She moved back toward the door and opened it. “I changed my mind,” she said, voice low.
Rolani’s gaze slid past her shoulder, clocking the cracked door to her room. The champagne on her breath was making herbold, and he liked that too. Without a word, he pulled her across the threshold into her own room, leaving his abandoned.
“So you got my flowers,” he said, chin jerking toward the bouquet on the table.
The suite was quiet except for the music she had playing throughout. The roses sat fat and full, red as fire against the soft glow of the lamp.
“Yeah, I got them.” Her arms crossed. “And your note. Thank you, but tell me what it means.”
His eyes locked on hers. “You know what it means.”
“Do I?” Her voice carried a warning edge, but it trembled underneath.
He stepped in closer, crowding her until her back brushed the wall. “Stop acting brand new. You felt me on that plane. You felt me in that elevator. You feel me right now.”
Her lips parted, then pressed back together. “What do you want from me, Rolani?”
“A chance. You're clouding my judgement, and I need to know why. I don’t even move like this normally.”
“A man’s favorite line,” she mocked. “Whole time, if not me, it would’ve been another woman from the rooftop.”
He smirked, leaning in until their mouths were a breath apart. “Let me get to know you.”
She turned to the window.
“What are you afraid of, Ken?” he murmured. “Scared you might like a nigga like me.”
“You don’t know what I felt.” She tried to move, but his hand caught her waist.
“Don’t I?” His fingers traced her jawline. “You came to my door. Or did you forget?”
“That was a bad idea. I don’t sleep with men I just met.” She pressed her palm flat against his chest, trying to create distanceher body didn’t want. But his heartbeat under her hand was steady, grounding, pulling her in even as she pushed away.
“Who said anything about sleeping, baby?”
Her eyes widened, but a smirk tugged her lips. Her hand was still on his chest — no longer pushing, just feeling.
“You want me to leave?” His thumb dragged slowly across her mouth. Her heart was beating out of her chest. One minute, she was feeling bold, and the next, she was deathly afraid of opening Pandora's box. But damn, she deserved a treat. A little magic.
“Say it with your chest. Because if you don't, the rest of the night belongs to me.”
Silence stretched, her chest rising fast against his. The woman who loved words simply had none.
“I can’t,” she breathed.
“Can’t what? Speak up, beautiful.”
“I can’t tell you that.” Her fists gripped his shirt, dragging him closer. “Because it would be a lie.”
His grin was hungry. “Take this shit off then.”
“Just tonight,” she warned. “I don’t do relationships, Rolani.”
“Okay, but when you do, you will with me,” he said, dead serious. The words coming from her mouth were foreign to him. He’d never had a woman set those boundaries. Usually, it was the other way around. And that made him want her even more.
He crashed his mouth down on hers, all the tension from their day poured into a kiss that made her knees weak. She kissed him back just as desperately.
“Fuck,” he groaned against her lips, pressing her against the window. He pulled back to look at her, a spark of vulnerability flashing in his eyes.
