Page 81 of Perfect Chemistry

Andie finally looked up at me and nodded. “Thank you for not giving up on her, Kai,” she said before standing up and leaving a light kiss on Katie’s temple.

As she walked out of the room, I leaned back into the corner of the sofa and gently adjusted our positions once more so that Katie was asleep on my chest, my arms holding her close to me while she slept. I closed my eyes and let my mind quiet down as I listened to her even breathing.

I opened one eye when I felt someone pulling a blanket over us. I mouthed ‘Thank you,’ to Val and looked down at Katie still sound asleep in my arms. I gently kissed her forehead, and closed my eyes to sleep as well. We would talk tomorrow or any day that she would let me in.

Chapter 28

Katie’s POV

I didn’t know how long I slept. But I knew that it was the best sleep I had had in years. As I woke up, I became aware of the fact that I was not in my bed but sleeping on a chest. I stilled my movements trying to recall the last memories before I fell asleep.

Oh god! Was I asleep on Kai? I fell asleep on Kai!

I jumped at the realization, flailing to get off of the sofa and put space between us as quickly as possible. My knee came up and hit something very hard as I fell onto the floor.

“Ungh! Shit, that is not a way to wake up,” Kai grumbled, grabbing his goods that I had just damaged with my knee.

“Sorry. I was confused,” I whispered and reached out to soothe him without thinking where my hands were soothing.

Kai’s body stilled as his eyes fluttered open to look at me. “Kat, unless you plan on doing more than kicking me in the balls, can you not handle my dick? It sends a bit of a mixed signal,” he whispered in a breathy gasp.

I stopped my movement realizing that I was in fact caressing his goods. I tried to jerk my hand back, but he grabbed it before I could get away and held it in place.

His eyes locked on mine, like he was trying to read my thoughts or gauge my reaction. “I don’t mind if you want to make it feel better,” he smirked, his eyes twinkling with mischief like they used to. He guided my hand up his abdomen and pulled me back onto his body.

“Just stay here for now, Kat. I don’t want to let go. Not yet,” he confessed quietly against my hair as I lay down on his chest again. His arms wrapped around me and just held me.

I expected to feel anxious or nervous, but I felt safe. For the first time in years, I felt like I didn’t need to be on guard. I let myself melt back into his embrace and exhaled the breath I didn’t realize that I was holding. My ear was pressed against his chest when I lay my head back down, and I heard his heart starting to race. I still made him nervous.

I felt his lips press against my forehead in the lightest of kisses. “I don’t know what happened to you, Katie, but I am here now. I don’t want to pick up where we left off, because what I did back then was shit. I want to start from here and move forward with you. Can you let me in a little?” He pleaded with me.

His words were confident but his voice sounded so vulnerable. Like I held his life in my hands to lift up or crush at my discretion. I didn’t know what to say, so I said the only thing that came to my mind.

“Ok.”

“Ok,” he repeated back. “Then can I make you breakfast? Take you to my house and make you breakfast?”

He must have felt my body tense ever so slightly, because his hands soothed and caressed my back until I relaxed against him again.

“We did sleep together. It seems only right that I take you for breakfast,” he continued.

I couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped my lips. This man was just as brazen, twisting shit to make it sound indecent.

“Not to mention you groping me so early in the morning,” he continued in his serious whisper.

I reared back to look at him, and he finally broke and started laughing. Seeing him laugh made me laugh. He pulled me back against his chest and I felt the vibrations of his laughter through his chest. “I missed this,” I whispered out so quietly, I thought maybe he had not heard it.

He tipped my head up to look at him. His eyes searched over my face and stared into my eyes. “Can I kiss you, Kitkat?” he asked me.

I just stared back at him, wide eyed and nervous. I think I nodded, because his lips came up so gently and kissed mine. He lay a second kiss against my lips, then a third before sucking my bottom lip between his. The change surprised me, and he took that opportunity to explore the kiss further. It was not a greedy kiss. It wasn’t crazy or passionate. It was a sweet kiss that gently stoked whatever small ember still remained between us.

I had to admit it…. There was still some chemistry.

He pulled away first and looked at me again. “Can I take you home, Katie?”

I nodded again, afraid to say a word or make a sound. We got up and straightened the sofa, and folded the blanket that someone had pulled over us. I didn’t say a word, as Kai left a note on the counter for our hosts Lacy and Val, and then guided me across the street to his car. The same car that I had seen him in at the gas station.

He opened the passenger door for me and waited until I was fully situated before gently closing the door and running around the car to climb into the driver’s seat. Neither of us said a word during the fifteen minute drive to his house. He pulled up in front of a gorgeous two story colonial on the outside of town.

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