Nerves consumed me after our last class. Roman said he wanted to kiss again. And often. Did he mean right now? Where would we go to have some privacy?
“Hey,” he greeted me
“Hey.” For the first time since we met I felt shy and unsure around him. I ended up staring at his feet.
“Juliet? Is everything okay?” The concern laced with his question drew my attention to his face. The confusion and uncertainty swirling inside me seemed to be reflected in his eyes.
“I’m fine.”
“Ready to head home?”
Not really. I wanted to go somewhere I could be alone with him, but I wasn’t sure how to float the idea.
“Can we walk through the park?” It would take us half a mile out of our way, but it would give us time together.
“Planning to do some bird-watching?” he teased.
“Not really.” A nervous smile made my lips twitch.
“Sure. Let’s go.”
The grounds behind the school backed right into the park and we took the well-worn trail up over the first small hill separating the two places. Lots of kids walked home this way. Usually to hide out and smoke or ambush other kids. I never went home this way because it didn’t seem safe. But with Roman I felt completely protected.
As we entered the deep grove of trees surrounding the park, Roman slipped his warm, rough fingers around mine.
A dizzying rush of warmth spread through me. The contact was so simple but felt so right.
“How was your day?” he asked quietly as we kept walking.
“Not as good as my morning.”
He stopped, turned, and stared at me. “Juliet.” So much longing colored his voice, I leaned closer and pressed my hand against his chest.
His eyes closed briefly, then he seemed to make a decision. He gently nudged me off the path, into a cluster of trees. Our bags hit the ground with thuds muted by layers of leaves and pine needles.
I looped my arms around his neck and his hands threaded into my hair. Our lips met and fire raced over my skin.
A groan ripped out of him and he lifted me, moving us until I was trapped between a tree at my back and his hard chest against mine.
“Roman.” Without thinking, my hands skated under the hem of his T-shirt and he moaned into my mouth.
“I love the way you touch me and say my name,” he whispered against my lips.
“Roman,” I said again. My fingers tugged at his shirt. I had no idea what I was doing, I just moved on instinct, want, and need. To be closer to him. Skin on skin.
He stripped off his shirt and my breath caught. He was beautiful. Muscular, strong, but scarred. “What happened?” I asked, tracing my fingers over faded white and red lines.
“Nothing I want to talk about.” He glanced down as if seeing the scars for the first time in a long time. “One day I want to cover them up with some ink.”
“What kind of tattoos do you want?”
“Haven’t decided yet.” He bent down to kiss me again and I tipped my head back, offering myself.
He kissed and nipped at my neck all the way to a spot behind my ear that made me dizzy with desire. His thumbs brushed against my sides, under my jacket and shirt. The urge to have his hands on my bare skin made me reckless. Pinned between him and the tree, I struggled for leverage to take my jacket off, then tugged my shirt up over my head.
Roman stared at me in shock and I hesitated. What was I doing? How far did I want this to go?
Then his lips were on mine again and I stopped questioning the moment.
Slowly, almost reverently, he skimmed his palms up my sides, over my back, and finally cupped my breasts.
I didn’t own any fancy underwear like Vienna or the other girls in my gym class. But by the hungry look in Roman’s eyes, I don’t think he minded the plain, white, basic cotton bra one bit. His thumbs brushed over my nipples. A zap of electricity shot straight through me and my head fell back, lazily rolling to the side.
I’d never felt this way before. Wild, but safe in Roman’s arms.
“Juliet?” he whispered.
He dipped his head low, kissing the swell of my breast peeking over the top of my too-small bra. His tongue gently teased over my nipple straining against the cotton.
“Roman.” My hands dug into his hair. I wanted so much more. He answered my desperate grip by moving to my other breast, gently biting at my nipple.
“Oh my God.” Tingles of pleasure flooded my body from that simple nip.
With great reluctance, he slowly dragged himself away from my breasts and stood straighter, peering down at me.
He opened his mouth to say something and since I sensed it was something I didn’t want to hear, I hooked my hand behind his neck and pulled him toward me for another kiss.
I wasn’t ready for this to end.
Fourteen
Roman
Gone. My brain had gone completely feral. The need to claim Juliet right this second beat through my blood. My body demanded it.
She kissed me with the same determined passion. I rolled my hips and my painfully hard cock nudged the warmth straight between her legs.
