Page 20 of Give It a Day (Song-Smith #1)

“It’s all yours, little bird.” I bend down to kiss her hair, enjoying the feel of her warm body in my arms, exactly where she belongs.

We stay silent for a while, and then her voice sounds hesitant. “I never had anyone to talk to about the life I’ve had.”

My brows furrow, wondering why she’s suddenly sharing. Then again, I did tell her to tell me everything, so I silently listen, only tightening my hold around her to show her I’m here. There’s no need for me to push her when she’s so willing.

“No one would understand, and if they did, it meant they were dangerous competition. But…” She slightly turns her head to glance at me. “Now I have you, and you can relate to me, can’t you?”

My hand reaches for her chin, angling her head so she can look at me over her shoulder. With her up close under the sparkling light above us, I can see a nearly imperceptible scar under her left eye. It takes my breath away—that she’s showing this side of her to me.

“When I was taking a bath earlier, I saw blood around me. Not water,” she shares in a shuddering whisper. “All the awful things I’ve had to do so my family can keep going…it’s cost so many lives, so much pain.”

She moves her head to turn her back to me. And that’s fine for now. I hold her tightly still, letting her take her time.

“When I was younger, I thought it was necessary for me to do all of those things, but ever since I could drink my worries away, I’ve never stopped, except for tonight.

” She sighs, her shoulders hunching. My hands wrap around them, kneading soothingly.

“Two shots of soju from earlier this afternoon is nothing to the bottles I could chug. I guess being sober this late at night is making me miserable.”

“Then let me make the misery stop.” I bend my head down, my eyes searching hers. Closing my eyes, I dip my head, capturing her lips in a kiss so gentle, it’s unlike me. Perhaps in this short amount of time, she’s changed me too.

She whispers my name like a prayer, kissing me back, and there’s a pang in my chest that makes me think my heart wants to leap out and offer itself to her.

Of course I know exactly what she spoke of—blood on our hands, pain trailing behind us. I’ve grown numb toward it, but I deal with intelligence and investments, a more subtle destruction than what Kaye must have been forced to do.

I don’t break the kiss. But she does, making me growl greedily. My hand grips her neck when she says, “I couldn’t breathe.”

“Too bad.” I pull her into a bruising kiss, losing all of my gentleness as I card my fingers through her wet hair. She moans, and I smirk against her quivering lips.

But after a moment, she pushes me away to catch her breath. I frown but let her push me back as she rests the back of her head against my chest again. Lowering my brows, I already miss having her lips on mine.

The bathroom is quiet now, the water still warm as it laps against us.

Kaye leans on me, her hair damp, her body soft and pliant in my arms. She hasn’t spoken for a while, her silence heavy but not uncomfortable.

It’s thoughtful, as if she’s trying to piece together the fragmented puzzle of her life now that I’m a part of it.

I let her think, stroking my fingers along her arm in lazy patterns. There’s no rush. We’ve only had this day together, and we have a whole life to spend together, so I can give her this moment.

But eventually, I break the silence. “What do you want, Kaye?”

She stiffens slightly, then sighs. “You keep asking me that like I know the answer.”

“Because it matters.” I tighten my arms around her, keeping her close. “It matters to me.”

She tilts her head back, her eyes meeting mine. “And what if I don’t have an answer? What if I’ve been so focused on surviving, on running, that I’ve never thought about it?”

I brush a strand of wet hair from her face, my touch deliberate and lingering. “Then we’ll figure it out together. But you need to start somewhere. Anything. Tell me one thing you want.”

Her lips purse, her gaze drifting away as she considers. After a moment, she speaks, “I want to feel like I’m not… failing all the time. Like I’m not patching things up just to stop from falling apart.”

“You mean your family’s business?”

“And my life. It’s all the same. One big mess I’ve been trying to hold together for so long that I don’t even know what it’s supposed to look like.”

I lift her chin up so she has to look at me. “You’re not failing, Kaye. You’ve had to do unspeakable things, and you’re still standing. That’s not failure. That’s strength. ”

She snorts softly, a hint of bitterness in her smile. “ Strength ? That’s one way to put it.”

“It’s the truth,” I say firmly. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. But I see it. I see you.”

For a moment, she looks like she wants to believe me. But then she shakes her head. “What about you, Dae? What do you want?”

