Page 54 of Apex of the Curve

I scrubbed my face, brushed my teeth, and stood in front of the mirror and stared at my reflection.

I had blond hair in crazy unruly curls around a too-round face. I liked my eyes, a vivid green, the outside ring of my iris ringed in jade smoke, but other than that, I felt I was wholly unremarkable to look at. Plain. Boring.

I sighed.

I didn’t know what Fenris saw in me, but it was nice. Nice to have someone to listen to me. Nice that someone cared. Nice that he was so genuine about things. Simple about them. So matter of fact.

There was something… different about Fenris.

He has absolutely no fucks to give,I told myself. That’s what it is.

The realization wasn’t exactly a stunner, but it was the truth. He didn’t sweat the small stuff. He didn’t care about the divorce, or the fact that I was basically financially ruined at this point. He didn’t seem to care either way if I kept my shop or lost it, just in how it affected me and my happiness, and I didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand it at all…

Why do you care about me? Boring, unimaginative, little me… the quiet girl, the unobtrusive girl.

How was it this man saw me when it felt like practically no one else did?

Two rapid knocks fell at the bathroom door and I jumped.

“Aspen? You good in there?” he asked and I realized I didn’t know how long I’d been standing here, staring at myself in the mirror.

“Yeah!” I called out. “Just a second!”

I opened the door after an intrepid and at once, cleansing breath.

“Hey, pretty girl,” he breathed as I looked up into those so-blue eyes of his.

“Hey, yourself,” I murmured.

“I’m going to take a minute to brush my own teeth and I’ll be in with you, that alright?”

“Yes, of course!” I said with a laugh. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Okay,” he said with a laugh of his own and a bob of his head. He stood aside so I could exit the bathroom and he could take my place.

“Two seconds,” he said with a wink and I smiled and nodded.

I let out a breath I hadn’t known I’d been holding when the bathroom door shut.

Shit. We were about to be alone, sharing a bed, and with all the kissing lately…

Are you seriously going to get cold feet and chicken out now?I asked myself harshly as I changed into my nightgown, suddenly feeling like it was more frumpy and less country chic. Like it was something my grandma would wear and not something someone my age should be wearing, never mind how comfortable it was.

I jumped and shrieked slightly when his hand fell on my shoulder in a light touch. I had all of the things I’d worn that day gathered in my arms, about to dump them into a trash bag I’d brought for my dirty clothes. Instead, they went everywhere. I whirled to make sure nothing went on to or over any of the lit candles, but no, we were good except for the frantic beating of my heart.

He grasped me lightly by the shoulders and turned me to face him, his hands warm, strong, and rough with callouses against my skin.

“It’s all good,” he said softly, his voice deep and soothing. “I got you.”

It was a strange sort of thing to say when he’d been the one to startle me so, but at the same time, it was the right thing to say.

I looked up at him and he drew me in, putting his arms around me and holding me tight. I closed my eyes and laid my head on his chest and just soaked it in – the warmth, the security, the way he just felt so good against me, and I against him.

He held me like that for countless seconds that probably dragged on to minutes and only shifted once I let out a sigh of contentment, my shoulders and back muscles easing when I hadn’t even realized I’d held them tense.

He was so warm and alive beneath my hands as I wrapped my arms around his trim waist and I was keenly aware of how little was between us by way of clothing – just my nightgown and panties, his black boxer briefs…

He smelled so good. Like the outdoors – all clean air, damp earth, and rich wood. Like the mountains smelled when you stood at the edge of the river or falls. I closed my eyes and breathed him in, letting him hold me, and for one brief moment, I left it all behind and just lived fully in the moment.

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