The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3) (51 page)

She was imparted with a sour frown, one to which she smiled sweetly at before he leaned down and took a huge bite for her. He motioned for her to continue. It didn’t even seem like he was cold anymore. He was too entertained and eager to hear her side of the story.

Yoori finished her own ice cream before continuing with her tale. “When I finally let my guard down, he came on the eighth day and proceeded to sit on the toilet cover while I showered. He pretty much threw a bathrobe at my face, packed up my stuff, pulled me out into the cold with nothing but a pink bathrobe on and abducted me.” Her face twisted into a scowl. “That insensitive jerk. That night was such a cold night too. I had just showered and I was freezing. It didn’t help that I looked like a prostitute being carted off to jail with the handcuffs.”

Tae Hyun smiled to himself, reliving the same scene. “You must’ve been the prettiest sight in that pink bathrobe.”

Yoori blushed at his words.

They had been a couple for a while, and even though he spoiled her rotten with his actions, he rarely spoiled her with his words. The simple act of him complimenting her with no sarcasm in his voice was enough to make Yoori treasure this little moment.

“What was going on through your mind that night?” she asked, wanting to switch roles. She was curious to learn his side of the story.

Tae Hyun’s smile grew a bit wider as he recounted his own memories. “I was thinking that I must be going crazy because I was going to have an unwilling girl move into my apartment with me. The thing that worried me more was that I knew this particular girl was going to drive me crazy because she had so much spunk in her. I knew she was going to be trouble with a capital ‘T.’” He gazed at her. “You didn’t know it then, but I wasn’t looking forward to being handcuffed to you. The handcuffs were just a scare tactic used to keep you from running. I actually really hated being cuffed to you because your lame ass insisted on sleeping on the floor. Do you know how uncomfortable it was to sleep with my hand dangling down the bed and not being able to move around freely?”

“Do you not know how uncomfortable it was to sleep on the cold tiles while your mean ass hogged all the blanket?” Yoori’s eyes sparkled when she realized something else. “Okay so that next morning, I woke up and I was in bed with you
. . .
what really happened? Did I really get onto the bed like you said?”

His prideful smirk was all the answer she needed to know the truth. “No. I got sick of hearing you shiver so I went down, carried you in my arms, and pretty much threw you into bed with me.”

“I knew it, you liar!” she gasped out. If that was a lie, then what about the other mysteries? “So, when I fainted and you told me I got down on the floor and slept with you
. . .
you were lying then too, weren’t you?”

He shook his head. “No, you really did that. You murmured something in your sleep and got up. I thought you were awake and asked if you were getting better, but you didn’t say anything. You just came down onto the floor, wrapped your arms around me, and then slept on my chest. It was actually kind of scary because you lifted up my shirt and kept smoothing your hands over my abs.” A coy grin came over his lips, hinting to her that he didn’t mind it so much that she was molesting him. “That was when I knew you had a thing for my stomach. You wouldn’t stop caressing it until you fell asleep.”

Fire burned on her cheeks. “Why
. . .
Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Damn. How embarrassing was it that she was molesting a complete stranger in her sleep?

His powerful shoulders lifted in a shrug. “I felt bad for you because you seemed really sad, even when you were sleeping. I let you do it because it seemed to have calmed you down. That was why I got up early to make breakfast. I wanted to cheer you up. But then you wound up pissing me off, so I ate everything until I wanted to throw up.”

Yoori inhaled blissfully when she replayed that moment where she said he was only being nice to her because he wanted to “experiment” his food on her to get other girls. It was so strange to talk about the past and see how far they had come since those days.

“Why were we cuffed together for so long if you didn’t enjoy it, Tae Hyun?” she inquired seconds later.

Tae Hyun was quiet for a moment before he said, “I wanted an excuse to hold your hand.”

He turned his eyes away from her for a fleeting moment, and Yoori saw a little blush take over his face as he said this. The weight of the object that had fast become their “couples’ bracelet” moved against their wrists while their hands tightened around each other.

“Did you look forward to having me move in?”

He shook his head and laughed. “I never invite girls home so to have one live with me, especially an unwilling and mean one, was a dreadful prospect for me. There were a lot of things I had to change in the apartment to make it suitable for you. For instance, do you notice how much cleaner it is since you moved in? I actually pick up after myself now because I don’t want to deal with hearing you complain while calling me a pig. Even though it’s you who makes the mess.”

Yoori laughed to herself. “What else did you have to modify in your daily routine, Tae Hyun?”

“I don’t wear much clothing when I sleep.”

Wheels screeched to a stop at this mind-blowing and scandalously sexy tidbit. Her eyes blossomed as she stopped walking.

“Like
. . .
shirtless and just shorts?”

Tae Hyun eyed her with those smoldering eyes, the ones laced with unrivaled carnality that left her with yearnings throughout her body.

Nude
, Yoori answered in her mind.

God’s gift to women sleeps without anything covering his perfect, naked body.

How the hell was it possible that she wasn’t graced with this sight?

“Um
. . .
” Yoori began quietly, being reminded of what she wanted to do with him once their night was over. She might as well talk to him about it now. “I know you may think that I’d be uncomfortable
. . .
but you can sleep however you want. If you want to dress less to bed then I won’t mind
. . .
”

“But we spoon at night,” he countered as if spooning while he was nude was an issue for her.

Exactly.

Yoori continued to feign casualness. “I could suffer through it for you.”

He shook his head with another laugh. “I won’t tease myself.”

This was her opening line to get the conversation moving in terms of going to the next level of their relationship.

