I must be imagining it. I’m feeling what I want to feel. I cling to him, feeling like I’m in a dream. He pulls away to look at me again.
"Damn. All grown up," he growls. I blush. I'm glad he's noticed. There's no denying I'm a woman now. I see the looks I get from men on the street. My body is all curves now. There's no hiding the shape of my ass or my generous breasts. But for once, I don't mind the idea of a man looking at my body. After all, I've been saving my body all this time for him.
“It’s good to see you,” I manage to stammer. “Thanks for stepping in for my brother. I didn’t want to do this alone.”
"Don't worry...I won't let any asshole mess with you. You're safe with me," Roman growls. Am I imagining the possessiveness in his voice? Why do I get the feeling that when he's talking about my safety, he's not talking about scammers? I feel like he'd shield me from anything. I'm too nervous to say anything to him, but staring up at him, I wish he'd touch me again. I want so much from him that I can never have. But some part of me is holding out hope that he sees me the way I see him. I don't want to believe that I imagined the way he looked at me three years ago. I don't want to let that fantasy go. But maybe it's time to grow up. He's out of my league. He's much older than me. He's my brother's best friend. It's like a recipe for disaster.
And yet I want to try that recipe out.
Chapter Two
Roman
The second I catch sight of the asshole real estate agent, I know that it's a good thing I'm here. The first thing he does as he approaches us from his car is stare at Sophia with lustful eyes, his eyes traveling over her breasts hungrily. It's a red flag immediately, and it makes my blood boil with anger. She's mine. I don't even want this creep looking at her. I take a step forward so that I'm in front of her protectively. Still, he dodges around me to reach out and shake Sophia's hand. I grit my teeth, knowing I need to keep my cool, even if the simple gesture of their hands connecting is making me want to punch something.
“Good morning, Sophia. I’m looking forward to showing you the properties we have on offer today. My name is Cal and I’ll be helping you out with anything you need.” He turns to look at me, his smile fading. “Will you be joining us?”
"Yes," I say shortly. "I want to make sure she gets a good deal."
“I can assure you she will have the best deals on offer. You don’t need to stay,” Cal says, touching the base of Sophia’s spine as he tries to guide her toward the apartment building. Anger flares inside me and I rush forward, getting in his face in annoyance.
"Don't. Fucking. Touch her," I growl. I can't help myself. She's mine and I can't let some asshole like him think he has the right to touch her. Sophia blinks in surprise, but she puts a hand on my arm and pulls me along.
"It's okay," she says gently, and I feel some of the anger leaving me. She's so pure, so gentle, so kind. She doesn't understand what she does to men. She doesn't understand how her beauty inspires such a primal instinct inside us all. I get the feeling that I'm not the only man who is willing to fight for her affection. But the difference between me and other men is that I know her. She's mine. Not one of them will do the things for her that I will. And that’s why in the end, I’m going to win her. No matter what it takes.
“Let’s go inside and take a look, shall we?” Cal says through gritted teeth. I still want to tear into him, but he keeps his distance as we head inside the building and I know that I’m not going to let her near him again. I’ll keep her safe by my side.
I can tell immediately that this place isn't worthy of Sophia. It's dark and dingy and it smells stale. I move closer to her and she looks up at me with her baby blues. Damn, does she have any idea what she's doing to me? My cock is rock hard right now.
“You can do better than this place,” I growl. She blinks.
“It’s at the top of my budget…”
“I won’t allow you to end up living in a shithole like this,” I tell her protectively. She bows her head.
“Living in the city is so expensive, though…”