AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I tip my chin at her dress. “Take it off.”
Nera looks so fragile, so young, standing there. Back hollowed, no longer confidently wearing the dress that’d brought an entire bar to its knees earlier. She shakes her head in refusal so I grab the fabric and pull it over her hips and off myself.
“Tristan!” She cries, covering her breasts and stomach.
I grab her arms and force them down against her sides so she’s standing naked in front of the mirror.
“What do you see?” I demand, voice gruff.
She looks away and closes her eyes, refusing to look at herself.
“What do you see, Nera? Do you see someone beautiful?”
She shakes her head, eyes still closed.
“I do,” I say, softly. I press my lips against the back of her neck. “I see lean shoulders that carry the weight of the world.” I move my mouth over to her right shoulder, kissing the rounded edge of her back. “I see toned arms that’ll raise a gold medal this summer.” My hands caress the curves of her body, moving down in tandem with my lips as I continue my exploration of her body. Her eyes open and find mine in the mirror as I drop to my knees behind her.
“I see a strong stomach that’s allowed you to endure more than anyone should. I see powerful thighs and legs that’ll carry you to whatever you want in life because from what I know of you, when you put your mind to something, you always achieve it.”
Liquid pools in her eyes as she looks at me, the vulnerability in her gaze hitting me in the softest part of my marrow.
My hands move up to cup her ass, my fingers digging in greedily as they do every time I get to touch it.
“Beyond that, I see an ass that I spend half of my waking moments thinking about, hips that I need to touch whenever you’re near me, and mouthwateringly distracting tits.” I stand, pulling her back against my front. “Your body is perfect, Nera. In every way,” I growl in her ear.
“I don’t think so,” she murmurs, jaggedly. “How do I fix myself when I’m so broken?”
“There’s nothing to fix because you’re not broken,” I answer, kissing her forehead.
“Yes, I am.”
“No, baby,” I say, cupping her face and tilting it up to look at me. “There’s only so many times you can only be told you’re not good enough before you start to believe it.”
I press a heated kiss on her lips, a relieved sigh leaving my throat at the contact.
She whispers so low that I barely make out her words. “Maybe that’s because it’s true.”
Her eyes are closed like she can’t even face looking at me when she says the words. My mouth comes down on her right eyelid, kissing it softly. I tilt her head upwards, moving over to the other eyelid. Then, her nose. Her cheeks. Her jaw.
Finally, her mouth.
“No, it’s not.” I know my kiss communicates the ferocity of my feelings when it comes down on her lips. “I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. Beautiful inside and out.”
“How can you say that when you’ve just seen what I’m like on the inside? Warped and ugly and intent on ruining any chance I have at being anything but miserable.” She hangs her head. “I ruined our night.”
“You didn’t ruin anything,” I say, angling her chin back towards me. “I walked into this wanting to get behind those walls, wanting to see the parts of you that you stubbornly keep in the dark.” I stroke her cheek, whispering, “I got exactly what I wanted tonight.”
“And?” She asks. I can tell she holds her breath. “Now that you’ve seen it, what do you think?”
I smile at her, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “I think that your mind is my favorite thing about you.”
“You don’t have to li–”
“I think that it’s beautiful and strong and resilient and competitive and smart. When I look at you, I see someone who’s kind and flawed and human and interesting and so goddamn compelling that it’s got me under your spell.” I push against her shoulders softly, guiding her towards the bed. The back of her thighs bump against the mattress and she sits, eyes still locked on mine. “I seeyou, Nera. I always have. Nothing about tonight changes that.”
I force her onto her back and crawl over her body until my face is back over hers.
“But no one hurts you, baby, including you,” I growl, my tone shifting from gentle to husky. “I made you that promise and I intend to keep it. So, we’re going to gameplan how to make sure you never hurt yourself again.”
