SOPHIA
Istretch my legs as I wake up and feel Roman’s arm tighten around me. It’s easier to bury my face in his chest and stroke his side than open my eyes. He makes a low sound in his throat, and my lips slowly turn up.
Last night felt like a lot more than sex. Sure the first round was hot and needy like it almost always is with Roman, but that second time … he’d been so gentle. He’d given me control, allowed me to kiss, to tease, to hold him down, and it only made our sex more intimate. To the point, I don’t really want to call it sex.
It was much more than that. But I can’t think about sifting through those soft, warm emotions yet. I can’t deal with my heart thudding heavy and strong in my chest. I have a father to take care of, a job to do, and I need to get my brain back together.
“Bambina.” Roman murmurs as his lips press to the top of my head, and he pulls me closer to him. When I don’t answer, he brushes his fingers through my hair.
Maybe if I keep breathing heavy, if I don’t answer, he’ll just assume I’m asleep. Roman lifts my chin anyway and kisses the spot between my eyebrows, then my nose. Before he can get to my lips, I draw back.
I cover my mouth with my hand. “I haven’t brushed yet.”
“I don’t care. Farei qualsiasi cosa per te.” He tugs at my wrist, and I give in. I don’t know if it’s the Italian he’s using, the fact I can’t resist him, or that little jump my heart just did.
His eyes churn as he leans towards me, and I can feel his breath pick up. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Roman was nervous. He swallows and glances from my eyes to my lips before leaning into me. His lips brush mine, then he kisses me again, deeper as he strokes my back and cups my cheek in his hand.
When his tongue teases mine, I pull away and cover my mouth again. He chuckles and rolls onto his back as I hop to the bathroom. The last thing I want is for him to have a memory of my morning breath. If my breath smells bad, then my mouth has to taste bad too, right?
“What did that mean?” I ask once I finish scrubbing my teeth and checking my breath.
“You should study Italian more if you want to know all my secrets.” He teases.
I see him getting on boxers and grabbing his clothes as if I wouldn’t wash them. He treats me to a smile and kisses my temple. “Ready for work today?”
“I will be in a few minutes.”
“Good. Then I’ll see you there.” Another soft kiss on my lips.
My eyes follow him as he heads out. I blink a few times and shake my head. No, Roman has his sweet moments. Nothing’s changed. I’m just reading into it to give my mind something to do. That’s all.
I pull on an emerald colored top and white slacks. After stepping into heels and finishing my makeup, I head downstairs—just another day at the office before I can spend some time with dad. I turn my phone over in my hand, still not sure if I should tell Mom what’s going on.
The last thing I want is for her to fly out here and demand I go home – as if I’m some sixteen-year-old who can’t take care of herself and doesn’t have commitments. I wouldn’t go. And she can’t legally make me. She can’t even use guilt with Dad in the situation he’s in, but it’s probably better to avoid the fight.
I’ll decide later.
Holden greets me in the kitchen and kisses my cheek as he rubs my hips. “I’m going to see your dad today. Would you like to come?”
“Of course.” I pull out a bagel for him. “How has work been since we’ve been back?”
He shrugs and I don’t expect anything more. I make us each a bagel and hand it to him. He looks at it a moment, then smiles. “Honestly, it’s strange being back in my room all the time. I miss our adventures in Italy.”
“We can still have plenty of adventures here. New York has a lot to offer if you leave the house.” I tease him. “We could see if there are any markets going on, or we could just walk around time square at night.”
“I’ll think about it.” He glances down at my knees.
I know he’s thinking of when I was grabbed in Italy. But as long as he’s there, I know I’m safe. I rub his chest. “I wouldn’t walk around here without you either, Holden. Plus, I love seeing you in guard dog mode.”
He swats my ass as he chuckles.
Nick scoops me up to take me to work and follows me into my office, reading something off of his phone in terms of personnel changes that we need to make and how that’s going to affect some of the emails I need to send out.
“You’re not the one that does the firing, but I want to make sure that we have them marked properly when it comes to payroll and their security clearance so everything follows through the way it should.”
“Okay. I don’t think I’ve done that before, so I might need some help.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” He pats my hand gently, then his fingers stroke over my wrist.
We stand in my office for a minute, just holding hands while he considers something. I clear my throat. I can manage one day in the office actually being professional for the first time, right? Not that it’s as fun, but ….
“How are you?” He asks, pinning me with his gaze. “Really? I know that you haven’t really had much time to yourself since we’ve been home.”
“I had the whole first night to myself and that was awful. How do you get your brain to stop when it just wants to see every bad possibility?” I sit on the edge of my desk.
“Me, or people in general?”