by Emma Renshaw
“’Preciate it,” I say. He doesn’t need to apologize, but it’s nice to hear anyway.
“Stop avoiding me, brother,” he says.
I laugh, softly tapping his shoulder with my glove. “See you later, man.”
I get back to my workout as Kiernan walks away, slowly working into a rhythm until I’m zoned out, focusing on nothing but each punch landing on the bag in front of me. James surprises me when he steps behind the bag, holding it place, allowing my punches to land more firmly.
“She good?” James asks about Harper, voice grumbling.
“Yeah, she’s good. It’s a lot to process for her and she has questions no one can answer, but she’s doing okay. Thanks, man.”
James nods and calls out punch combinations that I follow. “Anything I can help with?”
“Not unless you can talk to the dead. She’s beating herself up pretty bad that the man she knew and loved was the leader of a cartel. It doesn’t make sense to her. She’s curious if her dad knew about it or not. They were friends most of their lives.”
“I’ll see what I can find.”
I look up at him, taken back that he’s willing to do even more, find out more beyond what’s necessary. “If you do,” I rasp between punches. “Come to me, yeah?”
He gives a single nod. “I got you.”
I slow my punches when I see Liam walking up to us out of my periphery. He’s staring at Savannah as she hops on the treadmill next to Harper. I shake my head, chuckling at his lovesick expression.
“Hey y’all,” Liam says.
“How’s it going?” I ask, sticking my gloved fist out for him to tap.
“Great,” Liam responds with a grin, looking back at Savannah over his shoulder. “Listen, Sav and I are having an impromptu party tonight at our new lake house. It’d be great if y’all came. Sav’s already letting Harper know the plans.”
“I’m sure we’ll be there,” I look over to Harper talking excitedly with Savannah. I’m pretty sure that girl would go with or without me, but I’m not letting her out of my sight. “Cool if I bring a buddy of mine? He’s from out of town.”
“The more the merrier, man. Of course, bring him along. You’re good to come, too?” Liam asks, turning to James.
“Yup,” he responds.
“Savannah wants to celebrate the new house and landing a big client, so dress nice.”
“She told you to say that, right?” James asks, shaking his head.
“Yeah, she did.” Liam says, grinning.
“Whipped,” James grunts.
“Nah, man. Just really fucking happy.”
“Keep doing it. We may be brothers now, but I’ll still make sure no one finds your body.”
I bark out a laugh at James’ words. His head swings to me as his eyes narrow. “Same goes to you.”
I wake up from an afternoon nap to sounds of Harper moving around in the kitchen. Harper is baking and listening to soft music, wearing only my shirt. My heart hammers against my chest as I watch her dance around, singing along with the song while whisking batter in a bowl.
I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful. Her hair is piled on top of her head in a messy knot, with bare feet two-stepping across the floor, a streak of flour on her makeup-free face. Harper doesn’t go to the grocery store in anything less than a perfect outfit. Seeing her like this, without a care in the world, is just for me. This part of her is completely mine, something only I get to see. Thank Christ for that. If any other man saw her like this, I’d have to fight an army to compete for her love.
When her back is to me, with her hips swaying and a sexy tease of her ass showing, I move up behind her, placing my hands on her hips and move to the music with her. She sighs and melts into my chest, leaning her head against my shoulder, and sways to the music with me. My arms cage around her stomach, pulling her tighter to my body, not leaving a centimeter of space between us, and lean down to kiss along her neck.
“I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as you.”
She laughs, playfully running her ass along my hardening dick. “I’m a mess right now.”
“You’re stunning. Always. Doesn’t matter what you wear, you’re stunning. Like this, though? In the kitchen doing something you love with a smile on your face as you dance around wearing my shirt with me in the other room? You’re nothing less than magnificent. Gorgeous. Perfect. Mine.” I pull her even tighter with the last word.
