"Your first time should be special, without fear and without guilt. No matter how much I want you, and how much I am touched by what you just offered, I can't."

"You are my Sari, my one and only," Kyle said, his eyes full of love, "The day I take you, is the day that you're my wife."

Then, with a mischevious glint in his eyes, he said, "And I'll truly savour that moment, too. I'll make love to you all night long. And the next morning. And the afternoon, and evening, and night …"

Sari went a deep, deep red and put her hands on his mouth, saying, "Okay! I get it!"

Kyle grinned under her hand and kissed her palm.

"So …" Sari began, hesitatingly, bringing her hands down.

"So..?" Kyle prompted.

Sari gulped and then gathered her courage once again, to ask, "So it's not because you don't .. you know, don't feel that …"

Kyle blinked for a second before he realised what she was referring to. Was that what she was worried about? That he didn't desire her?

Flashes of his past life suddenly went through his mind and he sighed, shaking his head. Knowing how sheltered Sari is, the question she is asking seriously took a lot out of her.

She was certainly far braver than he had been. Then again, his spouse hadn't exactly been forthcoming about sharing either. Just having him ignore her attempts was already bad enough.

So Kyle wanted Sari to know that his decision wasn't because he didn't want her. He took one of her hand and put it on his chest.

"Do you feel that?" he asked gently.

She gulped, feeling the hard muscle of that perfect body.

"That's my heart beating fast for you," Kyle said.

Sari blushed, thinking, 'oh'. It was his heartbeat that he wanted her to feel.

She felt that she had just managed to get her face back to normal when he just had to go and do something like this, making her blush again.

She tilted her head, and pressed a bit more, nodding as she felt the rhythm.

It was true.

It was beating as fast as her heart was.

Then, with a smirk, Kyle brought her hand down lower and Sari's eyes widened as it slid from his chest, to his navel … and down below.

She could feel the well-defined muscles, even through the shirt, and it made Sari's head spin and she seriously felt like she would get a nosebleed. Just when she was getting her head to function again, Kyle had placed her hand right on his crotch.

"And that," Kyle said, bringing his face close to her extremely red face, "Is proof of how much you affect me."

Kyle took her hand off, and kissed her palm again before giving her a brief kiss on the lips.

"So don't ever doubt my feelings and desire for you," Kyle said.

Sari couldn't say a word, not knowing what to say or where to look. She was that embarrassed.

Kyle sighed, putting his forehead on hers, and said, "Maybe that was a bit much for you, but your reaction is exactly the reason why I'm taking this slow."

"So remember," Kyle said as he looked into her eyes, "Always be open and honest with me, okay? You can ask me anything and I will always be truthful to you."

Sari nodded.

"I'll be busy for the next couple of weeks," Kyle said, "Packing and stuff. I've already resigned from work, but will still walk you home next week. If Uncle is fine with it, my house is always open for you to come over. My people will be arriving from tomorrow, so it's safe."

"Your people?"

"I have my own team of subordinates," Kyle explained, "So they're coming over to help me with the move."

Sari nodded again, "Okay, I'll ask Uncle. I'm sure he'll be fine. I want to spend as much time with you as I can before you leave."

Kyle smiled, "I'd like that, too."

"How long will you be gone?" Sari asked.

Kyle took a deep breath, "One year. Maybe, two. I will try to be back for a visit when you graduate secondary school but no promises."

He sighed as he looked at the city skyline, "I have a lot of issues to deal with back home. Once that is settled, I will be bringing you home to meet my parents. Until then, we have to keep our relationship a secret."

Sari looked at him in puzzlement, her heart getting worried about that. A secret?

"Why?" Sari asked in a whisper, afraid of the answer.

Kyle hesitated. Should he tell her? He looked at her innocent face and knew that she wouldn't be able to handle the full truth.

He had to slowly bring her into his world and telling her 'I have many enemies and you may be in danger' may not exactly be the best words to say at the moment. So he decided to be vague, but enough to give her an idea.

"I don't want to disrupt your life," Kyle said, "If the media finds out that you're my girlfriend, and I had been hiding her all this while, your life is going to be hectic. I won't be here to protect you."

Sari's eyes went wide at that, "They wouldn't be interested in me, would they?"

Kyle laughed and said, "You're my beloved. It's going to be something like a Cinderella type of story, or they may twist it and make it sound bad. Whatever it is, please. Until I can bring you to my side, you have to keep my identity a secret from everyone."

"Okay," Sari agreed.

Although it sounded too much like a movie to be true and that Kyle was over-reacting, Sari agreed. She looked at him and was sad again.

"I'm going to miss you so much," she said, tearing up again.

"We'll make this work," Kyle promised.