Chapter Eight.

Butterfly kisses.

Regan sighed and towelled off her hair, wandering over to the large window and drawing back the curtains. She felt hot and tingly all over, probably from having her bath too hot. Actually, she felt a little bit unsteady. Regan took a deep breath and leant against the glass, waiting for her head to stop spinning, before moving across the room and picking up her hairbrush from the top of one of the boxes.

Wandering back over to the window, she began running the brush through her hair, gazing out over the city, her face reflecting back at her. She felt heavy, her stomach seeming to weigh her down. The previous morning and that morning too, Mariah had phoned the hotel early in the morning and ordered room service for Regan. Yesterday she had had Greek yoghurt with honey and two slices of toast. This morning, it had been pancakes with sugar and lemon and half a grapefruit. She felt full and slightly ill afterwards, but they were the first proper meals she had eaten since God knows when, and it made her feel better.

Regan picked up her towel and began rubbing her hair dry again, surveying the room. The maid had been in whilst she was in the bath and cleaned up a bit, putting things away in a nice, orderly fashion. Regan sighed and wandered over to the wardrobe where most of her clothes were hung. She pulled out a pair of worn, baggy jeans, shredded and disintegrating at the hems, and a white tee-shirt. At this point, she wasn't too concerned whether she was presentable or not. She wasn't going anywhere. She'd just stay in her room, order a meal from the hotel and spend a nice, quiet evening alone.

The phone on the bedside table shrilled loudly. Regan sighed and picked it up, sitting down on the bed. So much for a quiet evening.

"Hello?"

"Miss Ivanhov?" The voice on the other end was unfamiliar, high and nasal.

"Yes…" Regan twisted the phone cord around her finger.

"This is reception. We have a Mr Ivanhov here to see you?"

Regan raised her eyebrows.

"Tala?"

"Should I send him up, Miss Ivanhov?" The receptionist asked. Regan chewed her lip but remained silent. There was a pause.

"Miss Ivanhov?" The woman repeated. Regan jerked.

"Oh, yes, send him up please," she answered, then put the phone down. Tala? What was he doing here? He'd taken her to lunch yesterday, and hadn't said anything about coming to see her today and she was absolutely positive that he'd said something about going out with Bryan… Unless Bryan had stood him up, but that was hardly likely.

Regan sighed and got up, hanging the towel over the towel rack in the bathroom and picking up various items of clothing that were strewn on the floor. She wandered over to the windows and opened them slightly, just as there was a knock on the door.

Regan crossed the room and opened the door.

"Hey, Tala- You!" Regan gasped and took a step back.

"Regan-"

"I don't want to talk to you. Go away!" She snapped, slamming the door shut. But he jammed his foot in the gap and wedged the door open. Regan growled and put her weight against the wood, her feet slipping on the carpeted floor.

"Regan, please!" Kai gasped, pushing against her weight. Regan slid forwards, Kai having more power to open the door than her.

"Who told you I'm here?" She shouted.

"It's not important. Regan, let me in-"

"Go away!"

"I am not going until I've talked to you," he insisted, giving the door a shove. Regan swore as the door opened a bit more. Kai's arm slid through the gap, followed by half his torso. Then he poked his head around the side. Regan gasped and jumped back from the door. It flew open and banged against the other wall, and Kai staggered into the room, his whole body seizing up as he steadied himself against the wardrobe.

Regan covered her mouth with her hands, looking at him in shock as he straightened up, wincing.

"W-what happened?" She whispered, reaching out a hand and brushing her fingers gently across his face. Kai winced and she snatched her hand away.

"Your brother attacked me," he replied. He had stitches above his eyebrow and a bruise on his left cheek. He was standing at a slightly strange angle, and he moved gingerly. Carefully, he moved forwards and shut the door.

"He attacked you?" She repeated.

"Yeah and I don't blame him either," Kai said resignedly. "Not after what I did to you."

Regan nodded mutely, unsure of what she should say. She gestured at the large comfortable sofa near the window, and Kai smiled slightly and hobbled over. She followed him over and sat at the opposite end of the sofa, drawing her knees up to her chin and looping her arms around her legs.

Kai watched her.

"Are you okay?" She asked, only realising after she'd said it what a stupid question it was. Kai nodded.

"It's not as bad as it looks," he said, rearranging himself more comfortably. "Regan, I'm really sorry. I've been such a stupid git, and I really didn't mean to hurt you like that. I know you must be angry at me."

Regan shook her head.

"I'm tired of being angry," she said wearily. "Let's just forget any of this ever happened, okay?"

No," Kai replied earnestly. "Not okay. Regan, there is no excuse for what I did to you. I really, really want to make it up to you and…" Kai trailed off and ran a hand through his hair. He looked at Regan, obviously waiting for her to fill the gap. She didn't.

