The sun was barely brushing across the floor, golden light filtered through gauzy curtains, and Nine was already awake—lying on his side, watching me like I might vanish.
His cheeks were still pink from the warmth of the sheets… or maybe from what we'd done in them.
I stretched slowly, shamelessly, arms overhead with a low groan. "You're staring."
"You can't leave me now," he said, quietly, but with a kind of childlike stubbornness that made me grin.
I blinked at him, then gave him a mock-serious look. "Oh? And who made that rule?"
Nine hesitated. His blush deepened. "That's how it is… in the books."
My grin sharpened. "Books, huh?"
He turned his face slightly into the pillow, like maybe if he buried himself deep enough, I'd forget the words ever left his mouth.
"Oh no, don't go shy on me now," I teased, leaning over and opening the drawer of the bedside table. A small pile of worn paperbacks peeked out—romance novels. I raised a brow. "These books?"
Nine nodded hesitantly, already trying to grab one before I could.
But I was faster.
"Oooh, what's this?" I said, flipping through pages dramatically. "Her body burned for him. Her soul, even more. As his hands roamed lower—"
"Rhea—!"
"—she knew she'd never belong to anyone else. Not after this night—"
He lunged forward, trying to snatch the book from me, but I twisted away with a laugh, holding it just out of reach.
"You read this stuff?" I gasped between giggles. "Nine! You little—"
"Stop reading it!" he squeaked, red-faced and mortified.
"—the heat between them was too much to bear, and— Oof!"
In his flustered attempt to tackle the book from my hands, we both lost balance. The mattress dipped violently, and suddenly I was beneath him, both of us breathless and tangled, my hair fanned out across the sheets, his silver hair falling into his eyes.
Our laughter faded into silence.
His legs were on either side of mine, arms braced above my head. We stared at each other for one long, suspended moment—his body hovering over mine, lips inches from mine, eyes wide and glassy.
I could feel the rapid beat of his heart. Or maybe that was mine.
I ran my fingers slowly along his forearms, up to his shoulders. He didn't move. Didn't even breathe.
Then I smirked, brushing a kiss against the underside of his jaw. "Round three?"
Nine's breath hitched audibly.
And then he kissed me like he'd been waiting his whole life for permission.