Chapter 239 The Weight of a Kiss
Chapter 239 The Weight of a Kiss
Le’s skin was dark and coarse, with a prominent scar and a big mole on her face.
Her eyes, though… those were remarkably simr to Lily’s.
They both shinimered with that same bright, glistening light–clear, lively peach blossom eyes.
But their noses werepletely different.
Lily had a delicate, well–defined nose. Le’s was big and round, heavy–looking, like a giant meatball nted in the middle of her face. It gave her whole appearance a clumsy kind of awkwardness.
Most importantly, Le had an Adam’s apple. There was no way she could be a woman!
The reason James felt something so eerily familiar when their lips touched–why Le reminded him of Lily–must have been because their lips were shaped simrly. Both of them had lips like soft, <b>sweet </b>cotton candy.
“Le…”
It took what felt like a full century before James could drag his soul and senses back into his body.
He had always known he could never ept being with a man.
After finding out Le was male, he’d even sought out a movie to understand what a rtionship between two men would look like.
The moment those two men in the film held hands and embraced affectionately, he’d felt too ufortable to keep watching. Kissing? Anything more intimate? Absolutely impossible.
He had believed, no matter how deeply he liked Le, that the most they could ever be was spiritualpanions. At most, they might hold hands. Hugging, kissing–he wouldn’t be able to bear it,
But now that he’d actually met her…
He felt possessed. He wanted to touch her, to hold her, to be with her, to tangle himself in her forever- body and soul, life after life.
Right now, all he wanted was to cup the back of her head and deepen the kiss<b>, </b>hard and reckless.
But he knew better.
She hadn’t kissed him on purpose–she was drunk, barely aware of where she even was.
He couldn’t take advantage of her/
James silently chanted calming mantras for a full thirty seconds. Still, the tremor running through him wouldn’t fade.
With his fingers shaking, he carefully lifted her into his arms, nning to let her rest inside the tent. Once she sobered up, he wanted to take her for a walk, talk to her, show her more of the beautiful scenery.
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Chapter 239 The Weight of a Kiss
Only once he had her in his arms did he realize just how light she was.
She couldn’t have weighed inore than ny pounds. Abo
the same as Lily.
But Le was a grown man. How could he be this thin?
Is he not <i>eating </i><i>properly</i>?
He thought back to the way she’d nibbled on the skewers earlier<i>–</i>small, delicate bites like a cat. After fewer than ten, she’d already dered she was full.
What kind of man ate like that?
James‘ brows pinched together in concern.
<i>If </i><i>she </i><i>keeps </i><i>skipping </i><i>meals</i><i>, </i><i>her </i><i>body </i>will <i>never </i><i>stay </i><i>strong</i><i>. </i><i>Too </i><i>light</i><i>. </i><i>Too </i><i>fragile</i>. Like a <i>girl</i>.
<i>When </i>we’re <i>together</i>, <i>I’ll </i><i>make </i><i>sure </i><i>she </i><i>eats </i><i>right </i><i>every </i><i>day</i>.
He gently set her down and was about to step away when, suddenly, she pushed forward with surprising strength and forced him down onto the nearby soft lounge chair.
“Le…”
As she inched closer, James‘ breath began to hitch.
He knew she was in no state to know what she was doing. He should push her away.
But watching her draw closer, lips flushed and soft, remembering the sensation of their earlier idental kiss… the warmth, the sweetness, the electricity… his body betrayed him.
Even though he had easily carried her just moments ago, his arms now felt limp. He couldn’t summon the strength to create any space between them.
He closed his eyes, ears burning, as if praying for spiritual enlightenment–but no prayers could stop the temptation.
He wasn’t some monk. He was being dragged from the clouds back into temptation by a beautiful little demon.
Back when Lily had been with John, in those darkest, hardest times, she’d drunk to help him win business<b>. </b>
But even then, she always kept her guard up. She knew the kind of men she was surrounded by–smiling andughing on the surface, but nothing short of predators underneath.
She’d take medicine beforehand to dull the effects. Or sneak away to vomit in secret. She always forced herself to stay alert.
But when she finally let herself rx–when she truly got drunk–she became a walkingedy show. She remembered the night of her seventeenth birthday, when all she wanted was a taste of red wine.
After begging and pleading, her adoptive parents and three older brothers finally caved and let her have one small ss.
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Chapter 239 The Weight of a Kiss
It had been her first time drinking. Her alcohol tolerance was abysmal. One ss and she’d turned into a total fool.
Mathilda hadn’t returned to the Ginger family yet, and back then, Lily had still been treated like a little treasure–loved and spoiled unconditionally. She’d trusted them deeply, loved them with all her heart. She believed they were truly her family.
That night, drunk and uninhibited, she’d climbed an old tree in the backyard, clutching the branches and singing songs for half an hour.
Her adoptive parents and brothers had been beside themselves, trying to coax her down, but she refused. In the end, the boys had to climb up and carry her down themselves.
After that, they never let her drink again.
Especially not outside the house.
They’d said they were afraid she’d get drunk, climb something dangerous again, and if they weren’t there to protect her, she might get hurt.
Butter… they were the ones who hurt her.
They were the ones who wished she’d fall, break, and disappear without a trace.
And yet, even now, Ly trusted James from the bottom of her heart.