The Fall of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 2) (42 page)

Without a second’s hesitation, Yoori, with all her inhibition thrown into an abyss, leaned forward and pecked his tempting lips with hers.
 

It was quick with intention, but powerful enough by nature to send a fire sprouting onto her lips.
 

She gasped quietly and straightened herself up. Her eyes still locked on him, she gulped in disbelief at what she had done. Her lips burned, begging for more of his lips
as her heart pounded fiercely against her chest. 

She just took advantage of Tae Hyun and kissed him!

She tried. 

She tried so hard to bite her lips to prevent a smile from overtaking it but her nerves were too overwhelmed.
 It was nice. The stolen kiss was so nice. It was so nice that she wanted another one but with whatever strength she had left, she somehow managed to anchor herself from giving into another round of temptation. She had already taken advantage of Tae Hyun’s drunken state…surely she couldn’t do it again.

The implications of her actions only rained down on her
when she caressed the short strands of his hair, her eyes feasting on the features of Tae Hyun’s countenance. 

Her thoughts ran amuck while she admired him.

He looked just like a fallen angel while he slept. Even the moon favored him as it kissed his smooth skin. It all felt like a dream, like a complete dream until –

“Can I have another?”

Shit! 
Yoori cursed in her head, panicking when she realized that he was awake
. 
He wasn’t actually asleep?

“
Huh?” she managed to squeak out, her eyes enlarged in urgency. She gaped at his still sleeping countenance, unsure if she just heard right. 

“No, no, no, don’t stop…
another,” he murmured again, his eyes still closed.

Her heart breathed in relief when she realized that he was only dreaming. “
Thank you
,” she mouthed while gazing toward the sky. “Thank you so much.” 

“
BOSSES!” Yoori heard two voices call out from the side. 

At the sound of the voices, a once dreaming Tae Hyun woke up to see Yoori staring down at him. She tried her best to stay relaxed when she observed that, through the drowsiness in his eyes, he was actually staring at her strangely.
 

He looked unsure as he continued to stare. And then, just as more snow graced his face, he parted his lips and said, “Did…did you do something to me while I was sleeping?”
 

“
Excuse me?” she spluttered out, snorting as if she couldn’t believe how ridiculous he was being – even though she was worried shitless. “What would
I
do to 
you
?”

She bit her lips but immediately stopped when she saw that Tae Hyun was biting his lips too.

He was still staring at her suspiciously.

Was it just
her or was he eyeing her guilty lips? 

Great.

This was her karma for taking advantage of her BFF.

No more drinking for her!
 

“They…they’re here!” she announced, desperately trying to change the subject.
 

She was saved when the brothers, both dressed in jeans, black puffy jackets, and beanies, finally reached them. The brothers looked sleepy and a little bit bitter to be in the park. No doubt they were reminded of the pond they fell into.
 

“Hey Boss Kwon, you alright?” Jae Won asked warily when he saw that Tae Hyun was still laying his head on Yoori’s lap.
 

“Did we interrupt something?” Kang Min asked, heeding his brother’s apprehension when he concluded that the scene before them looked suspiciously provocative.
 

“Tae Hyun’s drunk and I’m a bit tipsy,” Yoori explained, wanting to telepathically hug them for coming just in the nick of time.
 Heroes. That was what these two were. They were her heroes.

“I’m not drunk,” Tae Hyun stated defensively. He lifted his head from her lap and sat upright on the bench. “I’m just tipsy too.”
 

Kang Min smiled and then looked at Yoori.
 “Yeah Yoori, boss 
rarely
 gets drunk. He can handle his liquor.” 

Yoori let out a round of laughter when she thought about how ridiculous Tae Hyun had been acting throughout the night.
 “Oh you didn’t see how drunk he was when he was speaking to me earlier – ” 

Yoori only quietly stopped laughing when she realized a dawning of realization had illuminated in the brothers’ eyes when they heard what she said.

The brothers quietly averted their gazes over to Tae Hyun, who was sitting pretty on the bench. His lethargic eyes met their questioning ones. 

It was an odd scene for Yoori because she didn’t quite understand what was happening. It was like the brothers and Tae Hyun were ha
ving a telepathic conversation while they stared at one another in silence. Was it one of those guy things where they didn’t have to say anything yet they completely understood each other? It seemed that way when the brothers finally blinked in comprehension.

Then, as if nothing occurred, they turned back to Yoori with a hidden smile on their faces and merely said, “You ready to go?”
 

Still flustered as to what had just taken place, she turned to Tae Hyun. He was staring at her with innocence in his eyes.
 

“
You ready?” he also asked.

She nodded apprehensively. She was ready to go, but she was not ready for whatever it was that Tae Hyun had planned for her.
 

As innocent as his eyes appeared, there was still a sultry light within them that left her on the edge of her seat. If her womanly intuition concerning the matter was any indication, then the interesting night she was having was far from over.
 If anything, the 
epic
 portion of their already eventful night was ready to take place.

“Rest assured. . .”

19: Confessions of a King

The ride back home was an uneventful one. Afraid that they’d throw up in Tae Hyun’s Mercedes, both Yoori and Tae Hyun insisted that they ride in the backseat of Kang Min’s blue BMW instead. That suggestion was much to the delight of Jae Won, who was psyched that he got to drive the Mercedes and was able to get out of riding with the drunk people. It was a suggestion that was much to the bitter dismay of Kang Min, whose eyes nearly watered when he heard the news that the drunk people were riding in his precious car.

