My smart girl 3. Rewriting our stars

Jay rubbed his nose against mine, making me quietly snort and smile. I whispered, still trying to calm my breathing that had gone ragged from his intensity: “How do you always know exactly what to say to make me feel special?” He smiled softly, stroking my cheek. “I just love you, little one… and that’s why every word comes straight from my heart.” There it was again — that declaration of love slipped from his smiling lips so easily and naturally, like breathing. But I… I still couldn’t find the courage to say it back to him. He didn’t seem to expect it from me. He just warmed me with his tender gaze and smiled so gently and protectively, as if explaining something obvious that I, due to my young age (and stupidity, let’s be honest), simply couldn’t understand. Instead of “I love you too,” another sigh escaped my lips, followed by a quiet: “You’re always so gentle with me… Even when I was angry and huffing at you, you never lost your temper…” He chuckled, leaned down, and kissed my forehead, purring affectionately: “With you, there’s no other way, my love… You’re such a tiny, fragile kitten that I’m even scared to breathe on you… Besides, you remember my first name, right? Or should I remind you?” I laughed softly and shook my head. If he started kissing me again to “remind” me of that first name, he probably wouldn’t stop until morning — and my weak heart definitely couldn’t handle that. “No need, Jay. I remember,” I hurried to assure him. His gaze had already darkened to a velvety, starless midnight and was fixed on my smiling lips again. That promised extremely serious consequences — tachycardia and dizziness from his passionate kisses. Jay seemed to realize it too. He exhaled noisily, smiled, and whispered, “Alright then,” before falling silent and pressing his forehead to my shoulder. I ran my fingers through his soft hair — dark as a raven’s wing — and began gently, unhurriedly stroking the silky strands, caressing the back of his head and giving him the petting he loved so much. He purred contentedly, exactly like little Jaedi, making me smile. I kissed the top of his dark, slightly tousled head and received another satisfied sigh in return. “Don’t you just love it when I pet you?” I teased in a whisper, already knowing the answer. This charming cat lifted his head, smiled, and looked at me with eyes full of adoration from under the dark bangs that had fallen over his forehead. “If I told you exactly how much I like it, you’d definitely hit me. So I’ll just keep purring.” I laughed quietly, biting my lip, immediately remembering what he had said the last time I asked him that. I shook my head reproachfully. “Not another word. You are a very, very bad tiger. Mischievous and shameless to the core. I still don’t understand how I ended up marrying you.” The “bad tiger” just chuckled merrily, not even trying to deny it. He shrugged his broad shoulders with a carefree smile. “No matter how bad a tiger I am, you still couldn’t resist my tiger charm in the end. That’s what matters. And I’m just being honest, baby. What’s wrong with that?” I snorted. “You do realize that sometimes your honesty just knocks people off their feet? Good thing I’m already lying down.” Jay laughed softly into my shoulder. I rolled my eyes but couldn’t hold back a smile. I affectionately ruffled his soft dark hair again, earning another pleased purr. “But no one purrs better than you,” I praised him, deciding not to be too strict with my beloved troublemaker. “Not even Jaedi?” purred the maxi-Jaedi, pulling me closer and sighing as he rested his dark head on my shoulder — very transparently hinting that he wanted more head scratches. “Not even Jaedi,” I agreed easily with a smile. I kissed the top of his fluffy head again and continued running my fingers through the longer strands at the nape of his neck, listening to his calm, steady breathing and contented sighs. Suddenly Jay lifted his head. With a sly smile and sparkling eyes, he said: “Still… I have to confess something to you, baby.” “What?” I asked with a sleepy smile, not expecting any tricks. The next second I gasped in indignation as I heard his husky, insinuating voice accompanied by that shameless little smirk that had recently driven me crazy in minutes: “A couple of times I really, really wanted to spank you.” “What?!” My eyes flashed with righteous anger. This hooligan, who had suddenly decided to dump