It all starts clicking together. He won’t look at me. My heart clenches. Does he really think I’m so vain, or do the scars just bother him that much? I haven’t seen all of him, but from what I’ve seen and felt, he’s perfect. How he could doubt himself, I have no idea. He is pure male perfection.
I have my flaws, too. My skin may be free of scars, but I carry my own marks. I don’t have a perfect hard body like his. I have wide hips and thick thighs. I’m not what you’d call pretty or sexy. Maybe a nerdy kind of cute, but I’ve often thought I’m a little mousy. Random stretch marks litter my body. They’re not scars like his, but they mark me, and I often feel self-conscious about them.
Maybe I could show him it doesn’t matter to me. That none of it does. I didn’t fall for him because of what he looks like. Hell, I was half in love with him before I ever even saw him. Climbing from the bed, I unhook my bra and drop it to the floor, my panties following suit. I take a deep breath to calm my now-racing heart, and I give myself a pep talk. I can do this. It’s all or nothing.
At this point I’ve got nothing to lose. Either he wants nothing to do with me and I’ve lost him from my life, or maybe he does want something from me and is too scared to act on it. I can show Alex that I want him by baring myself to him like I want him to do for me.
When I’m standing in front of the door, I give myself one last pep talk. Stop living in your head, and take what you want. As I pull the door handle, I come face to face with Alex. He’s got both hands braced on the door, and his tall form towers over me.
I gasp at the look on his face.
Hunger, longing, need. It’s all there as his eyes roam my naked body before landing back on my face. The angry-looking scars on the left side of his face run down to his neck. They look like they’ve healed over time but still look painful.
I reach to touch him, but he’s on me instantly. He lifts me into his arms. My feet dangle off the floor as his lips crash onto mine. All the hunger I saw in his eyes bleeds through in his kiss. His tongue pushes into my mouth, taking what it wants. I never knew you could feel so much from a kiss. That it could tell you everything you wanted to know.
He wants me. It’s there in the way he’s kissing me. He pulls me closer like he’s trying to enfold his body in mine. I’m lost in him. I know from this moment on I’ll never be the same. I can feel it in every fiber of my body. I’m his.
I feel my back hit the bed, his big body over mine once again. His massive hands come to my face, holding me in place as if he thinks I might try to break away from the kiss. I wrap my arms around him as I kiss him back just as hard, silently showing him I’m not going anywhere. That I’ll stay here forever if he asks.
When my hands start to travel over his body, wanting to feel him, he breaks the kiss and buries his face in my neck once again. It’s as if he finds it painful for me to rub my hands on him. I won’t let him pull away again, so this time I lock my legs around him, my naked body wrapped so tightly around him that if he tries to dart from the room, he’ll be taking me with him.
“Look at me.”
Chapter 8
Alex
Closing my eyes tightly, I fight the urge to keep my face buried in her neck. I don’t want to look at her, but I can’t deny her what she wants.
I look into her beautiful, soft brown eyes, letting her see me. All of me. Her eyes lock with mine, and I wait as they trail down my face and neck. She looks at every mark, then slowly brings her fingertip up to my face, tracing each scar with her gentle touch. Closing my eyes, I breathe in her scent as she explores me.