Bastard. Even his arrogance aroused her. It was a new thing. Not that he hadn’t been arrogant before, but he’d kept it to the classroom and the office. In bed, she’d suspected he felt less than secure because she’d had more experience. He’d been touchy about her showing him how she liked a caress or wanted his mouth on her at times. Oh, he’d learned, but in his time and in his way. Now all that seemed gone, replaced with a confidence that fit him like the custom-made suits he wore.
“But until then…” An unholy grin flashed across his face before he parted her labia and covered her with his mouth.
At the electric sensations, she nearly came off the bed. She gripped the comforter tighter, mashed her lips together even harder.
With a demanding grunt, he settled in, licking and sucking and making her throat ache with the repressed scream. He was relentless, laving her with his affection and plaguing her with his tongue. He drove her up, up, almost letting her soar. But he always pulled back when she trembled against her will, breath held, thin seconds from climax.
“Gus?”
She knew what he was asking. Nope, she still wasn’t begging.
Then she felt a single finger tracing her entrance, teasing her. Her hips jerked toward him. She tried to regain control of her body, tamp down her reaction. But it was too late. He knew. He rewarded her lapse of restraint when a second finger breached her.
Roman moved the digits inside her with slow strokes. Against her will, her body tightened again. He licked, sucked, and stroked her with his mouth all while heaping more agony on her with his thick fingers. They fucked her deep, hooking upward to the perfect spot.
Oh, god. She could barely breathe. Satisfaction shimmered right there, closer than ever…but still out of reach. All she needed was another few seconds—another lick, another stroke of his fingers against her G-spot—and she would go flying. But Roman held her satisfaction in his grip. She had to wrest it back, without letting him know how close she was to going over the edge. Then he would never have to know how deeply he affected her. She could steal this orgasm without begging.
His lifted his head and withdrew his fingers. “You know, I was thinking about the upcoming G7 meeting. What’s your take on it?”
“I am going to kill you.”
He chuckled, a deep rumble that rolled over her skin. “I’m not really thinking about that, baby. I’m thinking about how my cock is going to revolt if you don’t give in soon. Come on, Gus. Give me this one thing. I won’t even make you beg tonight. Just tell me you want me. Tell me you’re not here merely because we made a bargain.”
Gus swallowed. That was surprisingly vulnerable for him. And she wasn’t immune to it.
In some ways, she longed for the previous Roman. He would never have opened himself up. It would have been so easy to get revenge on that man. A few well-placed words vowing that she didn’t give a damn about anything except their bargain and that, when it came to orgasm, any man would do… That would have crushed the twenty-something Roman. Then he would ache exactly the way she had all those years ago. But he was no longer the self-absorbed asshole who’d spurned her callously without regard for her feelings, who had never asked why she wanted to change her plans for the future, who had been way too ambitious to notice her missed period.
If she could trust his words, he’d broken off their relationship back then not because he hadn’t cared, but because he’d cared too much. Because she made him feel.
Maybe it wasn’t witty or worldly or even smart, but she wouldn’t hurt this Roman.
“I want this, Roman. I don’t want the boy I once had. I want the man. I want you.” It wasn’t begging. She could never do that, not with him. But she could give him the truth.
Besides, she wanted to feel this Roman, even if he was more dangerous than the younger version. Even if he broke her heart again.
“Then let go. I want you to come all over my tongue, baby.” He lowered his head again, mouth finding just the right spot while he held her gaze. Electricity arced between them.
Finally, he groaned and his eyes slid shut. Gus gave in too, letting her hands sink into his hair. No, she wouldn’t beg with words, but her body had different ideas. Her hips tilted up in silent entreaty, thrusting against his mouth as he suckled her clit. He eased his fingers inside again, curling them up to press and rub against her sweet spot. The man was going to kill her.