this information on me now, quietly laughed and nodded, hiding a mischievous grin while clearly picturing the scene in vivid detail. My face burned bright red. “And when exactly did you have such outrageous desires, Dr. McFell?” I narrowed my eyes and hissed. Jay still looked ridiculously amused. Fine lines appeared around his eyes from his wide smile. He leaned in, kissed the tip of my nose as a distraction, and confessed: “The first time was when I came to pick you up from university and you stubbornly refused to go on a date with me. The second time was when you got jealous of Ivy, didn’t want to see me, and then put on that whole performance in your kitchen — even though I wasn’t guilty of anything.” I snorted, offended, rolled my eyes, and grumbled sarcastically: “Oh really? Not guilty at all? She was hanging all over you right in the middle of the street, and you didn’t seem to mind!” “Sweetheart…” Jay sighed, giving me a reproachful look, but he didn’t stop smiling. He brushed a fleeting kiss across my stubbornly pressed lips and assured me (probably for the hundredth time): “I’ve already told you, and I’ll keep telling you until you believe me. I don’t need anyone but you… my stubborn little fawn…” We looked into each other’s eyes for a few moments. Of course I had believed him long ago and had no intention of fighting over old nonsense, so I smiled, reached out, and stroked his warm velvet cheek. “I know, darling. I know. Even though you still are an insufferable troublemaker and a very bad tiger, there is one major virtue I can’t deny you." He raised a dark eyebrow in amusement and asked in a slightly hoarse voice: “And what would that be?” Judging by the playful sparks in his eyes, the rascal’s mind had gone straight to the gutter again, so I quickly steered his naughty thoughts back to decency. I wrapped my arms around his neck and whispered dreamily: “You know so well how to treat a girl… both in bed and outside of it.” He chuckled, his smiling eyes flashing at me. “What kind of man would I be if at twenty-four I didn’t know how to treat girls in bed — and especially outside of it?” “Must be nice to have such extensive experience, huh?” I smiled teasingly, raising an eyebrow as well. Though I couldn’t ignore the unpleasant sting of jealousy inside. “Bambi…” He gave me another reproachful look and shook his head, but then smiled softly and stroked my cheek. “All that experience, just like all my talents, now belongs only to you. So you have no reason to be jealous of my past.” I sighed. “I know, my love… I’m not jealous.” But he saw right through me. With a playful smile, he tilted his head and asked: “Really?” Even though I knew he was just teasing, I unexpectedly blushed and bit my lip. Reluctantly, I admitted: “Well… maybe just a tiny bit…” Jay’s expression instantly changed from amused to warm and tender. He pressed his forehead to mine, exhaled hoarsely, and cupped my face in his large warm hands: “Don’t, little one… Believe me, I’m yours now… all yours…” I froze, letting his words sink deep into my heart. Then I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulled him closer, and breathed against his beloved soft lips: “That’s why… I want you not to stop… And to kiss me until dawn, breaking all the rules and schedules…” I felt a feather-light kiss on my lips almost immediately. I desperately wanted more, but Jay pressed his forehead to my shoulder and exhaled hoarsely: “Baby… I’m not made of steel… Be careful with words like that…” “Why..?” slipped from my lips. "Do you really need me to explain it to you?" He lifted his head and gave me a meaningful look. He probably expected me to say “no,” but instead I bit my lip and nodded. Not because I didn’t understand the reason for his warning — I just wanted to hear it from him. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, then pinned me with a scorching dark gaze. His warm fingertips continued to gently stroke my cheeks. “You’re still so innocent… and you have no idea what you do to me when you just hug me… And when you look at me with those trusting, open fawn eyes and ask me not to stop… there isn’t a single decent thought left in my head. None at all.” His lips curved into a mischievous smile, and his voice dropped to a low, sensual register as he added, lazily sliding his gaze to my parted lips: “…And I turn into that very bad tiger who wants to devour you whole, down to the last sweet little bone…”