Startled, Yao Shen steadies himself with his hands on each side of Xin Hulei's shoulders.
He's overly conscious of their current position, and of how there are only two layers of fabric separating their skin.
"What are you doing?" he asks, looking into Xin Hulei's dark eyes, their depth suffocating like a starless night.
One of Xin Hulei's hands drifts towards Yao Shen's waist, his fingers skirting under the oversized tshirt and grazing the heated skin before settling firmly on his hipbone.
Yao Shen hopes Xin Hulei didn't notice his full-body shiver, but that's probably too much to ask for.
"Giving you what you want," Xin Hulei says.
He's such a haughty bastard, unfortunately his smooth voice is doing things to Yao Shen.
"And what is that?" Yao Shen asks, wrapping his arms around Xin Hulei's neck fully, holding on to his own wrist and bringing their chests closer.
"You want to figure things out, and I'm not opposed to lending a helping hand." His fingers travel up towards Yao Shen's waist again, fanning out around the dip of his spine. "No strings attached."
Yao Shen is distracted by Xin Hulei's possessive touch, by the woodsy scent of his body wash and the simmering heat burning in his eyes.
He nods dumbly, closing his eyes on his next exhale.
His assessment sounds about right, though. Yao Shen doesn't even like him, Xin Hulei is such an unwieldy individual -- rude, insensitive, arrogant -- who would? Yao Shen has just built some tolerance to his terrible personality, and is attracted to his unfair good looks.
"You can lend a hand, maybe two," Yao Shen says, murmuring the words against Xin Hulei's lips as he lists forward into his arms.
Xin Hulei tangles the fingers of his free hand into the hair at the back of Yao Shen's head and pulls him down against his lips.
Yao Shen feels a thrill go up his spine the moment their lips touch.
He can't help feeling as if they're doing something illicit and forbidden -- which they probably are. Not only does it go against the best interests of their agencies, but Yao Shen has the added pressure of the System and the other Ghost Kings all expecting him to handle Xin Hulei.
He's sure this isn't what either of them had in mind.
Yao Shen has never been a particularly rebellious person -- on the contrary, most people would describe him as a boring stickler for the rules.
His only acts of defiance have been pursuing an acting career against his father's wishes, and now kissing Xin Hulei.
Maybe that's why something as simple as a kiss makes his knees weak.
He pulls Xin Hulei against his chest, and runs his tongue over the seam of his lips, seeking entrance to deepen the kiss.
Xin Hulei grants it and Yao Shen lets out an involuntary gasp when their tongues meet.
Unlike his otherwise stoic appearance, Xin Hulei kisses him like a starving man, holding on to Yao Shen as if he is afraid he's going to disappear.
His teeth nip at Yao Shen's bottom lip, and his fingers scramble on Yao Shen's skin as if he doesn't know where to move them.
It surprises Yao Shen, how eager he is.
The way he spoke earlier, seemed as if he was merely indulging Yao Shen's curiosity, and perhaps his own lust -- but now Yao Shen wonders.
He pulls away from Xin Hulei's lips with a gasp.
"You're really into me, too."
Xin Hulei gives him a confused look, from beneath the curling sweep of his eyelashes. "I thought that was obvious."
It really isn't. Not to Yao Shen at least.
Yao Shen settles himself more comfortably on Xin Hulei's lap, and smirks when he feels yet more proof of just how into him Xin Hulei is.
He can't help grinding against him a little, watching in amusement as Xin Hulei's wet lips part in a low moan.
"Maybe now it is."
Xin Hulei's fingers tighten on his waist. "Little menace," his voice is raspy but his tone is indulgent.
Yao Shen grinds his hips in a circle, feeling Xin Hulei growing harder still. "This is my revenge, for all those things you said about me in that actor survival show."
Xin Hulei gives him another one of his inscrutable looks. "You know, I really don't remember any of that."
Perhaps sensing Yao Shen's shifting mood, he lifts his chin to press another kiss against Yao Shen's lips. "I think I would remember, if I met you before."
Yao Shen knows a line when he hears it, but for once, he's willing to let it go. Xin Hulei can count himself lucky that Yao Shen is too horny to care about how much of an asshole he is.
In one swift movement Yao Shen pulls the oversized t-shirt over his head, and throws it somewhere behind him. "What else can that mouth do, besides lie to me?"
Xin Hulei picks him up under the thighs and deposits him back down on the bed.
Yao Shen bounces on the mattress, giggling despite himself, before Xin Hulei enters his field of vision from above, and his serious expression makes the laughter die in Yao Shen's throat.
"I don't want to lie, but there's a lot at stake." He runs his thumb across Yao Shen's cheek, gazing deeply into his eyes. "Can you understand that?"
Closing his eyes, Yao Shen nuzzles into Xin Hulei's palm.
Maybe out of the two of them, Yao Shen is the one hiding the biggest secret. So he does, he understands.
Besides, they aren't in a relationship. They aren't even friends.
He catches Xin Hulei's thumb between his teeth and nods with it in his mouth, making Xin Hulei grin.
"Little menace," he repeats, fondly. "It's past your bedtime, we should go to sleep."
Yao Shen is about to to nod again when the full meaning of Xin Hulei's words hits him.
"Wait what?" He glares up at Xin Hulei's handsome face. "I thought we were going to fuck!"