I’ve seen women of all different shapes and sizes throughout different stages of their pregnancies, and the majority of them had stretch marks. Aideen even got them, but I never thought for a second how they would make me feel about my changing body. It turned out they made me feel bad.
Really bad.
“Look at me, baby,” Ryder murmured.
I did, but it was during that moment that big fat tears fell from my eyes and splashed onto my cheeks.
“I love how you look, but do you think I married you because of your body?” he asked as he placed his hands on my cheeks and used his thumbs to wipe away my fallen tears.
“No,” I sniffled.
My husband leaned down until his forehead touched mine. “I love your body, but I married you because your soul matches mine... and because I love you more than life itself. Our looks will change over time, but our souls won’t. I will always love you, and I will always want you no matter what you look like. Do you want to know why?”
I didn’t want to know… I needed to know.
He reached out and gripped my towel, and I closed my eyes when he tugged on it. I released my grip and felt it fall away from my body and for cool air to quickly replace it. I gasped when I felt a fingertip gently run over my left nipple. I opened my eyes and found Ryder’s gazed locked on my breasts, his hunger for me evident in his grey eyes.
“These breasts are going to feed my child,” he murmured, then dropped his hand down to my thighs before slowly sliding it up to my stomach. “This body is growing my baby, and I’ll be damned if you don’t know how sexy that is or how stunningly beautiful each mark is. We created a life together, but you are the one who single-handedly brings that life into our world, and I will forever be in awe of you for that.”
“Ryder,” I rasped as more tears fell.
“They aren’t stretch marks.” He smiled affectionately. “They’re service strips because you’ll earn every single one of them growing our baby and bringing him into the world.”
I laughed through my tears and threw myself at my husband, and he chuckled as he wrapped his arms tightly around me.
“I love you so much,” I said into his chest.
I felt him kiss the top of my head. “I love you too, darling.”
I gave him a big squeeze.
“You have made me feel so much better,” I admitted.
“I’m glad,” Ryder replied. “You should feel as beautiful as you are.”
I hugged him tighter.
“You know,” he murmured into my hair. “I have stretch marks too.”
I pulled back with a gasp. “You lie.”
“I do not.” Ryder chuckled. “I have loads of them; they’re just faded.”
“Where are they?”
“Behind my knees, on my biceps, and on my inner thighs. I used to be really skinny when I was a kid, Bran, so when I started working out and gaining muscle, my skin stretched and I got stretch marks. It happens to everyone, not just pregnant women or people who are overweight.”
“Show me,” I demanded.
With a grin, Ryder’s hands went to his belt buckle, and he began to undo it. He slowly, painfully slowly, popped the button on his jeans and lowered the zip. He pushed the jeans down to his knees and turned his leg to the right, showing me his inner thigh. I hunkered down, pushed up the hem of his briefs, and stared at Ryder’s stretch marks. Granted, they were just a bit lighter than his skin colour, but he actually had them.
“How have I not noticed them before?” I murmured aloud as I used my fingertip to trace the mark.
“Because my dick is right next to them,” Ryder replied nonchalantly.
I laughed and swatted at his thigh, causing him to jump back away from me.
“Never slap me close to my dick,” he said, his tone firm. “You scared me.”
I grinned as I stood up. “You’re scared of me?”
“Are you kidding?” he asked, his eyes focusing on mine. “From the first moment I met you, you have terrified me.”
“Why?” I asked, shocked.
“Because,” he said with a small shrug, “I knew you were different, and I knew you had the ability to wiggle your way into my life and set up camp for the long haul.”
I puffed out my chest with pride, and it caused my husband to laugh.
“I knew I’d marry you, you know?” he said softly, brushing strands of hair from my eyes. “From that first night in Darkness.”
“Get out,” I joked.
“I’m serious,” he pressed. “It was an instant reaction that I didn’t want to be without you. You made a hell of an impression, Sweetness.”
“Because I had sex with you?”
“Because you stuck around after we had sex,” Ryder clarified. “I’ve never had much to offer a woman other than my body, but then you came along, and you stuck around because you liked me for me, not because of my abs or face.”