Page 51 of Beautiful Chances

Ratherthanstandingmy ground, I follow her into the bathroom, where she’s already started filling her bathtub. Her back is to me, but I know she’s heard me entering, so I don’t say anything as I walk up to her and move her hair over one shoulder before slowly unzipping her dress. I want to give her enough time to stop me if that’s what she wants to do.

It looks hot as fuck the way the soft fabric splits in the middle and reveals her body beneath it. I let it fall to the floor so it’s pooling around her feet before I undo the clasps on her bra and let the strapless bra fall away.

With unhurried movements, I hook my thumbs beneath her pantyhose and push them down her long legs. As I reach her calves, I kiss each one as I lift her feet one at a time and remove her black hosiery.

I wish I knew if it’s my touch, my words, or something else that’s causing the slight tremors in her body. I want to unveil every thought running through her head. There shouldn’t be anything between us anymore, especially not the underwear that is clinging to her hips. It’s not a thong, and it’s not exactly panties either. The fabric is hugging the curve of her ass and showing half of her cheeks alluringly.

“Leave them on,” she says when I move my fingers beneath the elastic, intending to remove them. “I-I… Don’t take them off.”

I frown in confusion. “Are you going to wear them in the bathtub?” The water is running to fill the tub, so something isn’t adding up unless I’m not aware of her tendency to waste finite resources just for the hell of it. “Is it your dress code? Do I need to wear a matching pair as well?” I can’t claim I’ve ever wanted to put on a pair of women’s underwear, but if that’s my golden ticket, I’m sure as fuck going to.

The shaky laugh bursting free from her lips is so welcome that I relax a little. My thumbs are still hooked into her underwear, but I’m not attempting to remove them. Yet.

I want to imagine she’s saying the next part with a sultry smile on those biteable lips. “No, Kas. You don’t have to wear anything, and I’d even prefer it if you didn’t.” But since her back is to me as I once again stand behind her, I have no way of knowing for sure.

And just like the Grinch, my heart grows three sizes.

Full disclosure; it’s not my heart that grows, and maybe three sizes is overdoing it. Wait, I’m the master of my thoughts, and I like the sound of three sizes, so I’m sticking with that.

“Okay, but no peeking. If I don’t get to watch, then neither do you.” I move my hands up to her full breasts and cup them as I add, “Tit for tat.”

I’m rewarded with another laugh while I strip out of my clothes, even my boxers. Because I’m all sorts of odd and usually bathe and shower completely nude.

Even though the bath is only half full when I get in, I still slosh water onto the floor. Some of it hits her shin, and I watch her take a tentative step toward the tub. “I don’t know how you prefer your bath, but I think the temperature could even satisfy Goldilocks,” I say, leaning my head back on the edge and closing my eyes.

I want to watch her climb in, but she’s acting so skittish I’m trying to give her some privacy, and it’s working. It only takes a few moments from my eyes closing until I feel her back against my front. Mia nestles herself between my parted legs, her perfect ass resting against my dick.

“Coen and Alec have explained it to me,” she says, like she’s picking up on something I’d just said rather than continuing what we spoke about in the kitchen. “Coen has also explained his process in great detail, and I need to see Lila so I can ask her for more info about Neil.”

I sigh because I know what I have to do, and I don’t like it one bit, so I allow myself a few silent seconds to throw myself a mental pity party before I wrap my arms around her middle and turn her around. I move us both, so she’s straddling me, and she wraps her legs around me.

“Look at my chest, Mia. What do you see?”

With one delicate finger, she traces the outline of my tattoo and rests her hand on top of the mask that’s woven into my design. The same mask is also inked onto Alec’s neck and CJ’s arm. Even though I wouldn’t choose a theater mask today, I don’t regret what it stands for, and oddly enough, that makes it perfect. The three of us walk around like ordinary people, and there is no reason to suspect any differently unless you know us. And until Mia, no one was allowed to peek beneath our masks.

“What do you see?” I ask again, my tone so low it’s almost a whisper.

“Apart from your tattoo and scars?” Her brows are furrowed, as if she’s in deep concentration.

I don’t know whether I love to hate it or hate to love it. I love feeling her eyes on me, knowing I’m her sole focus—but I hate that it’s my scars she’s looking at. Not because the puckered skin bothers me anymore, it’s what it represents and the memories that haunt me even all these years later.

“Why do you guys all have this mask on your skin?” She asks in a tone that only hints at how curious I know she must be.

I close my eyes and let my hands roam to her soaked underwear. “If I’m about to bare myself completely, it seems only fair you do the same.” I cup her pussy, so there are no doubts about what I’m not-so-subtly hinting at.

With a slight tremor in her voice, Mia says, “That seems like a fair trade, but you need to look away.” My eyes are still closed, so I’m assuming she really means that I can’t peek. I guess I have to be okay with that.

For now.

I feel her untangle herself and stand up, hear the water sloshing as she moves about, and the thud from the wet fabric hitting the floor before she sits back down. “You can look now,” she says as she positions herself exactly like before.

My shaft is parting her folds, but I make no move to exploit that even though I want to.

“You already know that my dad left us when I was a kid, but I don’t think I ever told you that I went looking for him. CJ’s parents helped me track him down, encouraging me to reach out to him. Something they came to regret.” I force a chuckle that tastes as bitter on my tongue as it rings false. “My dad welcomed me with open arms at first, and he wanted to know everything about Marilyn and me. After a year of seeing him once a week, without my mom or sister knowing, he wanted me to move in with him.”

Needing a break, I bend my head to claim her lips. It’s a soft and slow kiss, a kiss where I can taste hope on her lips.

Pulling back, she says, “I thought your dad disappeared after he left.”

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