Page 72 of Merry Fake Bride

“But what about now? What’s keeping you grounded?”

His eyes.

The slight smile playing over his lips.

The warmth radiating from his bare torso.

The gentle lilt of his whisper-soft voice.

His height and the strength he exudes with the thought that he could protect me from anything that could come through that door.

It all plays in my mind within half a second while he gazes at me like I’m the most precious thing he’s ever seen.

“Right now?” My words struggle to pass through this deep warmth of relaxation that seeps through me in his presence.

“Yes.” Kairo angles himself fully toward me, and I step another half-step closer as visible goosebumps rise across his strong forearms.

Veins bulge slightly under his skin, creating sexy curves and lines all across his arms.

His breath hitches softly and my heart races faster and faster.

“I don’t know,” I reply as honestly as I can. “There isn’t just one thing. If there were, then I would have it with me all the time and I’d feel safe all the time. But I don’t. So sometimes, it’s just a feeling that happens and then I know I’m going to be okay for a little while.”

“I get that.” He blinks slowly, and a pang of jealousy stabs through me at how his eyelashes gently caress his cheek. “Sowhat you’re saying is, this feeling will fade when something else takes its place and makes you feel safe.”

“Yeah.” I nod slowly. “I think.”

“It’s not an exact science.”

“Nope.” I’m too distracted by the gentle way he talks and the soft way his lips curve and form around every slowly delivered word.

A soft beeping suddenly rings out in the kitchen, signaling the wash is complete, but neither of us moves.

I’m too transfixed by his stare and the warmth spreading through my chest as my heart races faster and faster.

He can surely hear it pounding away at this point, given how each beat is nearly deafening in my eyes.

“You gonna get that?” Kairo whispers, tilting his head toward the washer.

But as soon as he moves, something takes over me and I’m suddenly on my tiptoes using his crossed arm for balance to push myself upward and into Kairo’s space.

Half a second later, my lips collide with his and the world around me goes completely still.

Nothing moves.

Nothing breathes.

Even the beeps of the washer fade to nothing.

Kairo’s lips are soft against my own.

I catch mostly his lower lip from this angle, despite my attempts to get closer.

If his head were tilted down more, then it would be a fuller kiss like I ache for, but in this moment, this will do.

Kairo’s hand on his chest rises slowly, then a whisper-soft touch caresses my cheek tracing from my temple down to the soft line of my jaw.

Warm shivers tingle down my spine.