82 FOURTH SEKHMET

"Yibo. Stop."

Yibo left his abdomen with a lingering look at the blush of a mark, straightening to look at Xiao Zhan. Xiao Zhan was both good and bad at hiding his fear. And every look that Xiao Zhan had, every emotion, Yibo loved it on him.

"I need to know you're okay with this. I don't want to hide this part of myself. We've touched on it many times. But never to this extent. I know what I want…I know myself well, after all these

years, and this past year of having nothing but time to think. But I need to know what you want."

Yibo wanted to laugh, but he didn't. It would be poor timing, and it would chafe Xiao Zhan's fragile words.