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"You came alone today."
Xie Lian doesn't answer right away. He takes the time to smile at the man who let him in first - a guard with a name he can't remember and a forgettable face to match - then waits until the man shuts the door after him. He turns, aiming that same genial expression towards the person sitting behind the desk.
It's only after Xie Lian has settled in his chair, poised with a straight back and head held high, that he replies, "I didn't think you'd mind. Am I mistaken?"
"Not at all," Hua Cheng drawls. The way his eye drags over Xie Lian's body is just as languid as everything else about him. He has his chin in his hand, a lazy smirk tugging at his lips. "In fact, I think I'll prefer having your Highness's undivided attention for once."
Even more than the flirty words, it's the look that feels like confirmation of everything Xie Lian had been suspecting. That look that burns like a touch. Xie Lian had felt it every single time he had accompanied his father to one of these… business meetings, when Hua Cheng had seemed more preoccupied with staring down Xie Lian than entering into any useful conversation. From anyone else, it might have come across as a threat, but there was always a hunger blazing in that dark eye that gave Xie Lian chills.
Even now, Xie Lian has to ignore the shiver that trembles just under his skin, threatening to make itself apparent if he lets it. Don't show weakness, his father had warned him. A man like Hua Cheng would eat you alive if he could.
Xie Lian couldn't bear to admit that he just might let him.
He pushes the thought away with a breathless chuckle. "Then I hope that means we'll have a productive talk today. My father wasn't too pleased with the lack of updates last time."
"Is that so? Is that why he sent you in his stead today?"
Xie Lian raises his chin. "My father trusts me to handle things here."
Hua Cheng chuckles. "I never meant to imply otherwise. I only wonder what it is that he's after if he's pulling such sly moves."
Xie Lian's eyes narrow. He knows there's a jab there somewhere, but Hua Cheng's burning gaze is horribly distracting, and he can't for the life of him figure out what it is he's trying to say. "Say what you really mean."
Hua Cheng rises slowly from his chair and rounds the desk. He puts a hand beneath Xie Lian's chin, tilting his head up. He leans down with a smirk.
"I mean, it's quite a nasty little trick your father has pulled, sending you into a den of wolves for his own gain."
Xie Lian's glare is fierce, molten gold that only seems to make Hua Cheng grin, excited. "I thought you better than petty threats, Hua Cheng."
"Who's threatening? And I've told you before, call me San Lang." Hua Cheng pulls away with a laugh, and Xie Lian finally can breathe. He flings himself onto the plush couch without a care. There's a decanter on the side table and he reaches for it now, pouring himself a glass of whiskey.
Xie Lian stands to face him; it was never wise to leave your back open to a man like Hua Cheng— even if Xie Lian has a gut feeling that Hua Cheng wouldn't hurt him.
"If it's not a threat, then definitely an insult, which I don't take kindly to."
Hua Cheng clicks his tongue, sipping at his whiskey. "Is it an insult to say your father knows my weakness well?"
His eyes rake over Xie Lian as he speaks, and Hua Cheng's lazy, arrogant drawl makes him regret standing as his knees go weak. To hide it, Xie Lian fearlessly stalks over to the couch, settling in not an inch away from Hua Cheng.
"Only a foolish man would be so obvious about his weaknesses," he mutters, crossing his arms over his chest. Hua Cheng laughs heartily at that, head tossed back to expose the smooth line of his throat. Xie Lian doesn't realize he's staring until he's caught. He flushes and looks away.
"Or maybe it's only a powerful man can afford to do so."
Xie Lian swallows. He doesn't need to look to know that it isn't an empty brag; everything about Hua Cheng screams power, from the languid way he carries himself to the strength in those rough hands that Xie Lian has had a few too many dreams about.
Sensing he's not going to respond, Hua Cheng changes the subject. "May I offer you a drink?"
Xie Lian's nose wrinkles. "You know I don't drink, San Lang."
