Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



I was startled when I heard what he had said. I honestly didn't know how much he needed to be in my head until he wasn't allowed in it anymore. But then again, I guess it made sense. No one could be completely strong all of the time, and even the toughest man needed reassurance sometimes.

Hell, I licked them when I needed my own reassurance that they were mine, and let's face it, that is high on both the weird and the ick scale.

So maybe having a constant dialogue of my thoughts was what kept Wang Chao grounded and reassured about his place in our group. And more important, his place with me.

I was so tempted to tell him that I would not let him back in until he told me what was going on, but that felt dirty, almost like I was blackmailing him where I wouldn't give him what he desperately needed until I got what I wanted in return first.

And yes, I was ticked off, and yes, my stress levels were still through the roof, but this man was literally on his knees before me. I allowed the walls I erected in my head to crumble down, giving Wang Chao what he seemed to need. Whether it was what he wanted or not was another story.

Once again I felt his whole body shudder in relief as it was wound as tightly as a bowstring only to now be released from all that pressure. "Thank you," he whispered out loud. 'I couldn't feel you,' he continued inside my head, his voice taking on a vulnerable quality to it that I had never heard before. 'Since the first time I met you, you have been in me. I could feel you invading every part of me from my muscles to my brain and even my heart. it got to the point that I could only breathe easier if I was able to see you. But once I got the spirit power, the feeling was even more intense. I no longer had to be in the same room as you to breathe, but you took over every fiber of me. Your thoughts and your presence kept me sane.'

His confession left me breathless as I could feel his deep seeded need to be near me. 'I am sorry,' I replied as I bent down to give him a kiss on the top of his head. 'I know I should have taken a step back, but—' I didn't know how to describe the feeling that went through me when I saw him with Li Yi Ming. I sighed, not bothering. He could feel me and hear my thoughts. He already knew what I was going to say.

'Yes, but sometimes I like to hear you say it out loud,' he said with a smile. I was about to open my mouth when I heard the sound of a voice being cleared from behind Wang Chao.

Looking up, I saw some of Li Yi Ming's team standing in my doorway. Feeling my hackles rise, I swung my vision down to the man that was still kneeling in front of me.

"I believe that you have something to say?" I asked him. Yes, I forgave him simply because to not was like cutting off my nose to spite my face. But we still needed to hash out what actually happened. I had to hold off a chuckle when a long-forgotten thought popped up in my head.

"Hey, Liu Yu Zeng," I started because this joke was too good to pass up, even if the timing was somewhat awkward.

"Yeah?" he asked as he tightened his hold on my shoulders.

"Do you know why most archaeologists are women?" I said, not able to hide the smile on my face.

"No, why?" he asked and I could practically feel the smile in the voice of my joker.

"Because they are so good at digging up the past," I replied tilting my head back so he could see the smile on my face. "Alright," I said tapping Wang Chao on his shoulder. By the look on the faces of the men by the door, I was worried that they would consider Wang Chao less by being willing to kneel in front of me.

Wang Chao got to his feet and gave me a toe-curling kiss on my lips. "You can dig up the past as much as you want, because at least that way, you have to be around me in order to do it." My brain did not process his words as it was concentrating on the feeling of Wang Chao in front of me, almost pushing me back into Liu Yu Zeng who refused to take a step back to give me more room.

In fact… I shivered in delight as I felt Liu Yu Zeng's lips trailing up and down my neck as Wang Chao completely dominated my lips. I had never felt so out of control and overwhelmed in a good way as I did now, and I never wanted it to stop.

"Okay, break it up," said Chen Zi Han as he stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room. He had volunteered to make dinner if I returned all of the working appliances to the kitchen. "You can keep going after the company is gone," he continued as he came to my side and pulled me out from between the two towering men.

Guiding me to the head seat in the living room, a white oversized, wingbacked chair with a grey pillow and black blanket draped over the back, he waited for me to sink down into its softness. Giving me a quick once over to make sure that I was good and up for whatever was coming, he took his regular position behind me and to the left.

Wang Chao and Liu Yu Zeng took their normal seats to my right and left and once we were all settled, he waved in the men that had not moved from our doorway. A small part of me was impressed that they didn't come in even with the door opened and instead waited for an invite.

I leaned back into my chair and curled my legs under me as I got more comfortable. Seeing me, Chen Zi Han quickly pulled off the blanket and laid it over my legs. I tilted my head back to smile at him, and he returned my smile, giving me a quick kiss on my cheek at the same time.

"Is someone going to tell me what is going on?" I asked once I was comfortable and all the men had managed to file into the living room.

"Li Yi Ming was right," said Wang Chao only to be interrupted by my hiss. I hated that man. Well, maybe hate was a strong word, but that man made my skin crawl and I was not willing to let him step foot in any place that I called home.  I frantically searched the faces of the unknown men, but when I didn't see him, I relaxed once again.

"He is not here," Wang Chao reassured me. "He and Liu Wei are having a discussion on one of the lower floors," he continued, but the expression on his face let me know exactly what type of 'discussion' he was actually having.

I will fully admit that I was enough of a bitch that I didn't even bother to stop the smirk on my face.

"But he was right," said Wang Chao, pausing to see if I was going to interrupt him again. Looking at him, one eyebrow raised, he took that as my permission to continue. "His team is considered to be one of the best in the Navy. They can do anything and everything, and they do it very well."

An impressed look crossed my face as I looked at the men in front of me. Wang Chao had never praised any team as he did them.

"I was originally planning to have them be your own personal team, almost like bodyguards, but the very idea of them being around you all the time caused me to be… unhappy," said Wang Chao, and I could feel that flash of anger at the idea of them being around me more than the men.

"But that aside, they can integrate just fine with the other teams and still be used by you exclusively when needed. As long as they are not around you without one of us there."  Wang Chao was interrupted by Liu Wei coming into the penthouse, pulling off similar leather gloves as Chen Zi Han.

He skirted around the men in the room, not even putting them in his eye as he made his way to me. Leaning down, he gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. "You have a bit of blood splatter on your cheek," I said, licking my thumb ready to clean it off, but he flung his upper body backward and out of my arm's reach.

"You don't need to touch something so dirty," he said when a brief streak of vulnerability flashed through my eyes. I nodded my head, understanding where he was coming from but not necessarily agreeing with him.

Placing a kiss on my forehead this time, he went to go stand behind me on my right side beside Chen Zi Han.  Once he had taken his place, I turned my attention back to the men in a line in front of me.

Wang Chao had said that they could be useful, and I had to give them credit for not even flinching when they saw our public display of affection, but I didn't know if they would be a good trade for the number of supplies we would need in order to keep them alive.

"Give them a chance," said Wang Chao. "You might be surprised."