Not Quite a Prince || Eric Sohn

~ 28 ~

She watched Eric's face carefully. She saw the many emotions flicker in and out of his eyes. He was still scared, still in shock, but her words made a giant smile spread across his face. "What?" he asked, his eyes suddenly sparkling. It was almost as though he'd totally forgotten what situation they were in, he looked so happy.  

Chanmi laughed, feeling almost giddy too. She was insane. Absolutely insane. But she looked at his handsome face and said, "I like you too-"

He didn't let her finish. He pushed her back against the door, cupping her face with both of his hands, and he kissed her. 

She closed her eyes, unable to stop a smile from spreading across her lips as she kissed him back. Her hands clutched the fabric of his shirt. They separated for a moment, his hands snaking around her waist and hers stringing around his neck, and then they kissed again. And again. 

By the time they finished, she was out of breath and her knees felt weak. She definitely was not in any shape to defend him, but she couldn't care less. She just felt happy. 

His arms were still around her waist, and he pulled her close to him. He nuzzled his face in her neck and she laughed. 

"Are you ticklish?" he murmured. 

"Why would I tell you?" she teased. "I feel like you'd use that against me." 

"Maybe not today, but perhaps one day," he agreed, leaning out of the embrace to smile at her. His eyes fell on the door behind her and they darkened as he seemed to remember what their situation was right now. 

Without hesitation, he scooped her into his arms. 

"What are you doing?" she asked, still laughing as he carried her towards the back of the room. 

"You're not staying by the door," Eric said sternly, glaring at her. "I'm not losing you," he said, placing her gently on the bed and slipping off the bulletproof vest she'd given him. He put it in her hands and crawled into bed beside her, slipping his arms around her once more, and pulling her towards him. She shoved the vest to the side and just leaned into his embrace. 

She smiled, resting her head on his chest. "Your heart is beating awfully fast," she murmured. 

"And it's all your fault," he said, playing with strands of her hair. "Wait... is your heart not beating fast?" he asked, mock-glaring at her. 

"Nope!" she grinned. "Your presence isn't affecting me at all," she deadpanned, trying to ignore the fact that her heart was in fact beating way faster than usual. 

Eric leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers in a whisper of a kiss. "What about now?" he whispered. 

"Nope," she said, her breath hitching as he leaned forward and did it again. 

"I think you're lying," he said, his nose touching hers. "You look pretty flustered to me." 

Chanmi struggled to recall her training, to bring her face back into an emotionless expression, to stop her cheeks from tinting pink... but it was to no avail. With him so close, her head was completely empty of any thoughts that didn't involve him. 

"I'm not lying," she finally choked out, barely able to breathe as he trailed kisses on her jawline. 

"Hmm, sure," he murmured in her ear. 

"You... are driving me crazy," she said, hiding her face in his chest. She felt her cheeks, and yep, they were definitely red. 

"Good," he said, kissing the top of her head and pulling her even closer to him. "Because you'd been driving me crazy these past weeks. I can't believe you rejected me."

Chanmi laughed, peeking up at him. "Do you blame me? I was scared," she said, her smile faltering. "I still am." 

"Don't worry," he said, stroking her hair. "I won't let us get caught." 

"You could have gotten us caught earlier," she said, putting her hands on his chest and pushing him away a little bit. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't try to protect me. Remember that it's my job to put my life on the line for you. Not the other way around."

"But-" 

"No buts," she insisted, putting a finger on his lips and stopping him. He smiled, taking her hand and interlacing their fingers. 

"So, does this mean we're finally dating?" he asked playfully. 

Chanmi shook her head, a teasing smile gracing her lips. "Nope."

"Excuse me?" he said in mock shock. "What do you mean, 'nope'? What, do you just go around kissing guys... and no dating?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her, laughter in his voice. 

She shrugged. "What's it to you? It's not like we're dating." 

He pulled her close again and tilted his head at her, a devilish smile on his lips. He leaned forward, kissing her softly. "Be my girlfriend, please?" he whispered. 

"No," she said, smiling as he came to kiss her again. She laughed, playfully trying to hide her face from him. But as her teasing continued, so did his, and he grabbed both of her hands, holding them with one of his as his other hand went behind her neck, gently pulling her lips to meet his. 

She could have pulled her hands away, but why would she?

She liked being kissed by him. 

"Will you say yes now?" he said, pulling away, his cute and hopeful gaze locking with hers. 

Chanmi smiled, pulling one of her hands out of his grasp and placing it on the side of his face. "Yes," she whispered, a smile coming to her face. "Yes, I'll be your girlfriend."

***

A/N

Well, it's about time😳😭

Anyways here's a quick note for my younger readers: this is as steamy (??) as it gets. None of my books will ever have any 18+ scenes, so you don't have to worry about that. Also, I rarely, if ever, curse. So you don't have to worry about that either.