Page 104 of Beautiful Defiance

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SEVEN

She trusts me with her heart. Wants me to be her first. I’m in heaven. A lucky bastard. Inside her room, we stare at one another.

She bites down on her lower lip. Looks away. I grasp her chin and tip her face up.

“I can wait, Leigh. We have all the time in the world.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be following you to DU. Anyway, you’ll get picked for the football team. Be their next quarterback. King of the game and king on campus. You’ll want a different queen. Someone prettier. Someone who falls in line and won’t embarrass you or defy.”

I scoff. “Believe me, looking as fine as you did at that damn party, the guys will wonder why you’re with an ugly fuck like me. Live for the moment, Leigh. Let’s take this a day at a time, baby.”

Her eyes slide to the floor. “Okay.”

Something else is wrong.

“Babe, you’re my everything.”

“You mean the world to me too.”

She’s still not looking at me.

“Then what’s wrong?”

“You’ve only seen my scars in the dark.”

Aw, shit.

I reach for the remote and hit the “on” button. The panel on the ceiling opens. It’s daylight. It started raining.

“Day or night, rain or shine, you are beautiful inside and out, Leigh.”

“Seven.”

She looks up. Tears gather in her eyes. Her bottom lip trembles. My chest aches, knowing the hell she went through to get the scars on her body.

Which brings me to what the hell happened the day she came over and returned my lucky coin? She hadn’t looked at me for a reason. Leigh was crying. What made Maddox come to Cambridge, carting Leigh off to paradise as though he were her knight in shining armor?

My temper rises, and I shove that bad shit down.

“Leigh, we can wait until dark.”

“No, I’d . . . I’d like for us to make love.”

“Make love. That’s nice. Sounds grown up. What grown-ups do. Beats hooking up.” I smile and waggle my brows, earning me a scowl from her pretty face and a smack on the shoulder.

“Seven Shanahan, you are terrible.”

“I’m your terrible. All yours, Leigh.” I step back and yank my shirt over my head. “Defy, babe. Give those guys who fucked you up the finger. Show them you own your defiance.”

Her eyes widen. Liquid amber, and I am hard. She tips her chin. Strips off her shirt. Tosses her bra on the floor. Yanks off her pants and underwear. She stands before me in her birthday suit, a goddess with her raven hair, golden eyes, full red lips, and the scars on her smooth skin just above her sex. She is a sight to behold, my princess, my fighter, my Beautiful Defiance, and Leigh is mine.

I strip and open my arms to her. “I’m yours, baby. All yours for the taking.”

Her gaze trails over my body, from my eyes to my steel abs to my erect cock. Her eyes widen. She’s nervous. But that doesn’t stop Leigh from looking her fill. I stand before her, not shy about putting my body on full display.

And I’m digging that she’s not shy about wanting me. She licks her lips, and getting on the bed, she crooks her finger. I grab my dick and crank it side to side. It’s been a long time since I’ve had sex, and thank fuck it’s Leigh I’ll be making love to.

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