“Mhm,” she says against his mouth.
“We don’t talk about you leaving,” he requests, dragging her cover-up over her head this time.
“Deal,” she says through a shiver, leaning down to catch his lips. “Roman,” she says after several minutes of haze-inducingkissing. She pulls back, meeting his gaze. “Don’t try to stop me from leaving.”
How much longer do we get to do this?
The question dries in his throat, his heart thundering in his chest.
He doesn’t say anything as he gathers her in his arms, pushing his shorts down, and then her bikini as he helps ease her down. Their foreheads meet as they breathe against each other.
She nods before letting him kiss her freely. Deeply. Slowly. Halting her when she tries to move against him. Pressing into her when she takes him in a little more. Sighing when she pulls at the hair on the back of his neck.
“Jahlani. Can I tell you something that will probably scare you shitless? You had me the minute you walked into class that day. I tried not to be curious about it. About you. I thought it would go away. I would barely see you. Plus, I had Lucy to worry about. How are you doing?”
She mumbles in response. He kisses her cheek. “Good. You’re doing so good.”
“Roman.” She sighs quietly, kissing his jaw as she rolls against him.
“I made up all these crazy ass scenarios in my head. That you hated kids, that you didn’t like guys with green eyes, that you were into something boring like bird watching. Which I actually think I’d be completely okay with if it was with you.” A strained, breathless laugh leaves her lips.
“And then I saw you that day, about to pass out. You didn’t even know, but I had a really shitty, rough day. Like—incredibly shitty. I was exhausted, but then I saw you. Do you remember?”
“I remember.”
“Right, so. Shitty day, desperate to go home, and then I see you. And you look even worse than I feel. And I’m wondering to myself, ‘Why isn’t anyone taking care of her?’ And then I steppedto you and the question became, ‘Why won’t she let anyone take care of her?’ And Jahlani, I really, really was so tired. But I couldn’t leave you. I didn’t want to leave you. I was just too damn curious about this woman. Scared yet?”
She swallows. “Like I’m watching a slasher … except I’m the main character who trips and falls.” He laughs into her neck before groaning when she starts to move faster.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. I think I figured it out. Figured you out. And I realized it didn’t matter if you didn’t like guys with green eyes, or that you hated kids. All that mattered was that you were okay. That someone was taking care of you, and at first it didn’t matter if that someone else was me or another man, but Jahlani,” he says, pulling back to look at her. “I really want it to be me.”
And then to his satisfaction, she’s contracting against him. Her head falls back, and he catches her wrist, caging them against his chest as her groans surround them. With one hand still trapping her wrists, he moves the other over her clit slowly.
She looks at him through hazy eyes, moaning his name as she grinds against his hand, coating his fingers, and that’s what does it for him.
The look of pure elation on her face.
“Jahlani,” he says, shuddering violently as he pulses inside her. His hips still as he breathes deeply against her collarbone. His fingers continue to brush against her, and the plane of her stomach, and her breaths turn heavier, louder, longer.
Her thighs grow tenser, and she’s arching into him, and then she’s gasping as she drives herself against him. He captures her mouth, kissing her, trying to imprint himself on every version of her.
How much longer do we get to do this?
Because he wants forever.
CHAPTER 31
FAMILY-FRIENDLY
JAHLANI
Jahlani feels as though she’s cheating on her family as she pulls into the cobblestone driveway for the second time. She should be trying to mend things with them—to be better, to try. But things here with them are easier. Calmer. Happier. Here, she doesn’t have to think so much about what she’s doing. This time, the door is covered in Christmas decorations. Somehow, she finds herself in the kitchen with Gwen—which she doesn’t mind. It’s refreshing. She talks about everything. Her latest project, a crazy buyer, how she got into art, and then Roman.
“I just worry about him,” Gwen says, scooping out pasta into a bowl.
“Worry?”
“That boy just always seems to have his head in the clouds. He’s been like that since he was a kid, and I hate that he’s still working at that bar,” she says, sipping from her wine. “It’s a shame.”
