Maybe in the back of my head, I knew how much this could mean to her, but I wasn’t prepared. Tugging her toward me, I wrapped my arms around her, and I closed my eyes as she face-planted on my chest. “It’s okay. I get it. Good tears and all.”
Kat didn’t respond, but she held me back, and in that moment, I felt the change in her. Her muscles relaxed as if she’d been holding herself away this whole time. And I relished those moments, basked in them as if I were feeling the warmth of sunlight after a frigid winter.
Then she moved.
Reaching up, she clasped my cheeks and started to guide my head down. My heart freaking stopped when she kissed me. It was quick and over well before I wanted it to be, but it hit me hard. Man, dug right into me.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice breathy. “I really mean it. Thank you.”
It took every ounce of control not to bring that mouth back to mine, but somehow I managed. I smoothed away the last of her tears. “Don’t let anyone know about my sweet side. I have a reputation to keep up.”
Kat laughed. “All right, let’s do this.”
Putting up Christmas decorations with Kat was nothing like I’d ever experienced. She was animated, lovely as she touched every bulb and strand of lights. Sometimes she laughed. Sometimes she would look away quickly, thinking I didn’t notice how her eyes would suddenly go unfocused and shiny. I didn’t point it out, not wanting to overwhelm her, and she’d always recover quickly.
When she picked up a bright green bulb, she looked at me, looked at the bulb, and then smiled in a way that made me want to know what was going on in that head of hers. Once the tree was finished, I was tired, but the night was worth it. She stared at the end result with the biggest, most beautiful smile I’d ever seen.
“I love it,” she declared.
The tree was lopsided, but if she loved it, then I was down with it. “Yeah, it’s pretty good. Dee put up the tree this morning. She has to have everything the same color, but I think our tree looks better. It’s like a disco ball.”
Her smile got even bigger.
I bumped her shoulder with mine. “You know, I had fun doing this.”
“I did, too.”
I lowered my gaze. “It’s late.”
“I know.” She paused, her expression tense. “You want to stay?”
Either I was hallucinating or she seriously just asked me that.
“I don’t mean that,” she added immediately.
“Not that I’d complain if you did.” My gaze dropped. “Not at all.”
She rolled her eyes, but her face was such a pretty shade of red, and my pulse…my pulse was out of control. Outwardly, I was calm, but my mind was racing a mile a minute.
“I’m going to get changed,” she said.
“Need help?”
“Wow. You’re so chivalrous, Daemon.”
I smiled, unable to help myself. “Well, the experience would be mutually beneficial. I promise.”
The flush deepened.
“Stay.”
I stayed in place for a whole minute, if that. And I knew I should’ve stayed there, but I’d always had a problem with impulse control. Actually, I only had a problem with impulse control when it came to Kat.
Stealing quietly up the stairs, I went straight for her bedroom. I could hear her moving around in the bathroom as I drifted to the window. When she stepped out, she froze, and I immediately questioned the intelligence behind my decision to come up here, because I really liked how thin her shirt was.
And I really loved those freaking little shorts.
“I got bored.”
She shook her head. “I wasn’t even gone five minutes.”
“I have a short attention span.” My gaze dipped. “Nice shorts.”
Her lips twitched into a grin. “What are you doing up here?”
Good question. Guess “I was a glutton for torture” wasn’t the right answer. “You said I could stay.” I glanced at the bed. “I didn’t think you meant staying on the couch.”
Uncertainty flickered across her face as her gaze followed mine. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want her to change her mind and kick me out. Not tonight.
Not ever.
Walking toward her slowly, I stopped in front of her. “I’m not going to bite.”
“That’s good.”
“Unless you want me to.”
“Nice,” she muttered, stepping around me.
Since she hadn’t told me to get my ass out of there, I decided it was a go. I kicked off my shoes and then tugged my shirt off, going for my jeans before she changed her mind.
“What—what are you doing?” she asked, stuttering.
I looked down at myself and then at her. “Getting ready for bed.”
“But you’re getting naked!”
I arched a brow. “I do have boxers on. What? Do you expect me to sleep in my jeans?”
“You did last time.”
A laugh burst out of me. “Actually, I had pajama bottoms on.”
Kat opened her mouth like she was about to say something and then changed her mind. Turning away from me, she walked over to a book on her desk. I watched her for a moment, and then I took it there. I climbed into the bed, folding my arms behind my head so that I didn’t grab her the minute she decided to get her butt to the bed.