Chapter 406: Chapter 233: "Love Like the Tide" (Part 2)
Placing their hands on his cheeks, to feel the softness of their palms.
"You’ve lost so much weight..." Emily finally spoke, her voice filled with undeniable heartache. With her other hand, she gently, as if tracing an artwork, caressed his chiseled cheekbones and his hollow eye sockets.
"But also... stronger." Aliya touched the lines of muscles on his neck, made more pronounced due to muscle loss, and his arms, which felt as hard as steel.
"I’m fine." Lin Yu’an closed his eyes, enjoying the long-lost, gentle touch,
"I just... left all the excess fat in Labrador."
His words brought a round of soft laughter from them.
Lin Yu’an opened his eyes, looking fervently at Emily, then tenderly placed his hand over her still flat belly.
"The little one here... is it a boy or a girl?" he asked softly, as if afraid of disturbing the tiny, unformed life.
"It’s still very small, like a little bean; it’ll be a while before we know whether it’s a boy or a girl." Emily’s face blushed with happiness.
Lin Yu’an’s hand stayed on the warm spot where a miracle was being nurtured, trying to feel, to listen, though he knew he could sense nothing.
In the living room, the embers in the fireplace cast the final glow, and the air was filled with a nearly tangible, love- and longing-filled tranquility.
At that moment, Aliya, who had been silent, suddenly let out a soft laugh.
This laugh, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, immediately shattered the gentle peace.
Lin Yu’an and Emily looked at her, a bit puzzled.
Aliya didn’t speak; she just fixed her dazzling green eyes on Lin Yu’an, shimmering in the firelight.
Then, she slowly rose from the sofa, her burgundy silk robe flowing like flames over her graceful curves as she stood.
She walked over to Lin Yu’an, bent down, stretched out her slender fingers, and gently lifted his chin, forcing him to meet her gaze. Her voice was soft, carrying a hint of lazy, irresistible allure.
"Welcome home, my hero. But... the story time by the fireplace is over."
She paused, her red lips moved to his ear, her breath like a warm current, instantly shattering the ice built over fifty days. "Now, shouldn’t we go to bed and listen to your body’s story?"
Finishing her words, she didn’t wait for Lin Yu’an’s response; instead, she turned and extended her hand to Emily, whose cheeks were also flush. Emily, with a hint of shyness but with great trust, placed her hand in Aliya’s palm.
Aliya led Emily with graceful and firm steps, heading towards the staircase first. As she stepped onto the first step, she turned back and winked at Lin Yu’an, still half-kneeling on the carpet.
In her gaze, there was challenge, invitation, longing, and undeniable possession that comes after regaining something lost.
Lin Yu’an watched their backs, one passionate as fire, the other gentle as water, yet at this moment perfectly fused, inviting him together.
He took a deep breath, and his heart, quiet for fifty days in the wilderness, was now fully ignited!
He stood up, following their steps, heading towards the warm bed he had long left.
Outside the window, the magnificent aurora was slowly unfolding across the sky. Its cool glow filtered through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a flowing, faint green light on the bedroom floor.
Inside the bedroom, the soft warm yellow light intertwined with the cold glow of the aurora outside, rendering the room’s atmosphere warm and dreamy.
Aliya and Emily were already sitting by the bed, turning to watch Lin Yu’an as he entered.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Yu’an closed the bedroom door, as if shutting out everything from the outside world.
When he turned around, seeing Aliya’s gaze filled with challenge and endless longing, he responded to all her invitations with action.
He strode to the bed, half-kneeling at the edge, one hand braced on the mattress, the other gripping Aliya’s neck, kissing her forcefully.
Responding to her fiery challenge in the most direct way. Aliya also responded without backing down, pouring all her passion into this kiss.
After a while, Lin Yu’an rested his forehead against Aliya’s, both of their breaths becoming heavy.
He turned his head, his gaze landing on Emily, whose eyes were as gentle as water. The passion that had almost burned everything a moment ago transformed into endless treasure.
He lay sideways between them, extending his arms to embrace both back into his arms.
Aliya, like a desert baked by the sun, filled with fervent energy.
And Emily, like a tranquil deep lake reflecting the aurora, gentle, profound, yet containing the power of life.
Lin Yu’an turned on the room’s TV, which was playing a documentary on crustal movements, accompanied by stirring music that was so impactful!
Everyone watched, listened intently, the earth’s movements, the beautiful music like sketching a whole new portrait—from smooth hair to delicate collarbones...
Frame by frame, like a person deprived of sight for a long time, rediscovering this most familiar world through touch.
