by Katee Robert
She loved every single second of it.
She was the reason he’d lost control.
Allie clung to him, rising in time with his strokes. “I should give you head more often.”
“Every single goddamn day.” He kissed her, which was just as well because she didn’t have a response to that. Every day sounded a whole lot like time after they left West Island. Allie couldn’t promise him that. He knew she couldn’t promise him that.
She kissed him back with everything she had. Their limited time only made the whole thing hotter—or that was what Allie told herself as Roman rolled them. She slammed down onto him without missing a beat, leaning back to brace herself on his big thighs. The man was a monster in the best way possible. The wood floor bit into her knees, but the faint pain only spiked her pleasure higher. She bent down and kissed him without throwing off their rhythm. Yesyesyesyesyes.
“After this. Bed.”
“Yes.”
Roman palmed the back of her head and pressed a hand to the small of her back, effectively caging her. He thrust up, fucking her from below while she was helpless to do anything but take it. Allie took his mouth even as he took her pussy, the pleasure so intense there was no holding out. She came with a cry that he ate down, her legs shaking from the strength of her orgasm. He followed her over the edge with a curse, his rough grip at odds with the sheer pleasure written across his face.
They lay there for several long moments before he shifted her to the side. She gave a small cry of surprise as he climbed to his feet, lifting her into his arms in the process. “What are you doing?”
“We might not be too old to fuck on wood floors, but it’s hell on the back.” He shifted her and pressed a soft kiss to each of her knees. “And on you.”
“Totally worth it.”
“Without a doubt.” He chuckled. “We’ll call the bed a nice change of pace.”
But he wasn’t going to the bed. He turned left inside the bedroom and walked through the doorway leading into the bathroom. It was similar to the two in her villa, but the coloring was all soft grays and a bright blue that reminded her of the ocean surrounding the island. The tiled walk-in shower was large enough to fit ten people, with two sunflower showerheads and a bench that made her think filthy thoughts despite the exhaustion that broke over her in a wave.
Allie lay her head against his shoulder. “I should get back.”
“I don’t think so.” He set her on the bench. “It’s late, and it’s dark, and I promise to let you get some sleep tonight if you stay.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Some sleep?”
Roman turned on the water and shot her a look. “You can’t honestly expect me to have you in my bed and keep my hands to myself.”
“God forbid.” She stood and ducked under the closest showerhead. The water was the perfect temperature, and Allie let herself just be for a few seconds. She could hear Roman washing himself, and as tempting as it was to watch, her thoughts kept her feet rooted in place. He wants to know me.
The thought shouldn’t scare the shit out of her. Roman was gorgeous and successful and... It would never work. Irreconcilable differences about summed them up. Those differences might not matter while they were on West Island, but they would be glaringly obvious when they got back to New York. He was a rich...whatever the hell he was...and she was having to rob Peter to pay Paul and make ends meet. They lived in two different worlds.
They always had.
He’d grown up rich with distant parents. Her heart ached a little for the boy he must have been. So alone. In that, at least, there was a thread of similar experiences. The main difference was that Allie would have given anything for her parents to be gone and leave her alone. Well, her father at least. She shuddered.
“It’s okay.” His arms slid around her from behind. She tensed, waiting for him to ask what was wrong, but Roman just turned her to face him and held her closer. Comforting her without prying.
Even though she knew better, Allie clung to him. She wasn’t weak for wanting to lean on someone for just a few seconds. It’s so hard being strong all the time. I don’t know if I can take it. I’m about to fail, and when I do, I’m going to take so many women down with me. Words pressed against the inside of her lips, all her worries and fears that she never gave voice to bubbling up inside her. She clamped her mouth shut and buried her face against his shoulder.
No matter how good the sex, or how wonderful he seemed to be, she couldn’t afford to forget what Roman’s ultimate goal was—the gym and shelter. He might have shelved his ambition temporarily, but that was all it was. Temporary. Spilling her fears would just give him ammunition later.
What if he could actually help?
He can’t. No one can.
Worse, his version of help might be to sell the damn thing out from underneath her. It wasn’t as easy as that, but once she started missing bills, it opened a door she couldn’t close. If she didn’t figure something out, and fast, she wouldn’t have any choice at all in the matter. I need a plan...a better plan than just pushing forward and hoping for the best.
“It will be okay,” he murmured and stroked a hand down her back. “Whatever it is, it’ll be okay, Allie.”
She wished she could believe him.
Allie took a breath, and then another. Self-pity wasn’t her MO. She was the fighter, the one who took people under her wing. She stepped back, and Roman let her go. To hide her embarrassment, she ducked under the spray again. By the time she cleared the water from her eyes, Roman had turned off his showerhead and was drying himself off with an oversize fluffy white towel. He returned with a second one, and she stepped into it after turning off the water.
Roman kissed her forehead. “Come to bed with me, Allie.”
Despite the turmoil in her head, there was only one answer. “Yes.”
