Be Gentle, Immortal Master

Chapter 101 - Take Them Off

I had always wondered why he had chosen me as his disciple. After all, Bai Ye was most known for his accomplishment in the art of swords, and I didn't even have the right spiritual root that would allow me to pursue the same path—not without the help of Twin Stars. Did I simply meet him at the right time, after he finally recovered from those terrible memories and decided to start passing on his skills like all other masters?

Though that wasn't what I wanted to ask at the moment. I turned my hands and clasped my fingers around his. "But I don't want to be just your only disciple," I said almost inaudibly. "I …"

I felt a little ashamed of how outwardly jealous I sounded. He had already proven to me so many times, over and over again, how much he cared about me and how much I meant to him. But I couldn't help myself. What if there was someone better? What if he realized that all I had was good timing … and he simply hadn't noticed the others before?

"Qing-er." He heard my unspoken words and brought my hand over to him, pressing it over his heart. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat pulsed strong under my palm. "You are the only one in here, now and forever.. I swear."

The sparkles in his beautiful dark pupils dazzled me. All my worries and fears vanished. What was I thinking anyway? Anything that happened in the past was long gone, and I should trust him enough to know that nothing would change his feelings for me in the future. The raw emotions in his eyes couldn't lie. What was there to be jealous about?

"Besides," he leaned into me and whispered in my ears. There was a sly edge to his tone. "You must have forgotten something … You haven't been 'just my only disciple' for quite a while."

Before I could manage to reply, he swept me off the chair and carried me in his arms, striding towards his room.

"W-Wait!" I yelped, startled by his sudden move and almost thrashed out of his arms again just like I did at the cave. "Don't carry me like this! Let me down! You haven't fully healed yet!"

He ignored my protest and kept walking. "If tearing open a wound could distract you from those needless worries," he kicked his door open and strode through, "then it's well worth it."

"Bai—"

He dropped me into his bed and sealed the rest of the words in my mouth with a hard kiss.

I let out a muffled moan. For the past few days, I had been so worried about his injury that I didn't even think about … this, at all, and I had completely forgotten how much I had wanted to be back to Mount Hua sooner just for it. But now, with his scent and taste sweeping over me, irresistibly demanding my breath, the fire inside me suddenly stirred back to life.

I reciprocated his passion, savoring every corner inside his mouth hungrily. I missed this, and my newfound jealousy only made me want him more. I wanted him on me and within me, to prove to me that he was mine and mine alone.

"Bai Ye …" I breathed into his lips, and before I knew it, I was yanking his robe loose.

I warned myself to be gentle though when I slid it off his shoulders, cautious not to pull against his wounds—careless as he already was with himself, I couldn't risk making anything worse—and I didn't touch his bandages. Those could be changed later, and leaving them there would help keep things safer.

"Qing-er." His fingers deftly worked my garments as well. "Take the bandages off."

My hands halted. "Why?" I pulled away from him a little to look him in the eye. "They'll give you some protection. I can change them later …"

He smiled as he shed the last of my layers. "I want to feel you against me." He gathered me in an embrace, pressing my body into the bandage on his chest. "This is not enough," he said softly.

My heart swelled at the overwhelming love in his voice. I should've known—he wanted to feel the bond between us, the proof that we were truly one, with nothing in between that separated us. How could I ever doubt that such deep feelings for me could change?

"Then be careful." I obliged and untied the knots of the cloth, slowly unwrapping it around him. "Don't strain it, and don't … I'll try not to put my arms around you."

It was probably easier said than done, I thought as I loosened the remaining length and placed it on the table next to the bed, darting a furtive glance over his shoulders. At least it was relieving to see that the wounds were starting to scab on the surface. The new ointment I made must've worked well.

"You don't need to keep treating me like a porcelain doll," he chuckled when he caught my glance, "though I won't deny that I like seeing how much you care." He raised his hand and cleansed the residual medicine off of his back with a quick spell.

I glared at him. "Of course I care!" I mumbled. "If I weren't so worried about tearing up those wounds again, I …"

I stopped before any shameless words slipped out of my mouth, but there was already an amused look on his face. "You wouldn't have waited till now to come to my bed?" He finished them for me. "Looks like I have failed as your master again, Qing-er. I'll have to show you how I can please you just fine without twitching a muscle on my upper back."

He repositioned himself to sit across from me, lifting my legs over his and wrapping them around his waist. Then he held me tight, pressing us together skin to skin, and kissed me again.