“Okay…” I whisper. “But how?”
Nathaniel’s blue eyes lock on mine, and they don’t waver.
“Take this off for me, baby.” His fingers brush the hem of the oversized shirt I’m wearing. “Let me see you.”
My breath catches at the command. Slowly, I lift the fabric over my head and let it fall to the floor. I’m completely bare beneath—just skin and nerves and everything I haven’t said. My chest rises and falls under the weight of his gaze.
His pupils darken. His jaw tics. When he speaks, his voice is low—although it’s strained now, like it’s costing him everything to hold steady.
“God, look at you.” A pause. Then softer, almost to himself. “I’ll never get used to this.”
It hits me then, how deeply he means it. The way he looks at me—like I belong to him, and he’s eternally grateful for it.
He steps closer and cups my jaw, his thumb dragging along my cheek as his lips find mine—deep, slow, aching. Like he’s starving for the taste of me but forcing himself to go gently.
When he pulls back, his gaze drops to my chest. His fingers follow—shaky now, but sure.
He drags his thumb beneath my breast, and the breath I didn’t know I was holding shatters on a gasp. My body arches into the touch instinctively.
“Every time you respond like this,” he murmurs, “I lose my ability to think.”
Heat blooms under my skin, but I don’t shrink from it.
I used to spend so much of my life trying to take up less space—tucking myself in, second-guessing every curve, every inch. But Nathaniel’s never looked at me like I’m too much or that my body is a compromise. He’s alwaysseenme just as I am. In his eyes, I’m whole and beautiful.
And slowly,impossibly, I’m starting to believe it too.
His hands glide up my sides, feather-light, until he’s cupping both breasts.
“Play with them,” he says, voice rougher now. “I want to watch.”
I freeze. The request lands somewhere deeper than my skin—both too much and not enough, all at once.
He must see it, the flicker of hesitation, the storm behind my quiet.
“You don’t have to put on a show,” he reassures me. “You don’t have to prove anything. Just let me see you.”
That breaks something in me. Or maybe it frees something that’s been waiting.
My hands lift, uncertain at first. I cup myself, trembling slightly, thumbing across the peaks already aching for him. The sensation sends a pulse through me—hot and unabashed.
Across from me, his shoulders tense. His breath hitches like he’s the one being touched.
“That’s it,” he breathes. “Just like that. Let yourself feel it.”
The way he says it undoes me.
His gaze is everywhere at once—my face, my chest, the curve of my stomach, my hands as they move over skin that’s his to love but mine to offer.
“Shorts,” he adds after a moment. “Lose them.”
I nod, wordless. My fingers slip beneath the waistband, and I slide the shorts down and off, letting the fabric drop to the floor with everything else I’ve shed. I’m entirely exposed now, skin flushed and prickled with anticipation.
Nathaniel’s eyes widen, a sharp inhale breaking his composure for just a second. “Fuck,” he breathes. His jaw flexes, Adam’s apple bobbing as he looks me over—hungry, reverent.
A thrill pulses through me… Until I realize he’s still fully clothed. Black tee, gray sweats, all of him intact. And here I am—naked. Suddenly, I feel apprehensive.
As always, he notices it immediately.
