We finally made it home and had dinner. We were both starving after spending the evening with my mother and having nothing in between. We ate at the dinner table like usual but didn’t make conversation because we were both too hungry to say anything. We scarfed down our plates then loaded them into the dishwasher.
I dropped my jacket over the back of the couch and loosened my tie before I sat on the couch. I usually showered after I got home from work, but tonight I was too drained to care about completing my regular activities.
Rome sat beside me and kicked off her heels. She always massaged her feet because her shoes killed her feet, but yet, she continued to wear them. The stupidity drove me crazy sometimes. The only reason why I didn’t say anything was because she looked damn fine in those five-inch stilettos.
“Jackson is kind of a sweetheart,” she said quietly.
“Yeah. He tries to act macho, but he’s really a pussy.”
She sent me a glare because she didn’t care for my cold comment. “Calloway.”
When she gave me that no-bullshit attitude, I couldn’t help but respect her. No one else ever stood up to me, not even Jackson. “He has a big heart. He tries to hide it all the time, but it’s definitely there.”
“You’re both very sweet.”
That was debatable. Jackson and I both got off on whipping women, so we weren’t exactly Prince Charming.
“I think a real man wears his heart on his sleeve. I think a real man should love his mother. And I think a real man shows his feelings without caring what anyone thinks. Both of you are that way.”
“For the most part.” But we both possessed darker sides. If I could kill Hank and get away with it, I would. If I could have killed my dad before he’d had the chance to hurt my mother and me, I would have. Just because I hadn’t committed any sins didn’t mean I wouldn’t have, given the opportunity. I treated Rome with respect only because she demanded it. If she were a different woman, I would expect a perfect submissive or walk away. “With a few exceptions.”
“Well, I think you’re the greatest man I’ve ever known.” She held my gaze as she said it, showing her sincerity. The affection was in her eyes, the look she gave me countless times during the day. It was the same expression she gave me when we made love. I knew exactly what it meant—that she loved me.
I loved seeing that look.
“I think you’re the greatest woman I’ve ever known.” I leaned toward her and pressed my lips against her neck. The second my mouth was on her skin, my body flushed with heat. It burned my lips and made my mouth ache for more.
Rome’s body reacted to mine, and her hands touched me everywhere, moving up my arms until she reached the buttons of my shirt. She undid each one, popping them open until the shirt came loose. “Make love to me…” Her lips moved against my ear, her voice deep and seductive.
She never needed to ask me to do such a thing, but I loved hearing the demand anyway. I wanted my woman to want me as much as I wanted her. I wanted to give exactly what she wanted to take.
I moved her to the cushions of the couch and got her ready underneath me, not even bothering to take off all my clothes before I got inside her. My slacks and boxers were pulled over my ass, and my shoes were still on. Her panties were pulled to the side because there wasn’t time to remove them.
I shoved myself inside her, and that’s when the connection began. That exquisite alignment of heartbeats, the deep breathing we both shared, and the excitement that neither one of us could contain ran wild through both of us.
Now she was all I could think about.
And I was all she could think about.
15
Calloway
Jackson called me at work later that week. I assumed he wanted to tell me he would visit Mom more often, but that wasn’t how the conversation went.
“Do you think you could swing by and help me with a few things?”
I didn’t want to take Rome back in there again. When we’d dragged Jackson out of there, it was still awkward. There was no way we could both set foot inside that place and not think about what happened in the playroom. “Can’t we take care of this now—over the phone?”
“So, I’m supposed to read off everything to you?” he asked incredulously. “No, I’ve got more important shit to do.”
I rolled my eyes because I knew we were back to where we were. He was going to act like the conversation we had about Mom never happened. “How long is this gonna take? Can I leave Rome in the car?”