I WAKE UP TO THE FEELof Kaz gently nibbling on my lips.
And for a few seconds, my entire universe shrinks to this. His mouth. My mouth. The slow, warm press of his teeth catching my bottom lip, the tiniest tug, and then his lips again, and I don't open my eyes because if I do I'll see his face and if I see his face I'll combust and they'll have to scrape what's left of me off his very expensive sheets.
I want the nibbling to last forever.
Except...
Matt.
The name crashes through my perfect morning like an alarm I forgot to turn off, and I find myself pressing my hands against his chest, which is incredibly hard, as inimpressivelyhard, like someone carved it out of warm marble and then wrapped it in a cotton shirt that is unfairly thin, and I can feel his heartbeat right there against my palm, and his skin is so warm through the fabric, and—
You're getting distracted, Kitty! Focus!
So I manage to roll out of the bed...and I do it so fast that I roll all the way down to the carpeted floor.
Oops.
The carpet is soft, at least. And thick. The kind of carpet I'm pretty sure my entire former apartment could have fit on, and I'm lying facedown on it like a starfish that's given up on life.
I quickly sit up, saying, "I'm okay."
Kaz is still in bed, propped on one elbow, his dark curls falling across his forehead in a way that should be outlawed before nine in the morning. His eyes are on me. Just on me, with that quiet focus of his, and his expression is the expression of a man who has just watched his fiancée launch herself off his bed and is clearly wondering how we got here.
"Are you certain?"
"Yep—"
"Then come back here."
He's reaching for me already, and I'm leaning towards him already because honestly, Kazeyuki with his sleep-tousled hair is just...so...oh, I don’t even know how to put it to words. All I know is that it’s doing something to me, it’s making me feel all sorts of things, seeing Kazeyuki like this, and knowing that for the rest of our lives, I’m the only woman who will ever see him with his hair all messy and soft-looking as his dark eyes tempt me with promises of untold pleasures, and his jaw with its faint shadow that makes him look rougher and hotter, and oh gosh, the shirt he’s slept in has ridden up enough that I can see a sliver of his stomach as he starts to pull me close—
Matt!
And I jump back to my feet and back away from him like he's just been infected with the T-virus, and yes, I'm a fan of Resident Evil, and I'm proud of it.
"Katherine?"
He's sitting up now. The sheet has pooled at his waist, and his shirt is wrinkled from sleep, and his dark eyes are tracking me with that focus of his that makes me feel like I'm the only thing in this room, this building, this continent.
"I'm sorry," I say helplessly. "On any given day, I wouldsolove to stick to you like glue, but I have somewhere to go?"
He studies me with hooded eyes, and it is the most intensely broodingly beautiful sight. Kaz in bed, his long fingers resting on the sheet beside his knee, and the weight of that gaze pressing against me until I can feel it in my knees.
"Can I not change your mind?"
Oh yes, you can.
Absolutely.
You can change my mind any—
No, no, no!
Instead of answering him, I just dash out of his bedroom, and the door clicks shut behind me, and I press my back against it for a second to catch my breath, but even through the door I can feel him in there, still looking at where I was, and my face is on fire.
I go back to my room, lock the door, and...whoa.
I start fanning my face as I walk to the en-suite with still-wobbly legs.