Page 39 of Eye of the Hurricane
I shut it down in the quickest way I know how. I saunter right on over to her and grab her jaw with my hand, tipping her mouth up to mine before claiming it.
Kissing Katherine is like drinking a glass full of summer sun. It burns down my spine and lights me from within. When my lips touch hers, her entire body softens and she melts into me.
I pull away from the kiss, my hand still holding her jaw, and drop my lips to the shell of her ear.
“I left so you could talk to your friend, not because I didn’t want to be here.” I can feel her smile against my cheek. I drop my hand and pull away to look at her.
“I was afraid the whole inexperienced thing freaked you out. I’ve always had a thought in the back of my head that when I finally did find someone to do all these things with, it might be a turn off to them that I never had before.”
“I don’t care about that, Kat. I pumped the breaks because I don’t want to rush anything. I want you to have the chance to take things at your pace and get comfortable with each step before rushing the next.”
“Why do you have to be such a good guy?” She groans.
“All part of the charm,” I joke and she rolls her eyes.
We satiate our late night munchies and when the night finally winds down, we head to her bedroom. This is my first time seeing her bedroom. The second I walk in, I know I’ll never see Professor Vines’ office the same again.
Her bedroom is all pale yellows and whites, with smallgolden accents. It’s like I’m swimming in her presence and frankly, I wouldn’t mind drowning in it. She climbs into the butter colored blankets on her bed.
“You’re sleeping in a sundress again?” I laugh. She just nods. At first, it was a joke but I’m actually getting concerned that she sleeps in these things.
“Are you getting in?” Kat asks, patting the bed next to her. I nod, pulling my shirt up over my head and tossing it on the floor. I consider leaving the sweats on but the way she’s gawking at me, I’m going to give her a show.
I slide my sweats down my thighs and step out of them when they hit the floor. Her eyes drag down my chest and across my stomach, then drop to my boxers before snapping back up to my eyes. Her stare is wide and anxious, filled with a nervousness that I don’t like on her. I like her smiling and relaxed.
I climb in the bed next to her and lay back on her overly high stack of pillows. She’s still just watching me nervously. I don’t know where these nerves are coming from, but I have a suspicion they’re related to something she thinks we have to do.
“You know we aren’t doing anything tonight, right?” I ask and it’s like it all magically washes away.
“Really?” Her voice is lighter.
“Yes, really. We’re just sleeping,” I assure her. She crawls up next to me and lays her head on my chest, wrapping an arm around my abdomen. She lets out a sigh of relief, like the stress of the day has fallen away the second her head touches my chest.
Chapter 12
Katherine
Each timeI wake up with Ares is more incriminating than the last. The first time was a complete accident and I woke up next to him on the couch. The second, I was neatly tucked into his side with my head resting on his chest.
This time, I’m fully on top of him when I wake up. Not in a sexual way, my entire body is just lying on top of his. As soon as I’m fully conscious and the realization kicks in, I roll off of him.
A low, grumpy groan comes from him. He doesn’t even bother to open his eyes or speak. He just wraps two arms around me and puts me back where I was. I let out a high-pitched laugh that sounds more like a giggle.
“We have to get up,” I whisper in his ear. He shakes his head and grumbles. The warm arms wrapped around my back hold me tighter to him.
“Can’t we just stay in bed all day?” He finally opens his eyes. The bright morning sun hits his brown eyes, turning them amber. There’s a boyish look to him this morning that makes it harder to tell him no.
“Do I seem like the type to spend a full day in bed?” I ask, knowing the answer is no. His chest deflates, sinking me down closer to the mattress.
“No.” He pops his head slightly to the side. “But you should. Don’t you think it would be good for you to rest once in a while?”
“I think it’s good for me to get things done and stay focused. That’s what works for me. It’s what got me here and it’s what’s going to get me that job,” I tell him. Do I think my body would benefit from a day off? Sure. Do I have any intentions of wasting a full day lying around? Absolutely not.
“You’ll burn yourself out.”
“And I’ll work through the burnout. Life goes on.” I shrug.
“Kat, living like this isn’t sustainable.” That remark stings somewhere that I can’t quite place. I don’t know what it is about it that bothers me, but it really does.