“Roman,” she whispers, tilting her head and staring up at me. A small fire starts to blaze in my chest just from my name on her lips. Not able to deny her anything, I give her what she wants. I kiss her softly, licking along her pillowy lips until she opens for me, gliding my tongue inside, slowly moving it against hers. The blaze turns into a wildfire spreading through my body when I feel her tongue against mine. I growl when she bites my lip. She moans when I kiss and nibble along her neck. The bowl falls to the ground when my hand snakes under her shirt and I play with her nipple. Batter splashes along our legs, but neither of us stops exploring each other, begging the other for just a little more.
Spinning Harper in my arms, I rip the shirt from her body, leaving her gloriously naked and blushing for me. “Dios mio.”
Shaking hands strip the clothes from my body, leaving me naked and hard for her. We stare at each other, both of us panting and ready.
“No feelings, right? No strings?” Her voice is a hoarse whisper, trembling with anticipation.
“Whatever you need to tell yourself, Sugar.”
“I just need you.”
“Thank fuck,” I rasp, pulling her naked hips toward me. Sighing when her bare skin hits mine, I relish her silky smooth skin. I can’t stop the tremble in my hands as I slowly move them up and down her skin from her hips. My hands glide over her ass, landing on the backs of her thighs, picking her up so she can wrap her legs around my waist.
I sink to my knees and lay her on the floor. We kiss deeply. One of her hands fists into my hair while the other runs down my back, pushing me closer to her. I grind my hips, and my dick slides along her wet pussy, causing both of us to shiver and moan.
My lips trail down her body, begging any entity that this will never be taken away from me again. I’d do anything, give anything, defeat anything, to have Harper shaking beneath me and asking for more like she is right now. I suck her peaked nipple into my mouth, groaning. “I love your tits, baby,” I moan around her skin.
“More,” she begs, arching her back, thrusting her tits farther into my face.
Fuck. She’s going to make me come just from her noises, but I’m determined to wring an orgasm from her body before I sink myself inside of her.
From the corner of my eye, I see the spoon laying in the bowl on the ground with batter all around it. I pick it up from the bowl and swirl the chocolate mixture around her nipples before sucking every last drop off.
“So sweet,” I whisper against her skin, trailing the spoon down her body, leaving a path of chocolate that ends right above her pussy. “What kind is it, Sugar?”
She moans, arching for me, but I pull away, keeping my lips, hands, and body just out of her reach. “Please.”
“Answer me, Sugar. What kind is it?”
“Double fudge chocolate,” she moans as I sweep my tongue along the batter I painted on her nipple, trailing down her stomach.
“It’s so sweet.”
“Yes,” she cries out.
“Not as sweet as you, though. My sugar. Always so sweet.”
Reaching the end of my chocolate trail right above her pussy, I skim my fingers along her slit, shuddering at her wetness. My dick pulses, aching to be inside of her.
I push one finger inside of her, my thumb rubbing circles over her clit when she begs for more. I push a second finger into her, tapping her g-spot each time. My mouth latches back on her nipple, sucking hard, grazing my teeth along the peak. Her pelvis grinds down on my hand.
“Fuck my hand, baby,” I say against her skin, fingering he
r faster and harder until her thighs tremble and her pussy clenches around my fingers. She screams, releasing her orgasm when I press down on her clit and move a third finger inside of her. I continue to stroke her through her orgasm, wringing out every last drop.
Her hand fists my hair, bringing my head to hers to kiss me passionately, completely wrecking me. Without breaking from the kiss, I move my body over hers as she parts her legs, with mine fitting perfectly in between. I cup her face, kissing softly over her lips. “I’ve wanted this for so long.”
She starts to speak and I know she’s going to insist we can’t bring feelings into this, so I put my finger to her lips as I shake my head.
“Don’t say it.”
“Okay,” she mumbles against my fingers.
Harper shudders as I glide a hand down her side and kiss her passionately. She moans and flexes her hips to meet mine when I grind my dick over her wet pussy.
“Now, Roman.”
