by Cynthia Eden
“Right.” She nodded. Motioned to him. “I was enjoying the view. And then, you know, I thought you could help rip my clothes off me or something.”
His eyes widened.
“Is that not a good plan?” she asked with a blink.
“It’s a fucking perfect plan.”
She smiled.
“Fucking lost.”
He ditched the jeans and his underwear, and wow—Roman was built. Long and thick and his cock bobbed straight toward her.
He reached for her shirt. “Your turn.”
Hers? Yes. Right. “Strip away. Tear away. Whatever. Just get me naked.”
Her shirt flew across the room. Her jeans hit the floor. Her bra? Gone. As for her panties, Harper was pretty sure she heard those tear. She was still standing up, and his wicked fingers went right between her thighs. He shoved the cotton fabric of her underwear to the side, and that was when she heard the sound of it tearing, but his fingers were sliding over her sex—her already eager and wet sex—so she didn’t care at all about what happened to her panties.
She bit her lower lip and rose onto her toes as he stroked her. Her hands clamped around his arms as she tried to balance herself. He thrust one finger into her, and she gasped. Her body was hyper aware. Hyper aroused. When a second finger joined the first and his thumb began rubbing back and forth over her clit, she was pretty sure that her eyes just wanted to roll back into her head. It was a good thing she had a death grip on him because Harper didn’t think that her balance was going to last long at all.
She also thought that she would be coming in about five, four, three, two—
He pulled his hand away.
She almost screamed at him. Harper knew she glared.
“On the bed,” he growled.
Her breath heaved in and out. And she couldn’t help but ask, “My side or yours?”
His gaze hardened. “Harper…”
She laughed. Crazy, because she wanted him so much her whole body trembled, but laughter spilled from her lips. “Kidding.” She kissed him. Tasted him. Teased him with her tongue and nipped his lower lip. The man was positively bitable.
He lifted her up. Put her in the middle of the bed and followed her down. Her legs spread and he slid his hips right between them. His mouth went to her neck. He kissed her throat. Licked. Sucked a little and had her arching toward him.
“You need a condom,” she told him. “And you need to get inside me.”
“Not just yet.”
“What?”
He kissed his way down her body. Caught one nipple in his mouth. Licked. Sucked.
She grabbed the bedding and fisted it. “I am so ready. Right now.”
“Bet you can be readier.”
Was that a thing? Readier? She felt plenty ready, thank you very much. So ready that her whole body seemed to be vibrating. She wanted him. Right then and there. Why wait longer? They both needed this.
But he was licking her other breast. Flicking his tongue over her nipple and her hips were arching eagerly toward him. Her heart thundered out of control. Her release was so close…
His mouth feathered over her stomach. On down. Down.
He kissed her core. Licked her. Thrust those two long, strong fingers into her even as he caressed her with his mouth, and there was no holding back. Harper didn’t even try. She just exploded. The pleasure crashed through her whole body, and she cried out his name as she squeezed her eyes shut. Every muscle went tense as the climax rocked through her. So good. So incredibly good.
Another lick and he pulled away. She heard the rustle of the foil packet, and Harper opened her eyes to see him rolling on the condom. Round two. She was still catching her breath and hearing the thunder of her heartbeat from round one.
He looked up at her. Savage need. Primitive lust.
Her tongue swiped over her lower lip.
There was no more talking or teasing. He settled between her legs. His cock pushed at the entrance to her body, but he didn’t thrust inside. Not yet. He reached for her hands.
She was still fisting the covers. She let go, and her hands turned to curl with his. When their hands were locked, then he drove inside her. All the way. So deep that he seemed to be a part of her. Her legs curled around his hips. His name whispered from her. She felt full. Stretched. Her body was still sensitive from the first orgasm, and for a moment, she was almost afraid to move.
He kissed her. A careful, tender kiss. It seemed odd because the emotions firing in the air between them weren’t tender. Everything felt primal. Fierce.
