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“If you really don’t mind, that would be wonderful.” My shoulders sagged with relief.
“Not at all. Here are clean towels, and I think Emily left some spa samples on the shelf.”
“Thank you.” I liked Donna with her genuine hospitality and take-charge attitude. She reminded me of my mom.
I let the warm water soak into my muscles and inhaled the soothing lavender scent of the soap. I needed to find a better place to live as soon as I could afford it. And my landlord better cut me a break on rent this month, or there would be words, colorful ones.
The fluffy towel was soft and comforting, and the entire room smelled of flowers. It was luxurious, and I wondered what it was like to have grown up here. My parents were wonderful, hardworking, salt-of-the-earth people, but we didn’t have much in the way of luxury.
I rubbed generous handfuls of the scented lotion into my skin and tried not to look at my naked self in the huge mirror above the sink. I no longer saw the distorted image like I once did. But I was still working on body acceptance. That would probably be a lifelong effort.
I rubbed the lotion across my chest and shoulders then felt a cool touch of air.
“Oh … uh … sorry.”
Panic rose from my belly as the blood drained from my face. Lucas. I caught his eyes in the mirror for more than a few beats before he bowed his head and shut the door.
I couldn’t breathe. I sank, gripping the vanity countertop to steady myself. He saw me. With the lights on. Hot as fuck, chiseled out of granite Lucas, saw me naked. The roundness of my hips and butt, my tummy, my full breasts dipping down. He saw it all.
I knew my past eating disorder wasn’t about my body but about control, controlling something in a life that felt very out of control. The binging and purging, the surge of endorphins followed by the emptiness and release, was a comforting pattern in high school. I never wanted to go back to that behavior, but the shadows lurked and tempted at times like this.
Men had seen me naked before, but only in shadow, never with the lights on. I had a couple of boyfriends and hookups over the years. The sex was fine. Some women in my support group were hypersexual in response to their eating disorders, and some of us were the opposite. It was a challenge for me to relax and enjoy sex. I worried too much about what my partner thought. So, I focused on getting my partner off. That was good enough.
I pulled myself together with deep breaths and dressed slowly in a daze. I hung the towel on the shower bar to dry, wrapped the liquid-soaked clothes into a ball, and shoved them inside the duffel. My chin quivered as I raised my hand to my forehead, trying to calm myself, to get a grip. I was probably the first non-model Lucas had seen naked, but he was a grown-ass man. If he had questions about something he saw, he could ask me. Shit. I was kidding myself that I was that together.
Lucas satat the large island with a dish of leftover pork loin and a fork. He didn’t look up. “Sorry about that. Umm, just curious, why were you naked in my parent’s guest bathroom?”
“I spilled braising liquid. Most of it landed on me.” I tried to keep my voice steady. “Your mom offered to let me shower here.”
“And you didn’t think to lock the door?”
So, this was my fault? Indignation started to drown out my shame. “Your mom said I had the house to myself, and the idea of a hot shower distracted me.”
His eyebrows knitted together as his gaze met mine. “Is your water heater out again?”
“Yes.”
“You need a new place to live.”
“Yeah, I got that. Please don’t burn down my apartment building to make me find a new one.”
He curled one side of his deep red lips in a little smile. “I learned my lesson.”
Shifting on the stool, he cleared his throat and tucked back into his lunch. “Good loin.”
I looked at him, but he didn’t look up. Was that a double entendre? I blinked. “Thanks.”
13
LUCAS
“Yes, Lucas.”
She was above me. Her skin velvety and soft. Her warm body rose and then settled on my aching length. I arched my back to push deeper into her heat. It was slow and intense and absolutely mind-blowing.
“Touch your tits baby, show me.”
“Yes, Lucas, yes.” Her voice was breathy as her hands caressed the rounded flesh, then pinched and tugged her pink nipples in a constant rhythm. She was getting hotter, wetter as the pressure at the base of my dick grew stronger.
