“Hey, baby,” I slur, my tongue still feeling like metal in my mouth.
“Hey… when are you coming home?” she asks, her voice muffled under the whooshing of blood rushing in my ears.
“Now, angel. We’ll be home soon.”
I don’t hear her response before the phone hangs up.
I consider calling her back but decide against it. I know how she feels when it comes to alcohol, so I work on sobering up enough that she isn’t bothered by my presence when I walk through the door.
She hasn’t hinted she wanted anything sexual since our picnic at the park, so I plan on worshiping her tonight. Whatever part of her she permits me to have.
The drive is ridden in silence, nothing but angry music filling the empty air. My thoughts are on my throbbing cock and the image of Amira’s wet pussy.
Ash slams abruptly on the brakes, flinging a string of curses at the asshole who nearly clipped his front bumper. My torso shoots forward, neck screaming out in pain as the seatbelt rips across my skin.
Even in my drunken state, I am all too aware of the blood dripping from the slash in my neck down my collarbone, creating a sticky, metallic pool on my shirt neckline.
Well, I think I’m pretty fucking sober now.
A hiss escapes me when I feel along my broken skin, gently probing the cut to gauge how wide and deep it is.
“Shit. Sorry, dude,” Ash mumbles, taking the exit to our right, bringing us back into familiar territory.
I forget all about my wound once the house comes into view. My seatbelt is off before Ash has the chance to shut the engine off. Then, without waiting another second, I dart out of the car and jog up the inclined path.
Before I reach the door, I skid to a stop, spinning around on my heels, then bouncing slightly on the balls of my feet. “Hey! Are you coming, or are you just gonna sit there?”
Ash lies on the hood of his car. Hands crossed behind his head as he stares at the moon above. “I’ll be here for a while.”
I can still hear the faint growl in his tone. Knowing he’ll be out here until Sage shows up, I bound back to the front door, practically barging through it to hold Amira against me.
I pay no mind to her pacing before the fireplace. Ignoring the thick, worn journal in her hands, I grab her by the waist and pull her against me.
I don’t listen to what she’s saying as the book falls from her grasp. Kicking it somewhere to my right, I press my lips against her feverish skin and suck her pulse into my mouth.
“Roman. Stop. I want to talk to you about something.”
I let my hands drop from her waist but keep my lips on her flesh, nipping and biting until minor red marks appear on her olive skin.
“Roman! I said no!” she shouts, planting her hands on my chest, shoving me as far back as she can manage.
I stumble over the corner of the hearth of the fireplace. Holding my hands up, I’m about to apologize for being a massive dick, when Amira explodes, and all that pent-up hostility and aggression she buries under a pile of destructive thoughts spill out.
“Fuck! Roman! What the fuck is wrong with you!? I said no! Or is that not an option for you either?!”
Any desire that I had rushing through my veins is gone, and I stare at Amira like a fucking stranger.
“What did you just say?”
“I said stop, and you didn’t. Just like Gabriel. Just like Liam… just like fucking Tommy.”
In two steps, I’m in her face, my nostrils flaring as I stare down at her burning gaze. “Don’t ever fucking compare me to them again. What the fuck is your problem?!”
“You! Why the fuck do you keep pushing sex! Don’t you realize by now that I can’t fucking have sex with you!?”
My teeth slam together on the tip of my tongue, tearing a chunk off as her words pierce my heart. The instant rejection in her tone almost sends me to my knees. The only thing keeping me upright are the bricks of the fireplace held so tightly in my grasp, their rough edges splitting my palm in half.
“I’m not trying to fuck you, Amira! Shit! I’m a fucking man! I want to hold and touch and kiss you because you’re fuckingmine! I need your affection! I need your fucking love!”