But the tender kiss relaxed her. Had her body melting into his and suddenly, she wasn’t afraid to move. She wanted to move. Needed to move. Was so eager for the thrust of his hips against her.
He withdrew. Pressed so slowly inside. He was being careful.
Sweet.
His mouth slipped from hers. His head lifted. She licked his neck. Kissed him. Moved her head toward his shoulder. Gave him a sensual bite.
He growled in response.
His thrusts got harder. Rougher.
The need spiraled ever higher. No more teasing. No more play. The bed rocked beneath them. She held on as tightly as she could. She’d just come, but she was already barreling toward another release. Her body met his, thrust for thrust. She squeezed her inner muscles around him and loved his savage curse.
She wanted to drive him insane. Wanted to give him as much wild, uncontrolled pleasure as he’d given to her but—
Her body was tensing again. Flooding with feeling. The pleasure hit her without warning. A muscle-jerking climax that shook her entire body.
His thrusts became even faster. “Hell, yes. You feel so good around me. So good.” Deep. Hard. Over and over.
Then he was coming. He jerked against her. Pleasure washed over his face and darkened his eyes even more. Her heels dug into his ass. She arched toward him and didn’t want to let go.
How have I missed out on this? Aftershocks still pulsed through her body. Little zings of pleasure that made her breath catch. The mad thunder of her heartbeat filled her ears. Bam. Bam. Bam. Their hands were still linked. Their bodies, too. And, already he was, um…
Yep, getting hard again.
Wow. Yes, please. More. Lots and lots more.
But Roman stared down at her. His expression had turned unreadable. A muscle flexed along his jaw as he slowly withdrew from her. She wanted to cling to him, but she forced her hands to let his go.
He padded toward the bathroom. Going to ditch the condom, of course. They’d had sex on top of the covers, but while he was gone, she shimmied and dove under them. Not that she had a problem with nudity. Harper totally didn’t. But she was feeling all kinds of weirdly vulnerable. And shaky. And still after-shocky. And like she’d just had the best sex of her whole life.
Because she had.
Harper had never enjoyed playing games. Games just got people hurt, and she wasn’t particularly in to the whole mind-screw scene. So she saw no reason to hold back. She wanted to be completely honest with Roman, and she hoped that he’d be the same way with her, too.
He’d just reached the bathroom door when she told him, “That was great.”
He stopped. His shoulders tensed.
She craned her head to get a view of his ass. Oh, so nice.
Roman peered back at her.
“Better than great,” she added and couldn’t help her grin. “The best I’ve ever had, in fact.”
His lips thinned. His eyes went flat and hard.
That wasn’t the reaction she’d expected. Come to think of it, she wasn’t sure what she had expected. She’d just been happy and wanted to tell him how she felt.
Without a word, he disappeared into the bathroom. She heard water running. Some of her happy glow started to fade. So maybe she hadn’t been the best he’d ever had. Not like she’d wanted him to say that back or anything.
Such a lie. Of course, him saying it back would have been awesome. But maybe she’d just been having fantast
ic, body-shaking sex while he’d only been having average fun. Or, dear Lord, below-average fun?
She yanked the covers up to her eyes. No, over her eyes.
The floor squeaked. He was coming back. Well, okay, better make sure it was him because with the week she was having, it could be the kidnappers again and wouldn’t that be just her luck? Harper shoved down the covers. A little bit.
Roman stood at the side of the bed. His head had tilted to the left. “Were you just hiding from me?”
“No. Absolutely not. I was cold so I was covering up.”
He stared at her.
“That’s a lie,” she allowed. “I was hiding. You looked pissy, and I’m sorry if I—”
“You don’t have a fucking thing to be sorry for.” He sat on the edge of the bed. Put his hands on either side of her body. Caged her. “I’m the asshole who got so damn jealous he could barely see.”
She squinted at him. “Why on earth would you be jealous?” Had he missed the best ever portion of her speech?
