46. I Like You

The soundproofing in the sauna was excellent—at least, that was what Tara thought.

By the time the long, fierce kiss ended, tears had already drenched her cheeks.

"Don't cry."

Killian raised his hand, his thumb gently brushing across her soft cheek, finally placing a light kiss on her eye, which was red from being teased.

Tara turned away angrily, refusing to let him kiss her.

But he didn't hold back at all. He even went further, leaning in to place light kisses on her fair, tender earlobe from that same position.

Tara recoiled. Her skin, already pink from the steam, flushed even deeper.

The grievance in her heart grew with it.

What did he mean by this now?

She had finally made up her mind not to cling to him anymore, and now he was turning around to provoke her again.

Was he playing with her?

Or did he think because he was handsome, she would always be enchanted and keep chasing him like a fool?

She wouldn't.

"Killian, let me go. I said I don't—"

"But I like you."

The unfinished words were choked back into her throat by those four words.

Tara’s expression froze completely. She stared at him blankly. "W-what did you say?"

His Adam's apple rolled as if he were choking back a sob. His dark eyes looked at her earnestly, his usually cold voice now entirely soaked in tenderness as he repeated word for word:

"I like you."

After saying it, he leaned his head longingly against her neck. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep it from you."

His plan had been to prepare a grand and perfect confession on a special day.

Perhaps a confession, or perhaps a direct proposal.

But clearly, before that day could arrive, he had messed it all up.

"I'm sorry."

He held her waist tightly. "I didn't consider your feelings. I was too self-centered."

"It won't happen again."

He looked up to meet her red, beautiful eyes. "Forgive me, okay?"

At this moment, the young man who was usually cold, detached, and proud looked like a large dog desperate not to be abandoned by its owner. His black eyes held a tenderness like melting winter snow.

This was a side of him Tara had never seen in all this time.

The grievance in her heart vanished completely, her heartstrings plucked uncontrollably.

She sniffled and looked at him steadily, her voice soft. "Really? You really like me?"

"Yes," he raised his hands to cup her soft face. "I like you very, very much."

With that, he leaned in, tenderly kissing her forehead, her eyes, the tip of her nose, and finally settling on her soft lips, deepening the kiss.

Tara’s eyelashes trembled, but she eventually closed her eyes, hooked her arms around his neck, and obediently accepted the kiss.

"Whoa, why are you alone? Did you lose my precious Tara?"

In the restaurant, Cassidy and Chloe, who were happily eating, looked at Felix as he appeared and asked in confusion.

Felix’s expression was hard to describe, his tone tinged with unconcealed disappointment. "Miss Tang... she left."

"Left?"

Cassidy frowned. "No way. If she left, how could she not have told us?"

She was about to dial Tara's number.

Seeing this, Felix’s gaze flickered, and he immediately reached out to stop her.

Cassidy was confused. "What are you doing?"

Felix’s expression was quite unnatural. "Um, I suggest you’d better not call her right now."

Chloe, watching his expression, gradually sensed something was off.

"Mr. Song, do you know where Tara is right now?"

Cassidy also narrowed her eyes at him. "You really know?"

Felix let out a small breath and simply stopped hiding it. "Miss Tang was taken away by Killian."

"As for where they went..."

He lowered his gaze, his tone carrying a trace of bitterness he couldn't hide. "I don't know either."

"What?"

Cassidy exploded when she heard this. "Why are you so useless, Felix? I even introduced my 'daughter' to you, and you just let Killian take her away like that?"

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. "Are you even a man? Why didn't you fight him for her?"

Felix heard her but couldn't speak his bitterness.

Fight that god of destruction?

He wasn't crazy.

Leaving aside the background behind him, just his ruthless and vindictive personality meant Felix would have no good end.

He didn't want to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Of course, he couldn't tell Cassidy about those embarrassing old stories; he could only accept being seen as a coward.

Meanwhile, in the penthouse suite of the Starry Dream Hot Spring Hotel.

The silhouette of two figures intertwined was reflected against the transparent, one-way floor-to-ceiling windows. The mixed breaths drowned out everything else.

"Killian."

Her soft voice trembled slightly as she called his name.

He kissed her cheek, answering her tenderly.

She had previously thought he didn't understand these things.

Now she realized it wasn't that he didn't understand—on the contrary, he understood far too much.

The room was very quiet.

The tension of silk and the subtle sound of water mingled.

Time suddenly became very long.

So long that every inch of sensation was infinitely magnified.

Just like that time with the drawing, when his hand had covered hers.

She could feel the texture of the skin on his hands, the shape of the bones, the path of the veins, and even the tiny beats connected to his heart with extreme clarity.

It was the same now; she felt him more clearly than ever before.

The words he had said before weren't lies—it really was exhausting.

When a faint light appeared on the horizon, Tara had been washed clean by him and was held contentedly in his arms, falling into a deep sleep.

"Buzz—"

The next day, Tara was woken up by noise.

Her phone, which had fallen onto the carpet, was nowhere to be seen, but the one on the nightstand was impossible to ignore.

Tara instinctively thought it was hers and reached out to take it, only to find her arm as heavy as if it were filled with lead; she couldn't lift it at all.

Is it this serious?

No, rather, were they that intense last night?

While she was dazed, a sturdy, well-defined arm reached over her head, easily taking the phone from the nightstand into his palm. He turned slightly and answered: "What is it?"

His magnetic voice was tinged with the slight rasp of someone who had just woken up—it was incredibly sexy.

Because of this position, the tip of Tara's nose was pressed right against his prominent Adam's apple.

At the moment, it was covered in mottled bite marks.

She blinked, her cheeks turning red instantly.

This isn't my fault,

she thought silently.

When things got too intense, there were many reactions she simply couldn't control.

"Fuck! Listen to your voice—did you go out and hire a girl last night? I called you a hundred times and you didn't pick up! Do you fucking know what time it is?"

Leo's cursing voice rang out from the phone.

Tara's whole body stiffened, her heart suddenly racing with nervousness, as if Leo could see the intimate scene through the screen even without a video call.

Seeing this, he gently stroked the back of her neck with his large hand, his voice calm. "Spit it out."

Just as he finished, Tara suddenly felt an itch in her nose and couldn't help but let out a sneeze.

On the other end of the line, Leo suddenly went silent.

After several seconds, he let out a sharp, explosive roar: "HOLY SHIT, YOU?!"