“Oh, shit,” I murmur as she jumps, scrambling to cover her body. “I’m sorry. I?—”
A towel is wrapped around her in record time as I avert my gaze. “Jesus, Finn.”
“You weren’t replying,” I say. “And I was getting worried. Sorry.”
When I glance back at her, her cheeks are blazing red.
“And if we’re being honest, I’ve seen it all before.”
She whimpers. “You haven’t seenthisbody before.”
My brows pinch together. “What do you mean?”
“This isn’t the same body you know, Finn.” A hand presses to her cheek as her eyes close. “My body is completely different since having Skye. The stretch marks, the extra pouches, the loose skin. All of it.”
I lean on the doorframe. “Maya, you gave birth. Your incredible body did that. You grew an entire human inside you and carried her for nine months, and you still look as beautiful as ever.”
Maya lifts her eyes to mine, and I hate the vulnerability in them. “Don’t say things that aren’t true.”
I step forward and grasp her chin between my fingers. “I’m gonna say what I want.”
“I really don’t like what I see,” she whimpers. “And I wish I had more time to work on myself. It knocks my confidence most days.”
Her words cut me open because she has no idea how gorgeous she is to me, inside and out. Every time I see her, it’s like I’m back to the moment I first met her.
I rest my forehead down onto hers without hesitation. “Your body will always be beautiful. Then and now. It’s done things I could never do. Do you know how incredible your body is?”
Maya sniffles and glances up at me with watery eyes. “I’m such a mess.”
“You’re not,” I reassure her. “I promise you, you’re not. You’re probably still adapting to your hormones, and how you feel is completely valid. It’s not going to be like this forever.”
She pulls away from my grip, and the towel loosens. “Just look, I’m not?—”
The towel pools at her feet, and I’m staring back at her naked body. Her perfect, naked body. I internally groan at the sight because it’s been a while since I’ve seen her like this, but this isn’t sexual. She’s sharing something personal with me, and that means something.
Maya grabs loose skin at her sides and points to the stretch marks over her stomach. “See? It’s awful.”
“No. It’s not.”
“It is, Finn,” she says, her throat tensing. “My boobs aren’t perky anymore, and my legs are bigger, and?—”
I lower myself to the ground, kneeling before her. My hands delicately grip the sides of her hips before I bring my mouth toher stomach, her sides, her ribs. All of it. I kiss over every inch of her skin.
“You.”Kiss.“Are.”Kiss.“Perfect.”Kiss.
Maya shivers as I place my lips to her sensitive spots. Sure, it’s sensual. But it’s not for me. It’s for her. And I’ll do it every day if it makes her see how incredible her body is. That I’ll never be able to look at her without believing she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
“Finn—”
“You are,” I whisper into her skin. “From the first day I met you.”
Maya whimpers.
“This body gave us our little girl,” I say as I peek my eyes up at her. “This body is nothing short of perfect.”
Maya’s eyes meet mine, and her mouth quivers. Her hand gently grips my jaw and holds me still. Our breathing is all I can hear, along with my pounding heart.
I stand back up, my height towering over her. I brush back strands of damp hair and lean down an inch to press a kiss to her cheek, her chin, her jaw.
