Just One Look

“We’re leaving.”

“Can you slow down? I have short legs. I’m not a runway model.” He slows down, finally giving me a curious look.

When we make it to the blacked-out SUV, Roland is there. He opens the back door for us. I slip inside. Roman stops and talks to Roland for a moment before he gets in, slamming the door shut behind him.

“You’re driving me crazy.”

I gape at him. Did he really have the audacity to say that I’m the one who’s driving him crazy? Anger bubbles up inside of me. I think it’s a culmination of everything that’s happened up until this point.

“I’m driving you crazy?” I hiss. He reaches for me. He picks me up as if I weigh nothing, putting me in his lap until I’m left straddling him. My hands go to his chest to try to balance myself. My body reacts instantly, knowing exactly what this man can do to it. Traitor. “What is your problem? First you avoid me and now I can’t get an inch away from you.” Did he always smell this good?

“I’m sorry.” He puts his hands over mine. “The past five days have been hell without you.”

I stare into his eyes, seeing the remorse there. He does look tired. “How do you think I felt? The first time I remotely do anything with a man and he storms off, leaving me all alone and making me think I did something wrong.” I was so confused. And if I’m being honest, I was hurt. I thought he and I were finally getting somewhere that day.

“What! You were perfect. You did nothing wrong,” he growls. His hands tighten their hold on mine. “When we were done and I looked up at you…” He stops for a moment as if the memory pains him in some way. “You had tears in your eyes. I took it too far. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me,” he pleads. “I’ve been so scared that I can’t control myself around you.”

This man wants me so badly he thinks he can’t control himself around me. He stayed away in fear of hurting me. I suppose I should maybe know that with the whole blackmail thing. It’s kinda sweet in a screwed-up way.

“Oh.” I tilt my head, my shyness getting to me. “Those were like happy emotional tears,” I try to explain.

There is no missing the shock on his face. It only lasts a moment. He grabs my face, pulling me in. His mouth claims mine in a wild, needy kiss. For the first time in days the knot in my stomach loosens. I relax into him.

The truth is, being with him has made my life a million times better. All the stress and worries I always carry have been lifted off me. He took them all away and then went and took care of Grams too. My controlling, possessive husband is a little bit of a knight in shining armor.

“I’ve missed you so damn much.” He presses kisses all over my cheeks and then neck, his mouth going anywhere he can get it.

It’s nice to hear that he misses me. The only person who ever gave a crap about me is my grams. I’m really falling for this man. He’s breaking me down with his sweetness. Giving me things I crave deep inside.

I should have been happy he was avoiding me. Instead I was hurt and pissed. Might have been a touch horny too after I knew what it felt like when his mouth was between my legs. My body wanted more.

I want to tell him I missed him too. It’s on the tip of my tongue. How does it feel both right and wrong for me to miss him? Everything inside of me is a jumbled mess.

“Can we go home?” I ask.

“We can do anything you want, sweetheart,” he says before he’s kissing me again.

I kiss him right back, hoping we will be doing a lot more than that when we get back to the house.

11

Roman

I stand in the doorway of Ace's room. Fawn closes the book she’s reading him from the side of his bed. The kittens are fast asleep already.

“Do you need anything else, honey?” She pushes Ace’s hair off his forehead.

“No.” He lets out a yawn, his eyes falling closed. He fought the urge to fall asleep the whole book, wanting Fawn to finish reading it to him. He’s getting attached to her. I understand that more than anyone else.

“Okay.” She leans down, giving him a kiss on the forehead. “Love you,” she whispers to him. I want to grab the words and keep them to myself. Will she ever look at me with that softness in her face as she said those words? Even if she did, I don’t deserve them.

She stands, pulling the blanket over him. When she turns, she stops for a moment when she sees me. I step back out of the doorway so that she can go by. When we got home, all I wanted to do was drag her up to our bedroom, but Ace was on us the moment we walked in.