Page 62 of It Must Be Love

I just lay in shock. Of all the things I'd expected, this was not one of them. He got up from bed, and I flinched. Was he leaving? He got what he wanted, and he was leaving?

Oh god, what had I done? I'd let him use me.

Come on, Naya, you got off as well. Best orgasm of your life.

I was not going to be a hypocrite, I thought. I heard the bathroom door open and shut. He was going to come back, put his clothes on and get out of my apartment, get away from me.

I looked down at his still glistening cum on my belly and then followed my line of sight to my thighs and legs. My lips curled in disgust. No one would want to have sex with a woman who had skin that was unpleasant to touch, awful to look at.

I wanted to fold into a ball and hide, and I would do that as soon as I had the strength.

Amias came inside the bedroom, a wet washcloth in his hand. He sat down next to me and kissed my mouth. He was smiling, looking very pleased with himself. He wiped his cum off me and then gently cleaned between my legs.

He threw the towel down on the floor and kissed me again.

Suddenly, it was all too much. The pressure of it all, the stress of showing him my body, his unexpected behavior, my orgasm…and I burst into tears.

"Fuck," he groaned; he hauled me up into his arms as he kneeled on my bed. He held me close and rocked me, whispering, "It's okay, baby. It's okay."

It took some time before my loud sobs became quiet whimpers.

After, he lay down and pulled me on top of him, arranging me so my head was on his shoulder. He hooked a hand under one leg and drew it on top of his.

He nuzzled my hair. "Tell me about the accident."

Chapter 22

Amias

For years, I'd tried to ignore Naya because she didn't fit into what I thought was the kind of woman I saw myself with. For years, I'd failed. The minute I had a chance to have her close after she left for California, I made a recruiter chase her down and bring her to Midas. I could call it doing a favor for Nolan or her father or their family—but the truth was that I did it for her. Because I saw who she was. A good person who took care of people. A person who gave and didn't demand anything in return.

I'd go see her father once in a while when he was sick, and she'd be there, quiet, and elegant, taking care of him. We didn't talk much except make some small talk until she started working at Midas; then, we only talked about work. But when she started working closely with me after Ethan went on paternity leave—I fell for her. I could see it now. My animosity toward her was because I wasn't sure how to handle my attraction to her. Ann could obviously see it as well because I probably started bringing up Naya in conversations, and that's when she started to disparage her.

But I didn't know Naya. There had been a life-changing event in her life, and I hadn't known. Nolan may have mentioned it in passing, but I couldn't remember; he definitely didn't make a big deal out of it. But it had been a big deal; the evidence was right here in front of me.

"What do you want to know?" Naya asked.

"Is it difficult to talk about?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not really. It's been a while and I've processed it. There's still stuff like…how I feel about my body. Therapy has not helped with that…yet."

I hoped I could.

I stroked her back, feeling the scars under my fingers, touching them, learning them.

"I'd turned eighteen and was excited about going to university. I was driving home after picking up dad's medication and it was late. I'd forgotten to do it earlier in the day. The roads were empty, nothing was supposed to happen."

She paused, her gaze distant as if picturing the scene once again. I kissed her forehead and silently asked her to continue.

"Suddenly, a car veered into my lane. There was no time to react, no time to think. Just the blinding headlights, a deafening crash, and then... darkness. The other driver, he had a heart attack behind the wheel. Died instantly. His car hitting mine caused it to catch fire."

I noticed the way her voice faltered, the strength waning as she relived the moment, but she pressed on. "I was trapped. The fire spread so quickly. By the time help arrived and got me out, I was burnt pretty badly."

I raised her face to look at mine. I wanted to see her eyes, see what she felt. There was pain, yes, but also courage. "I spent months in the hospital, surgeries, skin grafts on my back and legs. The physical scars healed, but the emotional ones took longer. That's when I started Krav Maga. I stayed home for the whole year. Daddy had retired, and we took care of each other. Nolan had already started working. He was doing his MBA, and he was living with Kara. She…anyway…."

"She what?" I insisted.

She swallowed, and I knew she wanted to look away, but I didn't let her.

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