Page 106 of Last Letters to Ara
Theo kisses down my neck, before dragging his nose across my collarbone. “I could ask the same to you.”
I snort.
He freezes.
I freeze.
Why are we freezing?
Theo pulls back. “Why did you snort like I said something ridiculous?”
Oh.“Uh, because you kind of did.”
“What exactlywas ridiculous?”
Cool. Cool. Cool.He’s going to make me explain it. I look down at my fingers which I’m now wringing with the embarrassment that comes with ruining an incredible moment, for no other reason than feeling insecure.
“Ara. Look at me.”
I do.
“No, I meanreallylookat me.”
Ido.
Theo’s thick, dark hair is mussed in a wild, untamed way that sends heat flooding through me. His chest heaving, lips swollen, jaw feathering with restraint, and eyes full of dark need.
Forme.
And I suddenly get his point. I drive him crazy in the way that he drives me crazy. He finds me beautiful, maybe even…sexy.
Theo’s thumb brushes over my freckles, my nose, my lips. “You have the kind of beauty that people will try to pick apart because it’s everything they want. They’ll tell you its flaws when all they really want is to have what you have. And they never will. Your beauty isunobtainable.”
My insides, I swear they… sparkle.
Theo leans back in and kisses me, his lips proving that he meant every word and then, much to my horror, he pulls away, smoothing down my hair. “We should get to sleep.”
My body is not remotely convinced, still feeling as if it’s one touch away from exploding.
A moment later, instead of unzipping his pants, I’m unzipping my suitcase, trying to find the least ugly pair of pajamas that I brought. When I turn around, Theo is standing there having done the same thing. We stand there looking at each other, clutching our pajamas, with nowhere to go.
“You go first.” He clears his throat. “I’ll, uh, turn around to give you some privacy.”
I’m grateful for him as he turns around and does just that. Getting stripped down while he’s focused on kissing every inch of me is one thing, but getting undressed in front of him with the lights on and no other distractions is another thing entirely.
For whatever reason, I keep staring at his muscular back as I set my pajamas down on the bed to my right and begin to get undressed. I slide off my pants, laying them across the bed, and that’s when I notice he’sfidgeting, trying to focus on anything besides the fact that I’m standing right behind him, almost naked. Grabbing the hem of my t-shirt and pulling it over my head, my nipples harden as the awareness of being almost naked right behind Theo hitsme.
Unobtainable.The word he used to describe my beauty brushes over me, caressing every single insecurity from top to bottom, until there lies nothing but the overwhelming urge of wanting him to see what’s left in its path.
I take a step forward and tap him on the shoulder.
“You fini…” Theo trails off as he turns, eyes roaming over the deep red, lacy bra. The underwire gives me some lift, but with the sheer lace material and no padding, it’s all me, and if he looks closely, he can see everything that waits for him underneath.
Theo’s greediness glazes over my stomach and for the first time I don’t have the urge to cover it. It’s not perfectly flat, but it’s mine. His gaze reaches my hips which I’ve always wished were wider and curvier, but the way he’s looking at them, I realize they are everything and more. As he continues over my softest place and all the way down my legs, I fall in love with every inch of myself as I see the fire it ignites within him.
He sees all of me. He wants all of me. And I’m going to give it to him.
“Ara, I need to know something.”
