Curvy Girls Can’t Date Soldiers by Kelsie Stelting

Fifty-Three

Nadira

My breath hitched,and my voice came out a whisper as I asked, “What is that?”

In response, he closed the gap between us and covered my mouth with his own. His hand gripped the nape of my neck, his fingers tangling into the curls at the base of my head like he had before.

My entire body responded, leaning into the hardness of his chest, the softness of his kiss. His mouth tasted sweet, but his touch sent shivers through me. Breathing didn’t seem necessary now, like all my life I’d been settling for oxygen instead of Apollo.

Tilting his head to the side, he deepened our kiss, and my hands moved of their own accord, circling around the breadth of his muscular shoulders. His broad hand flattened on my hip and moved to my thigh, which he hooked behind my knee to pull us closer together.

My heart stumbled and my stomach heated and feelings in me awakened that I’d never felt before. Kissing Apollo was a frenzy, a battle of want and need, savoring and consumption. I could have spent hours, days, in his embrace and still not have enough.

“Nadira,” he breathed my name, pulling apart and resting his forehead on mine. “Date me.”

His words caught me so off guard, I would have taken a step back if I weren’t already against the wall. If my thigh wasn’t in his hand. But his body enveloped mine, kept us in our own space. In this world where his touch sent shivers down my spine and his words commanded my heart.

“What?” I asked, my breath still coming in short gasps.

His jaw ticked as he nodded. “I want to know you. The real you, not the one you always try to hide.”

“What if...” I took a breath, biting my swollen bottom lip. “What if you don’t like what you find?”

A small smirk formed on his perfect lips. “What if I do?”

I couldn’t help a smile of my own. Or the heat creeping up my neck.

His lips pressed against my grin, and he said, “Is that a yes?”

I kissed him back and said, “That’s a definitely.”