Page 85 of Unfolding Ethan

I bit back my smile and leaned closer to look at the problem and hummed, “That’s the right answer, Bella. You’re doing great.”

She gave me a small smile and went back to solving math equations. I swallowed the lump in my throat and went to the kitchen, giving her some space. As usual, Mr. Vijay was nowhere to be seen, getting drowned in his work at the hospital. Karan had left for his university as soon as he could, leaving Kiara alone at home most of the time.

It had taken me two days to make her eat and stop her from crying and sleeping most of the days. I had to scold her and make her eat properly because it was heart wrenching to hear her wretch out the food she ate. I hadn’t left her alone for more than an hour and encouraged her to come to meet Eveline and my parents whenever she wanted. She had promised she would, and I needed to give her space for that.

I sighed, raking a hand through my hair, and filled the bottle of water. We had been studying for a couple of hours now. I needed her to do something else.

“Hey, E.”

I turned around to see Kiara, staring between me and one of her mother’s paintings in the living room. She looked thin in her T-shirt and sweatpants. I would make her fit and healthy even if I had to learn how to cook Indian meals for her every day.

“Yeah, Bella?”

“I . . . I want to show you something I made before my . . . ” She took a deep breath and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, which must have escaped from her loose braid. “Before my mom died.”

“Of course, Kiara.” I smiled at her. “I’d love to see it.”

I took a shaky breath, looking down at the sketchbook, and glanced over my shoulder to find Kiara sitting on the edge of her bed, twiddling her thumbs in her lap.

"This is . . . beautiful, Kia," I heard myself mutter, looking down at the sketch.

It was my face. The strokes she made with a white and black charcoal pencil made me look more serious. Even my nose and eyebrows looked perfect in the sketch and my heart just melted looking at it. Kia made this forme. Damn, I never knew I was so special to her. I could just wonder how many hours it must've taken her to complete this. My eyes, my lips, my teeth, my hair, my ears, my stubble, the shadows on my face, everything was perfect.

When I turned around, her face flushed as she ducked. "Um, really?"

I put her sketchbook down on her desk and stepped toward her. Kiara looked up at me with wide eyes when I leaned down to kiss her. Tucking her hair away, I muttered, "I could show you how beautiful it is."And how beautiful you are.

Her brown eyes twinkled like cinnamon in coffee, and for a while, I just wanted to stare at them. But she pulled me down on top of her, capturing my lips in a heated kiss, tugging my shirt.

I had kept my distance with her even though we cuddled every night, but she had encouraged to have sex because it made her feel normal. I had taken it very slow and gentle and watched her cry after our release and held her close.

Kiara’s fingers pulled at my shirt, wanting to remove it. I chuckled deeply, throwing my shirt away, and stepped out of my jeans. I flickered my eyes at her and found her licking her lips as she stared at me hungrily, her nipples as hard as pebbles poking through the thin fabric of her T-shirt. She seemed hornier than me.

Moving a hand through my hair, I said, "Draw me like one of your French boys."

Kiara riveted her chocolate brown eyes at me and saw how serious I was. Laughter bubbled out of her throat as she squeezed her eyes shut and clutched her stomach, falling back on her bed. I smiled proudly at her. Making her laugh was one of the best things I loved doing often.

She snickered. "And you call me weird."

"God, I love that laugh of yours."

???

Looking beside me, I saw how beautiful she looked in the post-coital bliss. A thin sheet of sweat sheened both of our bodies, her cheeks flushed, and her braid had turned messy, hair escaping from the coils and her rubber band. I removed the elastic from her hair and ran my hand down the wavy locks.

"Hey." I tucked her hair away from her face. "You all right?"

Opening her eyes, she looked at me with so much strange intensity that I wanted to have sex with her again. But I held it. I let out a deep chuckle when she snuggled beside me. "I am more than fine."

I hummed aimlessly, touching her hair, and let my fingers glide through them while she rested in my arms. I could feel small tingles running down my body when her finger ran aimlessly on my chest, so gentle and soft with her head propped on my chest and her hair tickling my arm.God, I love this.

"You know what I think?" she asked after a few moments.

"What?"

She stirred and I raised my eyebrows when she straddled me. The tips of her hair brushed my face. Biting her lips, she gyrated her hips, making me pulse underneath her and my eyes widen at the soft, slick touch of her sex.

"Kiara," I breathed sharply when she eased herself on my head, my hands clutching her hips so tightly that I was sure I might leave some mark. But the way she licked her lips with her tongue, I didn’t think she cared much about it.

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