To Color Your Life

Kelly gasped in surprise. Water got into her nose and throat. The girl bent over and began to cough.

"Sorry, I didn't think I would scare you." Barkens immediately turned off the water and patted Kelly lightly on the back. "Is that better?"

She nodded her head, not daring to look up at the man. He was holding her tightly by the shoulders, and there was genuine concern in his voice. His presence inspired calm and confidence, and Kelly did not understand how this was possible.

She was embarrassed. Ohara thought she hadn't been embarrassed for a long time. Or maybe she had never been embarrassed up until now.

Gregor Barkens made her feel something she was not used to.

"Good morning." His morning voice, with a slight hoarseness, gave the girl goosebumps. Again, this strange feeling of déjà vu. Something was familiar, but she couldn't catch what.

"Morning." She turned her back on him. Kelly would have preferred to shower alone, but it was not her room to make demands.

Hell, this was the first time she was in someone else's room. She usually took care of it herself. The girl preferred to rent a decent room in advance than to be in some dumb hotel with an unknown reputation.

This habit initially surprised her guys, but they quickly put up with it and took it for granted.

Barkens was right. She preferred to be in control of the situation, not to have the situation in control of her. Like it was now.

"Ohara, are you shy?" Gregor asked with a slight grin.

Kelly gave the man a murderous look, "No." She turned away immediately so that he would not notice her reddened cheeks. And so he didn't read her thoughts, which were accurately reflected on her face. And the reason was that he had hit the bull's eye.

"No?" Barkens was amused by her reaction. She looked like a wild kitten, who was brought to someone's home for the first time and was about to be washed for the first time as well. She was also like that cat: disheveled, hissing, and confused.

The man grabbed the girl around the waist and pulled her towards him. He touched her cheek with his palm, stroked it with the pad of his thumb, "What lovely freckles. Didn't notice them before."

That's why they came up with makeup so that these freckles are not visible! Kelly completely forgot about her second rule - not to appear in front of a guy without foundation. Now he will definitely tease her because of these stupid freckles!

"Good morning," Gregor repeated.

"We already said good morning to each other." Kelly's brain demanded to break free from the strong hands of the man, and the traitorous body, on the contrary, was melting and wanted to cling to him even closer.

"You greeted the wall, not me. When you say hello to a person, you need to look into the eyes of this person. "

Lord, why is he so persistent and meticulous?!

Ohara turned sharply in the ring of Barkens' hands, lifted her head and looked into his eyes, "Good morning, Gregor. Is that better?" She smiled, displaying one of her most charming smiles. There were several more stunning options in her arsenal, but it was too early to launch heavy artillery into battle.

Who knows, what if this sorcerer thinks that she has a crush on him?

The thought, which immediately seemed to Kelly to be complete nonsense, flashed through her, and all the bravado vanished somewhere in the moment.

Her stubborn gaze wavered and she dropped her eyes.

Barkens interpreted the girl's reaction differently.

"Hey, Kel..."

Kel?! We're not close enough to address each other like that! She would have liked to be indignant, but how much closer did she want to be with this man? Their naked bodies were already pressed against each other.

"We are both adults, no need to be embarrassed," Barkens' velvet voice touched the tip of her ear, followed by his lips repeating the same. "Thanks for the night. I really liked it."

The man bent down to kiss her, but Kelly turned her head away at the last second, frowning. She was sure that if she crossed this red line again now, she would no longer be able to blame alcohol for the desire flaring up inside her body. The lower part of Barkens' body, resting against her, gave an unambiguous version of what awaited her.

The movement was sharp as if kissing him was disgusting for her. Gregor froze, stood for a couple of seconds, and then lightly kissed Kelly on the cheek, dropped his hands and walked away.

"We will need to check out in an hour. I wanted to extend our time here, but, as I understand now, this is not relevant. If you hurry up, you'll be in time for breakfast. I'll be downstairs."

He left the bathroom, and Kelly remained standing under the switched off shower. And only when the front door slammed some time later, the girl remembered why she was there. Ohara turned on the water and closed her eyes, casting aside thoughts of the man who had just left.

...

Kelly straightened her hair to hide her neck and shoulders as much as possible, but some of the hickeys were still noticeable. Gregor Barkens made sure that everyone who paid attention to these red spots understood what a stormy night she had had.

But she herself asked him about it! "More, more, Gregor, yeah..." Ohara, you are a complete idiot! Next time, think with your head before asking him for something!

Stop. What kind of next time is she thinking about?! Kelly almost stumbled out of the blue. The mere thought that this might happen again caused her horror. Or was it something else?

She went into the lobby of the restaurant and looked around. "Well, where is he?" In the message he sent, Barkens wrote that he had come down here.

Just what is she doing here? She could order a taxi and go home. But no, she came here.

"Kelly!" a ringing voice called out to her from the depths of the hall.

Damn. It turns out that they were not alone in staying at the hotel. The newlyweds, apparently, also got up not so long ago.

Ohara squared her shoulders and walked confidently to the back table, where Emily and Justin were sitting. And of course, Barkens was with them.

"Good morning," Kelly greeted her friend with a kiss on the cheek, smiled at Evans. She nodded to Barkens, though she really wanted to ignore the latter. But at least there will be an illusion that they met by chance.

"How was your wedding night?" The question slipped from her lips faster than she realized it.

Damn it... How do you like the first day as a spouse? What are your feelings about the new status? She could have asked it in any other way possible, but no!

From the flashing light in Evans's eyes and his grin, Kelly knew what the answer would be.

The man slid his gaze down the girl's neck, "Now I think it wasn't as stormy as that of some people," Justin replied, and winked at Barkens. "And what kind of fiery fury bit you like that, buddy?"