Heaven.
I was convinced it was behind that denim.
The wind rustled the trees around us and a few splatters of water from the earlier storm rained down. A cooler breeze swirled around us. It reminded me that we couldn’t continue down this path.
“Juliet, baby, stop.”
She tightened her legs around my waist and I groaned. I was two seconds from shredding her jeans and sinking inside.
I cupped her cheeks and kissed her lips one last time before pulling back for good.
“We can’t,” I whispered.
For one thing, even though the area I’d brought her to was secluded, we were still in a public park where anyone could stumble on us. I didn’t want to take that chance.
There was also the fact that I didn’t have a condom. I’d encountered enough pregnant girls in foster care to know I didn’t want to be the kind of asshole who knocked-up his high school girlfriend. Especially since I had no way to provide for Juliet.
Yeah, I was thinking that far ahead.
A couple of the group homes I’d been in, the counselors would hand out condoms on the sly. Others preached abstinence only. You can guess which ones had the higher rate of teen pregnancies. I had been at mine long enough to think of at least two counselors who might look the other way.
Fuck, I was harder than a damn rock.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Why are you sorry?” Please tell me she doesn’t regret this already.
Pink bloomed over her chest, creeping up her neck. She lowered her feet to the ground and leaned over to grab her T-shirt. “I don’t know what came over me.” She ducked her head and slipped on her shirt. “I don’t usually…I’ve never done this before.”
She peeked up at me, searching for a reaction and I tried not to beat my chest like a proud gorilla.
“I don’t usually either.” Maybe some guys wouldn’t admit that, but I didn’t care. I wanted total honesty with Juliet.
Her mouth twisted in a “yeah right” smile. I leaned down and kissed her before whispering in her ear, “I think I’ve been waiting for you.”
I wasn’t deliberately trying to come up with lines just to get in her panties. Around her, my mouth seemed to open and whatever was in my head or heart poured out.
Her disbelieving smile softened, but something painful flashed in her eyes. A memory maybe. Whatever it was had nothing to do with me. I wouldn’t push her now, but I wanted to know what bothered her so I could fix it.
I handed her the bra she’d left discarded on the ground and watched fascinated as she secured it without removing her T-shirt. When she finished, she stared down at her tits and adjusted them, which didn’t do a damn thing to calm the erection she’d given me.
To keep myself from molesting her anymore this aft
ernoon, I bent down and scooped her jacket and my shirt off the ground.
When we were finally dressed, I led her out of the trees and back on the path toward her house.
“I’m sorry. Do you get in trouble if you’re late?” she asked.
I captured her hand and tugged her closer while we walked.
“Yeah, I can get in trouble. It’s kind of like being in prison with just enough freedom to know you’re not really free.”
“Roman.”
The sadness in her voice stopped me. I turned and faced her, distressed to see tears shining in her eyes.
“It’s okay, Juliet,” I tried to reassure her. “It’s only temporary. I just need to make it through this phase in my life to get to the next one.”
“You’re so brave. And clever.”
I didn’t feel worthy of being called either of those things, but her mouth tipped from sad to happy which was good enough for me.
“What happens if you get in trouble?” The note of fear in her voice proved she was the clever one in this relationship.
I blew out a breath. “Anything from getting demoted to level one which means round-the-clock supervision to being removed and sent to a stricter home.”
“You’ve already moved around a lot, right?”
“Yup. They prefer to ambush you at night when you’re not expecting it.” I tried to keep my tone light and teasing, but my stomach churned with so many memories of being dragged out of bed and given fifteen minutes to shove my shit in a garbage bag. I didn’t share those depressing flashbacks because she seemed to have enough of her own sadness. I wanted to be the one to shield her from the bad in the world. Not make her aware of even more depressing situations.
“That’s awful.”
I shrugged like I didn’t care, which after years of convincing myself, sometimes I actually believed. “It sucks, but whatever.”
I don’t think she was fooled by cool demeanor, but she didn’t press me any further.
“Do you have a roommate?”
I chuckled. “Yeah, he’s in middle school though. I call him Pip. He’s a crazy-talented artist, but super shy.” Actually, poor Pip was probably wondering where the fuck I was, worrying if he’d have to fend off the bigger bullies in the house all by himself.