“Yes, Sugar,” I grit out, guiding myself inside of her. Once the tip enters, I slam my hips into hers. “Fuck. I missed this.”
I move slowly in and out of her as she writhes beneath me. She is the most stunning sight. I take in every look that passes over her face when I push deeper, pounding harder when she begs for more.
“Estoy en el cielo. This is heaven.”
Her pussy flutters around me when I speak Spanish to her. I keep going, telling her everything. How she feels on my dick, how much I’ve missed this, how stunning she is … every dirty thing I want to do to her. I promise this is our new beginning.
She bucks her hips, growing wilder and getting closer to exploding around me. Her pussy clenches around my dick so tightly, it’s taking everything not to come before I get her to that edge.
I rise to my knees, hooking her legs around my hips. I bring my thumb to her clit as I fuck her. We’re moving across the wood floor with every thrust. I’m holding her so tightly, she’ll have bruises tomorrow. Her hands move to her tits and I fuck her even harder, crazy with lust.
“Vente, bebe. Come for me, baby.”
And, she does.
Her pussy tightens around me as she screams my name. Her moans and my name on her lips while I’m buried balls-deep inside of her hurls me over the edge. I roar her name as I empty inside of her, moving my hips, desperate for both of us to feel every last quake of the life-altering orgasms.
25
Harper
We’re still on my kitchen floor after the most intense orgasms of my life. Connecting with Roman again is earth-shattering. I’m draped over him with my head on his shoulder, looking up at his face. His eyes are closed as he holds me tightly with a tiny smile. My fingers trail over his face, taking in each feature from his full lips with the most perfect cupid’s bow to his strong jaw line and nose that is just the tiniest bit crooked. I don’t remember that little quirk about his nose, and I wonder if it’s new.
One of his eyes pops open, his tiny smile growing just a bit. “What are you doing, Sugar?”
“Memorizing your face. I don’t want to forget anything when you leave. I wish I could bottle this moment and keep it forever.” My throat closes when I finish speaking. I didn’t mean to be that honest, but this moment—our first time together again—is so perfect, it deserves nothing less than complete vulnerability and honesty.
Roman opens his mouth, but I place my fingers over his lips, just like he did with mine only a bit ago, and whisper to him. “Don’t. Not now. I know what I said, I know what we agreed. I only want this one moment. That’s it. I want to soak up every ounce of you that I can before you walk out of my life again.”
Roman sighs, taking my hand in his and kissing my fingers. “Every part of you is perfect, even these fingers. This wrist,” he says, kissing along my arm and muttering as he kisses each part of my body. We are staring into each other’s eyes when mine to start to well. I take a deep breath, soaking it up one last time before closing my eyes, turning away, and putting my feelings back into a box.
“I need to bake another cake,” I say, groaning and pulling away from Roman. He yanks me closer to him and kisses me again before letting me rise.
“Chocolate?” He smirks. “I’ll never look at a chocolate cake again without getting hard.”
I laugh as I push myself off the ground. “Yeah, chocolate. It’s Savannah and Liam’s favorite. She asked me to bring it.”
“Can I help?” Roman asks, handing me the shirt he ripped off of me earlier. “I’d rather you be naked but I don’t think I’d let you get through making the cake unless you cover up.”
“Sure,” I say, grinning and pointing to the floor. “You can start by cleaning up the mess you made.”
“You’re the one that dropped the bowl, Sugar.” He’s crouched down, still naked, staring up at me with the world’s most breathtaking smile and a light in his eyes. The feelings I boxed up are begging to be freed so I can fall for this man again. I swallow, forcing my smile to stay in place.
“It’s your fault I dropped it.”
“I don’t regret a thing,” he says as he starts to clean.
A naked man with a mop in his hands is downright sexy. This could be a lucrative business. A sexy man cleaning the house as you watch his muscles flex over his taut body with each movement. Too bad it’s probably illegal.
“You’re going to need to put some clothes on.”
“Distracting you, Sugar?” Roman says, glancing over to me, winking with a smirk.
