Roman (Raleigh Raptors 2)

“Hey boy,” I said to Walt, scratching between his ears as he raced to greet us. “I’m going to take him out.”

“I’m getting in the shower,” Teagan announced with a shaky smile and ran toward the guest room bathroom like her costume was on fire.

A shower wasn’t a bad idea since I was still covered in oil like I was about to climb into the ring for some old-school wrestling. I tried my best not to think about the fact that Teagan was naked at that very moment as I scrubbed myself clean. The bathroom mirrors were fogged up by the time I stepped out of the shower.

I wrapped a towel around my hips, then walked out of the bathroom to get dressed, rubbing another towel over my head.

Teagan stood in the middle of my bedroom, wearing only a robe.

“T?” I stopped dead in my tracks.

“You said you never go for the blondes because there’s only been one blonde you’ve ever wanted.” She fidgeted with the silk tie of her robe. Her hair was still wet from the shower, her heavy, Cleopatra-style makeup long gone.

“I did.” Shit. Why the fuck had I opened my mouth?

“Who is she?”

I blinked. “Sorry?”

“The only blonde you’ve ever wanted. Who is she?” She pressed her lips into a flat line.

“T…” This wasn’t just playing with fire. This was jumping into a fucking bonfire.

“Because I think I know,” she rushed. “But I don’t want to be wrong and then feel like a complete moron, especially since tonight is the first time I’ve felt sexy in…forever. So if I’m wrong, then I don’t want to ruin the way I feel right now.”

Could she hear my heart thunder? I could. The damn thing was as loud as a bass drum. I’d never been a chicken when it came to women. If I wanted someone, I told her, and generally we ended up in bed. But T wasn’t just someone.

“Roman?” Her eyebrows knit, and she was going to rip that tie clean through the little holders if she tugged on it anymore.

This was it. This was the moment I’d been avoiding…and longing for since I’d realized I was in love with her. The timing was wrong. The situation she’d just gotten herself out of was wrong. But it would be even worse if I let her walk out that door thinking I didn’t want her.

Crimson flushed from the deep-v of the robe and up her neck to stain her cheeks. “I mean, if I’m wrong, it’s okay. I know you usually go for the tall, leggy models who look like they’d fall over if you blew hard on them—”

“I go for anyone who doesn’t look like you.”

Her eyes flared as the words hung between us. “Why?” She finally whispered.

“You’re the only blonde I’ve ever wanted, and there’s no substitute for you.” My stomach flipped, and my entire body tensed, waiting for her verdict.

“You…want me?” She stared at me like she’d never seen me before.

“I’ve always wanted you.”

She swallowed, lifted her chin, and pulled on the robe’s tie. The knot slid free, and then she rolled her shoulders, sending the silk fluttering to the floor in a deafening whisper.

I nearly swallowed my fucking tongue.

She was naked. Wholly, and beautifully naked. Her breasts were heavy and lush, tipped with pale pink nipples that made my mouth water, and her ribs narrowed to the indent of her waist, only to flare to the fullness of her hips. I gripped my towel at the sight of that strip of dark blond hair between her thighs. She gave all new meaning to the word hourglass.

She wasn’t just gorgeous, she was perfect.

“Say something,” she whispered, her breasts rising and falling with each quick breath.

“God. Teagan.” My eyes ran up and down her frame again, memorizing each detail just in case this was the only time I got to see her like this. “You’re stunning.”

She smiled and came forward, keeping her eyes locked on mine as she reached for the towel in my hands.

Then her fingers traced the line of the towel at my hips. My abs tightened on reflex, and my swelling cock was no-doubt distorting the material, but I didn’t move. If I so much as lifted a finger, I’d be all over her.

“I want you,” she said softly, curling one finger between the towel and my skin without looking away.

Fuck YES. My jaw flexed with the effort it took to keep that thought to myself. “You’re going to have to be really explicit about what it is you want, T, because I’m not about to take this somewhere you’ll regret. You mean too much to me.”

She glanced down, watching her finger slide from one of my hips to the other. Her touch electrified every one of my nerve endings.

“I was hoping you might want to take me to bed.”