Safe, Right?

"No," Lianne said firmly, pressing her lips together.

Who knows what this shameless man would do if he ever got a key to her apartment. Kai wisely didn't press the issue, for he knew when to push and when to pull back.

"Whenever you're ready," Kai said as he kissed her forehead.

Lianne idly thought that this man never seemed to be tired of kissing her in some way. Maybe she should call him the Kissing Monster instead of Heavenly Creature in her phone.

Maybe not.

She could already visualise what Zero would do to Kai if he saw that nickname on her phone.

In response to Kai, she just rolled her eyes and pushed against his chest. He allowed her to do so and let her go, following her to the dining table. He helped her serve the dishes and was eager to start.

Though he didn't know what dish this was, anything his Angel made was bound to be good. Even if it wasn't, it was.

"This is spicy," Lianne said, pointing to one dish and then pointed to the other, "This one isn't. I wasn't sure if you could take spicy food. It's not really that spicy really."

"You like spicy food?" Kai asked as he took the plate of rice that she scooped for him.

"Well, it's not that I have to have it, like my father," Lianne told him, "And I'm not like my brother that loves to either have 'sambal' or chili in every dish, but I do like the occasional spicy food."

"Sambal?" Kai asked curiously as he tentatively tasted the sauce from the 'spicy' chicken.

"It's like relish, but spicy. Made by blending chili, tomato, onions, and prawn paste that has been fried first," Lianne explained, "Like how Country K has kimchi, and Country I has chutney. Country M and Country I would have sambal."

Kai found the yellowish sauce to be creamy with a little bit of 'kick' to it. It was spicy and it burned his tongue a bit but he found it bearable.

"This is good," Kai complimented, taking the chicken and putting it on his plate.

Lianne smiled, happy that he liked it and said teasingly, "It's good that you can take the same level of spiciness like me. I don't think a spicy lover can stick with a non-spicy lover."

Kai looked at her seriously, "I will become a spicy lover for you."

Lianne laughed, her laughter sounding like bells to Kai, and she replied, "Don't be ridiculous. If you have to change what makes you, you, just for me, then I'd rather not have it."

Kai frowned and Lianne patted his hand, "Don't get me wrong. In this case, I am referring to what you like and dislike in terms of food. That's a part of you. Forcing yourself to eat what I like when you don't, is not what I want. I am flattered, but please don't."

Kai stopped eating and placed his chin at the palm of his hand as he looked at her tenderly, "Can you be any more perfect?"

Lianne blushed, looked down, and said, "Shut up. Eat."

Kai smiled at that and eat he did.

At the end of the meal, his fair face was slightly reddish and there were beads of sweat on his forehead, but he was grinning happily, "That was so delicious. Thank you, Lianne, for the meal."

Lianne smiled, pleased, "You're welcome."

She was very happy that he had thanked her, as that meant he appreciated her efforts and acknowledged them. She never did understand why people would say that one does not have to say 'thank you' to a family member or a loved one for something they did for them.

Supposedly, it's because they were family, so thanks were not needed.

Hogwash.

Yes, she did it because she liked him and not to get thanks.

But what has that got to do with the other person showing appreciation and gratitude? Wouldn't that mean one was taking the other for granted?

Of course, saying 'thank you' had to be sincere and heartfelt - just like saying 'I love you'. You can't say it just for the sake of saying it.

Looks like Kai had been brought up well.

Lianne was a bit apprehensive in meeting Kai's mother in the future, but from how Kai turned out, she must be a wonderful and kind mother. From what she had learned about him, he had led a relatively 'normal' life when his mother ran away from the Shengs.

'Normal' being, a kid not brought up in riches.

But his childhood had not been easy, what more when his stepfather turned out to be a total villain. Prior to that incident whereby the stepfather was going to sell Kai to the Shengs, Kai did have an okay family life.

Probably full of chores, too, from what Lianne could see.

He looked utterly comfortable in the kitchen - not in the sense that he could actually wash dishes (I mean, come on. How hard is it to wash dishes?), but by the fact that he did not think twice about doing them.

The more she got to know him, the more pleasing he was.

He wasn't just a pretty face.

He had a good heart.

The question now is, would they be able to communicate and share?

✿ Author only posts on w.e.b.n.o.v.e.l. ✿

Kai was sitting on the sofa bed, watching Lianne as she exited the bathroom. She had just gone to brush her teeth, but he still found those few minutes to be taking so long.

They had decided to talk while being relaxed on the sofa bed, rather than being all formal and serious at the dining table, or on the sofa in the living room. The only thing was, this sofa bed did not have a headrest so they pilled up several pillows instead.

Lianne stopped abruptly as she stared at the half-naked Kai.

He was only wearing pajama bottoms and his usually immaculate hair was slighlty messed up. Yet, as he sat there lazily, as if he was the owner of the apartment and sitting on his bed - rather than the guest, sitting on the sofa bed in the living room.

He really was making himself at home, wasn't he?

The moment Lianne came closer, he reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards him. She yelped, landing straight into his arms and on his lap.

"Kai!" Lianne shouted, hitting him on the chest, "Let go. We're supposed to talk, not cuddle."

He tilted his head, "Why can't we talk while we cuddle? Or rather, why can't we cuddle and talk?"

Lianne frowned, looking at him, "That means the same thing!"

"Great that you agree," Kai replied, hugging her tight.

He brought his face to her ear and said softly, "Indulge me this. I don't think I can talk while looking at your face."

Lianne blinked, her heart beating rapidly. Well, *she* wouldn't be able to talk or listen if he held her like this! Her hands were on his naked chest to prevent her own body from touching it.

Even if they were seperated by her T-shirt, having her breasts pressed against his naked chest would be too much for her. Added to the fact that they were basically cheek to cheek, which made her unable to breathe properly.

"Okay, but not like this," Lianne replied, her voice equally soft.

She directed Kai to bring his legs onto the bed and lean back on the pillows that were pilled up behind. She then took her caterpillar bolster and hugged it, while leaning back on him.

Kai smiled, and sat up a bit, hugging both her and her bolster. He adjusted his seating a bit so that he could accommodate her better.

He lifted up his right leg so that his knee was bent while his foot was on the bed. His left leg was spread out at a slight angle to the left, with the calf going under her knee.

Lianne sat with her knees slightly bent, so that she wasn't fully sitting on his leg and neither was she really leaning against his chest, as she was more on using him as a stabilizer while she sat there with her bolster.

This should be safe, right?