Secret Curves (Dangerous Curves Book 5) by Marysol James

known that Curtis was a big guy, that his muscles were clearly defined through his tight t-shirts… but nothing had prepared her for the reality facing her now. In the flesh, and half-naked, and gorgeous.
    His muscles were larger than she’d imagined, his body more primal, his tattoos pitch black. His chest and abs were solid steel covered with dark-blond hair and ink. He was nothing but raw power, and she saw now just how much he held himself back in day-to-day life, how tight of a lid he kept on his real, true strength. Curtis’ body was fierce and ferocious, and the fact that he’d touched her gently with this body was nothing but a mystery. And a miracle.
    “It’s – I’m…” She swallowed. “Is this a bad time?”
    “No.”
    She paused at his terse reply, wondered if this was a big mistake. Well, maybe it was, but she still had to ask. Whatever he said, she’d cope with it.
    “I – I went to Curves last night.” She bit her lip. “I talked to everyone there, and explained and apologized. Jax gave me some more time off.”
    Curtis nodded.
    “I hoped you’d be there,” she said hesitantly. “But Luke said you had the night off, and he told me to try here before seven a.m. He said you like to be here when you’re all alone.”
    Curtis regarded her. “Yeah.”
    “And I just – I wanted to….” She faltered. “I –”
    He stared at her, saw her distress. The shock of having her appear out of nowhere was slowly wearing off, and now he could take her in properly.
    The first thing he really noticed was that she looked good. Not back to her usual sass and spark, but definitely better. More rested and brighter. The ugly black circles under her eyes were gone, her hair looked thicker and shinier. He eyed her body in her baggy clothes and hoped she’d put on a few pounds. It looked like she had, but she was still way too goddamn thin.
    So yeah, she looked better, but she also looked scared and that made his whole massive frame clench up. Was she scared of him ? He was covered in scars, and his body was intimidating and unrefined, especially when he was punching the hell out of something. He wondered if she’d stood there and watched him let loose on the bag.
    “What?” He kept his voice low. “Tessa, what?”
    “I –” She took a deep breath, and set her coat down on a pile of mats. “I came to apologize to you. For how I spoke to you, and the things I said. For punishing you for helping me.” She looked down at her feet. “You and Gabi were the only ones who really saw how much trouble I was in, and you did something definitive about it, knowing how angry I’d be.”
    He waited, silent.
    “I’m sorry.” She gazed up at him now. “I’m sorry I was so awful to you… I’m sorry I said that I hated you. I never did.”
    “No?” Sweet relief moved through him.
    “No.” She hesitated. “And I – I wanted to ask you something.”
    “Go ahead.”
    “Did you mean what you said to me? At the hospital?” Tessa flushed. “About how you felt about me?”
    Curtis tilted his head at her. “I’m not taking back one thing that I said. I meant every single word of it.”
    “You did? You still do?”
    “Yeah.”
    “You – you love me?”
    “Yeah. I love you. ”
    “Curtis…” His name came out as a sob, and in two steps, he closed the distance between them. He stopped in front of her, not at all sure what he should do, what he could do. Would she let him touch her? God knows, he wanted to.
    Tessa stared up at him, longing for him to hold her, to touch her, just once . Her body had never, ever forgotten what it was like to be pressed close to Curtis Manning and here he was, all that muscle and strength just inches away. So near and yet so far, and all Tessa wanted was to fall in to him.
    “Why are you upset?” He raised his hand to stroke her golden hair, saw the dirty tape wrapped around his knuckles, dropped it again. He glanced down at his chest – covered in sweat and scars and