Cassian gave a quiet laugh. "Me too. I don't know what's playing on the screen." He held her gaze for a moment, then lowered his head and kissed her. His lips were warm and soft, the kiss deep and breathless. For a second, Natalie could only hear Ghania's words echoing in her mind—in this life, you only live for a few rare moments. She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. Cassian froze, almost like he had been jolted. His breath grew uneven. After a long kiss, he finally pulled back, though he kept his eyes fixed on hers. "Natalie." "Hmm?" "You have to take responsibility for me." Natalie laughed. "For what? You're a strong man. What's there to be responsible for?" Cassian raised his brows. "Who said anything about body?" She blinked at him. "Then what?" He grabbed her hand and pressed it against his chest. "This." His heart pounded hard beneath her palm. Natalie felt the solid muscle under her hand and couldn't help squeezing twice. Wow, his chest is really firm. Cassian twitched at the corner of his mouth. She doesn't care about my heart. She just attracted to my body!But it's alright. I don't mind. He leaned closer. "Natalie, you have two choices. One, give me a real place in your life. Two, I'll follow you around although you never acknowledge me." Normally, Natalie would have snapped at him for being shameless. But now, she looked straight at him and answered solemnly. "I choose option one." Cassian froze. He hadn't expected her to agree so easily. Natalie lifted her hand and touched his cheek when she saw how surprised he seemed. "I said, option one." She didn't want to hide anymore. Apocalypse, storage space, secrets—those could wait. Right now, she just wanted to be reckless. "Cassian, let's give it a try." At last he came back to himself, joy flooding his face. "Nattie—" Before he could finish, Natalie pushed him down onto the couch. Cassian felt the world spin. When his vision finally cleared, the face that haunted his dreams leaned down toward him. It was the first time Natalie had ever kissed him on her own. The kiss was green, clumsy, and a little shaky—but it made his heart burn with need. Cassian had earned fame and success when he was still young. He had lived through many proud, shining moments. But none of them had ever made him this thrilled.Cassian wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. This time, he didn't close his eyes. He kept them open, memorizing her face as if he could carve it into his heart forever. The sun was setting, and the noisy rain outside felt like it was pounding straight on his heart. After a long while, Natalie lifted her head. A soft blush spread across her pale skin. Cassian brushed his fingers over her lips, ready to speak, when both of them suddenly felt something was off. They turned their heads at the same time—and froze. Not far away, the pets were all sitting in a row, staring blankly at them. Lucky tilted her head. Baron's eyes were locked on them without blinking. Cash, acting dramatic as always, covered half his face with one wing but peeked hard through the feathers. Natalie finally understood the whole situation. She scrambled to move off Cassian. Oh no! They just watched me throw myself at a man. I just washed my dignity as their human down the drain. Cassian let out a muffled grunt when she pressed against his chest. He glanced at the pets again, then suddenly wrapped his arms around Natalie. He stood up, sweeping her into his arms. Natalie was shocked and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hey—" His blue eyes were steady on her. "Inside," he said. Still holding her, he carried her straight into the bedroom. Natalie's room was filled with the soft scent of roses. Cassian drew in a deep breath. His touch gentled as he set her down slowly on the bed. Then he leaned down and kissed her again.Natalie's lashes trembled as she closed her eyes and met his passion with her own. Her mind went hazy, tumbling with confusion. We just made our relationship official. Am I sure I want to take it that far? All I want is a kiss. Just a kiss! Dammit! Things is clearly spinning out of my control now. She gave a little push at his chest, trying to pull away. Cassian didn't stop. His lips moved reverently, kissing her eyes, her nose, her ears, her neck ... When her thoughts started to scatter, she heard the knocking on the door. The sound snapped her back to reality. Relieved, she shoved him gently. "Someone's here." Cassian acted like he didn't hear a thing. Outside, Olivia's voice called, "Nat, are you home? Maybe she's already asleep?" Natalie panicked. Afraid Olivia might leave, she bit Cassian in desperation. He gave a low grunt, as if snapping back to reality. "Nattie?" he muttered. Natalie's body felt weak, her cheeks burning. She smacked him with embarrassment. "Olivia's looking for me!" Cassian frowned, clearly unhappy. But Natalie didn't care about his mood. While he was distracted, she shoved him hard, scrambled up, and rushed to the door. Outside, Olivia knocked again. With no reply, she sighed and was about to head home. Just then, the door swung open.