Kat rushed around the kitchen, covered in flour and splatters of the many dishes she was making. The entire house smelled of turkey, cranberry sauce, and cinnamon. She slid the pumpkin pies into the oven and then turned her attention to the stove to finish up the cranberries. Her music was playing loudly but Nex shut it off, crossing his arms.

"Kitten, this is ridiculously unnecessary," he sighed.

"You and the guys have never had a real Thanksgiving dinner, of course it's necessary. Thanksgiving food is like, the best food," Kat said waving her hand dismissively.

"You're missing out on Thanksgiving with your church friends, that doesn't bother you?" Nex tried.

"I already talked to them and they're fine. Why don't you want my Thanksgiving dinner?" Kat pouted.

"Don't fucking pou-" Nex started then stopped. "Fuck. I don't not want it, it just seems like an awful amount of trouble to feed four people. You've been up since well before the sun."

"I don't mind," Kat shrugged. "Mom and dad and I used to do it for just the three of us so there's actually one more than I'm used to."

That got Nex to stop questioning her. His brows furrowed together in concern and he walked over, leaning over the kitchen island and watching as she worked. He'd quickly discovered she tended to avoid things that upset her rather than talk about them or even think about them. It was dangerous to even try to bring it up.

"You all right, kitten? Trying to distract yourself?" He guessed.

"I'm fine," Kat sighed, putting all her focus into the cranberry sauce. "I just... Holidays are hard. I miss them more at holidays and this is my first Thanksgiving without them," she said, her eyes stinging briefly as saying it out loud was much harder than thinking it in her head. She shook her head and focused on cooking. "I would just... Like to not think about it too hard," she muttered, a frown tugging on her lips.

"Will having us here help?" Nex asked.

Kat shrugged, avoiding his gaze. "Maybe."

"Then I'll stop asking," he relented. "How can I help?"

"You want to help?" Kat asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I might as well," Nex shrugged. "I can't watch TV with your loud music anyway."

"You've fallen right into my plans," Kat giggled. "You're so easy to trap."

"Watch it, kitten," Nex growled. "Don't make me make you pay for that."

"What does that even mean? Paying for it?" Kat asked, waving her spoon around.

"Keep testing me and find out, kitten," he said, narrowing his eyes.

Kat swallowed hard and stilled, watching him carefully. "Seems like a dangerous idea to get into anything with you without knowing what the possibilities are," she said, biting her lip.

"There's lots of possibilities," Nex said, fixing her with a stare that left her struggling to catch her breath. "One being I bend you over right where you stand. You want to know what I would do after that?"

Kat's eyes widened and she tried to ignore the way her body responded to that, the slight clenching she felt. She focused on the cranberries and gestured to the veggies. "They need chopped and arranged nicely on a platter."

Nex would've had a bite back about how it didn't matter how the vegetables were arranged but he could sense her reaction and had to put all his energy into the veggie tray so he wouldn't act on it. He told himself he'd restrain while she healed. Easier said than done, especially since the kiss they shared under the mistletoe.

Working in the kitchen so close to her didn't help. It was a small kitchen and they continuously bumped into or brushed against each other. Each time they came into contact, even the smallest amount of touching, Kat would blush and look away. The tension increased by the minute, to the point Nex shirked his duties and went outside to breathe.

Lucian and Marcus' arrival was a relief for Kat. Being alone with Nex hadn't been easy since their kiss and his comment didn't help things. She changed to a dress and since it was so warm between the heater and the oven, didn't bother with leggings. She made the table all nice, pointedly keeping space between her and Nex lest she bump into him again and simply the friction of their arms brushing send her body into a fit of neediness she never thought she could feel. Kat got them all to sit to eat together without the TV on. Lucian and Marcus didn't get why they were doing it but they weren't going to turn down good food and they both had a soft spot for her.

When they finished dinner, Kat cleared the table and went to the kitchen to get pies. Once she was good and distracted, Lucian leaned over the table towards Nex.

Lilith isn't here anymore, Lucian said. She's back in the underworld.

