Tempted | Kai Parker

forty six: protective

The first thing I remembered feeling this morning was the mattress shifting below my body, before a spell of soft kisses started to press against my skin, each one waking me up a little more. The gentle pecks moved over my forehead, then my nose, and then my cheeks.

When they finally reached my lips, I was just about alert enough to respond with a series of sleepy kisses.

My eyes stayed shut as I felt Kai's lips break away from mine, but my fingertips immediately searched for his body. My palm gently grazed over his chest, before I wrapped my arm around him and pulled him close, desperate for his warmth.

"Is waking me up with kisses your way of trying to make me a morning person?" I yawned.

"Maybe." He chirped, before he placed another soft peck on my forehead. "Is it working?"

"A little." I chuckled, as I finally allowed my eyes to flutter open and connect with Kai's.

The moment I did his lips started to stretch into a wide grin, and his hand rested on my waist.

"You look happy." I smiled, softly trailing my fingers up and down his arm. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I am." He nodded. "It seems like I've also developed nice feelings too. And being with you helps me focus on the good stuff."

Pleased to see him back to his usually upbeat self, I felt my lips tug into a smile. What made my heart warm even more was the thought that I could help him actually feel happiness and take him away from the dark and taunting thoughts which threatened to rule his mind.

"Have you got any idea why you suddenly started feeling all of that stuff last night?" I asked, still softly stroking his arm.

"Yeah, I thought about it a lot actually." He confirmed with a small nod.

"Go on." I urged.

"Well, at first I thought it might've been triggered by an emotional event. Luke dying." He started. "But then I thought, my other siblings died, and I still didn't feel anything - so why would it be different with Luke?"

"Okay..." I nodded.

"So, then I thought maybe it was a different type of emotion that triggered them all to flood back in. Love." He explained. "We told each other that we loved each other for the first time last night."

I swallowed back a lump in my throat as I looked deep into his rich blue eys, a somewhat indescribable feeling of guilt starting to snake through my gut.

I knew that Kai having emotions wasn't a bad thing. However, I also knew how hard it was going to be for him to get to grips with them. I knew how raw they made him feel – how much pain they brough to him last night. If I had caused that pain, simply by loving him – I felt awful about it. Even although I knew that it was unreasonable to blame myself, it didn't seem to shift the uncomfortable knots in my stomach.

"So, you think -" I started.

"No." He cut in. "I realised it couldn't have been that. I mean, I admitted to myself that I loved you a long time ago, and I've heard you say it to me before. Plus, I said it out loud before when I told Caroline that I loved you."

The tension in my throat was quickly replaced by a small instinctive giggle, as I gave Kai a playful prod on his side.

"You told Caroline that you loved me?" I chuckled.

He rolled his eyes, softly shaking his head as his lips curved. "So what?" He scoffed.

"How does it feel to have a best friend?" I teased, leaning over his chest, as he flattened onto his back.