The moonlight pours in from the windows, illuminating her provocative silhouette. This fucking dress…manipulation is a game I’m usually pretty good at, which is why I know Maddie knew exactly what she was doing by putting it on tonight. It’s so tight that it almost looks painted on, black satin pushing her tits up and hugging every temptatious curve she’s got. Thank God Ty’s staying at Joe’s tonight.
“N-no…” Maddie stutters, stiffening as she tries to hold her ground. “It won’t.”
“Really?” I wrap one arm around her waist, setting on her lower back as I pull her in. With my other hand, I grip the nape of her neck, strands of that golden honey hair tangling in my fingers. “I bet if I let this hand slip lower…” My hand falls from her lower back to her ass. “If I kissed you right now…” Tracing her jawline with the other hand, my thumb sweeps across her lower lip and then drops to the hem of her dress. “Or if my fingers find their way right up under your dress, inching higher and higher until I reach the band of your panties and then slide my fingers inside…”
Maddie gulps, a red hot blush covering her cheeks as her petite frame presses into my body.
I smirk, tracing up her bare thigh high enough to elicit a sweet little moan out of those impossibly full lips, but not so high to make my head explode. A furious heat builds inside of me, so intense that it’s blinding. “I bet I’d have you bending forwards, backwards, and every way in between.”
She lets out a flustered breath, hovering between frustration and infatuation.
When she finally finds the composure to speak, I’m the one reeling.
“That’s a bet I’ll take.”
Romanneedsnoencouragement.
The second those words are off of my lips, he crashes into me in a kiss that leaves nothing to the imagination. It’s slow and dramatic and raw and a release of all the pent up tension and passion that’s been building between us for weeks. Initially sweet and gentle at first, building until it hits an overwhelming intensity. Dominant isn’t even a strong enough word. Roman’s kiss is straight up possessive. It reaches every part of my body—gripping my heart, stealing my breath, weakening my knees as his fingers tug at my hair. Any faded objections still floating in my mind are silenced by the kiss.
I’ve never been kissed like this, and I already know I never will be again.
His tongue coaxes my lips apart and then slips inside. I cling to him desperately as he ravishes every part of me, my fingers digging into his firm, muscled shoulders.
When he pulls back, his teeth scrape against my bottom lip with a sharpness that makes my body throb and riddles me with longing. Every nerve inside of me is on high alert, anticipating whatever is going to happen next. Roman has me feeling things I never even knew existed and the last thing I want is for him to stop.
Luckily, he doesn’t. A strong arm slips underneath me and lifts me onto the counter. He positions himself between my legs, cupping my chin with a look in his eyes that makes my core quiver. He gives me another frenzied kiss, a broad hand resting on my bare thigh. When he backs away, nose brushing against mine, I’m breathless and absolutely desperate to feel it again.
“Please, Roman.”
Please? I’m begging now? One kiss and all self-respect I’ve got flies out the window?
He seems to like the sound of it, a taunting, playful smile on his lips. Roman drags his lips along my collarbone and then presses one soft kiss just underneath my ear. “Backwards, forwards, and every way in between.”
“What?”
An uncertainty settles in his eyes and he pulls back, leaving a cool, hollow space where his body just was. “I told you I could get you to bend anyway I wanted, and I did.”
There’s a sinking feeling in my stomach as his words sink in. Was this just another game to him? Was he playing with me this whole time? The high I felt just seconds ago comes crashing down, knocking the wind right out of me.
“Roman, what is—”
“You should get some sleep, Maddie. See you in the morning.”
I’m too stunned to speak as he disappears up the stairs. What an absolute asshole. Just when I think he might have a single redeeming quality in him, he goes and proves me wrong.
Chapter Fourteen
Ifthere’sonethingabout me, it’s that I stand by my actions—right or wrong.
I don’t have a lot of regrets. I rarely second guess myself. But ever since what happened with Maddie the other night, that’s all I’ve been doing. I’ve replayed those moments over and over again in my mind, and each time I do, it only gets worse.
To be honest, I’m sure if I’m more upset with myself for kissing her or for walking away. The line between us is so blurry now I wouldn’t know how to make it right if I tried. Luckily, she hasn’t given me the chance, making a damn near art of avoiding me the last couple of days.
To save myself from judgement, I haven’t told Joe or Dante what happened, although I’m sure they’ve heard about what went down at the warehouse through the grapevine. At least calling Maddie out of her date wasn’t the worst thing I did that night.
I need something to take the edge off, and lucky for me, I have one waiting down in my tombs. Russ will make the perfect target for the pent-up anger I’ve got. I wanted to let him sweat it out a bit more, but I need the release now.
Dante and Joe are waiting for me when I get to the lock-up area. They have Russ sitting at the center of the room behind a table. He’s blindfolded, hands locked into cuffs in front of him on the surface. At the sound of my footsteps, he jolts, jerking against the restraints.
