“You don’t have to do anything right now. You’re safe here. No one can get to you. So why don’t you relax and sleep off the rest of that drug?”
My eyesareheavy. And this bed is so comfy, and I feel good when I’m with Rome.
So without fighting him, I let my eyes drift closed and fall asleep.
Sixteen
ROME
She fell asleep so easily and quickly, as though she could finally let her guard down. Her plump lips part as she breathes deeply in sleep, and she looks sorightin my bed. I can’t help but reach out for her and hug her to me, careful of her bruised ribs.
She said she was mugged, and I don’t think she was lying. Some of the bruises look fresh. But I now know that the more advanced bruises, and possibly the scar on her back, were caused by a man I despise. It makes me see red, but she nuzzles her little nose against my chest, and some of the tension within me settles.
Even more strangely, despite the question marks that hover over Lulu’s life story and my brothers’ valid concerns, I have no desire to back away from her.
I plant my face in her hair and kiss her head, breathing her in.
You’re not going anywhere, firefly. You’re home.
And her father is going to die.
Seventeen
LULU
Idon’t know if I’ve ever felt so …cozy.
I’m surrounded by warmth. My face rests against a hard, warm chest, and when I open my eyes, it’s to see the rest of a tattooed torso in my line of vision.
Rome.
We weren’t touching when we fell asleep, but here we are now.
Cuddling. Actually, that term’s too simple for it. We’re wrapped up in each other. His arms are holding me against him, and it feels so good. I don’t know if I’ve ever been held like this before. I’m not a virgin, but the few sexual encounters I had with just one man weren’t followed up with cuddling in bed.
There was no bed.
My arm is draped over his stomach, and my leg is hitched up high on his thighs. For fuck’s sake, I’m clinging to the poor man like a monkey in a tree.
What if he doesn’t like to be touched?
I guess he would have rolled away from me if that were the case.
He’s relaxed beneath me, breathing in long, deep breaths, obviously still asleep. I want to drag my fingers over his eight-pack abs. Over the ink and the soft, warm skin.
Holding my breath, I ease my head back to see his face. It’s relaxed in sleep, but he still looks grouchy, with that little line between his dark eyebrows, as if even in dreams something pisses him off. His full lips are closed. They look like they could do all kinds of naughty things to me, and just the thought of it has my core tightening.
Rome has a good nose. It might have been broken once because he has a bump on the bridge.
Full, dark eyelashes lay against his tanned cheek, and his dark hair is tousled from sleep.
Everything about this man is sexy. His voice. The way his blue eyes watch me as he listens to me. Hell, thelisteningis sexy. Even though we’ve only had a few conversations, and they haven’t been long or of much substance, I feel like he sees me. Like he wants to know me.
With my eyes pinned to his face, I let my hand drift over his abdomen, and God, if I don’t love the way his smooth skin feels under my touch. Each muscle is defined, and I enjoy exploring each hill and valley up to his chest.
I want to kiss his neck. Maybe bite him there and leave a mark.
Mine.
