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I do as I’m told and be his patient little venom as he removes my dress and panties, leaving me completely naked.
“You would be bra-less. Hungry little slut.”
“Only for you, you smug bastard. Figured you appreciate me thinking ahead.”
The cold breeze of the room sends sharp jolts to my nipples, only exacerbating the sensation of being spread wide for him on the dining room table.
“Making plans without me? I don’t remember agreeing to fuck you tonight until just five minutes ago.”
“Call it wishful thinking.” I offer him a spiteful grin and revel in the aura he radiates just by feasting on me.
I feel wild like this. While I could feel insecure—given I’m the largest I’ve ever been, covered in markings and swollen all over. But there’s a moment of clarity that washes over me. A moment that puts August and me into perspective.
I may not feel my best, but I understand what he sees in me.
The way his caramel eyes mold me together, outlining my frame and lingering over my belly.
He may see me as his partner in battle, but he also sees the mother of his child. The woman carrying his son, and oddly enough, I understand how that can be…surreal from his point of view.
There’s a part of him inside of me that he can treasure.
It’s wildly beautiful and makes my appreciation of him much more transparent than I anticipated.
Yes, we’re about to have sex. But it’s deeper than that.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” August demands, catching me off guard. “I can feel your thoughts from here.”
He runs soft strokes up my legs before massaging the inside of my calves. God, that feels incredible. My feet are starting to swell, and he’s granting me glorious relief.
“How can you tell I’m thinking about something important?”
“You do this thing…where your nose scrunches up. Not too much, but just slightly enough that the freckles along your slope disappear for a moment. You also run your tongue along your bottom teeth. That’s when I know it’s really something important.”
“I never realized I did that,” I admit, impressed by his observation of me. “You really noticed that?”
He nods, his large hands not stopping for a second atthe working of my legs. “It’s hard not to notice you, Tenley. You’re everywhere.”
I giggle. “I mean, yeah. We do work and live together.”
It’s not lost on me that I’m buck-ass naked on the dining table while August and I suddenly decide to have a meaningful conversation. It’s just the dynamic of our relationship.
He’s easy to talk to.
August shakes his head. “No, you’re not understanding me.” He slides his hands to the top of my thighs and pushes them farther apart, looking at me intensely despite my core being opened wide for him.
I find that kind of strength uncanny, and frankly, a testament to how much he cares aboutme, rather than the warm hole I’m about to grant him access to. “Explain it to me then.”
His touch on my body moves higher, outlining the curves of my full hips and massaging his fingers deep. My eyes fall back, overwhelmed by the feeling.
Someone get this man a certificate of completion because he’s a natural masseuse.
“What I mean is…I see you in everything, Tenley. Not just at work and in our home.”
Our home.My heart. “I see you on the bus rides from stadium to stadium, chatting up the driver while everyone else is sleeping or on their phones. I see you make care packages for Jack’s wife, Taylor, and think no one knows who they came from. But I do, and I see a new one land on his desk every week.”
He sees that?It’s always been something I’ve done discreetly. Not because I didn’t want anyone to know, but because I didn’t want to bring any more attention to Lauren’s sickness than there already was. For Jack’s sake.
I start to speak, but he stops me, gripping my hips and carefully sliding my bottom to the end of the table. My bare ass meets the fabric of his jeans and that alone is a tragedy.
