Perfectly Imperfect(81)

“I think it’s time for you to realize you will never be alone again, Willow. Together, we go, but it’s your show, and I promise you that I will let you lead. I won’t take this away from you because I can tell you really believe you need it. I’m there to be silent strength if you need it. But I will not let harm come to the woman I love. I vow to you that I will only step in if I feel it’s necessary for your safety. But please don’t ask me to stay behind.”

“Okay,” I comply; leaning forward, I drop a soft, closed-mouth kiss to his lips. “Thank you. I know it isn’t fair to you that I’m asking you to push aside every instinct you have to protect me, but I think a little part of me needs you to see I’m no longer afraid to actually live. I’m happy, and to be free of the fear and shame I had been trapped in, I have to be the one to fight it back.”

“God, Willow. I see it every day. In every blinding smile you freely give. Present in each take-charge, confident sway of your hips. It’s in every single breath you take.”

His words ease the trepidation I had when I started this conversation. Not in the path that I felt I needed to take, but because I know and understand just how immeasurable it is that he’s giving me something that will mentally pain him to allow. I’m ready for this, to shut the book of my past life and move on. Move on and be worthy of not just his love, but also my own.





KIRBY ARRIVED WHEN KANE AND I were enjoying a heated kiss. The kind that is just seconds away from turning into naked bodies and sweaty skin. Thank God, it wasn’t Eddie. One look at Kane’s naked torso and he would have gone insane. Completely insane.

Eddie’s flight was delayed, so he would be joining us later. I can’t wait to see him after being away for so long. We’ve talked on the phone plenty, but not enough. His time difference in Europe made the chats we did have too short for my liking.

One thing he’s made perfectly clear though is that he’s beyond thrilled with how things have turned out. I know a lot of that has to do with the change he’s heard in my voice over the last almost two months, but I think a little part of Eddie’s happiness is knowing that the one man we had claimed as unattainable has stolen my heart … just as I have his.

“Are you all packed?” Kirby asks and stuffs a handful of popcorn in her mouth.

I nod but keep my attention on the television we had been watching for almost two hours. True to form, girls’ night is in full swing. The wine is flowing, nails have been painted, and our skin exfoliated. I decided to skip the mud masks that we would normally end the beauty portion of our night with because, let’s face it, there is nothing sexy about being covered in drying mud as it cracks all over your skin.

Kane skipped our pampering but sat, drank, and laughed with us. Well, until we had a brilliant idea to turn on this movie. He hasn’t been shy about his dislike for our feature film of the evening. I hear him grumble again, but I still don’t look away. I blindly raise my wine glass to my mouth and take a hearty swig to ease the dryness in my throat.

“This acting is almost as bad as a porn,” he criticizes.

Kirby laughs at Kane’s complaint.

“You are not wrong, but I think it’s safe to say that no one is actually watching this for the acting. I mean, look at the way Channing moves those hips,” Kirby responds, making a clucking sound with her tongue. “Who is that hunk dancing with him?”

I clear my throat. Watching this scene between Channing and Twitch is making me way too hot and bothered. I imagine Kane doing the things I’ve been watching, and the thoughts of him spinning me around while grinding on top of me, in me—heck, all over me—is making my body heat to impossible levels.

“Twitch,” I respond, my voice betraying the cool and calm I had been trying to fake.

“Who?”

Turning my eyes from the television before I attack Kane and beg him to strip for me, I look at Kirby before addressing her question.

“Twitch, I forget his real name. He was on Dancing with the Stars, no … the other one, what was that called?”

“So You Think You Can Dance,” Kane offers, and I turn to look at him. He gives me a knowing smile, and I feel my face heat. “He actually was in a few movies before that show made him better known. I don’t know a lot about him, but I think he’s choreographed some of those dance movies too. Last I saw, he had been doing a lot on Ellen.”

“What he said,” I tell Kirby and smile when Kane throws his head back and laughs, reaching out to pull me to his side.

“Well, wherever he’s from, he’s just as delicious as Channing.”