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This was a power move. He wanted to be back in charge, because he felt like she’d gotten one over on him last night. He wanted to be back where he belonged. Keaton, king of the world. No weakness for anyone to see.
August should know better than to give in. But she knew in that moment there was no way she could resist him—not when she was already becoming addicted to the way he made her feel. So safe and secure and known.
Like she truly was enough, without changing a thing.
Her hands came to the hem of her T-shirt, like her limbs were on puppet strings and someone was controlling her actions. She dragged the fabric up over her stomach, over her breasts and over her head. Then she drew the zipper down on her jean shorts and shoved the fabric over her hips, taking her underwear along with it. The mirror to her side reflected the flush in her skin and the tangle of red hair creating a halo around her head. She could see every lump and bump in this light, the little bit of cellulite on her thighs and all the bits she’d once wished to change about herself.
But the way Keaton was looking at her, she felt like a goddess. It was impossible to judge herself when a man she adored was looking at her like that. August unhooked her bra and slipped her arms out, letting it fall to the floor with her other discarded garments. Keaton’s gaze was locked on her and his erection bobbed in front of him.
“Make room,” she said, meeting his eye contact with her chin lifted into the air.
She wasn’t going to let him have the upper hand.
“I love it when you talk to me like that,” he said, stepping back into the cloud of steam and pulling the door open for her.
Inside it felt like they were encased in their own private bubble.
“You thought I wouldn’t do it,” she said, sliding the door shut behind her.
“I don’t underestimate you,” he replied, reaching for her hand. “Ever.”
His tone was calm, but the flare of darkness in his eyes was saying something else entirely. He wanted her. He still felt guilty about it. And he might not underestimate her, but he certainly thought he could keep this to the physical.
I want more.
The pain of wanting a person in a way you could never have them was unique. You either had to walk away or you had to settle. Was she settling now, by being with him? Was she just taking what she could get, knowing that later it would leave her hungry for more?
Keaton turned August around and swept her hair over her shoulder, so it trailed down her front. Then he worked the bar of soap over her skin, enjoying the way she gave a little shiver when he brushed against her. There was something so intimate about showering together, and it made him feel closer to her.
You’re not supposed to want that.
But he did. The time they’d spent here together had opened his eyes to who she was now—as a woman, as a friend, as a lover. This wasn’t the adorable and awkward girl on the verge of adulthood he’d almost kissed. This was a woman who’d come into her power, who knew what she wanted and wouldn’t settle.
If she’s with you, then shewillbe settling.
“Are you getting me back for initiating things last night?” she asked.
“Why would I do that?” He smoothed the soap down the side of her body, gliding it over the flare of her hips.
“Because you like to be in control.”
“I can’t argue with that, but no. I don’t believe in living life tit for tat.”
She sighed as he brought his hands around to the front of her, running the soap over the gentle roundness of her belly and up toward her breasts. “You’re trying to set up a joke about tits, aren’t you?”
He chuckled. “I love your sense of humor, you know that?”
“I’m pretty amazing.”
Hmm, that was a wall. August wasn’t a cocky kind of person who often sang her own praises. She was the kind of person who preferred to work her ass off and let her actions do the talking. Even now, naked in front of him, she was holding part of herself back.
It’s for the best.
But instead of listening to his head, he listened to something else. His heart. He let himself get sucked in to the desire of wanting more of her. Wanting to go deeper. To get under her armor. Standing under the spray, holding her but without seeing her hazel eyes bore into him, he felt emboldened.
“I’ve always thought you were pretty amazing, actually.”
She turned to look at him over her shoulder, but he dipped his hand lower to distract her and she sagged back against him. “I thought you were pretty amazing, too, Keaton.”
