Natalie smelledthe flowers on the kitchen table, running her fingertips along the delicate petals of the snapdragons and the tulips. Yesterday, she had been so close to giving herself completely to this man she put so much faith and trust in.
She only held back because he scared the shit out of her. She wanted him, but it was more than that. She was comfortable around him, and since living with him, her memory issues were nearly non-existent.
Being with Vincent gave her a sense of freedom she thought she’d lost forever, but there she was, telling him all about her accident and why she had locked herself away in her apartment. Admitting to him how much she missed being outside and going on adventures every other weekend. She left the kitchen to hop in the shower.
Vincent would be home soon, and she had to get dinner prepared for his mother’s visit. The warm water relaxed the tension from her shoulders from a day spent watching the front door like a hawk, terrified that reporter would come back and tell her flat out he knew who she was and that her marriage to Vincent was a sham.
Steam filled the bathroom, and she took her time shampooing and conditioning her hair, massaging her scalp to rid herself of the rest of her stress. Dinner with Vincent’s mother could either go really well, or she could bomb it and risk distancing herself from her husband.
“Just keep your cool,” she told herself firmly. “She liked you at all the events. I’m sure she likes you already.”
The water grew hotter, and Natalie let her head fall back, simply enjoying the heat rushing over her body. Her dream from last night played in her mind and her eyes slipped closed. The scene from the kitchen turned into so much more last night when she had gone to sleep. What he had done to her—hell, what she’d done to him! She’d never had such fantasies about a guy before. That morning when she woke, her nipples were hard and she was so aroused, every little shift of her hips sent a shiver up her spine. Her body begged for his touch, pleaded for it.
What happens when he sees your back? You sure you can handle another look of disgust?
Her eyes shot open under the spray of water. Could she? What if, after he saw her back, he refused to look at her the same? What if he never wanted to hold her again or kiss her?
As she dried her body and blow-dried her hair, she glared at herself in the mirror. Why did she have to ruin everything with her worrying? Vincent had already proved he was a good guy and that he cared for her. The flowers he brought her yesterday were about more than just an apology. He was being affectionate, and she sensed more behind his touch, perhaps even a glimmer of love.
She was still in a towel, finishing her makeup and putting in her earrings, when Vincent called through the bedroom door. “You can come in,” she told him and steeled herself for what might happen in the next few minutes.
“I wanted to let you know I was home,” he said as he walked in.
When she stepped out of the bathroom in the towel, his feet froze and he looked like he’d swallowed his tongue. “That’s fine. I still have to finish cooking,” she said, letting her right foot glide slowly up her left calf. His eyes watched the movement and her hopes rose. “Vincent?”
“Yeah. I…I’m sorry. You are stunning,” he whispered and stalked closer.
Natalie’s body flushed, and she smiled shyly. “I have my days.”
“No, every day,” he corrected. His eyes glanced over her shoulder, and his smile turned into a look of awe. “Do you mind if I see it?”
“See what?” she asked, knowing what he was asking.
“Your tattoo.”
He motioned over her shoulder, and she looked back to see part of her back reflected in the mirror. Natalie’s gut roiled at the thought of him seeing her whole back, but he would see it eventually. It might as well be now before they were in the middle of having sex and he suddenly stopped.
Her knees shaking, she turned around slowly and let the towel droop to the top of her rear, exposing her back for the first time to someone new. She closed her eyes, scrunching them shut as tight as they could go, and held her breath. By the count of ten, she expected some sign of disgust but heard nothing. Vincent’s feet moved closer, and when his fingertips reached out to caress the base of her neck and moved lower, her heart nearly stopped.
Her body trembled as his fingers traced the lines tattooed on her skin to cover the horrible scars left by the accident. He started at her shoulder blades where the phoenix’s wings spread wide, stretching up her shoulders, the feathers spreading along the back of her biceps and down to her ribs. His other hand joined the first as he moved lower, covering the head of the massive bird and the flames surrounding its body before moving even farther down.
With each brush of his fingers against her back, another bit of the fear Natalie had held onto for so long fell away, then another, and another. He was the first man—the first person—to touch her back with such care since the damn tattoo artist. Her toes curled when his fingers ran across her lower back, dipping slightly below the towel where the rest of the phoenix’s tail feathers twirled together in a spiral of flame.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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