Chapter 76 - The Wolf Is Tender, The Fox Wakes Up Hot

Xiao Zai took a deep, sobering breath. He didn't want to say or do anything that could put an end to the ambiguous atmosphere weaving itself around them.

While he wasn't as drunk at Chu Yun, he knew the alcohol was having an effect on him as well. He was well past the point of putting an end to things if they escalated.

He was threading into murky waters, but he wasn't strong enough to stop.

Chu Yun kept giving him those sultry half-lidded looks from beneath the enticing curl of his thick lashes, his dark eyes sparkled with inebriation, and his lips were reddened from how he kept trying to catch the falling drops of wine that spilled from the corners of his smiling mouth.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Chu Yun asked, still looking up at Xiao Zai.

Xiao Zai couldn't not look at him, he had never met someone he wanted to keep looking at so much.

"Like what?"

Chu Yun smirked. "Like you want to eat me."

Is that what Xiao Zai looked like? He felt a powerful hunger whenever he looked at Chu Yun, but he wasn't sure if it was a desire to consume him, at least not if he wasn't consumed in the process as well.

Chu Yun frustrated him, infuriated him, teased him, and tested his limits constantly, but Xiao Zai never wanted him to stop. He didn't know why being challenged at every instant felt so gratifying, but it did.

After so many years of being crushed under his father's heel, oppressed by the schemes of the harem as a child, and worrying for his dam's and sister's safety, finally Xiao Zai had someone he felt he could share his burdens with.

His equal.

Chu Yun chuckled, listing into Xiao Zai's side. "What is it going to be? Are you going to try," he arched a fluent eyebrow, "or are you all talk."

"You don't know what you're saying, you're drunk," Xiao Zai said, mostly to himself, finally managing to wrench his eyes away from Chu Yun.

Chu Yun pulled him towards him by the collar of his robes, and looked him in the eyes again, the haze of inebriation receding momentarily. "What do you think it means, that we can only be honest with each other about what we want when we are drunk?"

Xiao Zai didn't have an answer for him, and eventually Chu Yun let go of his robes, patting his chest with a fond hum. He nuzzled into Xiao Zai's side with a sleepy sigh, and then tucked his legs under his knees. They were almost of a height, but curled up like that Chu Yun looked oddly small, harmless even. Xiao Zai wrapped one arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer.

Silky strands of hair tickled his nose and Xiao Zai took a strong whiff, letting Chu Yun's crisp orchid and pine scent clear his senses. It never stopped amazing him, how someone who came from a warm place could smell so much of winter. Whenever he felt Chu Yun's scent he was always reminded of home.

Chu Yun let out a soft sigh and slid into Xiao Zai's lap, using his legs as a pillow. He was already half asleep, he wrapped one arm around Xiao Zai's waist and made himself comfortable.

Xiao Zai observed his actions with an amused smile. Despite his earlier provocations, it was obvious the only thing Chu Yun was in any condition of doing was sleeping.

For a moment, Xiao Zai indulged himself and ran his fingers through Chu Yun's silky hair, letting the cool strands slid through his fingers like water.

Chu Yun sighed contentedly nuzzling into Xiao Zai's legs, as if his lap was the most comfortable bed he'd ever had.

As much as Xiao Zai was enjoying this odd, tender intimacy, his legs were growing numb. He disentangled himself from Chu Yun's arms and stood up, lifting Chu Yun with him. Chu Yun grumbled in annoyance, his eyes still stubbornly closed.

Xiao Zai couldn't help smiling at his sleepy antics. Usually Chu Yun was too prickly and haughty to be called cute, but right now there was no other way to describe him.

Buoyed by the warmth in his chest, Xiao Zai lifted Chu Yun up into his arms and carried him towards the bed. With some effort, he pulled back the covers and deposited Chu Yun between the soft sheets.

Chu Yum grumbled sleepily some more and then clutched the pillow under his cheek to his side.

Xiao Zai sat on the floor, just staring at him. He reached for Chu Yun's cheek and touched his smooth skin. The wine was making him sleepy too, but he didn't want to go to his own room. His dam was right, the two of them had been married for months now, it made no sense for them to sleep in separate quarters.

Between one thought and the next, Xiao Zai too succumbed to sleep, his arm still stretched across the sheets, reaching out for Chu Yun.

---

Chu Yun woke up with a gasp. He felt as if he was burning from within. He started clawing at the sheets and comforters around him. Only then realising he had gone to bed in his outer robe. Maybe that explained the terrible heat he felt. 

Desperate, he started sliding his robes off, both outer and inner, but the heat didn't stop. His head was swimming, he felt as if he were on fire.

He knew what this was...but no, it couldn't be...not now.

Movement at the corner of his eyes drew his attention. Xiao Zai was leaning across the bed, apparently having fallen asleep on the floor. "What's happening?" he asked, knuckling the sleep out of his eyes.

His wolfberry wine scent was more powerful than ever, and it hit Chu Yun like a punch, leaving him gasping, adding fuel to the fire burning him up.

Chu Yun looked into Xiao Zai's eyes and rasped out, "I'm going into rut."