*Warning: Keep in mind during this chapter that Ryan has no point of reference for Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu's humanness. He gets a little pushy in this chapter, unwanted even, but! He backs off when she lays down her rules by the end. And for that, I can only say he's trying really hard to accommodate her, even if he doesn't understand, and she's still too shocked to verbalize what's wrong.
If you want to skip the potential trigger, skip the italics.*
The girl's lips were soft and felt like clouds of honey, smelled like it too.
Perhaps she was frightened by Ryan's unexpected movement, because her body froze and she forgot how to move.
Ryan kept pressed to the girl's lips and extended his tongue to lick at them. But, contrary to what may be expected, he had never done something like this before.
An animal's lust was very direct. Estrus then breeding then offspring. There were no need for any extra steps.
Ryan wanted to kiss Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu and it was completely outside his instinctual behavior.
This small mouth that often chattered in front of him, making those sweet sounds. Happy to call him "Táo Táo," or timidly calling him "Ryan," or stubbornly saying she wanted to go home. He wanted to taste it, he wanted to taste it all.
It was sweeter than imagined.
Ryan was inexperienced with kisses, but he nipped and licked her lower lip for a bit.
Then, self-taught, he found his way in and her tongue behind her teeth, plunging into her mouth.
His barbed tongue gently scraped the tip of Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu's and she quickly recovered herself, immediately pushing Ryan's chest away.
Her face was flushed rose red and her hands weak with helplessness as she stared at Ryan with annoyance in her eyes, "You, you. . ."
The stinging on her tongue reminded her that she'd just been kissed by a leopard!
Ryan's expression did not change, though there was a bit of regret. Wanting to continue, he licked the corner of his mouth and said, "Hmm?"
It was deep and heavy, like tasting an aftertaste.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu listened to his voice and inexplicably, her ears felt even hotter. She three away the gauze in her hand and climbed out of bed.
Unfortunately, her toes didn't touch the ground before Ryan was again pulling at her wrist, twisting her in a spin and pulling her back onto the bed——
This time, Ryan firmly held her head and covered her lips with his, prying open her teeth and delving straight in.
The scent of the girl rushed free, and it was one not possessed by the females of his race.
Every man had an immeasurable skill in this respect. Ryan broke through the girl's line of defense and captured every inch of her mouth, almost bullying her.
Meanwhile, his hand rested on her soft waist and couldn't help inching upward.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu struggled and slammed a fist down on Ryan's shoulder, angry and urgent.
She was unable to break free, her strength so insignificant to him, and the more she struggled, the more he wanted to kiss her.
He just didn't know that the barbs on his tongue hurt her. . .
The petite girl was crushed under the strong beastman and was forced to tilt her head and endure his kiss.
She didn't know how long it went on, but her tongue was tingling and her eyes red as bright tears overflowed. She actually didn't even know if she was in pain or felt aggrieved.
Suddenly there was a short and frantic pounding on the door, "Chief, chief. . . are you home?"
Ryan jerked up and frowned, not intending to let Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu go.
Unfortunately, the voice outside was unyielding and after a while continued, "Chief, it's Winter. The Elders say you've gone home. . ."
Ryan reluctantly released the girl and cursed low in his throat, impatiently going outside, "Winter, you'd better say something important or I'll wring your neck."
Outside the door, Winter whispered, "Leader, that group of saber-toothed tiger captives want to escape. Corey and I can't suppress them. Could you go take a look. . ."
*
After Ryan left, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was lying on the bed for a long time before returning to her senses. She sat up in bed and picked herself up, grabbing her backpack to run outside.
No, she couldn't stay here anymore.
Even if Ryan promised to help her find Pat, she would not stay with him any longer.
She was kind enough to help him with his wounds and he actually did that to her!
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu walked to the door and put her finger on the bolt. She wanted to pull it open but hesitated again.
She didn't know if the tigers had left the valley yet. . . what if she met them again after leaving the leopards?
The skinny camel was better than the horse. Even if they lost to the leopards, they were still strong enough to deal with her.
Although she managed to defeat one of them yesterday with the firecracker, it was because she had such a good advantage. The tiger was right at her feet then. If a group of them rushed her, she wouldn't be able to escape. . .
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu's fingertips slammed against the wooden latch and she frowned in distress.
. . . . . .
. . .
After dealing with the prisoners, Ryan came back from outside and saw the empty was house, not even a shadow in sight.
His eyes darkened and the pressure surrounding his body became extremely low.
He thought she was going to let him look for Pat, and that was when she would leave. He didn't expect to leave for a minute and have her run away again.
In the depths of Ryan's heart, an indescribable gloom poured out. He licked his tooth and turned to walk to the door.
After he caught her again, he'd have to "teach" her a lesson.
