Page 60 of Just This Once

Once she’s wrapped up in the robe, I hug her to me, trailing kisses up the side of her damp neck. “How do you feel?”

“Mmm.”

“Mmm?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I got something else for you.”

I guide her to her bedroom, scented with the few lavender candles I lit. I also kept the lights on, hoping she wouldn’t mind. After shucking off my shirt, I lean back against the headboard and invite her to lie down between my legs.

“What are you doing?” Her voice is breathless as I uncap the little bottle of oil.

“Taking care of you.” I nudge the sides of the robe down so I can massage her shoulders, working my thumbs up her neck. She exhales a long, audible breath, so I focus there for another few minutes, making sure all the knots release from her muscles. Then I trace over the small purple flower tattoo on the back of her shoulder. “This is pretty.”

“For my mom,” she says quietly, rolling her head to the side, granting me better access to her neck. “Her name was Violet.”

“Ah, violets for Violet. Tell me about her.”

“She was wonderful, kind, and so smart. She loved to laugh. Her favorite show wasI Love Lucy.”

“I assumed it was your favorite, with all of the memorabilia you have.”

“Yeah, I loved it. Mostly because Mom did. She would make us a bowl of popcorn, and we’d watch a few episodes on weekend nights. She worked so hard, and my brothers and I fought over one-on-one time with her, but those were my nights with her. Laughing on the couch at Lucy.”

I nuzzle my face into the crook of Taryn’s neck. “I wish I could have met her.”

This earns a slight pause, a barely noticeable tension in her muscles before she relaxes again and admits, “Yeah. Me too.”

“Will you take off your robe?”

She shoots me a glare over her shoulder, and I raise my eyebrows in innocence.

“I can’t keep massaging you if not.”

Our first night together, she fought me on the lights and seemed to find it laughable that I’d be really fucking physically attracted to her. The night in the shed, it was relatively dark with only the soft glow of the twinkle lights. And the other day in the closet at The Nest, it was bright, but I only had her naked from the waist down.

Here, now, she can’t hide from me. The lights are on, and there is nothing for her to cover up with.

But I see the moment she overcomes her insecurities.

From the second I laid eyes on her at Tabby Cat, I wanted her. It had nothing to do with her body. I don’t care about stretch marks or surgery scars or the size of her thighs. All those small details add up to the person she is. And I want her, whole and forever.

Fuck.

I want Taryn forever.

The realization makes me break out in a sweat, and for amoment, I almost miss how the stress bracketing her mouth fades away.Almost.

Because even the idea of spending the rest of my life with this woman is not enough for me to ignore the gift she’s offering me.

“Good girl,” I murmur as she slides the robe off her arms before leaning back against me, completely naked. With our position, I have a perfect view of all her hills and valleys, the slope of her breasts with tight tips, the roundness of her belly, and the flare of her hips and thighs, leading down her long legs to her cute little toes. “Put your head on me, beautiful. Relax.”

She does as I say and rests all her weight against me, arms at her sides, legs partly spread, nice and even breaths raising her torso. I pour more oil into my hands and skate them up and down her right arm, making her skin shine. “Feel good?”

She nods. “You’re going to spoil me.”

“That’s the point.” I pinch the webbing between her fingers then roll each of her digits out before giving the same attention to her left arm. By the time I finish, her chest and throat are flushed with color, and I’m not even sure she knows she’s wiggling back and forth.

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