Perhaps now would be a good time to tell him that I don’t make a habit of going back to guys’ apartments on the second date.
I don’t do this, period.
But he speaks first. “Sara, I have to know something.”
“O-kay.”
This sounds serious. Is he going to ask me if I use birth control? Or maybe there’s a skeleton in his family closet that he thinks might scare me away, and he’s giving me the option to cut and run now before we’re both in too deep.
When he responds, it’s with a growl that makes goose bumps break out over my whole body. “What did you think when I asked you out in the salon?”
I bite my lip.That’swhat’s got him looking so sheepish?
“That you were out of my league. That Gia would warn you to stay away from me because I’m not good enough. That my lactose intolerance would be a red flag.Hey, she can’t dairy, Romeo, so you might want to rethink the whole date thing. You know?”
Romeo’s green eyes go wide. He raises an eyebrow, but smiles. “Oh, baby. That’s so far from the truth you’re on a different planet. You’re way out of mine. I mean, look at you…”
Then he leans down.
When he kisses me, my heart beats so hard I think it stops.
Romeo’s hands creep up, fisting my hair and tilting my head to deepen the kiss. I moan, melting against him.
He’s everything.
I’ve been kissed before. Ronnie Carlucci. Seventh grade. Tommy Gianetti. Sophomore year.
But this kiss blows them all out of the water.
Romeo kisses me like he can’t get enough. Like I’m going to disappear. His hands curl around my neck, so tender, gently caressing my skin.
I’ve never been kissed like this. His tongue explores my mouth, not intrusive, but as if he’s committing it to memory. He closes his eyes, and my heart performs crazy somersaults at the sight of his thick dark lashes, before I give into the moment and close mine too. I can taste coffeeand chocolate. I breathe in his coconut smell that will always conjure up memories of this moment and relax against him.
“I’ve never met anyone like you, Sara.” His voice is husky when he pulls away.
He nibbles my bottom lip, tugging it between his front teeth, and when I moan, he responds with a hungry noise that makes my heart catch in my throat.
Romeo scoops me into his arms as if I’m weightless.
I feel weightless. I feel fragile. I feel like every nerve ending in my body is suddenly and electrifyingly alive.
He nudges open a door with his elbow and carries me through sideways, careful not to catch my legs on the doorframe. Then he lowers me onto the bed.
I barely have time to check out the room before he leans over me and kisses me again. His kisses are hungrier now. Demanding. Lips and teeth clashing in our desperation to consume one another.
When he pulls away, we’re both breathless.
“I want to undress you,” he says.
I almost remind him that he has already seen me naked. But my voice got lost somewhere between the kitchen and the bedroom, and even if I could find it, I’m not spoiling this moment. Because now that I’m here, I can’t wait to find out what Romeo Andretti is going to do with me.
“Please,” I say in a tiny voice.
It’s all he needs. He holds my hand and sits me upright then takes off my hoodie and T-shirt. I’m not wearing a bra; too difficult to navigate when your body is damp fromswimming. He pulls me against his chest, my nipples tingling when they graze his warm skin. His hands are back in my hair, my head tilted backwards, exposing my neck to him as if I just went back to Lestat’s lair.
“You’re shivering,” he murmurs against my lips. “I knew I should’ve gotten you out of the water sooner.”
“It isn’t the cold, Romeo.”
