.
Little did he knew, when she made her mind it was next to impossible to alter it.
Now she wanted him and she would have him.
"Do you know you're testing my patience ?" he whispered. "You will regret it ."
"I won't."
The conviction in her words awakened something inside him, he had been yearning to touch her, feel her or embrace her to see if she was okay.
But he knew it was adrenaline that was speaking.
" You're not playing fair."
"Ah! All is fair in love and war."
"We have neither. War maybe. Love? Never."
"Maybe I do love you."
"Then I'm Adolf Hitler."
"Adolf Hitler and you? Nah! Have you seen the guy? What a beauty he was! And his mustache was too die for!"
"Wow! I know you are crazy. But never know to this extent. I'm having second thoughts about marrying you now."
"Goddammit! I should be the one having second thoughts. Neither you can cook nor you can satisfy your wife's needs."
"Shut up Zhenyi."
"Then shut me up."
She said and brought her mouth closer to him to shut her up.
"You-you. Must you be so cruel."
"Apparently you are doing nothing. So, I've to take the lead role."
"Keep quiet and sleep."
"How can I sleep when you are seducing me?"
"What? When do I seduced you? And how do I don't know?"
"You sitting there like Adonis. Is it less than seducing me?"
"You are shameless."
"Thank you teacher!"
"I'm asking you last time Long Jie if you don't do anything, I'm going to search tarzan in this forest. Or any first human I saw--
She didn't get to complete before he sealed her mouth with his.
Yeah! This was how she was asking him to shut her up.