“Because I don’t want to think of you with anyone else. I don’t want to think that you almost married some dumbass prince. Or that just in the time I’ve known you, I’ve seen men trip over their own freaking feet to catch your attention. I don’t want to think that when I leave, you’ll move on and forget me.”
Back up. She sat up. Almost slammed her head into his. Grabbed his hand. “When you leave? What are you talking about?”
He stared into her eyes. “Let me be clear.”
“Okay. Be clear.” Leave? Her heart squeezed even as a voice in her head whispered… You know they always leave. Get attached to things, not people.
“You are my best ever. Nothing could have stopped me from being with you in this bed. You fucking destroyed me. Sinking into you was like sinking into heaven. I came so hard that I thought I’d lost my mind.”
Her lips began to—
“Can’t handle those right now,” he muttered. Roman bent forward and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’m a jealous bastard,” he added. Another kiss. Slower. More sensual. “I don’t want to think of anyone else with you.”
“Not like I want visuals of you with your exes, either,” Harper informed him crisply. Just so they were both on the same page. “I don’t want to hold back with you. I want to tell you how I feel. I want to be honest.”
His right hand lifted, and he brushed a lock of her hair away from her cheek. “You want honesty from me?”
“It would be fabulous, yes.”
“I want you again.”
“I want you again, too.”
“I was worried you might be sore. I lost control at the end, and I’m scared I was too rough.”
“I don’t remember you being rough. I remember you being awesome.”
His expression hardened. “Your honesty is going to make things hard.”
“Why?”
“Because when you say stuff like that…” His head dipped toward hers once more. “It makes me want you even more.”
“Oh, I get it.” She kissed him. Teasingly thrust her tongue past his lips. Savored him and pulled back to murmur, “When you say things are hard, you’re talking about your dick.”
He stared at her a moment. Blinked. Then…laughed.
A deep, warm, booming laugh escaped from him. It was such a happy sound that Harper wanted to hear it over and over again. And she kept thinking…So that’s what he sounds like when he’s happy. But before she could say anything else, his mouth took hers again. The laughter had faded, but she could have sworn that she tasted the joy in his kiss. His mouth was absolute magic on hers, and Harper even thought that she heard bells ringing.
Hold up. She did hear bells ringing. Her hands pressed to his chest. “Phone,” Harper gasped against his mouth.
His head lifted. He frowned.
“My replacement phone.” The phone Eric had given her because Harper had zero clue where her old phone was. Her kidnappers had taken it. Wilde tech agents were trying to use their magic to track it. “It’s ringing.” From somewhere on the floor.
A furrow appeared between Roman’s brows, but he rummaged around and found the phone. He tossed it to her.
Eric’s number filled the screen. Eric. She took the call and immediately put it on speaker. “What did you learn?” Her voice was breathless. Way too husky.
“Harper, you okay?”
“Fine. Wh-what’s up?” Fine for someone who was naked and who’d just been about to have more great sex.
“Your ride will be pulling up any moment. Look, ah, is Roman there?”
Her eyes were on Roman. “He’s right beside me.” Technically on the bed with her. “And you’re on speaker.”
Silence.
Well, that was odd.
“What’s wrong?” Harper pushed.
“Dex is sending one of his men to be on the plane with you. Said Roman already knows the guy so he’ll vouch for him on sight. Full disclosure, I know the fellow, too. Our paths have crossed a few times but I didn’t exactly expect this development, so I’m not sure how I feel about this shit.” Frustration boiled in his words. “I can’t shake the feeling that I’m walking blind here.”
Wasn’t that how she’d felt when she was first partnered with Roman? Like she was in the dark and missing something?
“Antony,” Roman growled.
Um, who was Antony?
“That’s him,” Eric agreed.
So everyone was in the know but her. Check.
“He’ll be at the door within five minutes,” Eric said. “You’ll be in the air in thirty. When you get back to Atlanta, Wilde will be focusing all available resources on this case.”
All available resources? Alarm flickered through her. “We have a lot of cases going, Eric.”
