17

"How do you forget your towel?" I chuckle and hear him groan.

"I don't know. I guess I wasn't focusing." As if you ever focus.

"In your closet right?" I ask as I open it. Whoa! So tidy. Note the sarcasm.

"Why are all your things on the floor?" I yell at him through the door.

"It's called gravity, look it up sometime," I can imagine him rolling his eyes.

"It's on the hanger," I hear him say after a while and I skip past the messy episode that's by the door and take the teal fluffy towel hanging solo at the very back of his walk-in closet.

I open the bathroom door and stretch my hand with the towel into the bathroom, making sure I'm firmly gripping on something in case he tries to be funny and pull me inside. I hear him chuckle and I drop my hand and raise my eyebrows.

"You can come in, I'm covered."

With what? I wonder as I slowly peek into the bathroom and the first thing to catch my attention is his huge shower. Mine's noticeably smaller, but I'm not complaining. His shower heads spray water from all directions. He must surely enjoy taking showers in this. He's leaning on the glass and thank heavens there's a silver metal around the lower half of the glass to save my innocent eyes.

He does have a toned chest though. I mean, look at those arms. This guy should stop folding his arms; he's making it difficult for us good girls to not think of the unspeakable. He slid the glass door open and stretches his arm. I hand him the towel and look away. I turn to my right and see a bathtub big enough to fit 6 people.

There are portraits on the wall. I lean in to touch the frame of a waterfall painting, but I lose my balance and almost fall in the tub face-first. I feel strong arms go around my waist and pull me back. I'm suddenly pressed against someone's chest, causing me to gasp. I am not used to body contact.

He steadies me before removing his hands from my waist. "Did I hurt you?" his hands are on my shoulders and he looks into my eyes.

"No," I shake my head, "your hands are cold, that's all."

"Alright," he lifts his hands. "Just be careful, yeah? We don't want mom assuming I'm abusing you, now do we?"

"I'll just be in here for a while, is that okay?" I ask him.

"Sure. Come to bed whenever," he smiles as he walks out and closes the door. I sit on the edge of the bathtub and cover my face with my hands. I feel like screaming. What's wrong with me? I walk over to the mirror and although its a bit steamed, I can still see part of myself. I feel like bursting with laughter. I have never been this nervous around a guy before.

When I open the bathroom door, he's stretched on the bed smiling at his phone. He looks up at me when I close the bathroom door and puts his phone away.

"What are you hiding?" I tease and he grins. I sit on the bed and cover my legs.

"Nothing," he says and leans on his arm to face me.

"That's a lie," I say and close the game I was playing. I won't be finishing it anytime soon.

"Fine," he signs mockingly, "I was looking at you."

"Another one," I say.

"It's not," he chuckles.

"Denial is a river in Egypt."

"What makes you think I'm lying to you?"

"Because you were smiling at your screen before I walked in."

"You want me to show you what I was looking at?"

"If it's fine with you."

"How can I be sure you won't hate me after I show you?"

"Because I don't 'hate' people," I make air quotes. Hold up! Is it what I think it is? "You have a girlfriend?" I straighten up. My stomach feels uncomfortable as I await his answer, but all he does is stare at me in disbelief before chortling.

"What?" I ask. He's making me more anxious.

"No, I don't have one." Can you see the colours on my face? Yeah, those are fireworks. Can you see the happy dance I'm doing? No?

"Did you have a boyfriend before you came?" he purses his lips and looks into my eyes.

"No," I reply and he smiles, his shoulders relaxing but his eyes never breaking the gaze. Suddenly there's a knock on the door and I jump, breaking eye contact. He grabs my wrist firmly before loosening his grip and gently pulls me behind him. He opens the door and exhales loudly, his shoulders relaxing.

"Mom," he says as he brushes his thumb against my palm. "You frightened us." I look at Mrs Grand over Kian's shoulder and grin at her. She smiles when she sees me.

"What are you two doing in here?" Her voice is laced with amusement.

"We were just-"

"Talking," I finish for him and casually drape my free arm over his shoulder.

"Just talking, you say?" she looks between me and Kian. "Keep in mind I don't want a granddaughter just yet," she says as she walks to her bedroom at the other side of the stairs. I've always wondered what is that side.

"How about a grandson then?" Kian teases her. I hit him on his back and he grins.

"Kian, behave. Good night, Kira," she calls out to us.

"Good night ma'am," I call back. Kian closes the door and lets go of my wrist. He leans against the door and looks at me.

"You heard the lady. Good night." I cover my head with my blanket. I soon feel him crawl on top of me and shifts next to me, his leg still on top of mine. I turn my head and try to shift but he pulls me against his chest and pulls the blanket off my face. I can feel his warm breathe tickling my nape and I thank pancakes he can't see my face right now.

"Why are we not sharing one blanket?" he asks me as he gets into my blanket. I feel his fingers trailing on my back. I push his hand away and pull my tee lower to cover my bared skin. He moves closer to me and wraps his hand around my waist.

"A little too close, don't you think?" I whisper as I brush my hair from my face.

"This is not as close as it can get. I'm restraining myself," he speaks in my ear.

"Why?" I find myself wondering.

"Because I have to keep you safe."

"From?" I look at him and he's staring back at me. I'm about to ask him what he means when the rooms suddenly goes completely dark and I jump into his chest covering my face with my hands. In a split second, I'm back in that car.

I feel his arms snake around my waist as he pulls me on top of him. His chest is vibrating and I hide my flashed face in his neck even though he can't exactly see me. No one, apart from Megan, knows how afraid of the dark I am.

"It's okay," he chuckles. "I'm here," he says as he pats my head.

"How'd the lights go off?" my voice sounds muffled and I feel like crying.

"It's timed. Didn't you set the timer for your room's lights?" he asks. I shake my head. "I must say, I actually like it like this," he speaks between my thoughts and I lift my head to look at him.

"What do you mean?"

"This," he licks his bottom lip seductively, "you on top of me."

"I'm sorry," I blush and get off him.

"Don't be," he winks. I cover myself with my blanket and he gets in behind me again. Boys. Not that I'm complaining or anything. He puts his leg on top of mine and drapes his arm over my waist.

"You good?" he asks and I nod. His breathe against my skin is now my new secret favourite thing.

"What time does school start?"

"Half eight. We can get there earlier if you'd like though. And then I can give you that tour." I can feel him smiling.

"Whatever you say. Good night," I whisper.

"Good night," he kisses my neck and I open my eyes. This will be a long night for me. Will I even be able to sleep with him behind me? I put my hand on my thigh and he entwines our fingers and completely ignores my protest of removing my hand.