His eyes fire and his hand travels up my stomach; the rough pads of his fingers against my soft skin until his fingers hook the cup of my bra and pull it down, freeing my breast to his eyes and touch. Seconds later, his groan of satisfaction is filling the air as one hand pinches and teases my nipple while his fingers continue to build me up on a crest of pleasure.

“Kane.” I gasp his name, my hand coming up to hold his wrist. He gives me a hard look assuming I’m going to pull him back, but I press against his arm and push him deeper into my body, finally losing the ability to hold myself up when he hits that spot deep inside me that has me crying out. This time his name isn’t a soft gasp of air, but a loud burst of noise that matches the power firing through my body.

I come, my wetness soaking his hand, and I watch, unable to look away, as he closes his eyes and lets out a moan of his own. His fingers continue to move and the waves upon waves of ecstasy rush over me until my lungs are straining for air.

When the last stream of pleasure leaves my body, his eyes burn into mine, and he tells me again in a command that leaves no room for bending, “Watch.”

His fingers give one more thrust before he pulls them from my heat. I watch with wide eyes as he brings them up and closes his lips around them. His eyes close and his moan is loud and sure.

“Fucking delicious,” he grinds out in a thick voice after licking the last of me off himself.

MY CHEST IS BURNING. EACH puff of air expelled is sucked back just as rapidly as I watch Kane’s eyes fire to a brilliant hue of the brightest blue. His lids, heavy with arousal, make his expression one of pure indulgence.

I pull my eyes from his and look into my own reflected in front of me in the mirror. My pants hang open, one hip completely exposed, and the denim loose around my waist. I can see just a hint of my black panties, but they’re roughly shifted so that my bare sex is more uncovered than not. My eyes roam the rest of my body; bra still pushed under one of my breasts, my nipple still hard from his touch. My skin is a pale pink from the treatment of his firm hands.

Kane doesn’t speak and neither do I. I flit my eyes to his long enough to see him assessing me as I evaluate my body. When I look back at my own eyes, I don’t see any of the nerves or the apprehension I would normally feel standing almost naked and completely exposed. The way he’s expressed his desire for me has left no doubt in my mind of his genuine nature.

I see, through his words, what I’ve never before been able to see. Even with Kirby and Eddie always by my side while I worked hard to better myself through therapy and working out, I haven’t been able to see the change until Kane opened my eyes. I see a woman who pushed herself to the point of starvation for months because I never thought this body was enough. I mentally battled with what I believed was wrong and what I’m not seeing, through his words and actions, as beauty.

I feel beautiful.

I look beautiful.

I didn’t even realize it, but in just the last week, I’ve let go of almost every one of those negative habits. I eat normally. I don’t exercise myself to the brink of exhaustion, and I actually feel as if I could love the skin that I’m in.

My body, flush from his ministrations, has captured this man, and with his words, I see something I had never realized before. Where I’ve seen areas I hated, he’s seen ones that entice. I didn’t think that was possible—for what I now see as well-placed curves to seduce a man such as Kane.

A smile curves my lips, and I turn to Kane, his hungry gaze watching me. Waiting for me to make the next move, testing the waters with his silence to see how I’ll receive his words.

The old Willow, the one who let fear and insecurities rule her world, would have broken down at the first hint of intimacy. But now, with the confidence his actions have birthed in my mind, the last shreds of my haunting past fall to the wayside.

Reaching out, I place my hand on his chest, feeling the rapid thump of his heart. He doesn’t move, his eyes inviting me as they lure me. I take the step needed to bring me close enough so I can feel his warmth again. My hand on his chest slowly presses against his body as I trail south.

Keeping our eyes connected as my hand travels the length of his torso, I let the thrill of excitement fill my system when his jaw ticks and his head rolls back, and I finally lose sight of those cerulean orbs.

My other hand joins the seduction, and I wrap my fingers in the hem of his shirt, bringing it up and over his body. He lifts his arms and helps me remove the material, and when they fall back down, he places them on either side of my hips. His fingers dig in and a noise of pleasure echoes from his chest, tickling my breasts as they crush against his body.

“You’re awfully quiet for a man who had so much to say a few minutes ago,” I purr, the sultry sound of my voice making me want to high five myself. Way to go, Willow.

He pulls his lips in and rolls them together, his expression betraying the control he’s exhibiting. Witnessing what my touch does to him encourages me to continue. The way he pulled me to his body placed my hands against his chest and I use that as leverage to push myself away.

“Willow,” he bites out with a harsh breath, his eyes flashing with what looks like panic. Panic?

I quicken my pace, not only to reassure him, but also because I would be lying if I didn’t admit I’m slightly worried my newfound confidence is going to vanish at any second.

Reaching behind my body, I unhook my bra and pull it from my body. His fingers flex against my hips, his strength almost to a point of pain, but the touch showing me just how close he is to losing his control. He looks down, seeing my naked chest fully for the first time, and his tongue comes out to lick his lips.

There is no way his reaction isn’t honest. Talented actor or not, you can’t fake a body’s response like this.

My hands come back to his fevered tan skin, just above his pecs. I dig my fingers in, massaging up to his neck, and finally lace my fingers through the soft hair just past due for a cut at his nape.

Our eyes communicate our combined need for each other, and with our bare torsos pressed together, I lean up while pushing against his neck and bringing him toward my lips to kiss him with the consuming hunger I feel.

Our moans meet in a powerful rush. His hands move from my hips, inside my undone pants and down around to my ass. His fingers dig in roughly and grab hold as he thrusts his hips against me. It only takes seconds before the sounds of our excitement drown out the wet sounds of our kiss.