"You're in my bathtub covered in my marks. I'll stare as much as I want."
The smile widens. He opens his eyes, catching me looking, and doesn't seem to mind at all.
"Come here," he says.
I lean in. He cups my face with wet hands, water dripping down my jaw, and kisses me. Soft. Sweet. Nothing like the desperate, hungry kisses from last night. This is something gentler. Something that feels like thank you and good morning and maybe something bigger that neither of us is ready to name.
When he pulls back, his eyes search my face.
"Last night," he starts. "You kept saying... you kept calling me yours."
"You are."
"But we barely know each other. It's been less than a week since I walked into your bar."
I shrug. "My lion knew the second you walked through that door. Soaking wet, scared, wearing a cardigan with cats on it. He knew."
"That simple?"
"That simple."
He's quiet for a moment, trailing his fingers through the water. I grab a strawberry from the tray I brought in, hold it to his lips. He takes it automatically, chewing while he thinks.
"What if I'm not ready?" he asks finally. "For being yours, I mean. For all of this."
Something cold slides through my chest. My lion goes very still. "Are you saying—"
"No!" Water sloshes as he sits up too fast, wincing at the movement. "No, I want—god, Knox, I want to be yours. That's not the question. It's just fast. A week ago I didn't even know you existed. Now I have your bite mark on my shoulder that you said is going to scar, and I can barely walk, and I—" He breaks off, laughing a little helplessly. "I called in sick to work in my head about fifteen times last night. That's not like me. I don't do this. I don't fall this fast."
The cold thing in my chest thaws. "You're falling?"
"I just told you I'm considering workplace abandonment because you're good at sex. Yes, Knox. I'm falling."
I lean in, pressing my forehead to his. "Then fall. I'll catch you."
"That's very smooth."
"I meant it."
"I know." He kisses me again, brief and warm. "That's the terrifying part."
I grab another strawberry, feed it to him because I need to do something with my hands that isn't pulling him out of the tub and carrying him back to bed. "So what do you want?"
"I want to see where this goes. I want to keep doing... this." He gestures vaguely. "The sex, obviously, god yes the sex. But also the bath thing. And the way you look at me like I matter. I want to do it right, though. Dating. Getting to know each other. Not just falling into bed every time we're in the same room."
"We can do that."
"Yeah?"
"We can do whatever you need, sunshine."
His breath catches at the endearment. "Okay. So we're dating. Officially."
"We're dating," I confirm. "And I'm going to take you to dinner. And to whatever weird museum exhibits you want to see. And anywhere else you want to go."
"And also to bed."
"And also to bed. Frequently."
