Taekook and the ECLIPSE

34 | Nonchalance of His Expression

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Description of brief nudity...

Without a word, he offered me the crushed, uneven lump of black metal. It was a cast of the inside of his hand, like a piece of play dough squeezed in a child's fist. A half-second passed, and the shape crumbled into black sand in his palm.

I glared. "That's not what I meant. I already know how strong you are. You didn't have to break the furniture."

"What did you mean then?" he asked in a dark voice, tossing the handful of iron sand to the corner of the room; it hit the wall with a sound like rain. His eyes were intent on my face as I struggled to explain.

"Obviously not that you aren't physically able to hurt me, if you wanted to . . . More that, you don't want to hurt me . . . so much so that I don't think that you ever could."

He started shaking his head before I was done. "It might not work like that, Kook."

"Might," I scoffed. "You have no more idea what you're talking about than I do."

"Exactly. Do you imagine I would ever take that kind of risk with you?"

I stared into his eyes for a long minute. There was no sign of compromise, no hint of indecision in them.

"Please," I finally whispered, hopeless. "It's all I want. Please." I closed my eyes in defeat, waiting for the quick and final no.

But he didn't answer immediately. I hesitated in disbelief, stunned to hear that his breathing was uneven again.

I opened my eyes, and his face was torn.

"Please?" I whispered again, my heartbeat picking up speed. My words tumbled out as I rushed to take advantage of the sudden uncertainty in his eyes.

"You don't have to make me any guarantees. If it doesn't work out right, well, then that's that. Just let us try . . . only try. And I'll give you what you want," I promised rashly. "I'll marry you. I'll let you pay for Dartmouth, and I won't complain about the bribe to get me in. You can even buy me a fast car if that makes you happy! Just . . .please. "