Page 68 of Second Chance with the Rancher

He wasn’t buying it. Propping himself up on his elbow, he shifted up the bed, still hovering over her so the tip of his cock bounced against her belly. He gave her a hard look that had her squirming and her insides twisting. “Don’t lie to me, Minx. Something’s wrong. What is it?”

Her bottom lip trembled, and she looked away at the same time another tear slid down the other side of her face into her other ear.

With a firm finger on her chin, he turned her to face him. “Look at me. What’s wrong?”

She closed her eyes, but his deep, rumbly growl had her opening them once more. “You called me beautiful.”

Mieka didn’t think she’d ever seen a man look more confused than Nate did at that moment. It was like she’d just asked him to describe what the number eleven smelled like. “You’re going to have to help me out a bit here, Minx. Is that a trigger word for you or something? Should I have not called you beautiful? Because …”

Her head started to shake. “No, it’s not that.”

“Because you’re not just beautiful. It’s not like I’m only attracted to your looks. You’re also really smart, and funny, and a talented dancer, quick-witted, stubborn, sweet and kind. I … I’m sorry if it felt like I was focusing on your looks.”

“It’s not that at all,” she heaved a big sigh, wedged her right hand between them and swept more tears from her eyes. “I just don’t feel beautiful. So hearing it just, it just makes me feel good. Good enough to make me cry, apparently.” She laughed awkwardly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin the mood. Continue.”

Nate snorted, rolled over to his side, rested his head in his hand while his elbow was propped up on the bed and he fixed her with a look that said, “We’re not continuing until you explain yourself, you crazy woman.”

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head dismissively. “It’s stupid, really.”

“Obviously not, if it upset you. Talk to me, Minx.”

“Look at my sisters and how gorgeous they are.”

“All the Young women are beautiful. I won’t deny that. Despite your parents being weirdos with sticks up their asses, they’ve got good genes. What are you getting at?”

“Compared to those four, I’m the ugly duckling trapped in the middle of four beautiful swans.”

“You’re a dancer for crying out loud. A literal swan in Swan Lake.” His brows pinched. “Have you done Swan Lake?”

She nodded.

“See? How on earth can you think you’re any less stunning than your sisters? Have they said something?”

“No. Never. I mean, we all tease each other, and one thing they tease me about is my flat butt, but they’ve never called me ugly. I do have a ridiculously flat ass. Like, how I am even able to sit down is beyond me.”

Nate wedged his hand beneath her and gave her right butt cheek a squeeze. “Seems like enough to hold on to in my opinion.”

“Because I’m doing a lot of eating on this little escape from reality, and I’m not running.”

“Then stop running and do something else.” His shrug said he didn’t understand why she did something that clearly brought her such little joy. To be honest, she couldn’t understand it, either. She hated running. And yet, she’d done it every morning for years, because it kept her fit. It was a great way to start the morning to get all those cannoning thoughts in some semblance of order, and she was good at it.

“I also never felt beautiful next to the other dancers. So many of the new girls came with these gorgeous bodies with curves. Butts you could rest a coffee cup on and breasts that filled out a bikini nicely. I often have to buy my bathing suit tops in the youth section. They don’t have ones small enough for me. Do you know how humiliating that is?”

At first, he thought he had all the answers to her problems, but she could see the uncertainty in how to “fix her” slipping from his eyes. “I can see how that would make you feel bad about yourself,” he said after a moment. “I’m sorry you had to experience that.”

He dropped his mouth to her nipple and sucked on the peak until it turned hard and red before letting it go with a wet pop.

“But for what it’s worth, I’m not a tit-guy. I’m a leg-guy and you have amazing legs. Long and lean, muscular and strong. I’ve already told you that.”

He reached down, lifted her leg from the hip and slowly slid his hand along the bottom, from her hamstring to her ankle and back up again, chasing the goosebumps, then bringing on an entirely new batch of them when he pressed a kiss to the inside of her knee.

“We’re all built differently, Minx. Our bodies are miraculous and wonderful. They allow us to do such great things. Run and jump, dance and swim. Bring new life, enjoy delicious food, feel pleasure, feel pain. They’re works of art, every single one of them, and yours is no exception.” Rising up to his knees, he cradled her ankle in his big hand and slid the other hand up the front of her leg from shin to quad. “In fact, I happen to think you’re one of the most unique and priceless masterpieces ever created.”

Pouting, she cupped her tiny breasts together. “You’re telling me you wouldn’t like these to be bigger so you could … I dunno, push your dick between them?”

Nate snorted. “You’ve got big full lips, a beautiful pussy and an ass I’m dying to sink into, I think I’m okay without tit-fucking you.”

Not quite convinced, even by his crass compliments that left her pussy drenched, she stared down the length of her body at her non-existent breasts. “I’ve always wanted to get fake ones. Nothing outrageous, but like a modest C-cup or something. Just enough to add some curves to my figure and fill out a T-shirt. But I couldn’t risk the recovery time and taking time off from work. But now that I’m jobless …”

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