MERIDIAN'S DEVIL

"Have you read the novel I endorsed yet, Jiang Yue?" The questioned girl's eyes gaze up from the screen she was working at, to remorsefully meet the inquiring lady's dismayed stare.

Yue slumps her shoulders as Lucy rolls her eyes, her hands raised in the air in disbelief, she shook her head, somewhat miffed as she advanced towards her.

"You need to get a life!!" she grumbles and flicks the workaholic girl's forehead and a sharp pain spreads across Yue's skin.

"Ow!! LUCY!" Yue pouts aggrieved at her behavior, which was though moderately justified.

She had propounded her to read a novel, a smut erotic yet heartfelt romance book as she described it to be, months back.

And months ahead, today, Yue still hadn't read it, in fact, she had no idea, about the whereabouts of the paperback that her generous friend, Lucy had gifted her.

"Oh, don't you Lucy me." She switches glances between Yue and her mechanical system, the one Yue was formerly working at. Within a matter of seconds, and a few taps on the keyboard, Lucy swiftly shuts down the entire thing.

"Lucy...." Yue's tone commences on a displeased, exasperated level, but instanter to soften, knowing she, herself was reprehensible.

"Get up and go home. Now." Yue sighs, aware of her own incapability to manipulate the situation.

"I am sending you the PDF of it, and you're going to finish it today."

"Fine, whatever!" Yue rolls her eyes, slightly vexed, as she gathers her belongings to head home.

"Trust me, you'll thank me later." Lucy winks, before indulging herself in a happy dance by herself, the intensity with which she can switch personalities can have one at utter incredulity.

"We'll see about that." Yue shakes her head in a subconscious dismay, before smiling involuntarily at Lucy's elation, as she clasps her hands and gives her brightest smile to the departing girl.

Lucy is a year older than Yue, but Yue is still at a position much higher than hers.

Despite that, Lucy has an ostentatious lifestyle, always out, partying, casual hook ups, a new boyfriend every new month if not week.

And yet, in spite of desiring that life as well, Yue hasn't ever been able to make out the time out of her arduous schedule to have a moment of tranquility.

But after all, this hectic and busy lifestyle is the one Yue deliberately chose to lead, ever since she was a toddler she had watched both her parents exert themselves day and night working their jobs. Her Parents were doctors and they toiled through the hours of the day strenuously. Growing up watching her parents engage in such hectic schedules of job, she was compelled to work even harder herself. She was a doting daughter, always first in school, always the top of her batch in college, and now even at her job she didn't ever fail to fall behind.

Knowing that her parents had given up their entire teenage and adulthood working just for her to have a better life, her consideration for paying back her parents for all they do for her had rendered her to turn to such circumstances of not allowing herself to enjoy even the slightest pleasures of life. For she would always be overcome with emotions of guilt and remorse.

Yue's home isn't at much of a distance from her own workplace.

And it isn't as fancy either. It's a house large enough to house three people. It was a comfortable and congenial space with a spacious living room with a shared kitchen and two bedrooms, not too huge but not that small either, just the right size.

But above all, she was somehow managing to get through. It's not that she couldn't afford to live in a much lavish apartment or she hadn't ever had the opportunity to switch lifestyles. It was simply that, Yue didn't want to initiate a life, like that, alone. And she hadn't ever had gotten herself to fall for a guy enough to indulge in a fancy life like that. But she was doing all happy and fine in her parent's company.

The jingle of the keys heralded Yue's arrival, at a house where no one was anticipating her entrance, since her parents usually worked till late night and arrived much later after she did.

Lucy wasn't wrong, when she said 'You need to get a life.' Yue concurred with her comments, but she would never let it show.

She wouldn't want Lucy to worry over her any further. Long time back she had decided upon never letting anyone else ever again carry her burden. Yue was resolute in treading along the harsh paths of life, on her own.

Yue places the laden bag down, an occlude to a flamboyant life, a responsibility, or rather a mere means of survival, or a sense of allegiance to her high-profile work life.

"At home, at last." She plomps onto her bed, which is the most comforting and comfortable furniture in this spacious place of hers.

"Now, now, where's that novel?" Reluctantly yet to finish off an assigned task she pulls out her laptop, from the desk at the very corner of the damp room, and drags it to the bed along with herself plodding along.

She surfs through her neat and precisely managed mail, endeavoring to locate the PDF, which Lucy had blathered about.

"Aha!" Yue smiles victoriously on successfully getting her hands on the coveted file. And without any further ado, she gets on with it.

"MY PRINCE IS A VAMPIRE?" She mumbled to herself. To her the name appeared to be engrossing and shortly she commenced with its preface.

