“The other night.”
She stops moving, shutting her eyes. Her mind wanders back to his breath on her neck, his fingers on her thighs.
She opens her eyes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Now it’s his turn to shake his head. “You’re stubborn as hell.”
He scoffs as he removes his bag from his shoulders, resting it in the leather wingback chair.
“Thanks, I get it from my mom.” She resumes her task of packing her things. “I still have to submit this paper to Jackson.”
“Jahlani.” His voice sounds closer, but she doesn’t look up, focusing her efforts on her bag and willing her body to stop flashing hot.
“And I need to input grades for the project?—”
“Jahlani.”
“And I need to finish all of this by tonight?—”
“Jahlani, stop.” He grips her wrist, halting her movements. He’s made it past her security. Breached the place she thought she was safe. He towers over her, smile gone. Bending closer, he utters his words in a harsh tone. “You don’t get to kiss me, run off, and then pretend that nothing happened.”
Her eyes widen. “Will you lower your voice?”
He drops her hand, stepping back a fraction to fold his arms over his chest. “Oh. So, you do remember?”
She exhales. “I—it’s not—there’s nothing to talk about. It shouldn’t have happened Roman, okay? It was a lapse of judgment. I was drunk.”
His eyes narrow as a soft scoff filters past his lips. “You’re kidding.”
She lifts a hand up in exasperation. “Roman, take a look around you! Do you see where we are? It shouldn’t have happened,” she grits out. “It shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have done that, and we shouldn’t be talking about it,especiallyhere,” she says, her voice serious. Unwavering.
His expression is unreadable when she finally has the courage to look up. He nods his head as he stuffs his hands into his pockets.
“So, the only reason you touched me is because you were drunk?”
She nods even though her stomach revolts and it feels as though someone is shoving a rock down her throat.
“Pretty much.”
He rubs the back of his neck, stepping forward. “Have you been here all day?”
She nods, shouldering her bag. “Yes, and I really need to—what are you doing?”
Now a toe’s length away, his eyes scan her face with an intensity that she wishes didn’t affect her. She wishes to go back to before he could extract this type of reaction from her. It’s too much and nothing at all.
His eyes flicker to her lips, and his hand, warm and assured, slides to the side of her waist, pulling her closer. “Testing a theory. At least, let me … just once.”
“Roman, people could see.”
“Just once.” He breathes against her mouth, sealing the space between them.
And truthfully, Jahlani knows she can put up more of a fight, but as he walks them backward into the bookshelf and slides his tongue against hers, her flight and her fight mode seem to malfunction. He slides her bag from her shoulder and the sound of her things spilling out does nothing to cease their movements. He slots his thigh in between her legs, and she lets out a low moan when he shifts against her.
He pulls back, pressing a firm kiss to her neck. “I’m sorry you felt the need to run. You were probably so frustrated.” A firm kiss to her lips. “I would have taken care of you. Let me try now,” he says, guiding her hips to rock on his thigh.
She shudders, allowing him to do it once, twice, and then her sense of hearing seems to heighten and she’s confident she heard footsteps just outside the door, and so she pushes him back.
“Roman. No, we can’t. We can’t.”