"Just thought you might be a bit curious." One of the hands he had just been thinking about reaches over and cups his jaw. With just the barest pressure, Xie Lian's head turns. Hua Cheng is so close, he can feel his breath on his lips as he whispers, "I wouldn't tell anyone if you wanted to sneak a taste, your Highness."
Xie Lian thinks he might have said something, but he can't for the life of him recall what it was. Then Hua Cheng's mouth is on his and there's no more thinking to be done at all. He honestly never would have expected himself to like whiskey, but here he is, sucking the taste of it off Hua Cheng's tongue like an alcoholic desperate for more.
"Why so far away, your Highness? Come closer."
Xie Lian barely manages not to laugh, head spinning. How can he get any closer than the way their thighs are pressed together, closer than the warmth that seeps into his skin from where their sides are aligned?
"I don't— oh!"
In a blink he's gone from pressed tight to Hua Cheng's side to seated on the man's lap. He still isn't completely sure how it's happened, but it doesn't really matter now, not when there's a hand on the small of his back, urging him down. He gives in, dropping his weight more fully onto Hua Cheng's lap and gasping when it presses their bulges together. The whole time Hua Cheng is staring up at him, expression just as hungry as it is adoring. And maybe Xie Lian would be able to handle one or the other, but there's something about the combination that is lethal to him.
Only a powerful man can be so openly vulnerable. And here Hua Cheng is, raw and wanting, and it's all because of him.
A man could get drunk off this feeling. Speaking of which—
Xie Lian snatches up the glass that had been abandoned on the side table. He holds it up to Hua Cheng's lips. "Drink," he orders.
Hua Cheng raises a brow, but does as he's told. He's barely taken more than a mouthful before Xie Lian is kissing him again. It's hot and messy, whiskey dribbling down their lips as they both finally give in to their mutual greed. Hua Cheng chases after an errant drop, tongue laving up Xie Lian's neck to his chin.
"Gods, you're delectable," Hua Cheng murmurs as Xie Lian keens and rocks his hips. The pressure is better than the whiskey, sending sparks shooting up his spine. Xie Lian chases the feeling, grinding down on Hua Cheng's lap while the latter sucks kisses onto his neck.
"San Lang," he pants. He wants more, but isn't quite sure how to ask for it without giving Hua Cheng even more power over him. Instead he tugs on Hua Cheng's hair, relishing in the groan it earns him.
"Your Highness," he breathes, sounding so reverent that for a moment Xie Lian really does feel like he really is the one in charge here, like he need only say the word and Hua Cheng will give him anything he wants.
So he tries asking for it.
"More."
Hua Cheng pulls back just enough to flash a crooked smile. "As your Highness wishes."
He makes quick work of Xie Lian's fly, undoing it just enough to pull him out of his pants. Embarrassed, Xie Lian leans forward, sucking on a spot beneath Hua Cheng's ear to hide his flushed face.
Hua Cheng chuckles, the sound coming a little more breathy than usual. "Shy?"
"No," Xie Lian grumbles. He bites Hua Cheng's ear, just to be petty, but all it does is make the man's cock jump. "You're just too shameless."
"There's nothing shameful in wanting you."
"Flatterer," Xie Lian accuses instead.
"Flattery is empty. You'll find that I'm the most sincere man you'll ever meet."
He punctuates the declaration with a rough hand wrapping gently around Xie Lian's cock. It melts any rebuttal he would have had into a whine. Xie Lian rocks into the touch, diving into the novelty of the feeling just as eagerly as he had chased after the tang of alcohol on Hua Cheng's tongue. Everything with Hua Cheng feels new and exciting, like stepping out of the confines of his usual role and into the body of a man who can say and do anything he likes. Somehow Xie Lian gets the feeling that Hua Cheng wouldn't judge him, no matter what he did.
Maybe that's why it's so easy to give in. To free the moans that jump out of his throat like a confession as he ruts fearlessly into Hua Cheng's fist.
"There we go," Hua Cheng encourages, staring up at him with nothing short of adoration in his eye. Xie Lian meets his gaze, chest heaving between them, and he really does feel like royalty.
