Even wounds healed left scars—invisible and otherwise. But she’d never seen those ones. The marks still showed on his buttocks and the backs of his thighs. She hadn’t been close enough the day she caught him coming out of the shower, and he wasn’t about to strip down again just to show her.
The water spilling over her long hair felt like heaven after her day of moving out and getting settled in her temporary living space at Justin’s. She lathered, rinsed, and repeated three times.
Men don’t realize what a commitment an all over shower is to a woman.
The shampooing and the shaving alone could take up the better half of an hour. She hurried and finished with her legs and…other areas. She liked feeling clean and fresh down there, even if she wasn’t showing it to anyone but herself.
Blythe stared at her reflection in the mirror, completely bare. She looked over herself from top to bottom and noted each thing that might have been considered a flaw. She noted her breasts, a B size cup—the bra company she went through used custom sizes, and she actually wore a size B1/2 with them…which made her feel proud.
Her eyes trailed down her midriff and lower. She wasn’t completely flat in her tummy area, but who was? Her natural waistline was an hourglass shape, and her hips were, well—hipping for a twenty year old who had never carried a child.There were faded stretch marks there from puberty, but as she continued to stare, she felt beautiful. Even if what she saw in the mirror didn’t capture her exactly the way she might look through a man’s eyes. A knock at the door startled her from her reverie.
“Yes…” she called calmly.
“Just making sure you didn’t fall in or drown. It was quiet for a while after the water turned off.” Justin gave a light chuckle.
She found it endearing that he would be concerned and aware enough to even notice how long she’d been quiet. She looked at her phone—fifteen minutes since she had stepped out of the shower. She must’ve really been in a trance. She told him not to worry and that she would be out in a few minutes.
She pulled on her satin pink panties. Just the regular kind, nothing fancy. Why would she own fancy underwear? No one saw them but her. Her pajama set was cute, though—black capri style flowing bottoms and a matching short-sleeve top. She combed her hair and left it wet. She was too tired for a blow dry tonight.
Organizing her things on the counter and stepping out of the bathroom, she nearly bumped into him. He lunged forward and picked her up in his massive arms. She laughed softly as he nuzzled her neck with his nose.
“Hell, woman, how long does it take to shower? You sure you were in there alone?”
Blythe playfully smacked his shoulder. “This is your house! You tell me? I’m not hiding anyone. Are you?”
Justin placed her back down on her feet and looked toward the guest bedroom where she’d put all her things. Her clothes were already hanging in the closet, and she had the bed turned down.
“So, uh…you’re really going to sleep in there instead of with me?” He looked genuinely disappointed. He tipped his nosedown to look at her, his ocean eyes holding a longing that made her feel it too.
“Of course…”
“But you’ve slept in my bed before. What’s so different now? I’ll get cold without you…” he pouted.
“I slept in your bed when I snuck over here, delusional and emotional because I couldn’t sleep. Now that I’m staying here for a while, it would feel strange. We aren’t married, and I’m not actually living with you…” He cut her off with a finger to her lips.
“Shhh…” He moved forward, pressing her back to the wall, his opposite arm caging her in. “You are absolutely living with me, sugar. You just bathed in my shower, in my house…you’re sleeping here, and all of your things are unpacked. Why does it matter which bed you’re in?” He wasn’t being facetious.
She didn’t feel like hashing out thewhyof her reasoning, so she copped out instead. “I’m not sure why it matters…but for some reason it just does.”
She wasn’t keeping herself from him out of propriety anymore, but she didn’t know how to explain such complicated feelings in the moment, especially when she just wanted him to kiss her without expectation.
He leaned in closer, his warm breath hovering above her lips. “Well, if you don’t know the reason, and I can’t have you in my bed tonight, then I’ll have you up against this wall before I wallow away in self pity.”
With that, he pressed his entire body to hers as his lips came down to devour her gasp and swallow it whole. He let out a long quiet growl.
“Every time I taste you, somehow it’s more intoxicating than the last. These plump little pillows…” He sucked one of her lips into his mouth and nipped. “My life was coasting along just fine until you showed up. You’re temptation wrapped in a bow, just sitting there waiting for me to snap.”
“What does that even mean?” Blythe moaned and opened her mouth further to let his tongue slip inside.
If she was being honest with herself, every time Max tried to stick his tongue in her mouth, she wanted to vomit. She assumed it was her own issue. Maybe tongues just freaked her out, and she would power through and get used to it someday.
Nope.
Kissing Justin was an entirely new experience. His tongue in her mouth, sweeping over hers—it was divine. Zero Ick. She loved it when he kissed her this way.
Her hands roamed his torso. Gosh, he was huge. His chest and abdomen, his shoulders—she’d been in his arms so many times, but she still wasn’t used to it. Each time she was with him it felt new.
She shivered when Justin reached down and lifted her leg to straddle his, the palm of his hand moving upward, finding its way to her plush behind. She didn’t resist as he pulled and pressed her tighter to him. The uncontrollable urge to start rocking her hips on his thigh took over, and she did it. Holy shit, it felt so good. Wait? Why wasn’t she letting him have her? Oh, yeah, that's right…she was an idiot. If he got too close and something happened, it would destroy her.
