Chapter Twenty

 

BEAU UNLOCKS THE door to the hotel room and carries our bags inside. I haven’t stopped grinning since he’d slid that ring onto my finger, less than an hour ago, and neither has he. He drops the bags on the couch and walks towards me, taking me in his arms.

“I can’t believe you said yes,” he breathes, kissing my lips softly.

“I can’t believe you asked me on national television.”

“Well, better that goes viral than that damn picture of you kissing that country prick.”

I giggle and pop up on my toes, wrapping my arms around his neck. “You’re amazing,” I whisper before covering his mouth with mine. He kisses me back, his hands pulling my hips into his.

My heart races. Even after all these months, Beau and I have never had the opportunity to make love. For the majority of our relationship, I have been too sick to even think about it. Lately, we’d come close, but living in my father’s house made that hard. Beau’s apartment above the clinic is little more than a room, and we never spend any time there.

Now that I’m feeling better, and find myself alone in a hotel room with the man I can now call my fiancé, my virginity makes me nervous. I’d never made it past third base with a man. Before Beau, I’d only been on a couple of dates, always too focused on my work while I was in Nashville, and before that, nobody had ever asked.

Taking several steps towards the bed, Beau backs me up until the backs of my knees hit the mattress, and then he lowers me down. My breath catches in my throat as he places a knee on the bed and settles himself between my legs.

“I love you, Kins,” he whispers.

“I love you, too.”

He smiles at me, happiness shining from his eyes and his head lowers, his lips once again taking mine in a kiss that makes my head spin. I run my fingers up his back, enjoying the feel of his muscled body against mine.

When Beau’s fingers trail up my leg, slipping under the hem of my dress, my skin pebbles under his touch. Slowly he drags his hand up and over my hip, a deep rumble coming from his chest. His lips plunder mine in loving, but insistent kisses. My head swims with my need for him.

“God, baby. I want you so bad.” His voice is thick and raspy, making my heart race.

I reach for his shirt, and he lifts up a little, helping me to pull it over his head. I run my fingers over his skin, taking my time to commit every inch of him to memory. Beau’s fingers go to the back of my dress and I feel the zipper slowly come apart.

His hand skates my shoulder straps and he peels them down slowly. I’m not wearing a bra, and just before he exposes my breasts, I stop him. Suddenly, I’m not so sure about this. “I have scars,” I whisper, terrified of how terrible my breasts look.

“Hey,” he says, looking into my eyes. “I know you have scars, baby. And those scars are never something you should be ashamed of.” He peels my dress down, and I watch his face as he stares down at my breasts. Slowly, he leans forward and places tender kisses along the scars that run across the front of them, running all around my nipples. “Baby, these scars are beautiful. They mean that you survived.”

A tear slides down my cheek as I look up at this beautiful man that I love so much. He brings his lips down, covering my body, scars and all, with kisses, worshipping every inch. When our clothes are off and he finally slides inside of me, I finally feel like a woman again. A whole, healthy woman whose man loves her more than anything else in the world. I had kicked cancers ass.