"You too," he insists, the demand undercut by the breathless note to his voice. He fumbles with the zipper to Hua Cheng's slacks. He succeeds in yanking it open and is rewarded with the sensation of Hua Cheng's cock hot against his palm. Inexperienced he may be, but he's also a fast learner with clever hands, so it's all too easy to copy Hua Cheng's movements, working the man's cock with finesse. Hua Cheng curses under his breath, looking wrecked.
Xie Lian drinks in his reactions— the little noises he's making, the way his chest heaves with each shuddering inhale, the single bead of sweat trickling down his temple— until he's drunk and delirious, tossing his head back as he laughs.
"What's so funny?" Hua Cheng asks, voice dripping with affection. He twists his wrist just so, milking another low moan from the man on his lap.
"Nothing," Xie Lian breathes, but there's a radiant smile on his face as he rolls his hips. He knows an end is coming; his stomach clenches as it nears, but his head is light with euphoria. "Just feels good. San Lang, it's so good- I'm-"
Hua Cheng seems to understand what he's saying. "Go ahead, your Highness," he purrs. "I've got you."
Xie Lian hardly needs the permission, but the words do the trick. He unravels with a cry that dissolves into giggles, body light with so much good feeling that were it not for the strong arm wrapped around his waist he might have floated away entirely. He's so out of it that he forgets to keep stroking, but Hua Cheng doesn't seem to need the help anyway; he bucks into Xie Lian's slack grip once, twice, before spilling all over his fingers.
The quiet that settles over them is surprisingly pleasant. Easy. The simmering tension that's always been there whenever they're together is still present, but it's ebbed into something gentler, something warm and comfortable instead of desperate and searing. It would be so easy to sink into it, but the responsibilities Xie Lian had shoved aside earlier come trickling back in now. He clears his throat and reluctantly acknowledges them.
"I, um, I hope you know that this isn't what I had in mind when I came here today. I really did intend to discuss business with you."
Hua Cheng's chest rumbles with his laughter, and Xie Lian finds himself as enamored with the feeling of Hua Cheng's amusement just as he is the sound of it.
"I won't lie and say this scenario didn't cross my mind," he admits wryly.
"San Lang!"
"It's true," Hua Cheng says with a sweetness that should be at odds with the vulgarity of the admission, but somehow isn't. "In fact, I thought about this outcome more than any other."
Xie Lian forces himself to sit upright. Any sternness is probably counteracted by how disheveled they both are, but he can at least try to be serious. "So you came entirely unprepared to negotiate with me?"
Hua Cheng stares up at him, an indulgent curl to his lip. He reaches for a lock of Xie Lian's hair to play with. "I didn't say that."
Xie Lian's eyes him like he doesn't quite believe him. Hua Cheng chuckles and hugs him tighter.
"I'll let you in an a secret, your Highness. I didn't need to prepared because I came fully prepared to give you whatever you wanted."
"Wha— San Lang, you can't be serious." Xie Lian squirms in his hold, suddenly bashful. The butterflies in his stomach do the same, fluttering shyly about at Hua Cheng's bold admission.
"Absolutely serious. In fact, I'm so content right now, you could ask me for anything and I would have it brought to your feet in an instant."
Xie Lian dives forward, hiding his face in Hua Cheng's neck again. If he wraps his arms around him in a crushing hug in the process, well… he's just glad his companion doesn't tease him about it.
That doesn't make the things he is saying any less embarrassing.
"So, what will it be, your Highness? Do you want all my riches? My cars? That doesn't feel like quite enough. How about the moon? I'll bring it down for you m—"
"San Lang," Xie Lian interrupts, lifting his head as he clamps a hand down over Hua Cheng's mouth. He meets that dark eye, watches with a pounding heart how it twinkles with mirth. "Right now, all I want is for you to stop talking nonsense."
He pauses, chewing his lip as he considers something else. He slowly lowers his hand and adds, "...And maybe a few more kisses."
Hua Cheng beams at him, and for a moment Xie Lian feels like he really has been given the moon, and the sun, and all the stars in the sky.
"As you wish."