Page 110 of Merry Fake Bride

“Heated floors again,” Kairo teases. “But you are welcome to sleep here. I hope you’ll find it comfortable.”

“It’s huge,” I murmur, stepping closer to the bed and briefly touching the feather-soft blanket on top. “Never thought I’d risk getting lost in a bed.”

Kairo’s soft laugh warms me and a smile creeps across my lips, but it threatens to vanish as Kairo steps back toward the door.

My heart jumps. I don’t want him to leave.

I want him here with me, somehow.

It’s a trembling urge that yo-yos back and forth in my mind, but I clutch at it because my gut instinct is to find a way to make him stay just a little longer.

“Actually, Kairo?—”

“Yes?”

It might be my imagination, but I swear he sounds just as eager to stay. “Could you help me with my dress?”

“Your dress?” He takes a step closer.

“Yeah, uhm… It’s got some buttons and things on the back that were easy to step into, but I’m tired and I’m not sure I can get them now.”

A weak lie.

The buttons are easy.

The dressmaker took me through how to get in and out of this dress with ease.

I’d chosen it due to its high back to hide my scars, but the dread of showing those off to Kairo, while scary, isn’t as strong as my urge to keep him here with me.

“Of course.” Kairo walks up to me, and I slowly turn around to face the bed, scooping all my hair to one side. “Are you ready?”

Despite the anxious flutter in my heart, there’s a stronger urge in my gut.

A gnawing, growing ache just to feel his hands against my body even for a moment.

I’m so desperate that I’ll even consider drinking, and I nod quickly just to hurry things along.

Kairo’s first touch is so soft that my breath catches in my throat and every nerve along my body jumps and then freezes.

His fingers are gentle and nimble as they glide from my shoulder blades down to the small of my back, unhooking each small button as he goes.

I shiver, unable to stop myself, and while Kairo pauses briefly, he doesn’t stop.

As the pressure of his fingers lingers on my lower back, a sudden heat flushes through my system from head to toe.

I want him to keep going.

I want him to go lower.

His touch sweeps back up my body like a gentle caress, stopping when he reaches the zipper at the base of my neck.

The room is completely silent.

My heart thunders in my ears, almost blocking out the soft rushes of gentle breathing from Kairo behind me.

“Can I?” he asks me, his voice so utterly tender.

I want him to.