"Regan-"

"Kai… I have nothing to say to you," she said quietly, shaking her head slowly from side to side. "Just… I've embarrassed myself, my brother's beaten the crap out of you… I can't get this right…"

Kai was watching her closely. Regan felt a shiver of anxiety. He was so intense, his cerise eyes fixing against her blue ones. There was a long silence.

"So…" Kai gazed at her, his face a book of a thousand different emotions. Regan couldn't take it. She looked away, feeling small and defeated. Getting up off the sofa, she moved across the room to the door.

"As far as I'm concerned, this conversation is over," she told him quietly. Kai got up and followed her over.

"Regan… Please don't leave it like this…"

Regan looked away from him, tears welling up in her eyes. Kai frowned in concern and took her face in his hands, his expression softening as he brushed the tears off her cheeks with his thumb.

"You told me you loved me… and I treated you like dirt. I'm so, so sorry." He murmured. He took a step closer, tilting her head up so that she was looking right into his eyes. Kai smiled softly and tucked an errant strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered, closing his eyes and leaning down to kiss her. His lips brushed ever so gently against hers, and for a moment, Regan wasn't sure he'd even kissed her. He pulled away slightly, the tips of their noses touching, and smiled at her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in closer to him, this time pressing his lips firmly against hers, the heat from his body warming her. Regan placed her hands against his chest and he lifted her off the floor slightly. Shivers ran up and down Regan's spine, her whole body tingling with the closeness. After what seemed like far too short a time, he set her back on her feet and stared into her eyes.

"Do you still stand by what you said?" He asked. Regan rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes, the sound of his heart beating filling her ears. Kai wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

"Yes," she replied quietly. Kai pressed his lips to the top of her head, then lifted her face towards him and kissed her on the lips. Regan was caught slightly off guard by this, her mouth slightly open. Kai slipped his tongue between her lips, exploring the inside of her mouth. Regan closed her eyes and moved as close as she could to him, until their bodies meshed together in a tangle of limbs with no beginning or end.

Kai placed his hands on her hips and slipped them up under her shirt. Regan lifted up her arms as he pulled it up over her head, their lips parting only for a second before flying back to find each other in a clash of teeth and passion. Kai shrugged his jacket off and let it fall to the floor beside him, Regan pulling of his black tee-shirt. She surveyed his bare torso, the skin bruised from his fight with Tala. There were other marks too.

Regan ran her fingers lightly over one that ran along the line of his hip-bone. She remembered him doing this. She must have been about seven. One day, she, Tala and Kai were climbing trees when the branch that Kai was sat on snapped and he fell ten feet and fractured his hip. She remembered seeing him, tears in his eyes, desperately fighting back at the hot pain as his mother ran down to the bottom of the garden to see if he was alright. Regan had been so scared… terrified that he might die, or never be normal again. So many memories... They'd known each other so long and yet they'd never been more than passing shadows, exchanging friendly pleasantries whilts he waited for her brother.

Kai broke her musings by picking her up and carrying her over to the double-bed at the opposite end of the room. He lay her down gently on her back, hovering over her, planting kisses all down her neck, her shoulders, stomach, until he reached the waistband of her jeans and moved back to her lips. Regan ran light fingers up and down his spine, feeling his skin quiver at her touch.

Cautiously, his eyes on hers the whole time, waiting for her to stop him, Kai began to unbutton her jeans. Regan gently pushed her hands against his chest, and he pulled away from her slightly, his eyes fixing on her face.

"Just… I don't want to do this unless…"

"Unless you know I really love you," Kai finished for her.

Regan blushed and nodded. Kai laughed softly and stroked her flaming cheeks. It was such a tender gesture, not what you'd expect from Kai at all. Regan smiled suddenly and leaned up towards him, planting soft little butterfly kisses along his jaw, down his neck and in the basin of his collarbone. She knew the answer the moment he asked her if she still loved him. Kai wasn't one to beat about the bush. How could she have ever doubted it?

"I love you," he murmured. "More than life itself."

"More than BeyBlading?" She asked wickedly.

Kai made a low whistling sound between his teeth and gave her a mock stern look.

"Well…"

Regan giggled and gave him a playful shove. Kai grinned and kissed her again.

"I love you," he said once more, louder this time. "And I'll tell you every day for the rest of my life if that's what it takes. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. You make me happier than… than…" Kai searched for an adequate comparison. " Vodka." He finished, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Regan laughed and wrapped her arms around him.

"That's just what I wanted to hear, devushka," she whispered into his hair. "Now if you're done proclaiming your undying love, I was having fun…?"

Kai laughed as she gave him a coy look.

"I thought you'd never ask."


Soppy, I know, but I'm a sucker for a love story. Plus, three out of four of my friends told me that I had to give it a happy ending. So blame them for influencing me to be a hopeless romantic.