Are you sure? Nex asked, frowning and glancing to the kitchen where Kat was cutting up the pies.

Positive. There was a surge in souls after this last human conflict, Lucian nodded. There were so many at once she was ordered to return to handle it. It's going to take up a bit of her time, from what I've heard.

Nex rose from the table, glancing back at Katherine again before returning his gaze to Lucian. Let me know anything else you hear. If she comes back, Nex said, earning a nod from Lucian.

Nex sighed in relief and went into the kitchen where Kat was placing slices of pumpkin pie on plates. She sprayed canned whipped cream on all the pies then sprayed some on her finger and licked it off, enjoying the taste. She didn't have sugar that often and she loved whipped cream. She was so distracted spraying more on her finger she didn't notice Nex standing nearby until he stopped her from licking it off by grabbing her wrist and bringing her finger to his own mouth.

He took his time licking it off, sucking on her finger longer than he needed to. He stared at her while he did, swirling his tongue around her finger as he withdrew it, gently biting down on the tip before letting it go and watching her face turn a shade of red that rivaled her hair.

"What? You can't have all the fun," he said, snatching the can and spraying some on his own finger.

Kat forgot how to breathe when he brought his finger up to her lips. Her eyes darted between him and his finger. She liked the idea of cleaning off his finger much more than she wanted to admit, much more than she wanted him to know. Decency dictated she shouldn't do what he clearly wanted and what she secretly desired.

"Open."

His demanding tone that normally drove her crazy and made her rebellious, in that moment, had a vastly different effect on her. Something about the way he spoke, that tone of his voice, it made it easier to decide. Kat opened her mouth and let his finger in, cleaning it off with her tongue and unable to stop herself from lightly sucking. Nex pulled his finger out and stared at her with darkened eyes that left more than her cheeks feeling warm. She felt breathless and suddenly felt the need to cross her legs to ease some of the ache that had been growing all day and suddenly spiked. She couldn't tear her eyes away from him and he didn't let her with that intense stare he had.

"Are you guys bringing dessert or what?" Marcus called out.

That snapped Kat out of it and she grabbed two of the plates, rushing back to the table with Nex behind her. They sat and ate pie and Marcus told a story about a time he almost had Thanksgiving dinner, sent after some guy that had embezzled a lot of money from a charity and was funding a group of demon hunters. Unfortunately, he didn't get to have it because things turned messier than they were supposed to.

In normal circumstances, the story would've been riveting to Kat. The problem was she couldn't stop her eyes from going to Nex, like she was magnetized to him, like not looking at him wasn't even an option anymore. Every time her eyes drifted, Nex could feel it and would bring his gaze to hers. The moment their eyes met, Kat would look away, feeling like the house was too warm. She crossed her legs and took a long drink of water, offering smiles to Marcus as he told his story.

Lucian and Marcus got in an argument about what really happened that day and during that argument, Kat could feel Nex's gaze on her. She breathed in and out slowly and wondered how on earth it got so hot in this house when the temperature was nearly freezing outside. Then she felt contact. The back of Nex's fingers brushing against her exposed knee. The contact may have only been at her knee but she felt it in more places than that, it was as if just the simple electric touch sent a bolt right up her legs. She sucked in a breath and looked over at him, finding that intense stare waiting for her.

"Give me the word and I'll tell them to take their ridiculous argument elsewhere," Nex said, his eyes darting down to her lips briefly, his hand sliding over and covering her knee.

"They're fine," Kat said, her mouth suddenly feeling dry.

Staying there with his hand on her skin like that was not helping her stay focused so she got up to start cleaning. When they were all done with their dessert, Marcus and Lucian turned on the TV while Nex joined Kat in cleaning up.

Marcus and Lucian provided a good enough buffer for Kat but their presence seemed to end too quickly and they left, leaving Nex and Kat alone with the TV still on. Nex sent Kat to sit down, saying he would finish cleaning. It was an attempt to put distance between them more than anything else. The growing tension was making his resolve slip as he wanted nothing more than to slid his hands up her dress. Kat's feet hurt so much from spending the whole day cooking, so she protested very little before going to the couch and curling up, watching the TV show Marcus and Lucian left on.