CHAPTER TEN
ROMAN WOKE TO find Allie gone. He sighed and rolled onto his back. It shouldn’t have surprised him that she’d bolted, but disappointment was sour on his tongue. He stared at the vaulted ceiling for a few long moments before he forced himself out of bed. Lying around all morning wasn’t going to do anything but give him more time to debate what the fuck he was going to do.
Accepting her terms was probably a mistake. But the thought held no strength against the memories from last night. He wouldn’t take that choice back, no matter how thoroughly it might bite him in the ass later.
He pulled on a pair of shorts and headed out into the main living space of the villa. It was a sprawling room containing a kitchen and furniture artfully arranged around the wall that opened to the beach. Roman stopped short at the sight of Allie walking up the steps, sand on her feet and her blond hair windblown.
She grinned. “The sunrise is seriously beautiful today.”
She didn’t leave. He tried to get his reaction under control and to smile in return. “It is paradise.”
“That’s true.” Allie dropped a kiss on his lips as she walked past. “I got coffee started. How do you take yours?”
Roman had never lived with a woman before. Even when he’d dated—occasionally seriously—his schedule prevented this kind of casual morning interaction. It had never felt like a loss until that moment. He followed Allie into the kitchen. “Black.”
“I should have known.” She’d reclaimed her shirt and shorts, and they looked even better in the daylight than they had the night before. She brought two mugs from the open-faced cupboards and poured coffee into them. After setting his in front of him, she doused hers with enough cream and sugar to make his teeth hurt. She shot him a look from beneath her lashes. “What can I say? I like sweet.”
“I see that.” Even this early in the morning, he was smart enough not to comment on it. He took a cautious sip. “You stayed.”
She stirred her coffee. “I almost left, but it didn’t seem r
ight to sneak out like a thief.” Allie made a face. “Plus, Becka was otherwise occupied last night, so I don’t expect her up and around until a little later. I do not need to walk in on some kind of morning-after shenanigans.”
He almost asked, but Roman was... He didn’t know how to term his relationship with Becka’s sister anymore. They were friends once, albeit not close ones. They might be friends again if Gideon ever forgave him for meddling in their relationship. At this point, he’d be lucky if he was invited to the wedding.
Either way, it was none of his damn business who Becka Baudin went to bed with. He wasn’t her brother, and he wasn’t her friend. Her sister might have an opinion on that, but Lucy wasn’t here and Roman wouldn’t win any points by running back to her and telling tales. No, Becka was a grown-ass woman and he was going to stay the hell out of it.
Roman leaned against the counter. “Big plans today?”
“We were going to go snorkeling off the reef on the other side of the island. They have a boat that takes you out and they provide lunch, too.” She hesitated. “Do you want to come?”
Yes.
He tempered his reaction almost as fast as it arose. Jumping at her and yanking her into his arms was only going to spook her and make him look like a fool in the process. Instead, he saluted her with his mug. “Only if I’m not intruding.”
Allie raised her eyebrows. “As if you’d let that stop you.”
He laughed. “Fair point. Yes, I’d like to come snorkeling with you.” Saying it felt like he was agreeing to something more serious than a daytime outing, but Roman didn’t let himself think about that too hard. He liked Allie. He liked spending time with her. She wasn’t going to let him get any ground on talking business while they were down there, and even if he went back to New York, he couldn’t make any forward progress without her. All that aside, he wanted to be on West Island. With her.
“When’s the last time you had a vacation?”
He shrugged. “I visited my parents in Morocco a couple years ago.”
Those blue eyes saw too much. She gave a soft smile. “When’s the last time you had a real—relaxing—vacation?”
“Ah, that’s something else altogether.” He thought hard and came up blank. “I don’t know. Maybe spring break in college, but that’s hardly the idea of relaxing you’re talking about.” He’d had his eye on the prize even back then, so Roman had used the time to network. Nothing brought people together as much as getting drunk and doing stupid shit, and those relationships had panned out nicely in the years since.
But an actual vacation? Just to relax?
He cleared his throat, not quite able to meet her gaze. “Never.”
“That’s what I thought.” Allie set down her mug and slid into his arms as if she’d made the move a thousand times before. “We have four days left on West Island. Why don’t we treat it like a real vacation and just enjoy ourselves?”
It sounded a whole hell of a lot like she’d just smacked an expiration date on them. Roman wasn’t surprised at that. What did surprise him was how her words made him feel—like he wanted to bend her over the counter and fuck her until she admitted that there might actually be something there.
Instead, he palmed her ass and gave her a light squeeze. “You’ll stay here at night.”
“Yes.” No argument for once. Her gaze dropped to his lips. “I have to talk to Becka, but judging by how excited she was by my leaving last night, I don’t think she’ll have a problem with the change of plans. Especially if it leaves the villa open for her to have her own vacation fling.”
I’m not a fucking fling.
