Page 26 of The Forever Experiment

My eyes flash open, finding two sapphires blazing down at me. “I like who you are too,” I whisper.

He smiles, and it’s almost sad, before he drops his hands from my head. “Did I do it right?”

I let out a soft laugh. “Yeah. You did great, pretty boy.”

“What’s next?”

I step out of his chest. “I just run some oil and leave-in conditioner through my braids to prevent frizz, then I wrap them.”

I grab the products from my bag and hand them to Easton, showing him how I apply each one. He has me stand in front of him again as he works on my hair. “Don’t you have any kind of routine you do?”

“I mean…not really,” he admits. “My brother-in-law has an intense irrational fear of skin cancer, so he forcibly made me form a habit of putting on SPF every day.”

“That’s smart of him.” I laugh. “I didn’t know one of your sisters got married.”

I remember Easton talking about his two sisters often in college. One of them was only a couple of years younger while the other was still in high school at the time.

“Well, she’s not yet, I guess,” he muses, finishing up my hair. “But it’s coming. Penelope and Carter are…” He trails off, as if struggling to find the words. I step away from him, splitting my hair into two sections and twisting them over and around each other, forming a large bun on top of my head. “They’re different. Brother-in-law is the best way to describe him. That’s what he might as well be at this point.”

I turn to Easton, smiling. “That’s sweet.”

I locate the silk scarf at the bottom of my bag, pink with small hearts all over it. I thought it would be cute for Valentine’s Day, though now, the sentiment feels a little silly.

“Don’t make fun of me,” I murmur as I slip the scarf across the base of my neck, tugging it over my bun, wrapping it around my forehead and tying it at my nape.

Turning around, I find Easton frowning. “Why would I ever make fun of you, Maya?”

I can’t help the smile that springs to my cheeks. “I bought it for Valentine’s Day.”

His eyes snap to the top of my head, and I watch as an effortless grin takes over his face. He surges forward, his hands bracketing my hips as he lifts me back onto the counter. Easton’s mouth falls on mine, lips soft and smooth. “I love it. Very fitting.” He smiles into my mouth before pulling back. “Alright, what’s next?” He picks at the products lined up on the counter beside me, inspecting each bottle.

“Toner.” I point to the bottle of liquid and the cotton pad next to it. “Serum.” I tap the dropper beside it. “Moisturizer. Then, eye cream.”

He grabs the toner and begins getting to work. “Lastly, I get to finish you off with a full body rub down, yeah?”

I snort, nodding as Easton wipes the cotton pad over my face. Next, I instruct him on the proper way to apply the remainder of the products, laughing the entire time I allow him to take care of my skin. When he finally finishes, he presses a soft kiss to my nose. “You’re glowing, Maya, baby.”

We both brush our teeth, thankful the hotel left my suite stocked with extra toiletries, since all of Easton’s are back in his own room. Once we’re finished, he carries me back to the king-sized bed in the center of the room, tossing me onto it before grabbing my favorite tub of lotion from the dressing table. “Take that robe off. You don’t need it anymore.”

“I need to get my pajamas,” I say, though I comply with his demand.

“Oh, fuck no.” He laughs, scooping the lotion into his hand and rubbing his palms together. “If I’m sleeping naked tonight, so are you.”

“You can go downstairs and grab your stuff,” I counter.

He pauses, tilting his head. “Why would I do that when the alternative is having you naked beside me?”

I roll my eyes, laying down on my stomach and propping my head onto my arms as Easton begins to massage the moisturizer into my skin. He takes careful consideration of my back, neck, and shoulders before moving down to my ass.

“You really do have good hands,” I moan as he kneads my flesh between his nimble fingers.

“You really do have a perfect ass,” he responds, massaging my thighs before nipping his teeth into my flesh.

Once every inch of my body is soft and buttery smooth, Easton flips back the comforter, and we both crawl inside. He works himself across the mattress until he’s beside me, inching one arm beneath my body and the other over my side, tugging my back into his chest.

“Easton, there is an entire bed for you to sprawl out on. You don’t need to be on top of me.”

“No can do, Maya baby. You married a stage five clinger, I’m afraid.”

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