She didn't recognize the show so she was caught off guard when a sex scene started. She sat up and looked around for the remote to change the station or turn it off but couldn't find it. Nex appeared next to the couch, making her squeal and jump. She still couldn't get used to him just suddenly appearing.

"What's wrong, kitten? Not your kind of show?" He smirked, holding up the very remote she was searching for.

"It's unrealistic," she huffed, standing and snatching the remote before turning the TV off.

"How?" Nex asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Because sex isn't... Like that," she said, waving to the TV, and darting her eyes away.

"Your experience with sex was bad. That does not make sex itself bad," Nex argued, narrowing his eyes.

"I just can't imagine it feeling good," Kat said, her cheeks burning in embarrassment.

"That's because you haven't had the right person touching you," Nex shrugged, heading back to the kitchen.

Kat's cheeks seemed to burn with a new ferocity and she sunk into the couch for a minute, hiding her face. It seemed as though every single interaction with him only left her craving to be close to him more. It was an unfamiliar feeling, to want to be physically close to someone like she wanted to be to him. It felt as if her whole body was aching just to have any attention from him. She thought back to the way he looked at her when she cleaned the whip cream off his finger and that did nothing to help the growing tension crawling under her skin and trying to take over.

The embarrassment wore off as much as it was going to and she decided she wanted a cup of tea before bed. Nex was almost done with dishes and she carefully avoided him as she got out her cup and a tea bag before starting the water in the kettle. She turned the stove on then noticed how quiet it suddenly was. The sink wasn't running anymore.

She started to turn but Nex came up behind her, flattening his palms against the counter on either side of her, caging her in. He picked up the teabag and turned it over, chuckling as he read the words "stress relief".

"What's wrong, kitten? Feeling like you need to relax? Need some relief?" He asked, trailing his hand from her hand up her arm to her shoulder, leaving a trail of fire against her skin despite the sleeves of her dress shielding her.

"Everyone needs to relax," Kat breathed, her eyes shutting as he dragged his finger back down her arm. She didn't think that simple touch should be enough to make her breathless, but it somehow was.

"I can help you relax," Nex said, grabbing her hips and turning her around before lifting her. He set her on the counter, stepping between her legs. Kat looked at him with wide eyes but he just smiled and held up the whipped cream can. "Sugar makes everything better," he said, spraying some onto his finger and holding it up to her lips. "Open."

Kat met his eyes and couldn't help herself. She opened her mouth, letting his finger in. Her lips closed around his finger and Nex had to physically stop himself from moaning at the sight of her lips wrapped around him like that, at the feel of her hot, wet mouth against his skin. Nex's eyes darkened as her tongue swirled around, cleaning off his finger. He watched her eyes dilate, heard her heart rate accelerate.

"You like that, kitten?" He asked. "Sucking on my finger?"

Kat blushed and hesitated but eventually nodded, darting her eyes away. He smirked and removed his finger, putting on more whipped cream and bringing it back to her lips. She didn't need to be prompted this time, she opened her mouth and he slid his finger in. He waited until he stopped sucking and then dragged his finger out of her mouth and returned his hands to the counter, leaning closer so their noses almost touched.

"You like that," he murmured, his eyes boring into hers in a way that had her both needing to look away and yet, not wanting to. "Would you like it as much if I was the one licking it off your skin?"

Kat licked her lips and felt a seemingly impossible combination of sensations inside her all at once. A flutter of nervousness, a burning excitement, an aching in her heart to be close to him. "Maybe," she said quietly, swallowing hard and looking away.

He grabbed her jaw and turned her to face him, leaving her breathless. "What did I say?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. "I said next time I expect a yes. Would you like that, Katherine?"

Kat sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, biting down and unable to look away from him. The thought of his mouth on her like that... She released a shaky breath and was unable to keep eye contact as she spoke. "Yes," she whispered.