As she advanced through the pages, it began to captivate her as it continued growing intriguing with each next line she read.

The scenes, the parts, the chapters were at best tantalizing. The warmth of the room seemed to thrive, her senses entirely engaged with the salacious story.

"Damn..." her heart fastened, latently. Yue gulped as her eyes continued on their journey to cultivate what lied ahead.

[An excerpt from the book Jiang Yue is reading]

'She presses her lips to his, and immediately Wu Jinghang responds, drawing her in closer, his movements slow, unhurried and languid.

"I want you" she murmurs lowly

"Then you'll have me. Every inch, for as long as you can stand it." Jinghang advances towards her and takes her frail, smaller hands, into the secure, larger one of his, engulfing them entirely, he kisses the back of her hand and she smiles.

"Is that a promise, Jinghang?"

He quirks an eyebrow with a smirk, eyes darkening as they skim over her with unbridled lust.

"All that talking and none of it was a simple 'yes' or 'no." she snorts

"That's because it's not a promise…".

He brings her to his grandeous room, leaving her to take the expanse of the bedroom as the door swings open. Her eyes find the bed immediately, and she feels herself slicken under his heated gaze.

"It's a Guarantee."

His lips crash into hers, and together, the two of them back into the mattress before careening into the waiting sheets.

She tousles, fighting to end up on top, but he pins her down, pressing her wrists gently to the plush bedding as he stares down at her, chest heaving.

"Looks like you win, what will you have for your prize?" she mocks him.

"Everything you want to give" Talk about a win-win situation.

She bucks her hips against his and watch the prince stifle a groan, "If you were just going to let me have my way, you didn't have to make me work so hard for it."

"I never said anything about letting you have your way. You'll get what you ask for, and not a thing more."

He leans closer, holding both of her wrists in one hand as he brings his lips to her ear.

His newly freed fingers toy dangerously with the hem of her clothes.

"So the question is….What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to…." she heaves a sigh, "use your hands."

Jinghang nips at the shell of her ear in admonition as his fingers nimbly unfasten her clothes, casting it all aside.

"Where, exactly?" he smirks, and she is back to her submissive self. She gulps.

He's not serious...right? She contemplates, As she lays in stunned silence, he presses his lips below her earlobe, casually kissing down the slope of her neck.

"Y-you know you're only making it harder to think?" she closes her eyes

"Then I'd suggest coming out with it, because things are only getting more difficult from here." He knows she finds it difficult expressing her sexual desires.

"But y-you know what I want." she manages to utter.

"Mmhmm, And before I give it to you….I want to hear you beg for it. In detail." He pulls back to meet her eyes, and the look he gives her turns her insides into slurry.

"I-…."

"You what?" he smirks.

"I want your hands all over me." Immediately, his lips find hers as his fingers graze her breasts, circling the skin there until it reaches a stiff peak.

He tweaks it as he positions himself between her legs.

"Ah! Lower…" He swiftly drags his fingers down the center of her chest, skates them across her ribs and around her back to grip her ass giving it a firm squeeze.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." she growls lowly, displeased.

"Then perhaps you should be more specific, Mei." He giggles

Instead, she wriggles out of his grasp and takes his hand, sliding it into the warmth between her legs.

"I can show you much better than I can tell you." She guides his touch exactly where she needed it, circling her slickness until she's aching with the need for release.

"J-Jinghang!"

"I love hearing you moan my name."

...

"Kiss me…" she pouts

"Or is that not specific enough?" she smirks

"I think I can make that work." He giggles and leans over her. He tilts his head to angle with hers, capturing her lips with a gasp, slipping his tongue alongside hers.

She pull him close, relishing in the warmth of his body against her own, until the only thing she hears is the blood rushing past her ears.

"Mm….Jinghang.."

When he pulls back to look at her, his gaze is hazy, like he's drunk on her.

"If this is a dream, I hope I never wake up from it." He sucks his bottom lip while his eyes hover over Mei head to toe.

"What makes you think this is a dream?" she runs her hand down his stomach, then palm at his arousal, feeling him jerk as he lets out a guttural groan.

"Ohh…"

"That feels real, doesn't it?" she smirks this time, for once, and he approves. He rolls his hips into her touch, mouth parted to let out short gasps.

Mei leans close to brush her lips against his neck, just below his ear.

"There's still something I want, Jinghang."

"Anything." He mumbles.

"I want you to tell me you're mine."

"I'm all yours, Li Mei." All night flows into a beautiful, exhausting, yet ecstatic hours, until the two of them lay in his sheets, sweaty and worn-out.

Wu Jinghang presses a gentle kiss to her forehead before pulling her close and draping the sheet over her shivering body.

....