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“Do you want to keep this on tonight?” he asked, allowing her to answer an easier question than its opposite.
Her eyes met his again and she shook her head.
He tore at the robe as if it had offended him, making short work of the belt and slide.
Alexis gasped and closed her eyes.
He managed to rip his eyes from her tantalizing flesh.
“Are you frightened?” he asked her as gently as he could.
“I… no,” she said, opening her eyes again, but not meeting his. “Just worried.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“Maybe I’m…”
“Maybe you’re what?” he demanded.
“Not what you were hoping for,” she whispered miserably.
He didn’t know exactly how he could make her understand how wrong she was. But he had an idea where to start.
9
ALEXIS
Alexis wanted to close her eyes against the echo of her own stupid words.
She had spent a lifetime hearing women say they should be happy in their own bodies, that they should be proud to be themselves. And she believed it.
But Tiago was unspeakably gorgeous. He could have any woman he wanted, and probably had.
Her boyish torso was skinny and toned, with none of the pretty curves or womanly softness men went wild over in the social feeds. And her thighs were thick with muscle and a layer of fat no amount of exercise or dieting had ever made her shed.
With make-up, tights, and tutu, she could be made to look like a beautiful young woman.
But naked, she felt all her stress and pain were evident in her body, which she had used as a tool to her aspirations all her life. To Tiago, it must look wiry, battered, and unlovable. Too small and too large, all at once.
You did not come here to be loved.
Tears prickled her eyes.
“Alexis.” Tiago’s deep voice cut through her pain. “How can you say such a thing? You are a work of art.”
She glanced back up to meet his eyes. His voice was rich with emotion, but he couldn’t mean what he said.
“Every single hour you’ve dedicated is painted here in muscle, bone and bruise,” he said. “This is a body that was earned. I could never find that anything but incredibly beautiful. Every single inch.”
She closed her eyes and let the tears slide down her cheeks.
She felt him shift on the bed and wondered if she had ruined everything. She’d never had sex before, but she was pretty sure you weren’t supposed to lie there crying to start things off.
Then she felt his tongue swipe up her cheek, licking up a tear, and then another.
She smiled and soaked in the sweet gesture as his tongue traced a path to her earlobe.
“So beautiful,” he whispered before sucking it into his mouth.
