“I haven’t missed you.”
But that wasn’t what he’d asked. He leaned in, his lips hovering oh so close to hers. “But did you miss the way you and I feel together? No other woman ever fit me the way you did. They felt awkward in my arms because you were the one I wanted there. I’m not asking if I was your best lover. I’m sure I wasn’t. But don’t tell me you fit together with anyone else the way you did with me. We were built for each other. I can’t stay away from you. I don’t want to hurt you again, but I can’t be in a room with you and not want to touch you. Kiss you. Fuck you.”
Her head tilted slightly and he felt her hands drift to his waist. Her lids fluttered shut. That was all the invitation he needed. He let his mouth find hers and the world seemed to explode.
CHAPTER FIVE
Gus melted as Roman’s mouth found her own. It was wrong. She knew it even as she felt the electric heat burn through her system. She should tell him to fuck off. She should tell him that she wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole.
Her brain tried to convince her to refuse him. But it was no longer in control. Her body was, and it knew what it wanted.
Roman Calder.
His mouth covered hers, destroying her resistance and ramping up her need in a way no other man ever could. Or ever had. She wasn’t a petite thing, but Roman made her feel that way. His big, muscular body blanketed hers, and she loved the way he crushed her to his chest, as though he was afraid to even let her breathe in case she slipped through his fingers. He made her feel feminine and soft against him.
“So long. Too damn long,” he whispered against her mouth before running his tongue over her bottom lip, demanding she let him inside.
Gus did what came naturally with Roman. She softened and gave in. Instantly, he devoured her with his kiss again. She began to unravel.
The danger this man posed to her was real. When they were close, she couldn’t think about anything except how it felt to be wrapped up in his embrace, how good it was to be the center of all that ruthless attention.
His arms banded more tightly around her. One hand gently grasped the back of her neck, guiding her to move with him as he plundered her mouth. His tongue dominated, the silky glide igniting sparks through her system.
His other hand slid to the curve of her ass and hauled her closer, pressing her against him. There. She felt his cock already stiff and ready and rubbing against her in need.
“Feel that? I hope you do because I haven’t in months, baby. No women. No sex. Because all I can think about is you,” he muttered thickly against her lips. “Even when I slept with other women in the past, it took forever to get me half as hot as you make me simply by walking in a room. I told myself I was getting older, that this jolt of pure lust was only the hormone high of youth. Then I caught sight of you again. And I knew I’d been lying to myself.”
Months? He’d been celibate for months? She knew he’d dated because he and Zack had been out on the town with actresses and models galore. But he wanted her instead?
She sank into his kiss, his mouth enveloping hers utterly. He had the most gorgeous lips for a man. Lush and sensual. There had been a time when her whole world had turned on whether those lips were smiling or scowling or flipped up in that half smirk that let her know he was thinking about sex. “Don’t lie to me, Roman. I know who you’ve been dating.”
He sank his fingers into her hair, twisting lightly until her scalp tingled. “I’m not lying to you. All of those women are for show. This…this is fucking real.”
He slammed his mouth down on hers once more, tongue delving deep. Heat flashed through her.
Could he be telling the truth? Gus hated to admit that it had been a long time for her, too. Her sex drive had been healthy since adolescence, but after Mad died, grief had pressed down on her. Her world had felt shriveled and smaller than before. Coupled with Roman’s daily presence in her life, she hadn’t been able to think about climbing into bed with anyone.
She needed what Roman offered her now. She needed to feel like herself again. Maybe she hadn’t felt like herself for years because only one man could truly make her feel this alive.
Gus clawed at his shirt, desperate to feel his hot, hair-roughened skin against hers. All thoughts of fighting him, of wondering whether this was right and if she’d regret it tomorrow, were gone. She surrendered.
Roman turned her, flipping her around so her back pressed against his chest. He’d done it easily, using those beefy arms of his to maneuver her. He held her close. The heat of his breath blew against her ear. “No. Not yet. I’ve been waiting forever and I want to fucking touch you. Savor you. I won’t let you rush me.”
“But I want to touch you, too.” She had to admit this was something about Roman that had always gotten her hot and bothered. He didn’t play in the bedroom. He might compromise on pizza toppings or a movie selection, but when it came to sex he didn’t budge. He simply took control.
“You’ll touch me after I get what I want. I intend to relearn every inch of your body. I want to run my hands over every curve and valley. I want to use my fingers and my tongue.” He licked around the shell of her ear, making her shiver. “And I want to kiss and taste every fucking inch of you.”
This was what she’d been missing for thirteen damn years. Sex with other men had been nice. She’d enjoyed herself, but nothing had shaken the foundation of her soul. Nothing had come close to the times she’d let Roman deep into her body and heart.
It was hard to call what they’d done years ago mere sex because when Roman had maneuvered her beneath him and demanded she yield everything to him with a touch, the sensations had encompassed so much more than her body. Then—like now—she could feel how much he wanted her. As if no other woman in the world could satisfy him.
He caressed his way up her torso until he cupped her breasts. “God, I’ve missed these. You have the most gorgeous breasts. I dream about them at night.”
She couldn’t help but breathe with him, into him. Her hard nipples pressed against the silk of her dress. Even that almost created too much sensation, but the needy woman in her wished his hands covered her bare, aching tips instead. “Take my dress off.”
His teeth scraped over her sensitive earlobe as he dragged the sleeves of her dress and bra down. As usual, Roman did what he wanted, freeing only her breasts. The fabric also pinned her arms to her sides. Cool air hit her peaks, followed by pure heat as his greedy hands enveloped them, fingers working them. She shivered, writhed, caught up completely, unable to shove him away. She knew damn well he would respect any refusal she voiced.
But she had no intention of speaking one.
“Tell me you didn’t miss this,” he growled in her ear as he rolled her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers.
She couldn’t help but rub her ass against him. His cock was right there, long and thick and hard as hell. Still, she couldn’t make this easy for him. She didn’t want to risk too much of her heart. “I didn’t.”
He pinched down, making her groan. “Bullshit. I can tell. What would happen if I pulled your skirt up and ran my hand up your thigh? If I found your pussy, would it be wet and ready for me? That was one of the things that always drove me crazy, Gus. You responded so readily to me. All I had to do was touch you and you went wild.”
She felt wild. For the first time in years, pure lust thrummed through her blood. This wasn’t some itch any man could scratch. Only Roman could make her this hungry, then slake her need to sighing satisfaction. Only Roman and his rough, dirty mouth could take her to these heights.
“Maybe I go wild for everyone.” She couldn’t give in without a fight. She couldn’t give him everything. She couldn’t let him know how terribly he was unraveling her with every touch. She especially couldn’t admit after all these years that she still dreamed of him, too. She was constantly haunted by what they could have had, by what she’d lost that terrible day.
She stiffened. Damn it. She wasn’t going there.
She couldn’t.
“No, you don’t.” His voice was softer now and she felt his mouth on the curve of her throat. “Maybe I’m fooling myself, but in my mind I will always be the man for you. I’m convinced you’re like me, desperate to feel young and wild, the way I did when the world was still wide open to me. That’s what I feel when I think of you.”
Youthful and carefree and brimming with possibilities. That’s what he sought. No wonder they’d been doomed. All she’d wanted during her year with Roman was him. “Don’t talk or I’ll walk away. I want this. Hell, I might even need this, but I can’t play these games with you again.”