Nex waited until her eyes found their way back to him, finding the desire clearly there. Another jolt of excitement running through her as Nex tilted her head to the side and slightly up. Kat held her breath when he brought the can of whipped cream up, spraying it directly onto her jaw and neck, leaving a long trail of the cream on her skin all the way down to her collar bone. What had her breathing harder was when he dragged his tongue from her collar bone, up her neck to her jaw, licking her skin clean, his mouth closing around parts of her neck that had her pressing her thighs together, making her inhale sharply and fight the urge to moan at the sensation.

"It tastes so much fucking better coming off your skin," he groaned, placing a final wet kiss against her neck before lifting his head and placing his hands on either side of her face, turning her to face him.

That eye contact. That stare. It held more power over her than she was ready for. He leaned closer to her and she couldn't stop herself from curling her hands around his forearms. Nex nipped at her lips and pressed his forehead against hers, his thumbs rubbing over her heated cheeks. They stared at each other, panting. He leaned closer, until their panting breaths mingled, until her lips were so close Kat's eyes slid shut as she leaned into him. She opened her eyes briefly, finding his waiting for hers. They stared and a stare had never felt so tense. Kat never knew eye contact could be so intimate, could make her body come alive even though they were barely touching.

This moment was different from the others. Different because there was no underlying guise of lessons or mistletoes or sneaky friends pushing them together, it was just them. Alone. Alone and craving to be close. This was the point of no return. Every passing second they stared at one another in such close contact left the room feeling more and more suffocating and like the only source of air would come from more contact. It was enough neither could take the tension any longer.

Kat's arms wrapped around Nex's neck and he secured his arms around her waist, pulling her tightly against him as they both moved into a kiss.

Their lips colliding after their day of tension elicited a physical response Kat wasn't ready for and she couldn't stop the moan. Hearing that drove Nex crazy, made him bolder. He slid his hands down to her lower back, pulling her against him, making her whimper. He groaned and slid his tongue into her mouth, chasing after hers. She slid her hands up his arms to the back of his head, curling her fingers around the hair resting against the base of his neck.

Kat's body seemed to know exactly what it wanted and her legs pressed against his hips, bringing him closer. Nex slid his hand down to her leg, to the back of her knee and wrapped it around him. She let out another whimper in their kiss and wrapped her other leg around him.

"Fuck," Nex groaned, breaking their kiss for only a moment before pulling her into a harder kiss and sliding his hands down to her ass. He gripped her ass, holding her firmly against him, against the hardness that strained against his jeans, letting her feel the power she had over him too. Kat gasped and Nex moved the kissing down her jaw to her neck. Kat moaned and tangled her hands in his hair, leaning her head back as he placed hot kisses against the sensitive spots on her neck.

"Kitten," Nex purred, sliding one of his hands around to her leg and under the hem of her dress. "Let me show you how good it feels to be touched by someone who appreciates you. I promise it's not unrealistic. I could make you feel so fucking good," he groaned, nipping at her neck.

Kat gasped, feeling that ache grow exponentially as he slowly slid his hand up her dress, high up on her thigh. He paused and lifted his head, nuzzling her nose with his.

"Let me touch you, kitten. Let me make you feel good. Let me replace that negative association," he said, kissing her lips. "I'll take care of you."

Kat only hesitated because she was nervous but there was no doubt her body very much craved to let his ascension up her leg continue. All day, she'd been craving his touch, to be close to him. She couldn't take it anymore. She let go her inhibitions and nodded, biting down on her lip. Nex smiled and grabbed the back of her head, kissing her deeply as his hand slid to her inner thigh and up.

He didn't touch her right away, he rubbed circles into her inner thigh, slowly moving closer and closer until Kat was whimpering, her hips reaching for him. He slid his hand up between her legs and cupped her through her underwear, causing Kat to gasp and break the kiss. She wasn't expecting to feel so much with such little contact but her body was tense, on edge and waiting to feel his touch.

"So responsive, kitten," Nex murmured, kissing her neck.