Once again, he smothered the response. Roman didn’t know what he wanted from this yet, other than more time with Allie, but he’d be damned before he did or said something to spook her. There would be plenty of time to hash it out later. Right now, they were just talking about the next four days.
He smoothed her hair back. “Why don’t you bring your things here for the duration—it’d save you the multiple trips.”
“Trips I’ll still have to make to arrange things with Becka for our daily plans.” Allie shook her head. “No, this is better with clear boundaries. I’ll bring enough stuff for overnight—toothbrush and that kind of thing—but the rest stays.”
Stubborn woman.
“You’re being difficult.”
She grinned. “What I’m being, Roman, is noncompliant. I get the feeling that you don’t get told no a lot, but you should get used to it. You might have a magical cock, but that doesn’t mean you get a permanent free pass to run my life.”
“You think I have a magical cock?” He pulled her closer, lining up their hips so she could feel exactly what she’d just described.
Allie’s eyes went wide. “I might have said that.” She palmed him through his shorts. “Then again, my memory is a bit faulty. It’s been ages since I’ve had you inside me.”
“Woman, it’s been a few hours at most.” He laughed and scooped her into his arms, liking the little yip sound she made. “But never let it be said that I don’t take care of your needs.”
“Heaven forbid.” She arched up to murmur in his ear. “I’m desperate for you, Roman.”
His cock went rock solid and he tightened his hold on her. “In that case, I think your friend can wait another hour or two.” He strode for the bedroom.
* * *
Allie sat as rigid as she was able to while the boat wobbled its way through the waves away from the island. When she’d invited Roman along to go snorkeling, she hadn’t really thought it through. Becka hadn’t seemed to mind, so it didn’t really sink in until they’d left the island that this was...a date.
No, not a real date.
But it was as close as she’d come to a date in years.
Not loving what that says about my social life.
What social life?
It was different when it was just her and Roman in his villa. She didn’t have to think too hard about the implications, because it was clearly just sex. Or maybe the sex just fuzzed her mind and that was why spending all that time with him didn’t bother her.
Either way, it was different now.
They were out in what passed for public on the island. The little boat was maxed out with her, Roman, Becka and a trio of giggling women who kept shooting Roman significant looks. All three had wedding rings, but that didn’t look like it’d stop them from taking him somewhere to be alone if he so much as crooked a finger.
Allie clenched her fists and stared pointedly at the ocean. Roman wasn’t hers. If he wanted to run off with someone else, she didn’t have a right to be pissed. She certainly didn’t have the right to punch him over it. Get it together.
“You look like you’re about to shove someone into the ocean.” Roman’s murmur was barely loud enough to be heard over the waves they cut through. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.” She’d answered too quickly. Might as well have put a sign over my head claiming the opposite.
“Allie.”
She glared at the horizon. If she was smart, she’d fake a smile and play this off. Admitting to feeling something as damning as jealousy would give Roman even more ammunition than he already had. Then again, if she’d wanted to prevent him from having ammunition, she shouldn’t have slept with him a second and third time...and she shouldn’t be planning on doing it again at the earliest available opportunity. There was no taking back those actions, and she had no intention of stopping until she really had to.
“Allie.” He pressed his hand to the small of her back. “You’ve been checking out on me ever since last night.”
“Maybe it’s just what I do. You don’t actually know me, so you don’t know that it’s not something I don’t do.” It sounded just as jumbled as her head felt. She battled the truly ridiculous urge to cry. Allie shook her head. “
I’m sorry. I think it all just became real to me and I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that I’m not really protected against you and it’s my own damn fault.”
Roman moved closer, his body blocking her from the rest of the people on the boat. “You think you need protection from me?”
She couldn’t read his tone, but the words didn’t sound any happier than she felt. “Not like that. I know you’d never hurt me, but...” But once they left West Island, all bets were off. She also knew that. She’d known that going into this thing with him.
So why did it bother her so much now?
I like him.
It was as simple as that. It might have started with just sex, but it wasn’t just sex. She’d never been all that good at compartmentalizing, and even if she had been, Roman’s sheer presence would overwhelm whatever barriers she put up between them. It was easier when she could pretend she loathed everything about him except for his body.
That fallacy hadn’t held up against their interaction that morning. He wasn’t just an unfeeling suit. He was a man, with a past and a present and a future, and they had at least a few superficial things in common. She understood his loneliness, because she held the twin feeling inside her. He spoke to her as if he cared what she thought, even if most of the time they’d been too busy to talk about much of anything. It didn’t matter. That focus was there and he’d have her confessing her deepest desires if given half a chance.
She turned to face him, putting her back against the boat railing. His expression wasn’t a happy one. He hadn’t had a vacation, and she’d invited him out here to continue their feel-good time together...and now she was ruining it. She hated that, hated that she’d been the one to damper his enjoyment of the boat ride. Of the sight of those women.
Stop it.
She bit her lip, but there was no holding back the torrent of words. “I hate the way they look at you.”
He blinked and then blinked again as comprehension dawned. “You’re jealous.”