The question catches me off guard, but I don’t hesitate. “I want us to build something better. Together . I want to take everything we’ve been through, all that we’ve had to deal with, and turn it into something better.”

She quirks a brow, her skepticism clear. “That’s a tall order, even for you.”

I smirk. “Good thing I’m not afraid of hard work.”

She rolls her eyes but doesn’t pull away. Instead, she shifts slightly, turning to face me more fully. “You really think we can do that? Build something better?”

“I do.” My voice is steady, certain. “We have more in common than you think, Kaye. We’re both direct, even if you like to hide it sometimes behind that sharp tongue of yours.

We both know how to get things done, how to take charge when it counts.

And we both want more than the lives we’ve been handed. ”

She’s quiet for a moment, looking lost in thought. Then she sighs, leaning back against me again. “You make it sound so easy.”

“It won’t be,” I admit. “But nothing worth having ever is. And you’re worth it, Kaye. We’re worth it.”

She doesn’t respond right away, but her fingers trace idle patterns on my arm, her touch soft and contemplative. “I don’t know exactly what I want yet,” she says finally, her voice quiet and small. “But maybe I’ll figure it out. Eventually.”

“You will,” I promise, pressing a kiss to her temple. “And when you do, I’ll be right here, ready to help you get it. ”

“You’re annoyingly persistent,” she mutters, her tone light but teasing.

“And you love it,” I reply, grinning against her hair.

“You are really good at forging bonds, aren’t you?”

“And you’re good at putting up walls,” I counter. “But I’ll spend a lifetime tearing them down, if I have to.”

“You keep saying that. A lifetime . But you seem to be conveniently forgetting that all I have to do is get through the honeymoon, and then…” Her brows knit as she sternly side-eyes me.

She’s testing me, as she often does, and I’d be lying if I said I don’t enjoy it.

There’s something magnetic about the way she carries herself, with so much defiance that makes it impossible for me to not be around her.

I want her to be obedient to my demands.

I want her to let me take control, to rely on me.

“I’m in this, Kaye. All in . And you are too, whether you want to admit it or not.” I pause, letting the weight of my words sink in. “But I’m willing to wait for you to catch up.”

Frowning, she averts my gaze. “We’re practically strangers, Dae. You might end up finding out things about me you might not like. So maybe you’ll want that annulment too.”

I consider her words, my thumb brushing over her shoulder. “Tell me something that’ll make me sign those annulment papers so fast it’ll make your head spin.”

“Hm…” She smirks at my challenge. “I like doing…pretty messed up things in bed.”

My brow arches at her admission. “Messed up how? Like things I did to you in my car?” I ask with my voice coming out rougher than I intended, but then again, I’ve never really hidden my desire from her.

“Maybe.” She shrugs. “Do you really wanna know?”

“Yes.” I trace a finger down her cheek. “What kind of things do you enjoy? Because I want to do all those things with you.”

She pouts, furrowing her brows in delightful confusion. “What? This is supposed to scare you off.”

“You’re just making me more and more curious about you.” I lean in, my lips brushing against her ear. “I want to hear all about these messed up desires, Kaye. I want to make them all come true for you.”

With amusement and defiance in her voice, she suggests, “How about for our honeymoon trip, we pack chains and ropes, and I can show you instead?”

I groan hungrily into her ear, jaw clenching as my eyes close, imagining her tied up and spread for me. “Little bird…” My voice comes out as a raspy whisper. “You keep talking dirty like that—even if you behave during our honeymoon—I won’t want to hear you joke about ever leaving me.”

“Naughty, pretty boy.” She cups my face, pulling me back, so I can watch her eyes shimmer. “Maybe I won’t want an annulment either, if you satisfy my needs.”

“Oh, I’ll satisfy your needs, Kaye. And then some.”

Within the next seconds, I scoop her out of the tub along with me, stepping out as she holds onto me. We’re dripping wet, trailing water behind us, but I couldn’t care less.

I place her on the bed’s duvet, now damp from our wet bodies as I crawl on top of her.

“Be a good girl and put your wrists together for your husband.”

Heat coils low in my gut at the sight of her doing what she’s told. My cock that’s been achingly hard twitches against my abdomen. Obedience looks too good on her.

Though her brows knit in confusion, her body clearly trusts me, even if her mind doesn’t. At least, not completely yet. But it will.