But, without taking a few steps, he heard a noise from the kitchen next door.
It was very faint and very cautious.
Like being afraid of disturbing someone.
Ryan paused and listened carefully, but the sound had vanished.
He turned his eyes and reached out with his fingers, rubbing at his eyebrows. Then he turned his toes and strode towards the kitchen door.
Ryan pushed the door open and his dark eyes scanned the kitchen.
It was small and he could see it all in a single glance.
He walked around back of the stove and found a quiet little figure huddled there.
The girl had her arms wrapped around her legs and her delicate chin rested on her knees. She may have been sitting there for too long, because her eyes were drooping shut and she seemed drowsy. Heaving movement, long lashes fluttered twice and she opened her eyes. When she saw him, her eyes opened wide and she backed away, covering her mouth by reflex.
Lest he try to kiss her again.
Her tongue still hurt even now.
Ryan looked at her and felt his mood was a little loose, but his expression still didn't change. "What are you hiding here for?"
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu hesitated for a while longer then quietly, against her will, said, ". . . it's warm here."
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu originally wanted to run but when she walked to the door and hesitated, she realized she couldn't walk out of Camuda Valley. She would be eaten by the tigers and that would have been too much.
After thinking it over, she gave it up.
But when Ryan was in the same room, she felt rather insecure. She searched and found this place so she wanted to hide herself here.
"The house is warmer than this," Ryan stretched out a hand to brush away ash that had accidentally been rubbed onto her face. He was about to pick her up but didn't expect that Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu would escape quickly and dart under his arm.
"You! Don't casually hug me," Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu stood a few steps away and swallowed. She said a little nervously, "I don't like to be casually held."
Ryan's eyebrows twitched a little.
When Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu finished this sentence, she turned away from Ryan in the kitchen and ran into the house.
After a while, Ryan walked into the house and found her holding pen and paper, squatted at the table to draw something.
Ryan was not interested in the pen or paper in her hands, and even less on what she was drawing. He encircled her waist with an arm from behind and carried her to the bed to continue where they left off.
Surprisingly, the little girl in his arms struggled and cried, "Ryan. . . wait, I. I have something to tell you."
Ryan paused but didn't let her go, "What?"
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu licked her lip and tried to gather a little more confidence, "I told you before that I couldn't stay here and be your female. . . Once I find a way home, I will leave here."
Ryan was silent for a moment, then said, "So I'm chasing you."
". . ." Did he not understand what she meant?
"I will make you want to stay here," Ryan bent over to look her in the eye and the tip of her nose, "If you don't like being my female, be my spouse."
There was no such thing as a "spouse" in the leopard race, because that term meant the spouse belonged to only one female for their entire life.
Generally, the leopards only claimed their partners as "female."
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu blinked. Because she knew this, she was surprised that Ryan even said that.
. . . He always knew what she was concerned about?
No, that's not what she wanted to talk about right now.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu shook her head and with it all the messy thoughts, solemnly saying, "In that case, we'll discuss it. You can't kiss me until I've promised to be your spouse."
Ryan raised his eyebrow, "Why? You just responded to me, didn't you?"
Shocked beside herself, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu couldn't think of what to say and her face was red.
She didn't respond to him! That's because his tongue hurt her too much and she wanted to push him away.
"Anyway. . . if you don't agree, I'll leave and find Pat myself."
Ryan stared fixedly at Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu.
He had just tasted that sweetness. The girl tasted better than he'd thought. Some things were like hte flood onto shore, once it began, it was hard to harness its potential.
Only Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was resolute. If he didn't agree, she really would turn and leave.
Ryan knew her stubbornness.
So he did not speak and chose the default.
Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu saw Ryan promised and sighed in relief, looking down at the hand on her waist, "You can't hold me either."
Ryan: ". . ."
"When I sleep, you can't put your arms around me either."
". . ."
"And," Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu rapidly turned her head around, unable to think of all the things she wanted to say, "Without my permission, you can't. . ."
Ryan was on his last straw and lifted the claw of his hand to cover Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu's endlessly chattering mouth. He leaned over and pressed his mouth close to her ear and said lowly, "Ah, be obedient. Don't take a mile when I give you an inch."
End Chapter 42 of 77
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T/N: Can I just say this was one of the hardest chapters to translate? I suffer the Secondhand Embarrassment Syndrome and this one was tough. I wish they would talk a little more. You know, get rid of this miscommunication issue, but -shrugs- what can you do? Hopefully, Ryan can start to put intuition to use soon. . .
Sorry for the first translator's note, but I had to. This was a difficult chapter, especially since it has that potential trigger and I have no idea what to do with it. . . But our female lead is strong and this won't set her back from her goals.
I hope you stick around to the end!