“Just do it,” I mutter, turning back to the ingredients on the counter.
Roman pulls on his sweats, then steps up next to me at the counter as we begin working side by side. Each time our hands brush, a wave of heat spreads through me and moves up my neck and cheeks.
“Shower?” Roman asks after popping the cake in the oven.
I don’t answer him; instead, I whip off my shirt and toss it to the ground, walk out of the kitchen and toward the bathroom. Roman chases after me, tossing me over his shoulder as I laugh the whole way. I haven’t felt this light, happy, and free since the last time Roman was in my life.
26
Harper
“Have you been here before?” Kiernan asks as the three of us pull up to the modern farmhouse sitting on the water. It’s white with blue shutters and natural wood flower boxes on the windows.
“No,” I answer. “Only seen it in pictures. They just closed on it last week.”
Roman parks behind another car in the circular drive, hopping out and striding quickly around to my side. He opens the door for me, taking the cake from my lap and balancing it on one large palm while the other helps me down. When I land on my feet, he pulls me into his side, walking toward to the front door with me wrapped in his arms. He leans down to kiss the top of my head. “You look gorgeous, Sugar.”
I smile up at him. “You don’t look so bad yourself.” That’s an understatement. His muscular ass and thick thighs look spectacular in navy pants tailored perfectly to his body. His tan skin glows against his crisp white shirt open at the collar.
“Don’t worry about me, guys. I can open my own door, no problem,” Kiernan calls out, stepping out of the truck. “Roman, a real gentleman would have opened the door for all his guests.”
I crack up, which makes Kiernan light up. “Don’t laugh at his jokes,” Roman says. “I made that mistake and now I can’t get rid of him.”
“Don’t listen to him, Harper. He’d be lost without my friendship. He lies a lot. He’s not lying about how good you look, though, your ass in that dress is fantastic.”
Roman spins around so fast, stepping into Kiernan’s space and making him laugh. He shoots me a wink over Roman’s shoulder. I’ve loved getting to know Kiernan over these last few weeks, he’s hilarious and loves to push Roman’s buttons—which always makes me laugh. He never jokes around while he’s working though, taking each job seriously.
“Back off,” Roman growls.
Kiernan puts up his hands, smiling. “It�
�s just too easy.”
Roman stands there for another moment, glaring at him before turning back to me and grabbing my hand, pulling me inside after him.
I suck in a breath when we enter. It’s perfect. Everything is perfect. The gray couches with blue pillows in front of the fireplace, the granite countertops in the kitchen. The windows in the back of the house show off the incredible view of the sun sinking below the grassy hills in the distance, making the water sparkle. Twinkling lights are hung about the cedar deck. Savannah and Liam are the only two people outside, wrapped in each other’s arms. She’s staring up at him like he’s her knight in shining armor and he’s looking at her like she’s most the precious gift in the world.
Valerie comes up, handing me a glass of wine and Roman a beer. “Don’t they just make you sick?”
“They’re too sweet for words,” I gush, eternally happy my best friend found the love of her life.
“Savannah! Liam! Stop playing googly eyes with each other! They’re here.”
“What’s going on?” I ask.
Valerie shrugs, wrapping an arm around Gabe as he walks up to our group. “Savannah asked me to tell her when you arrived. You’re the last to arrive. No surprise.”
“It’s Roman’s fault,” I insist, knowing she won’t believe me, but if he hadn’t pushed me against the door when I came out of the closet fully dressed and sunk to his knees in front of me, we would’ve been here a lot sooner.
“I’m not even sorry about it,” Roman says, winking at me.
“Dear Lord,” Valerie mutters. “Your man is fine.”
Gabe sighs, shaking his head and squeezing Valerie closer to him.
I chuckle. “You’re going to give Gabe a complex.”
She throws her head back, laughing before leaning into to me to whisper. “Don’t let him fool you, he loves it. He takes me home after I say things like that and shows me just who my man is. I only do it because I love what he does to me afterward.”