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WES

W ings.

I held my breath. Gazed upon her skin as she looked at me over her shoulder. She looked like an angel with wings folded, only just beginning to unfurl them in flight. And her feathers, they didn’t hide her scars, but used them to create exquisite detail, giving depth and texture to each feather.

But the part that gutted me the most…

The part that felt like she had taken my heart from my chest…

The part that had me ready to drop down onto my knees…

Was the rose.

One single, blossoming, silvery-white rose.

Her wings grew from that rose, and I could only wonder if the imagery meant to her what it meant to me. Because I wanted nothing more than to be the man who gave her wings. The man who raised her up high into the heavens and gave her the courage to fly.

That’s who I wanted to be to her, for her.

I lifted my gaze, saw her looking at me with lines of worry over her brow. And her eyes—those bottomless brown eyes that tore at my very soul every time I gazed upon them—told me she was scared .

“Do…” Her voice cracked. She swallowed. Tried again. “Do you like it?”

Somehow, my heart ached further. My chest tightened like a thousand pounds of pressure was compressing my lungs.

How would I explain to her that I already loved her? That I already loved every blemish on her skin? But then to see her embracing her past in this way? To see her weave the broken parts of herself into a tapestry of beautiful strength?

Fuck, I didn’t think I could love her any more. I didn’t think I could honor every gorgeous detail enough to communicate just how much she undid me.

Unraveled me.

Destroyed me in the most beautiful way.

“Wes?” Worry. Fear. Angst. I didn’t need to read the story in her eyes to hear the tale in her tone.

I stepped to her, completely unable to speak. Because words would fail me. There was nothing I could possibly say to communicate to her what she was to me.

But I could show her. I could do everything in my power to show her each and every day for the rest of my life what she meant to me…

How I felt about her…

How she ruined me….

Starting now.

“Wes?” she whispered again.

But all I did was reach for her, curling my left arm around her waist, splaying my hand over her navel as I drew my lips to her shoulder. And then I loved her.

I skimmed her skin with my mouth, leaving a scant trail of moisture as I trailed the inked lines of her wings. My right hand followed the strap of her bra, shifting it softly off her shoulder. She shivered under my feathered touch, and an odd sense of joy erupted inside me.

Because I loved making her shiver .

I loved making her quake.

I loved feeling her tremble against me.

With a deft hand, I undid her clasp, and the black fabric fell limp. That’s when I showered her shoulder blades with feathered kisses. That’s when I trailed the line of her spine with dabs of my tongue and caresses from my lips.

I loved every scar, showing her that there was nothing about her past that I was ashamed of. And I showed her just how much I loved her.

And when she whimpered, still held by my left arm, I turned her around, and made her face me.

***

MARA

My heart labored in my chest, a furious thundering thing.

He never said a word as he took me into his arms and bathed my body with his heated gaze.

I resisted the urge to cover myself, trying to swallow but struggling to do so.

Because somehow, all of this felt new…like it was the first time. And in a weird way, it was.

Wes looked hungry, eyes burning like the sun, and I felt unsure of myself.

My lips pressed into a thin line as my lungs ached for breath.

As if he noticed my unease—my hesitations—the lines of his face softened, becoming tender and warm.

The hunger receded, and in its place, something else stepped forward.

Slowly, Wes shifted, cradling my face, and then his lips found mine, sweet and soft like the first drops of rain in the spring.

His lips spoke a thousand words in their tender caress.

Don’t be afraid .

Don’t shy away.

Don’t hide from me .

I love you.

His mouth parted. With my shuddering breath, he slipped inside. His tongue gently tasted me, sliding over mine, as his hands left my face and slowly traveled south. They slid down the length of my torso, coming to my hips, and then wrapped around to the small of my back, pulling me forward.

As our lower halves met, my eyes widened at the feel of him, and I instinctually pulled back an inch from the surprise of it. Still holding my waist, Wes gave me a moment, allowing me to relax as his nose grazed my cheek and his lips traveled, scattering kisses along my jaw and the side of my neck.

He was patient, giving me time to slowly regain control of my fluttering heart, and then eased me toward him once again. I drew breath through parted lips as his nose brushed against my cheek again, and our mouths found each other once more.

Time stood still as I lost myself in his touch, in how he felt pressed up against me, in how he sought my breath with every rise and fall of his chest. I closed my eyes as my nerves settled down, relishing the taste of him.

His left hand kept my hips firmly pressed against him as the other traveled back up to cup my cheek.

His hand slid backwards, brushing the lobe of my ear as it buried itself into my hair.

The gesture sent a fresh wave of gooseflesh skittering across my skin, causing the most delicate parts of me to rise in anticipation.

His grip in my hair tightened, causing a gasp to escape me as he tugged my head back with gentle force, exposing the length of my neck, making me feel vulnerable.

Because Wes was strong…so much stronger than me.

And his body was nothing but taut rippling muscles, hard and unforgiving, and completely lethal when he chose to be.

But his movements didn’t leave me feeling afraid.

They left me needing .

His right hand tightened in my hair, keeping my neck exposed, pulling my head back further, making me whimper. And then I felt his lips on the underside of my chin, skittering down the length of my neck, past my collarbone.

He didn’t release me. He kept me captive against him as my heart began to race once again in its cage, hand unrelenting in my hair.

My lips parted as my breaths came in quicker, chest rising and falling with exhilarated breath as a trail of moisture explored the slopes and valley with lips that caressed, and pulled, and tugged.

Teeth that skimmed, and nibbled, and nipped. It wasn’t painful…not even remotely.

I liked it.

It felt good and sensuous, playful and teasing all at the same time. And all the while, wave after wave of shivers cascaded through my body, making my fingers curl into fists against his chest, until finally, he loosened his grip.

My eyes fluttered open, taking in a ragged breath as his mouth left my skin and came back to mine, stealing another taste of me before he walked me back and laid me down on his bed.