Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 106797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
“Let me help with that,” William murmured, sliding up behind me before moving the hair off my neck. His hand found the zipper at the back of my dress and he slowly guided it down, planting small kisses on my neck as he trailed it lower. I slipped out of the fabric, letting it hit the floor before turning and hooking my arms around his neck.
William’s eyes raked over me slowly and he shook his head. “You’re so beautiful.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
I didn’t have to fight hard to believe him anymore.
I half-expected him to take me right then and there, but he let me go long enough for each of us to dress in our pajamas before we crawled between our sheets. Only William’s bedside lamp illuminated the room as he propped himself on one elbow, eyes pensive.
“What are you thinking about over there?” I asked, quirking a brow. He ran his free hand through my hair with a lazy grin before swallowing hard.
“I got you something.”
He rolled, opening the small drawer on his bedside table before shutting it again softly. When he turned back to me, he held a box I recognized — the one my watch had come in when he gave it to me two years ago at the club.
“You know my watch still works, right?” I asked with a smile, propping myself up against the pillows. “I just ran the battery down. Again.”
William held the box out anyway and I took it, eying him curiously as I opened it. When I looked down again, it wasn’t a watch at all.
“Oh my God,” I breathed, eyes snapping to William. “What is this?”
It was a stupid question because I knew what it was. It was a ring — a beautiful ring, slender and gold with an eternity symbol that linked two tiny hearts together. My eyes flicked between it and William over and over.
“It’s a promise,” he finally said, reaching out to grab the box from my shaking hands. He removed the ring, setting the box to the side before his eyes found mine again. “That I’m here. That I’ll always be here, through your dark times and your light, shouldering whatever weight you can’t carry on your own. It’s a promise that I’ll always help you feel beautiful when you don’t on your own, that I’ll hold you when you need to cry and spin you in my arms when you need to celebrate.” We both laughed a little, tears brimming my eyes at the memory of him doing just that in the middle of the gym the day I hit my goal weight. “And one day, when we’re ready, I’ll replace it with a ring that promises forever, even though you don’t need it — not really. Because the truth is that you’ve had me since the day we met, and you already have my forever… if you want it.”
He held the ring out, eyes on mine, waiting. But I didn’t hesitate. I extended my hand, fingers spread wide, and he slipped it over the knuckle of the ring finger on my right hand with a sigh.
“Do you even have to ask?” I slid my hand into his, index finger pressing against the small tattooed circle on the inside of his wrist. He did the same, finding the matching circle on my wrist as I whispered what we both knew all along. “I want all of you, William.”
He answered me with a kiss, his hands finding my hair as he rolled over, my thighs framing his strong middle as he pressed me into the sheets. Sometimes he still kissed me like it hurt him, like he was afraid he’d hurt me, and this was one of those times. But eventually, the crease between his brows faded, each new touch and kiss erasing it slowly. He kissed me until I felt beautiful and I kissed him until he felt worthy, and we never cared how long it took to get us there.
I’ve always hated weight.
Before I met William, I hated the weight that crowded my body, making me feel inadequate in every aspect of my life. Then, when I first started training with him, he pushed me harder than anyone ever had. Whenever I thought I was finally rising to meet his standards, he would add more weight to my set, making me work harder, forcing me to find the motivation to push through.
And maybe that’s the thing about weight — though it hurts when we feel its added pressure on our lives, it only makes us stronger in the end. Looking at William now, I couldn’t imagine him without the weight that had shaped him. His past made him into the man I loved — no matter how scarred. He was the man who fixed me, who changed me, and who helped me carry my own weight when it grew too heavy to handle on my own.
I was beginning to realize that weight really wasn’t a bad thing, after all.