Renegade Path

His happy grin chased away my doubts. “We can do anything you want at our wedding.”

“Oh, in that case, I want to get married on top of a mountain at sunrise.” I rattled off some other outrageous scenarios and Roman agreed to each and every one.

“Are you planning to spoil me and let me have my way with everything?” I teased.

“You deserve to be spoiled.” The smile slid off his face, replaced with raw desire flickering in his eyes. “I’ll take over when you need me to.”

“That sounds ominous.”

His predatory look only intensified. “I’ll always take care of you, Juliet.”

I tsked at him. “We promised we’d take care of each other.”

“I meant something slightly different.”

He pulled me tight to his body and the hardness pressing into me left no doubt of his intentions.

A flutter of awareness stirred in my belly. “Are you hungry? I made some appetizer-type foods and mixed up this punch recipe I found.”

“Prom food?”

“I wanted you to have the full experience.”

He threw his head back and laughed. My favorite sound in the world. Roman’s happiness.

“All right then, give me the full experience.”

I led him into the kitchen and fixed him a plate of finger food. Stuffed mushrooms, tiny macaroni and cheese rounds and spinach puffs.

“These are so good.” He grabbed a few more stuffed mushrooms and took a seat at the kitchen table. “Come sit with me. I can’t believe you made all this.”

I had made most of it from scratch. Only the spinach puffs had come frozen from a box.

“Be right there.” I poured him a glass of fruity red punch from a sparkling bowl I’d found in the pantry. Not knowing if he’d be tested for alcohol, I hadn't spiked it.

I set my own plate on the table and handed him his glass. “It’s virgin punch.”

“Good. I’m already drunk on you.” A slow, simmering smile curved his lips. “And you need to be on your game.”

Too startled by the second part of his statement, I didn’t have a chance to bask in the first. “I do, huh? What are you planning to do to me?”

His sexy expression melted into seriousness. “Whatever you want me to do.”

A thrill shot down to my toes. I popped a mushroom in my mouth and thought carefully about my answer.

“What if I want everything?”

He sipped his punch, watching me over the rim of the glass.

“Then I’ll give you everything.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Roman

Things were moving faster than I expected. But it felt right. I flicked a glance at the clock behind Juliet. We had exactly three hours before I needed to be back at the school.

“Roman.” Her soft, husky voice stirred up a storm inside me. “Will you come upstairs with me?”

I practically knocked my chair over in my eagerness to say yes. After a breath, I held out my hand. “Show me the way.”

Every step shook me to my core. We were about to change everything. I’m not sure why I was so sentimental. I just knew that after tonight, our futures would be forever bound together.

“This is my room,” she said, pushing a door at the end of the hallway open. As I’d guessed earlier, several candles were lit, throwing soft, dancing light over the space.

“You left all these candles unattended?” I teased.

“I was distracted.”

I pushed her hair off her shoulder and kissed her neck. “What distracted you?”

“You.”

“Were you planning on bringing me up here?”

She shivered under my touch. “Is that wrong?”

Some people might think so. Might think we were too young. Or she was too young and I was wrong for her. But fuck them.

We were the same age. Had both endured a lifetime of heartaches and disappointments. We understood each other better than anyone else. We belonged together. My need for her was stronger than finally getting off inside a girl. I loved her like I’d never loved anyone in my life.

I would never love anyone the way I loved Juliet.

How could that be wrong?

Except for one tiny snag. The only thing that made me consider waiting.

“Are you sure?” I glanced away. “I can’t stay, Juliet. If we do this…I want to stay with you all night. Leaving feels wrong.”

She cast a look at me over her shoulder. “How long until you’ll be able to do that?”

Too long. Way too damn long.

I didn’t have to say it. She knew.

“I won’t feel abandoned or used, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Hell, she could voice my concerns better than I could.

I skimmed my hand over her cheek. “I love you, Juliet.”

She stared up at me with sincere, unblinking eyes. “I love you too, Roman. I want to be with you forever.”

That one statement soothed my soul. Every awful thing I’d endured in my life was worth it to bring me to this moment. With this girl. “You’re already the center of my world. You know that, right?”