“You were taken, Harper. One of our own. That doesn’t happen on my watch. Every available resource will be used, hell, even the resources that aren’t under my domain. That’s why I’m letting Dex send Antony in on this. I want him close to you two, and I want him directing the tech team.”
So this mystery Antony guy was a techie. Wait…when she’d been doing her level best to eavesdrop on Dex and Roman, hadn’t she heard Dex mention an Antony? He’d been the one searching the Dark Web…right?
“I heard about the shooting, Roman,” Eric continued grimly.
Roman’s gaze never left Harper’s face. “Then you know Harper saved my ass.”
“You did the same for me,” she whispered. He’d rushed into the cabin to save her. Pushing him away from a bullet had been the least she could do.
“You’re family.” Eric’s voice was flat. “No one attacks my family. First Harper and now you. When we’re all back in Atlanta, I want to know everything, you understand me? Everything. If I don’t know, then I can’t help you.”
So Eric was in the dark. He’d joined the club with her. Interesting.
“Are you coming on the flight with us?” Harper wanted to know. They could all clear the air on the plane.
“No. I’ve got a second flight for me. I want to do a little more checking out here. Priority one is to get you both home.”
Roman’s gaze finally cut away from hers.
“Stay safe,” Eric ordered.
“You, too.” She ended the call. Her hold tightened on the phone. “I want to know everything, too. You get that, don’t you?”
He swallowed. Didn’t meet her eyes.
“I’m not afraid of whatever is in your past. Your past doesn’t matter to me.”
His stare lifted. Held hers. “It does to me.”
“Roman…”
“We should get dressed. Sounds like our ride will be here damn fast.” He rose and paced away from her. His back seemed extra tense. He grabbed his jeans. Hauled them on.
“Do you think I won’t like you any longer if I find out that you did something bad in your past?” She pulled the sheet with her as she climbed from the bed. “Roman, that’s not how I work. Everyone makes mistakes.�
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He swung toward her. “Bad doesn’t even begin to cover the things I’ve done.” His gaze was hungry, possessive, as it swept over her. “Shouldn’t have touched you.”
Oh, he had so better not start singing that song.
“But I couldn’t help myself.”
That was better. A little bit. “Roman—”
She heard a sharp pounding. A knock? It was coming from the main door. “Someone’s fast,” Harper murmured.
Roman hauled a sweatshirt over his head. “I’ll make sure it’s him. You get dressed.”
“Why are you always giving orders?” She shook her head. “Partnership. That’s what we have. And I’m still the senior partner.”
Roman stopped his march out of the bedroom. He frowned, glanced at her, and said, “Will you please get dressed? Because if Antony sees you wearing only a sheet, I’ll have to kick his ass.”
“That sounds a bit over the top.”
A shrug.
The pounding came again.
“With you, I’m finding that I am a bit over the top.” His gaze blazed. “Maybe more than a bit.” He cleared his throat. “It’s time for us to get the hell out of here.” He strode away.
She stood there, clutching her sheet. Her thighs were still a bit trembly. Her sex a little quivery. Goose bumps covered her arms as she glanced back at the bed.
They’d gone straight from amazing sex to…getting the hell out of there.
Harper sucked in a deep breath. Let it out. And dropped her sheet. If he could switch things up so fast, then so could she. Not like she had a choice. Bad guys were after them, and, as Eric had said, it was time to go home.
Chapter Ten
He’d checked to make sure that Antony was his visitor even before he opened the door. Doing anything else would have been a serious amateur move. Roman also made sure he kept his weapon at the ready as he allowed Dex’s agent to enter the cabin.
“I was wondering about the reception I’d receive.” Light glinted off the lenses of Antony Kyle’s glasses. His thick hair was tousled from the wind, and faint flecks of snow dotted his coat. “Figured you wouldn’t exactly greet me with open arms, but is the gun necessary? I mean, there are Wilde agents outside. They checked me out before letting me on the doorstep.”