Chapter 11:

Jiyong couldn’t keep the smirk off of his face as he lay beside Dara, twirling a strand of her long dark hair gently around his finger.

“What?” she said, furrowing her brow at him.

He shrugged, his smirk turning into a full grin. “Nothing,” he said, and then laughed. “I’m just happy.”

“More like you're pleased with yourself,” she said, smacking him gently on his arm.

They were still lying on the couch and it was nearly ten. They had spent the past two hours talking, and Jiyong had also been teaching Dara all the finer points of how to kiss and types of kisses.

“This is an Eskimo kiss,” he whispered playfully, and rubbed his nose slowly back and forth against her nose. Dara giggled.

“I know that much at least, silly.”

"Oh yeah?” He was smiling at her, their voices hushed as they murmured back and forth. “How about the French kiss then?”

Dara blinked, mischief in her eyes. “Ah, I know that one too! It goes like this, right?” and she leaned up to kiss his right cheek and then his left. “Bonjour!”

She giggled at her own joke while Jiyong pinched her, her laughter filling the room. She was aware of him caressing her foot slowly, languidly with his.

“That’s not a French kiss,” he told her, when she had stopped laughing. “Maybe we’ll save that one for last. Let’s do this one instead,” and he leaned in to capture her lower lip between his, and he brushed his tongue against her lip. Their eyes were open: she was watching what he was doing, and he was watching her watch him.

“Try it,” he instructed.

She advanced slowly, her eyes dark and half closed. Instead of capturing his lip, she it slowly, purposefully with her tongue.

Jiyong groaned. “Baby, do you mind very much if we don’t wait for our wedding night?”

“Yah!” Dara slapped his arm and began to pull away as Jiyong laughed and captured her close. He buried his mouth to her neck and bit her there.

Dara yelped, then moaned when he soothed the same spot with his tongue. “Oh god, what are you doing to me?” she gasped.

He was turning hard from all their petting and knew he better stop. “Time out!” he called, and they both lay back catching their breath. After a minute he reached blindly for her hand and laced his fingers with hers. “Woman, you’re going to give me blue balls.”

“Blue what?” she asked, and Jiyong groaned and laughed at the same time.

“You’re going to kill me, that’s what,” he stated, and then sat up. “When we get back let’s talk to our grandfathers and ask them to move the wedding up. The sooner the better.”

“But I just asked him to move it back,” Dara pouted, sitting up and straightening her dress.

“No, I’ll go insane if that happens.” Jiyong stood and went to where his coat lay and he dug around inside the pocket. When he returned, he sat so that he was facing Dara.

“Bring your hand please.”

Dara looked at him, and then raised her hand and placed it in his. She watched, wide-eyed, as he brought forth a beautiful diamond ring and slipped it onto her finger. It fit perfectly.

Jiyong gazed into her eyes, all signs of laughter gone as he looked at her serioulsy and with open adoration. “Sandara Park, will you marry me please? Not because our grandfathers want it, or because it makes good business sense, or any other reason than that I want you to be my wife. I want it more than anything, and I hope you do too. I want to spend my life with you, Dara. I love you.”

He was surprised when Dara’s eyes misted and she buried her face against his shoulder.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, his voice full of concern, especially when he touched her face with his hand and felt hot tears.

“Nothing,” she said, voice muffled as she shook her head and sniffed as she looked up at him. “Is this what love feels like?” she asked.

He smiled tenderly at her and asked what she meant.

“I don’t know how to describe it,” she told him.

“Then show me,” he urged gently.

She looked at him, then leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her head tilted and she placed to his. She captured his lower lip between hers and gently caressed it with her tongue. Jiyong opened his mouth to her and granted entrance as Dara slipped her tongue into his mouth and brushed her tongue tentatively to his. When Jiyong groaned and her tongue back with his, the two lost all control and kissed each other hard. Several seconds later they broke apart, panting for air. Jiyong pulled back a little, his eyes dark with desire as he caressed her cheek and said, “You always were an overachiever.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said, breathless still. She held up her hand with his ring on it and she smiled. “It’s beautiful, Jiyong.”

“You’re beautiful, Dara.”

“You want some ice cream?” she asked, and then stood without waiting for an answer and pulled him up to his feet.

“I should probably get going. It’s late.”

Dara wrapped herself around him, much to his pleasure. “It is late. Stay here. I have an extra bedroom.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, and she nodded.

“You know what I’d really like though is to stay up and talk with you all night. Although I know you’re probably tired. Sorry… cancel that. I’ll let you sleep tonight and we can catch up tomorrow.”

“Actually I’d like to do the same,” he offered. There was so much he wanted to tell her and he wanted to do so before her family arrived on Friday. “Do you mind if we just lay here and talked? I promise not to do anything other than hold you and talk.”

She smiled at him and held his hands in hers as she settled down next to him again.

**