Page 119 of Hypothetical Heart
“Do you not want to?” she asks even quieter, her face laced with hurt.
“No, no, no.” I move my hands to hold either side of her face. “Of course I want to. I just don’t want you to ever feel pressured. Whether I see you naked today or ten years from now doesn’t affect how I feel about you, Winnie, I need you to know that.”
“I know.” She nods strongly, like she never doubted me. “I want to do this.”
I gulp, nodding as the realization that I’m about to see Winnie naked sinks in. She finishes pulling the tank top all the way over her head, and I take it from her and throw it on my bed.
When I finally get to look at her, she’s wearing a pink lace bra with a little bow in the center and silk straps. It screams Winnie Carter. My entire being screams Winnie Carter.
I look up to meet her eyes and she has a light smile on her face. “Would you?” she asks, turning around so she’s facing the door.
I’m momentarily a statue, my feet rooted to the floor. I collect my composure, taking a step forward and placing my hands on her shoulders. “Beautiful,” I whisper in her ear, running my hands all the way down her arms and to her waist.
She leans back more, to the point where she’s almost lying against me. I use one of my hands to reach up and fiddle with the clasp resting against the smooth skin of her back.
“You’re perfect,” I say softly because I don’t need to speak volumes for her to understand my words’ meaning.
“You haven’t even looked yet,” she replies, looking down at herself.
“It doesn’t matter,” my voice cracks, raw emotion pulling me toward her like some kind of magnetic force. “Seeing you naked means nothing if I can’t hold you in my arms while I do it.”
Winnie reaches back, grabbing my arm to steady herself, and when I unclip her bra, the straps fall from her shoulders. She straightens her arms, and the bra falls to the floor.
I don’t make any move to get her to turn around because if she’s changed her mind, I want her to know that this isenough. She turns herself, her eyes meeting mine before I even attempt to travel further down her body.
Both our eyes are welled with emotion, being in this moment together, it’s something neither of us imagined possible for the longest time.
“Wow,” is all I can say, and then, “You’re breathtaking, honey.” when my eyes scan down her body.
I force myself to slow my eyes as they drift down, savoring every moment of her and taking in the view of her delicate breasts. They’re soft, natural, and–somehow–more beautiful than anything I could have ever imagined. Her nipples are peaked slightly due to the cool air surrounding us, standing out against her pale skin. My chest tightens, and not purely from lust, but from the intimacy of this moment. It’s not just her body that makes her desirable–it’s every part of her.
Her arms wrap around my neck, and without thinking about the fact she’s topless, I pull her into me. Her lips meet mine, and her back hits the door. It plays almost identically to the time she came into my room asking me to kiss her for practice a number of months ago.
After a few minutes of bliss, she pulls away breathless. “They’re going to start wondering where we are.”
“You’re right.” I pick her bra up off the ground, feeding her arms through it before grabbing her tank top off my bed.
Once she’s dressed, I kiss her again. “I’m obsessed with you.”
“I know you are,” she whispers back with our lips still touching, and in this instance, nothing else exists–only us.
35
Ihold Logan’s hand tightly in mine as we wander through the aisles of Meet in the Margins. Originally, I was only coming here to pick up a book I had pre-ordered, but Logan insisted on coming with me, and after encouraging me to look around for a bit, he is now holding an armful of books I’ve picked out.
“Any of these piquing your interest?” I ask, placing another one on the top of the stack.
“Of course.” He laughs. “EspeciallyBillionaire and her Bodyguard.” He pulls the book out of the stack, examining the cover.
I rip it from his grasp, regretting bringing it up. “Okay, let’s not talk about this.”
“I have a good idea,” he says. “We can buddy read these!”
I shake my head before thinking about it. “Do you not find it the least bit weird that these are the books I read?” I ask.
He gives me a stern look. “You really think that’s something I care about?”
“I don’t know,” I reply honestly. “I’m sure a lot of boyfriends would have problems with their girlfriends reading sex scenes.”