Kang Min, clearly afraid that driving too fast (and using his brakes too much) would trigger the barf-mode in his passengers, made sure the ride was safe and smooth. After a couple of friendly green lights and several stoplights, they reached Tae Hyun’s apartment just as the snow stopped falling. Jae Won, who had gotten to the apartment before them, ran out of the car to help carry Tae Hyun out after they parked.
 

The journey back up to the apartment was smooth
too.

As soon as they helped Yoori and Tae Hyun into the elevator, Yoori informed the brothers that she could take care of Tae Hyun and thanked them for all their help.

Casting an unreadable gaze over to Tae Hyun, who was listlessly leaning against the elevator wall, the brothers gave another hidden smile and waved goodbye to Yoori, who was too sleepy to notice that any strange interaction had occurred. Once they reached the apartment, Yoori directed Tae Hyun, who still seemed like he was having trouble walking on his own, to the shower so that he could wash up and perhaps clear his drunken mind. 

Yoori changed into her black tank top and her drawstring pink and white plaid pants while Tae Hyun showered in the bathroom. While brushing her teeth over the kitchen sink, Yoori cast her thoughts back to the naughty kiss she stole from Tae Hyun. She bit her lips, feeling the remnants of the heavenly fire she felt when she gave him a quick peck. She was so drunk and she couldn’t even deny it anymore. Why the heck would she steal a kiss from Tae Hyun if she
 weren’t
 
drunk?

She frowned and scolded herself.
 She was such a bad girl. She was thankful that the night was ending. They could just sleep and have everything return to normal in the morning. Who knew what a sexually deprived Yoori would do to a fox like Tae Hyun if the night continued on? She would probably continue to take advantage of him…that much was for sure. 

“Hey!” Yoori shouted, knocking on the bathroom door when she felt that Tae Hyun was in there for far too long.
 “Are you okay in there?”

“Yeah,” he answered through the door. He switched off the shower.
 

Relieved that he was okay, Yoori walked back into the kitchen and opened the fridge. She reached in to grab a water bottle for the night. Just as she drank from the water bottle, she heard the bathroom door open. Tae Hyun walked out with a white towel wrapped around his waist.
 

Yoori felt the perversion in her eyes grow at the fleeting sight of this. Shaking her head like she was shaking the sinful bug off of her, Yoori turned back to the fridge, closed it, and sat on the sofa. She drank from the water bottle and waited to make sure she gave Tae Hyun enough time to change into his pajamas before she walked into the bedroom and prepared for bed.
 

“Hey!” she hollered, tossing the water bottle back into the fridge. She took a couple of strides forward and waited in the hall for his answer. “Are you done changing?”

“Come in,” he answered through the closed door. 

“Okay.” She turned the doorknob and walked in.

Boy oh boy was she ready for bed—
OH MY GAWD!

Yoori nearly had a heart attack when she walked into the bedroom and saw that Tae Hyun was still dressed (or underdressed) in his white towel. He was standing beside the window, his arm lifted up as he dried the short strands of his hair with another white towel.
 

Yoori’s eyes instinctively ran over his deliciously sculpted arms, his marvelously chiseled chest and rock hard abdomen. He stood before her in obliviousness of the perversion enrapturing her mind. It didn't help that his entire body was still misty from the shower he just took.

She was still so drunk, she was sure of it. She was sure of it because she couldn’t even be subtle and take her eyes off of him. 

My goodness…
Yoori fought for breath, her eyes feasting on the sight before her. 

Sex.
 

Kwon Tae Hyun was made for sex.
 

She swallowed convulsively at the living aphrodisiac that was now staring at her with curiosity. He no longer appeared drunk, merely amused with her unabashed gaping.
 

Good lord
, she thought desperately. 

How would she survive this?

“Err, are – are you feeling better?” she stammered clumsily, trying so hard to act normal. 

Why?
Why didn’t he change? Why must he torture her like this? Didn’t he know that she wasn’t a good girl? There was no innocence in her eyes whenever she gaped at him!

“A lot better,” he answered easily. He tossed the towel he was using to dry his hair aside. The muscles on his body rippled teasingly when he did this. It nearly drove Yoori insane.
 

Making his way toward her, there was a look of concern
, coupled with amusement, on his face. 

“Yoori, are you okay?” he asked delicately, clearly noticing how odd she was behaving.

He reached her before she was able to back away. She could’ve sworn his eyes were sultry, teasing even. She thought about it again and quickly vetoed the idea that he was giving her the “sexy bedroom eyes.” She was just going crazy because he was half naked and she was still drunk with perversion. 

“I – I’m okay,” she stuttered, nearly keeling over when she felt the warm heat from his body whisper around her.

He was too close. Too close and it was too damn uncomfortable for Yoori. 

Not believing her, he placed a warm hand over her forehead. She went still. Goodness, if she wasn't exercising so much control, she would’ve ran her hands down his amazing body already. If only he was drunk too…then she probably would’ve taken advantage of him at this moment. But it seemed like he was no longer drunk. It seemed as if—
 

“Is it just me, or are you
 hot right now?” he asked. 

Mystification besieged her.
 

The tone of his voice, coupled with the gaze in his eyes, gave it away.