Page 56 of Body Check
“I love my body. I do. But I also know that it’s hard to be on my side of the scale. I’m not like the girls in romance books, Dutton. I’m not going to start wearing your t-shirts because as big as you are, they’d be tight on me. And do you even know how much of our culture is built around food? Birthdays and weddings and funerals. Nights out at the bar, coffee with friends. Three meals a day. Food is unavoidable. But what’s also unavoidable is the stares from people who think someone my size should eat a bowl of lettuce for every meal. And I know what you’re going to say. It’s the same thing Bran tells me—fuck ‘em. They’re assholes. And you’re both right. But, god, Dutton. Sometimes the assholes are really loud. And sometimes, the assholes are the ones who are supposed to love you the most. I’ve gotten so good at drowning out the noise, but no matter how far I think I’ve come, all it takes is five minutes with them to make me feel like shit.”
Bridgette’s done trying to wear a hole in the carpet, and she’s back in front of me, right where she belongs. I press a kiss to her lips before stretching out on my bed, and when she lies down next to me, I tuck her in close. “I wish I could take thatvoice away, dove. Just delete it from your brain. I can’t. But I can promise you this: my voice will always be louder. Their nasty words might run on a loop in your head, but my words are gonna be in fucking stereo, drowning them out,” I promise, tipping her chin up for a kiss. “And best believe I’m gonna be descriptive as hell. My soundtrack isn’t gonna be filled with pretty compliments or sweet words. Fuck no. I’m not gonna tell you you have pretty eyes or sexy curves. Your eyes are hypnotic, and your body is my favorite fucking playground, but that’s generic bullshit. I’m gonna tell you I’ll make you come until you can’t stand up straight. I might even tell you how often I jack myself to thoughts of your naked body, how lickable this soft belly is, how fucking much I love it when these thighs are wrapped around my face.”
“I might just need you to remind me of those things from time to time. Most days, I can roll my eyes and mentally flip the bird at judgmental pricks. There are times when a hateful comment doesn’t faze me. But there are also times when words and looks cut like knives. It’s when I’m vulnerable. Like, today at the dress shop. When I’m caught with my guard down or I’m not wearing my usual armor, I’m not as tough.
“To hell with armor, Bridgette. You’ve got me. I’m all the protection you’ll ever fucking need.”
She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “That’s sweet, but?—”
“There’s nothing sweet about me,” I assure her. “I’m no do-gooder, Dove. You turn me the fuck on. You twist me inside out. I can’t fucking think straight when you’re near me. And yeah, I love your personality. You fucking know that already. But I’m not sure you heard me before, so I want to be perfectly clear. You. Turn. Me. On. Those hips? Those thighs that threaten to choke the life out of me every time I’m lucky enough to dive my tongue into your sweet pussy. You're the hottest woman I've everlaid eyes on. I’d give anything to pinch these nipples, to suck on these breasts. To wrap my arms around you and hold you close. You own me, Dove. This isn't one of those ‘It doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside’ kind of things. Fuck. That. It sure as shit matters. Don’t you ever change a goddamn thing about the way you look. You’re perfect. Straight out of my dirty damn mind.” My hands are roaming over her soft skin. It’s not exactly sexual, but sensual. The need to touch her and soothe her and restore her faith in herself is too much to resist.
“I can’t change anything?” She asks, a mischievous twinkle in those gorgeous green eyes that lets me know my girl is back from the edge..
“Nope,” I answer, grabbing a handful of her ass and giving it a squeeze. “Not a damn thing,” I say, letting my voice trail off as my brain takes a detour and starts flooding my mind’s eye with hot-as-fuck images.
“What?” Bridgette asks, her eyes wide.
“Huh? Nothing,” I say, adjusting myself in my sweats.
“Where did your mind go just now?” she asks, and I hear the hesitation in her voice. Despite what I just said, the insecurity that’s been fucking ingrained in her since childhood is rearing its ugly head. Any other day, she could brush it off, but that dress fitting with those fucking vultures messed with her head. So, as much as I don’t want to give her admission to the porno playing out in my head for fear that it will freak her out, I know I have to be honest.
“You want to know where my mind went?” I ask. When she nods, I press a kiss to her forehead. “I’ve never been the creative type, but I’ve got quite the imagination when it comes to you and all the ways I could defile you, Bridgette.”
She blushes. “Were you picturing me tied up in ropes or something?
Fuck. “I am now,” I say, my voice strained as I reach for my cock to tell it to calm the hell down. That’s no use, though. Bridgette’s lying next to me, and the visuals in my mind are pornographic, so my dick thinks it’s playtime.
“Tell me,” she says, and the curiosity in her eyes is my fucking undoing. My girl likes me dirty, and damn do I like being her sexual tour guide.
“Let me be perfectly clear: I don’t want you to change a thing about your gorgeous body,” I tell her as my hand wanders over the curve of her hip.
Her eyebrow is raised. “But?”
“But…then my mind wandered off into some fantasy territory, and…uh, “ I clear my throat and look into her eyes. “Who knew I had a breeding kink?”
“A breeding—oh. Oh.” She’s biting her lip as her fingers trail over the ink on my chest. “I think I’d like to hear more about this kink of yours, Mr. Wagner.”
My cock is rock hard as she punctuates her words with a roll of her hips.Good. God. Damn. She’s about to get herself off on my fucking thigh. “It’s you, Bridgette. You get me so hard I can’t think straight. But in this particular fantasy,” I say, easing my hands under her dress. She pulls down the band of her tights, granting me access to the pussy I’ll never get enough of. “Someday, Dove, I’m gonna fuck you so deep and so hard. I’m gonna leave a piece of myself inside of you.” She gasps as I slide my fingers in her folds. She spreads her knees wide so I can show her with my hand what I plan to do with my dick. “And someday, I’m gonna lose my goddamn mind watching you grow with my baby in your belly.”
She gasps, surrendering to my touch with a shiver. “Damn. Maybe I have a breeding kink, too.”
24
Dutton
The good news is that Bridgette and I are solid. We’ve been spending every spare second together, and when I’m not with her, I’m thinking about her.
The bad news is nobody else is happy about it.
Okay, maybe that’s not entirely true. Blue’s thrilled that there’s someone else willing and able to handle my grumpy ass. And Ollie’s okay with it, but that’s no surprise. That guy’s a sucker for a love story, and he somehow has himself convinced that he’s the reason Bridgette and I got together in the first place. That’s total bullshit, of course, but there’s no reasoning with the guy.
There’s also no reasoning with anyone else on the team. No one is openly hostile, but they’re sure as hell not warm and fuzzy. We all know right where the line is, and no one is daring enough to skate over it.
But that doesn’t mean we’re perfect angels, either.
Take right now, for example. We’re in the locker room before the start of the third period, and the tension is thick. We’re all playing by the rules, but the dirty looks Mickey is shooting my way make it clear that when he said he’d play nice on the ice, heliterally meant only on the actual ice. I’m guzzling water while sitting next to Blue on an open bench while the rest of the team congregates in front of the lockers. Since the guys found out about Bridgette and me, I feel like we’ve gone back in time to the start of the semester. Fine by me. I’ve got my girl, my best friend, and my family. I don’t need these fuckers.
Ollie emits an ear-splitting whistle that has heads turning in his direction. Mine does, too, of course, and it isn’t just because he’s been decent lately. Or because he keeps bugging me to go on a double date with him and his wife, Fallon. It’s because he’s my captain.