“Tae Hyun,” she started shyly, swaying uncertainly in her stance. Feeling edgy over the conversation she was about to initiate, Yoori nervously played with the buttons on his jacket. She pressed against him suggestively.

“Uh, what are you doing?” Tae Hyun asked awkwardly, his eyes clearly wondering if she ate something wrong. It was evident her strange behavior was scaring him.

Still nervous, Yoori swayed from side to side while kicking air and avoiding eye contact with him.

“It’s been a
while since you
. . .
you know
. . .
”

“What?” Tae Hyun asked, genuinely not understanding her hint.

“You know
. . .
” she repeated, not bothering to clarify.

This proved to be a bad idea when dealing with an impatient guy like Tae Hyun.

“Damn it, you mumbler,” Tae Hyun berated, annoyed that she wasn’t making sense. “Did a duck bite your tongue or something? Do I look like a mind reader? Just tell me!”

You impatient fool! How dare you yell at me
!
She wanted to scream at him for killing the mood for her. She held in the fiery urge to lash out at him. The desire to get them into bed after the night ended was too prominent in her horny mind.

“Why don’t you tease me with your towel anymore?” she finally voiced, still kicking air while tugging at the buttons on his jacket. Gathering some nerves, she lifted her eyes to meet his.

The dawning realization played in his eyes when it all made sense to him.

Yoori continued on. “You did it once and I know I didn’t pull it off, but
you know
. . .
” She blushed immensely while staring into his beguiling brown eyes. “You know
. . .
I think we’ve been together long enough where I’m ready to
. . .
you know
. . .
”

Pull it off and maybe more,
Yoori added bashfully in her head.

Tae Hyun smirked at her in absolute amusement. Sighing, he placed a hand underneath her chin and lifted her gaze to meet his when she tried to turn away from him. Her breath stalled once she saw his eyes again. There was a dark, carnal sexuality in his stare that had Yoori going weak in the knees.

“Are you really ready?” he asked while regarding her with uncertainty.

“You think I’m not?”

“I don’t think we’re ready.”

Humiliation seared her cheeks. After trying so hard to get into her pants, he was
rejecting her now?

“You thought we were ready when you seduced me like a porn star and pretty much told me that I owned your body,” she told him with scorn. “Remember? ‘
This is all yours
. . .
’”

How could he say she pretty much owned his body when he wouldn’t give it to her when she wanted it?

“I was impatient then, but I’ve seen things clearer now,” he explained. “I don’t think we’re ready.”

Yoori snorted.

How could they not be ready? They were twenty-four-year-olds with the biggest sexual tension surrounding them. How could they
not
be ready?

“So
, you just don’t want to?” she confronted, though deep down, she knew he wanted her.

He chuckled bitterly. “If only you knew how much I want you, how much I want to give you all the pleasures in the world and listen to your voice as you scream out my name.” He looked at her. “But we’re not ready to fully appreciate any of that.”

She was still flabbergasted. “When will we be ready then?”

“When everything’s perfect.”

Okay. He just set the impossible bar, and this did not make her happy. She was trying to be a positive person, but she wasn’t naïve anymore.

“Nothing in this world is perfect, Tae Hyun,” she said sadly.

“I’ll give you perfection,” he told her with conviction in his voice. “When the time is right, I’ll give you no less than perfection.”

“How will you know when the time is right?”

“When you find what you’re looking for, Nemo.”

Yoori felt the balloons in her mind deflate at the knowledge that she wasn’t getting “any” tonight.

Having no more to say, she begrudgingly accepted his stupid postponement and continued to walk with him. Five minutes later, they stopped by a flower shop to pick up some roses for Chae Young before they went to visit her and Jae Won. After she made the call to Hae Jin to have her and Kang Min come over to Chae Young’s apartment to hang out, Yoori noticed that Tae Hyun was unusually quiet and sad while he held Chae Young’s bouquet of flowers.

“What the hell are you pouting about?” Yoori confronted, not using her nice voice. She was too sexually frustrated to be
nice
.

“I just rejected sex with you,” he groaned out, misery consuming his entire stature. He looked just like a brokenhearted kid. “Fuck. This isn’t good for the sexual frustration,” he muttered before reclining his head up to the sky and cursing the fates. It wasn’t until he lowered his head and looked at her hesitantly did Yoori realized how frustrated Tae Hyun was that he wasn’t getting “any” tonight as well.

“Do you still want to—?”

“
No,” Yoori snapped, though her body was cursing her for denying it the presence of his touch. “You just rejected me, asshole. You can suffer in sexual frustration hell for all I care.”

“Fuck,” he muttered again. “You’re the only one I would endure all of this for.”

A small smile tugged at Yoori’s lips when she heard this.

A fleeting moment of silence perused between them as they both calmed down from the conversation they had.

“The
. . .
you know
. . .
better be worth it if we’re waiting this long,” said Yoori, breaching the silence to gaze at Tae Hyun. All bitterness aside, she still felt blessed to be with someone who was willing to wait for a perfect moment—if that moment ever existed—to have sex with her. If it ever happened, she knew it would be more than perfect if it were with him.

Tae Hyun’s next words corroborated her belief that he was going to blow her mind when they finally made love.

“I’ll give you the stars and the moon, Princess. And maybe even a city to go along with it.”

In that suspended breath, that was all he needed to say for Yoori to feel like the world had just kneeled to the floor in her presence. The look on his face was one filled with love. She felt herself melt. Kwon Tae Hyun had the uncanny ability to make her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. He made her feel like she deserved all the happiness in the world and that if he could, he would give her the world on its knees.