Her cheeks turned rosy at the words, and the sight reminded him of how she had looked earlier when he first kissed her—
Don't go there, Collington.
But when her cheeks kept turning pinker, and she was squirming on her feet, and now she was biting her lip—
I give up.
"May I ask you something, Katherine?"
Her eyes widened. "Of c-course. W-What is it?"
"May I kiss you?"
Her lips parted in shock, and it almost made him smile.
A few more moments passed.
"Katherine?"
"Y-Y-Y..."
He waited patiently. His hands remained at his sides. His breathing did not change. But Katherine was the one who turnedout to be impatient, and when she seemed to realize she could not be coherent at the moment—
Thumbs-up.
That was classic Katherine McKenna through and through, and—
Oof.
She had him backing up an inch at the strength with which she charged into him like a tiny quarterback. She was already crying as he lifted her up, her arms closing around his neck, her legs locking around his waist, and her hair was in his face, copper strands sticking to his jaw where her tears had made his skin damp.
He held her there, one arm bracing her weight, and with his free hand he gently pushed the hair back from her face. Her eyes were wet and wide and green, and the scar on her temple was right there, close enough to press his mouth against.
So he did.
Not her lips. Not yet. Just the scar. The thin, raised line he had put there when he saved her life, and he pressed his mouth to it so gently that Katherine's breath caught and held, and her fingers tightened on the back of his neck.
Then he kissed her forehead. And her closed eyes, one and then the other, tasting salt. And finally her mouth.
This kiss was nothing like the one during Code Orange.
This one was slow.
This one was quiet.
When he lifted his head, she was smiling up at him tearily.
"You're really super in love with me, aren't you?"
Wow.
He could not remember the last time he had such a thought, but that was really the only thing that came to mind.
Wow.
Because even after all these years, every time he would think he had learned everything there was to know about how her mind worked, she would shock him once again by jumping into another conclusion no other person could come up with.
No other but her, and that...
