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Athena clenched her jaw, expecting anxiety to rear its ugly head in the center of her chest, but it didn’t. She felt around for it, waited for it, prepared for it. But it never came. Monti was gone before Athena realized it. Shaking her head, Athena sat on the edge of the mattress and took a moment for herself.

She was really doing this.

She hadn’t been willingly naked in front of someone other than a medical professional since she was in her teens. Tears brimmed in her eyes, and she blinked them back. She could do this. She just had to remember that she wanted this. Pulling her shirt off, Athena folded it carefully and set it on the nightstand. The cold air in the room caressed her skin, raising goosebumps along her chest and arms.

Her nipples hardened, pulling to tight little points, but without clothes or a bra on, she could feel the tightening all the more intensely. Athena slowly let out a breath, raising her hands to her breasts to warm them briefly, the scars such a different texture than the rest of her skin. She hated them.

Cringing, Athena dropped her hands to her waist and stood up. She was sure Monti would be knocking on the door and asking if she was ready at any moment. She pulled off her pants and folded them, setting them on top of the shirt. Athena climbed into the bed, laid on her back, and pulled the sheet and blanket over her chest and up to her chin.

“I’m ready,” she called, hoping that Monti would hear her. If they didn’t start now, Athena was going to chicken out. She was going to run away and never come back into this room. That or she was going to lock herself in the closet until Monti left.

It seemed like hours before the door to the en suite opened and Monti stepped into the room. But suddenly the entire feel of the room changed. It was warmer than before, and Athena’s comfort level eased back to where it had been before when she’d made this decision. Pressing her shoulders into the mattress, Athena stared up and waited for Monti to appear over her.

Monti put a hand on Athena’s shoulder. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t brush it off, Athena.”

Athena sighed and held back the cringe. “I’m doing good.”

“Are you comfortable?”

“No,” Athena answered honestly. “But I am as comfortable as I can be.” She pursed her lips, looking up into Monti’s eyes. She wasn’t lying. Something about Monti’s presence comforted her, and she couldn’t even explain it.

“If you’re ready to begin, I’m going to lower the blanket a bit, just to the top of your chest.”

Athena’s heart jumped, but she nodded her agreement. Monti waited another second before moving swiftly and pulling the blanket to adjust it. She touched her hand to the top of Athena’s shoulder gently.

“I’m going to check in with you as often as possible, okay? If you want me to stop, just say so.”

“Okay,” Athena whispered.

“You mentioned some scarring before, and I can see the start of it. Have you ever had red light therapy?”

Athena’s brain spun. She had no idea what Monti was talking about. Athena bit the inside of her cheek.

“It’s just a little red light that I wave over your skin. It’ll help heal the scar tissue.”

“There’s something that can do that?”

“It can help.” Monti smiled down at her, her beautiful lips curling up.

Athena’s heart thundered. “Then let’s do it.”

Monti shifted, but she didn’t walk away. She grabbed something out of a bag that Athena hadn’t even seen on the bed. She must have been so distracted by everything else. She was never this distracted. Watching every move Monti made, Athena waited to see what would happen next.

Monti did exactly as she said, and she waved the light directly over the scars at the top of Athena’s chest. But Athena had so many more scars than that, so many that Monti hadn’t even begun to see yet. But Monti put the light down and grabbed her oil, rubbing it between her hands.

“I’m proud of you,” Monti murmured.

“What?” Athena bit back the word with a moan as Monti dug her thumbs directly into a very stiff muscle in her neck.

“I’m proud. I never thought I’d see the day when you’d do this.”

“Do what?” Athena swallowed the lump forming in her throat again and tried to relax. But Monti’s gentle words, her firm hands, the smooth glide of her fingers slick against Athena’s skin—it all pooled between her legs, stirring Athena in ways she’d started to feel before. But this time it was so much more intense. Athena focused on it, using it to distract herself from the fact that she was almost completely naked with another woman touching her.

“When you’d willingly start to take off your armor.”