CHAPTER 294: SELF-CONSCIOUS

Abigail felt a lump in her throat. And she turned fully to face him. Their eyes met, both of them breathing a little faster now.

"Is the door locked?" she asked in a slightly cracked voice.

"Yes. But I could confirm," Jamal said, his voice husky.

"Do Tom and Lucy know you’re sleeping here?"

"Yes," he said again. "Lucy said she gave Josh a separate room so I could share yours when I stayed over."

Her cheeks turned pink. "Does that mean... they expect you to sleep here? With me?"

Jamal chuckled awkwardly. "Something like that."

He got up and walked over to the door, checking the lock again just to make sure. When he turned back, she was watching him quietly.

"Can I ask something?" she said as he lay down again, facing her.

"Sure. Anything."

"Were you ever tempted to be with someone else... all these years?" She asked softly, holding his gaze.

Jamal’s smile faded a little. He took a slow breath. "Why? If I say yes would that affect the way you feel about me?"

He could see the corners of her mouth twitching like she was trying not to smile. "How could it? I don’t think anything could affect that right now. So, were you?"

"After being heartbroken twice, the last thing on my mind was being with someone else. And I was too busy building the company... and trying to distract myself from thinking about Dawn and Abigail. So, no. I wasn’t."

Her eyes softened. "So you never even kissed anyone but me?"

"Never," he said. "You?"

"Same."

"You mean you were heartbroken twice and building a company, too?" He teased.

She giggled but didn’t respond. Instead, she leaned forward, and kissed him. The kiss was soft and very slow as she explored his lips.

Her fingers traced the line of his jaw before slipping under his shirt, exploring his warm skin.

Jamal groaned when she brushed her hand over his sensitive nipples, her touch curious and stimulating.

"What are you doing?" he murmured, voice low and hoarse against her lips.

She smiled slightly. "Let me. I want to worship your body. Think of it as a symbol of my gratitude and devotion to you. Don’t move."

He lay back, watching her as she kissed his skin, his shoulders, his chest, his stomach, his nipples. His hand reached for her, but she stopped him gently.

"Just stay still," she whispered. "Let me."

But when she reached for his shorts, Jamal’s eyes flew open. He caught her hands and smiled. "No. It’s my turn. Roll over."

She pulled back, shaking her head, kneeling on the bed. "But I’ve not even done anything."

"You’ve done enough, Dawn. For now at least. If you keep touching me then I’m not sure I’d be able to hold back."

"I didn’t ask you to hold back," she said, and he chuckled.

"I don’t mean hold back in that manner. I mean I might release and..." he trailed off with a laugh when color flooded her face.

"Oh!"

"Yeah," he murmured. Jamal sat up slowly, his eyes tender as he reached for her top to take it off.

She pulled away from his reach. "I don’t want to take off my top."

"Why not?" he asked softly, a frown etched between his brows.

She looked away. "I... I my stomach don’t look pretty. I have stretch marks. From the pregnancy. I don’t like showing them. I can take off my top if we turn off the lights."

His eyes softened. "No. I want to see them," he said.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "I don’t want you to. I don’t think you should," she said, not wanting him to find her less desirable.

"Yes, I do," he said gently, moving closer. "You can trust me, Dawn. It’s me, Jamal."

At that, her eyes fluttered shut as he unbuttoned her top, his fingers were slow and careful. When the fabric fell away and the pale marks on her skin showed, Jamal leaned forward and pressed his lips to them, one kiss, then another.

"I love them," he said softly. "I’ve always thought our abdomens looked too plain. They look like empty canvases. Thankfully, Josh left his little art on you. I think it’s perfect like the rest of you."

Abigail laughed through her tears. "You’re saying nonsense."

"I mean it," he said, smiling against her skin. "You’re perfect. Every inch."

He laid her back down and spent time just kissing her belly, his hands tracing her sides like he was learning a sacred language written on her skin.

She giggled softly. "Is that all we’re doing tonight?"

"Yes," he said, brushing her hair back. "I want you to become used to me seeing you this way. Let’s just get comfortable being naked this way first. I’ll get to know your body and you can do the same with mine."

"But we’re not entirely naked yet," she teased.

"Let’s get naked then," he said with a grin as he tugged off her pajama pants.

Abigail gasped in surprise, then laughed, embarrassed at being completely naked that way.

She watched as Jamal slid off his shorts. When the two small packets dropped on the bed, Jamal quickly tried to hid it but not before Abigail saw it.

Her lips twitched with amusement. "You came prepared, didn’t you?"

Jamal laughed. "Tom warned me not to get his aunt pregnant under his roof. I had to take precaution."

She gasped, covering her face. "Jesus! He actually said that?"

"Lucy too," Jamal said, still laughing. "She said to keep it down."

Abigail groaned. "I guess that was the reason your ears were red earlier? Why are they all so blunt?"

Jamal chuckled. "You’ve seen nothing yet," Jamal said, grinning as he lay beside her again.

He kissed her belly softly. "From now on, this is my favorite part of your body. Don’t ever hide it again from me. If you ever want to clear it for yourself because you don’t want it, that’s fine. But don’t feel uncomfortable or want to clear it because of me. I love it."

She smiled, her eyes warm. "Actually, I could have gotten products to clear it all these while in Husla, but I didn’t want to. Josh was away and I loved it because it reminded me that I carried a life in there. I just think it might be ugly to others."

"It’s not ugly to me, and I think my opinion should matter most since I’ll be the one seeing it more than anyone else, right?" He asked, and she smiled.

"I guess so."

"Good. So leave it be," Jamal said, kissing her belly button.

"You’re so weird, Jamal," Abigail whispered, her heart swelling with love for him.

He smirked. "How would you know if I’m weird or not? I’m your first and only lover, am I not?"

She giggled, "Speaking about firsts, do you remember our first time?" She asked, and soon they were both lying there naked and laughing softly, unashamed as they talked in whispers, remembering their first time together.