Chapter 256: Chapter 256: It’s All Horseback Riding’s Fault
Given what happened earlier, Ming Lingyi no longer felt it was improper for Li Yun to hold her in front of him as they rode.
After Li Yun said, "Hold on tight," he squeezed his legs against the horse’s belly and headed for the city gates.
Inside the Capital City, they kept to a trot. But as soon as they were outside the walls, he began to accelerate.
The world suddenly opened up the moment they passed through the city gates.
Li Yun gave the reins a sharp shake and barked, "HYA!"
The fine steed beneath him neighed, its hooves leaving the ground as it shot forward like an arrow from a bow. The unexpected acceleration threw Ming Lingyi backward, sending her crashing solidly into Li Yun’s chest.
In an instant, the wind turned violent, howling past her ears until her face stung. The trees by the roadside blurred into a streak of green, rushing backward. The world seemed to shrink, leaving only the rushing wind, the thundering hooves, and the firm, searing chest behind her.
"AH—" Ming Lingyi let out a short cry. She instinctively reached for the reins, but her hand landed on top of Li Yun’s.
His hand was large and his knuckles distinct, the muscles taut from his firm grip on the reins. His warmth seeped through her skin. She tried to pull away, but Li Yun was a step faster.
He simply turned his palm up, capturing her hand and wrapping it, along with the reins, inside his own.
Ming Lingyi wanted to struggle free, but the dizzying speed made her hesitate. Her fingertips curled slightly, and for a moment, she found herself craving the stability he offered and stopped resisting.
Li Yun seemed to notice, and a faint smile touched the corners of his lips.
He tightened his arm, pulling her more snugly into his embrace. Ming Lingyi’s slender, delicate spine was now pressed completely against his chest. Even through their layers of clothing, she could clearly feel the well-defined contours of his muscles. With every gallop of the horse and every rise and fall of his breath, they brushed against her back. Each jolt and every leap made the friction more tangible, more searing.
"Still scared?" Li Yun’s voice was nearly swept away by the wind, but the words still fell clearly into Ming Lingyi’s ears.
Ming Lingyi bit her lip. She could feel Li Yun lower his head until his chin was almost resting on the crown of her head, his warm breath sweeping over the shell of her ear.
She looked down at her hand, held fast in Li Yun’s grasp. His palm was dry, but she could feel her own growing damp with sweat.
Outside of the bedroom, she and Li Yun were rarely this intimate.
The speed they were galloping at in the countryside was nothing like their pace in the market. Li Yun had to lean forward slightly, his entire body seemingly draped over her back, pressing against her without a sliver of space between them.
Ming Lingyi kept her lips pressed tightly together and simply shook her head.
Her initial panic had long since been soothed.
She didn’t want to admit it, but she had to. ’Whether it was the long arm across her waist or the broad chest pressed against her back, both gave her an immense sense of security.’
Li Yun noticed her movement and let out a low chuckle. He tightened the hand holding both the reins and her own, while his other arm remained firmly clamped around her waist, its presence startlingly strong.
The road to Ju Garden wasn’t a main thoroughfare the entire way. When Li Yun pulled the reins and turned onto a smaller path, the ground became less even.
Li Yun didn’t slow down. As they approached a small earthen mound, he tightened his core and lowered his body further, pressing flush against Ming Lingyi. The horse leaped over it, and their bodies lifted into the air together before landing heavily.
For Li Yun’s mount, it was a truly insignificant little obstacle.
However, that single leap was enough to nearly drain the color from Ming Lingyi’s face.
The momentary, intense contact sent a tingle through Ming Lingyi from head to toe, and her face instantly flushed hot.
"Slow down!" Ming Lingyi was forced to speak up. ’If I can’t feel the change in Li Yun’s body by now, there’s something wrong with me.’
’I knew it. Sharing a horse with Li Yun at a time like this was bound to lead to trouble.’
Li Yun had always possessed far more stamina than an ordinary person. Even a daily run from the barracks to the city gates and back couldn’t exhaust his boundless energy.
Now, she and Li Yun were practically "separated." They might be intimate once a month, and that was only when she was in a good mood.
’Normally, Ming Lingyi would never wonder how Li Yun had been relieving his needs all these years. But now, alone with him, she could clearly feel his body’s reaction to their proximity. Even if she tried not to think about it, it was hard to keep certain blush-inducing images from flashing through her mind.’
But Li Yun had no intention of slowing down.
When Ming Lingyi felt that the horse beneath them hadn’t slowed in the slightest, she couldn’t help but struggle with the hand that the man behind her held so tightly.
But Li Yun’s grip was simply too strong. Finally, left with no other choice, Ming Lingyi curled her fingers inside his palm and dug her nails sharply into his flesh.
"HISS—"
The pinch landed squarely. Ming Lingyi hadn’t held back at all.
The pain was nothing to Li Yun, really, but since it came from Ming Lingyi, he couldn’t help but overreact.
"I want to get down," Ming Lingyi said, turning her head in displeasure.
At this speed, the moment she opened her mouth, a gust of wind shot down her throat.
This time, Li Yun seemed to finally hear her request, and the horse’s frantic pace gradually slowed. The two riders, however, were now locked in a kiss.
The moment Ming Lingyi had turned her head, Li Yun had no intention of letting her go.
’Those red lips, right under his nose, were a constant temptation.’
That was why the black steed beneath them had slowed—his entire focus was now on the kiss.
The arm that had been around Ming Lingyi’s waist now clamped down forcefully, circling her completely and leaving no chance of escape. He lowered his head to kiss her with a certain urgency. His eyes, usually so imposing and profound, were now clouded with a thick layer of desire.
Li Yun thought, ’Ming Lingyi will probably never understand what a fatal attraction her very existence holds for me.’
’Even if they hadn’t been riding today, he still would have been unable to resist kissing her.’
’It was just that the current location wasn’t quite right.’
’This had all happened a little faster than he’d anticipated.’
’This was all the horse’s fault.’
When they finally broke apart, Ming Lingyi’s lip rouge was a complete mess, and the lashes above her dark eyes were damp. Her face was flushed crimson. But what felt truly dire to Lingyi was that all the strength had drained from her body. She could only lean limply against Li Yun’s chest.
A moment ago, while they were kissing, her neck had been twisted at an uncomfortable angle, and she’d let out a low whimper. When Li Yun noticed, he’d placed both hands on her waist and simply turned her around on the saddle so that she was facing him.
This way, she indeed no longer had to twist her neck to kiss Li Yun. But it also gave the man an even greater advantage.
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