The heat built again until the cataclysm felt imminent. Lightning flashed through her, singeing, coiling, burning, rolling up under her. The powerful clap of thunder was right there… Finally, the shattering pleasure crashed through her, pummeling her, nearly destroying her. She couldn’t stop the shout that gathered deep inside. It began in her heart and burst from her lips.
She called Roman’s name as she thrashed and panted and scratched in satisfaction.
As she caught her breath, he gave her one last savoring lick, accompanied by a low moan, then dragged himself to his feet. When his hands paused at the fly of his slacks, he raked his gaze over her body. “Tell me I can have you, Augustine. I need to hear it again before I go on.”
He was giving her a loophole out of their bargain. She could send him away, end everything between them, just as he’d unwittingly done the night before. But like her last gut check, she couldn’t make herself hurt him. In fact, the thought of wounding him upset her even more now, especially when all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and welcome him inside her body. There were no walls between them now. No boundaries or barriers. It was everything she’d wanted back then. She knew she should protect herself, but she couldn’t say anything to disrupt this golden moment. Though he’d shattered her once before, here she was again, addicted and hoping for more from him than was wise.
Still, she held her arms out to him. “Don’t leave me, Roman. I don’t want to be alone tonight. I need you.”
His gaze softened. “I don’t want you alone. I want you happy. Hell, I want to make you happy. But I have to get a condom first, baby. I didn’t take one with me when I went out earlier. I didn’t even think about it because I wasn’t touching that woman with a ten-foot pole.”
He looked so sincere that she believed he had no designs on Darcy. Something inside her melted even more.
“I’m on birth control, Roman. And believe it or not, I actually haven’t had sex since my last checkup three months ago. But you should—”
“Fuck, Gus.” He shoved his slacks down, followed immediately by his boxers. His cock, big and thick, sprang free, standing proud against his abdomen, almost touching his navel. “I haven’t had sex since my last checkup a year ago. I’m totally clean. Tell me I can have you now.”
He might have hurt her in the past, but he would never lie about this. She normally didn’t have sex without a condom because she would never trust a man with something this important. Only Roman. He was the only man she’d ever conceived a baby with, even if accidentally. And somewhere in the back of her mind…maybe she was mulling the idea of doing it again. Not to trap him, but some part of her wanted so desperately to get back what she’d lost.
She couldn’t let her mind wander there. Instead, she reached for Roman, wanting this moment with him. She was safe. She’d had her contraceptive shot. There was no reason to make him stop now. “Yes.”
That was all she had to say. He toed off his loafers, peeled off his socks, and kicked his slacks away before he turned back to her, wide shoulders lifting with every harsh breath as he stood between her legs and aligned his cock against her. Gus froze, waiting eagerly. This moment was real. He was here. They were finally going to make love.
Roman pushed inside her in one long thrust, gliding through her sensitive flesh and submerging deep until he filled her. Gus gasped as sensation flowed over her. She clamped around him with a cry, feeling stuffed tightly and desperate for more. But she also felt open and unfettered by their past. Having him inside now seemed right.
“Damn you feel good.” Roman stood over her, j
aw clenched, holding himself still as though he needed a moment to regain his self-control. “This I definitely remember, feeling like a teenaged boy fucking a goddess for the first time.”
He made her feel like a goddess. At least he always had when they were in bed together. Now, he made her feel important, too. A woman he wanted more than a trophy he felt compelled to win.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him down until he covered her chest with his and they rested overheated skin to skin. “I remember this part, too. This is where you make me crazy. Don’t hold back on me, Roman. Don’t you dare.”
She wanted everything he had to give. If they only had a few weeks, she would damn well make the most of them. No more hiding pieces of herself from him. At least when they were in bed, she intended to give him her all. Yes, she would be shattered when he walked away again, but maybe that was better than being numb. She hated how gray her days had become. She needed some sunshine, even if it was only for a short time.
“I can’t hold back, not even if I tried. Not with you.” He gripped her waist and dragged his cock back out before plunging in again.