Against the Algorithm

Chapter 57: The Space They Made

Sicheng let out a deep, broken groan, his mouth dropping to her shoulder as he bit down, not hard, just enough to mark, as his hips snapped forward again, grinding into her wetness, her warmth, until he couldn't hold it anymore. "Yao...." He came with a full-body shudder, hips grinding once, twice more as he spilled himself between her thighs, thick and hot, the friction of her slick folds wringing every last wave of pleasure out of him. His cock throbbed with each pulse, smeared through her heat, coated in her slick and his release alike. He held her tightly through every last twitch of it, panting hard into the crook of her neck, his voice a hoarse whisper, "My good girl... my beautiful, perfect girl..."

The air was heavy with the scent of sweat and skin, the kind of quiet that only followed something raw and intimate and real.

Sicheng stayed wrapped around her, his body still pressed close, chest heaving as he slowly came down from the high that had nearly wrecked him. Her legs were still tucked over his, her thighs slick with both of them, her skin flushed and damp where his breath fanned across it. But his movements now were soft. Tender. He didn't pull away. He didn't rush. Instead, he pressed a long, slow kiss to her neck. Then another. And another, soft little brushes of his lips over the heated skin of her shoulder, the edge of her jaw, the back of her ear. Gentle. Anchoring. Reverent. His nose nuzzled into her hairline as he held her tighter, his hand curling lightly over her waist, thumb stroking small circles into her skin. She was quiet. Still trembling faintly. He could feel it in the way her body sank deeper into the sheets, the way her breathing hadn't fully evened out yet. But it wasn't fear. It wasn't regret.

Still, he asked. Voice low. Steady. Grounded in her.

"Are you okay?" he murmured against her skin. "Was that too much?"

Yao didn't answer right away.

So he continued, slower this time, softer. "It's never about what I want, Wǔ xiān. It's about what you want. Always." His lips pressed gently against her shoulder, then again beneath her ear. "You tell me if we need to stop. You tell me if this was too far. I'll follow your lead."

Her breath hitched. She didn't move. Not for a long moment. Before she nodded. Slow. Small. Then whispered, barely louder than a breath, "I'm okay... I wanted this."

He exhaled. Relieved. Careful. And wrapped both arms fully around her now, his voice soft against her ear. "Then I've got you," he whispered, kissing her temple. "I've got you, beautiful. Always." And she melted into him like that was all she'd needed to hear.

The quiet stretched between them, warm and steady. Their bodies were still tangled together, her back against his chest, his arms wrapped securely around her middle as if letting go would break something neither of them wanted to risk.

Yao's breathing had begun to settle, slow, soft, steady. But her mind hadn't stilled. She could feel her skin still glowing from the way he'd touched her, the way he'd praised her, the way he'd made her feel wanted in every way she hadn't known she needed. And now that it was over, now that she wasn't lost in the rhythm of heat and sensation, all that was left was... her.

Shy.

Vulnerable.

Quiet.

She hesitated before she spoke, her voice small, barely audible—just the brush of breath between them in the dark. "...Sicheng?"

He stirred, shifting behind her to press another kiss to her shoulder. "Hmm?"

Her fingers curled nervously in the edge of the blanket. "Would you... I mean, um..." She swallowed, heart pounding harder than it had even during the height of it all. "Would you... take a shower with me?" she whispered, cheeks burning. "Only if you want to. I just, thought maybe... we could... together. And then..." Another soft breath. The last of her words came even quieter, like they were too fragile to survive if spoken too loud. "...then maybe we could just go back to bed?" Her voice trembled on that last syllable. Not with uncertainty about him. Just the quiet vulnerability of asking for something intimate that wasn't about sex at all. Just being close. Being with him. She added quickly, "I mean—it's fine if not. You don't have to. I just—um, I thought maybe..."