I can't believe I'm actually doing this.
Xiaochuan thought to himself as he sat on the edge of the massive, elevated bed, his fingers digging into the plush covers.
The air in the Emperor's private chamber was quite different from the rest of the palace. It didn't smell of the heavy, saccharine incense of the party or the desperate, sweaty nerves of the backstage dressing rooms. It smelled of cool silk, aged wood, and that underlying current of sandalwood and rain that belonged solely to the man who ruled the empire.
Everything here felt like a sin against his upbringing. There wasn't a single speck of dust, not even a misplaced robe. It was a place of divine order, and Xiaochuan, with his heart hammering against his ribs and his mind clouded with resentment and desire, felt like a chaotic stain upon it.
The bed beneath him was so soft it felt like it might swallow him whole, a far difference from the thin, wooden bed he slept on back in their old cottage in the forest.
He couldn't deny the fact that he was terrified. He was an untouched omega, and the stories told in the slums were never kind. Alphas were not gentle beings, they were storms that broke whatever they touched.
The heavy thud of the door closing echoed through the chamber and snapped Xiaochuan out of his thoughts.
It was the Emperor who had entered. He had discarded his heavy imperial over-robe, wearing only a flowing inner tunic of black silk that hung loosely against his broad frame. Without the crown and the expensive dressing, his raw, physical presence was even more overwhelming.
Xiaochuan noticed the Emperor was dangerously beautiful, broad-shouldered and tall, his bare movement around the room alone was powerful you could tell he was a man that possessed immense power.
Xiaochuan's eyes, that were once narrowed in defiance, were now wide and unsure, he simply couldn't look away. The Alpha's tall frame seemed to fill the entire room, commanding a very dangerous aura as he walked.
Xiao Chengyuan walked toward the bed with unhurried steps and sat down beside Xiaochuan. The magnificent bed dipped significantly under his weight, tilting Xiaochuan slightly toward him. The sudden proximity sent a jolt of electricity through the omega's spine.
The Emperor regarded Xiaochuan with a small, smile. The look in his eyes was a look of genuine intrigue, and slowly, he held out his hands, palms upward, in a silent invitation.
Xiaochuan looked at those hands curiously, they were large, his fingers were long and calloused, probably from the hilt of his sword and the weight of heavy responsibilities. Xiaochuan also had to remind himself that these beautiful hands were also the hands that signed death warrants, yet they were held out now with a stillness that confused him.
Xiaochuan reached out shakingly and placed his small, trembling, pale hands into the Alpha's much larger, warmer ones. The contact was electric, and the heat from the Emperor's skin seemed to seep into Xiaochuan's bones, grounding his fluttering nerves even as his heart accelerated.
He saw the Emperor's smile widen just a fraction more at the contact. It wasn't the devilish smirk from the party. It was something softer, something that made the Emperor's handsome features turn breathtakingly human.
Xiaochuan bit his lower lip, fighting the traitorous urge to swoon. He hated this man, he tried to remind himself. He hated what he stood for. But as the Alpha's thumbs began to stroke the backs of his hands in slow, rhythmic circles, the hate felt very far away, replaced by a heat that had no reason to consume him like it did.
At this point, the silence in the room was no longer cold, it was now thick and charged with a magnetic tension that made the air feel very heavy. Chengyuan's thumbs continued their slow, hypnotic circles over Xiaochuan's knuckles, his warmth seeping into the omega's skin.
"Your name," the Emperor murmured, his voice dropping to a private, velvet hum. "I asked once before a room of fools, do not mind those Alpha's foolishness. But now, I ask only for myself. What's your name, little moon?"
"Little moon?" Xiaochuan found himself asking before he could stop yourself.
"Yes." The Emperor said with a small smile. "Your eyes reminds me of the moon." He said softly.
Xiaochuan swallowed hard amd looked at their joined hands, the contrast of his pale, slender fingers against the tan, powerful grip of the Alpha. The defiance in him was still there, even though just a little, he wasn't planning to give in to the Alpha completely, but the little defiance he had in him was being eroded by a strange, budding curiosity.
"Xiaochuan," he whispered, the sound barely louder than the gush of wind outside the windows. "Lin Xiaochuan."
"Xiaochuan," the Emperor repeated, tasting the name as if it were a rare vintage. "A small stream. That's very beautiful."
Without breaking eye contact, Chengyuan lifted Xiaochuan's right hand and pressed a lingering, searing kiss to the center of his palm. The heat of his lips sent a jolt of pure electricity straight to Xiaochuan's core, making his toes curl against the silk robe he wore.
Control yourself A-Chuan.
Then, the Emperor leaned in closer, his sandalwood scent crashing over Xiaochuan like a tidal wave. "I want you, Xiaochuan," he breathed, his gaze dropping to the omega's parted lips before returning to his eyes. "But I will not take what is not offered. Do I have your consent to touch you?"