I ran my tongue over the shell of her ear and then whispered, “What if it was?”
She slapped my chest. “I’d say you’re full of shit, psycho. You got me into bed, we’ve fucked, so you can drop the intense love bombing now.” Her eyes widened. “Not that I’m saying you’re in love with me. Oh, God, I’ll stop digging this giant hole now and shut up.”
I chuckled, the sound becoming more familiar—Hana, the town, the new job—if I didn’t know better, I’d say that the change had been good for me, although I wouldn’t be telling Thomas Lanton that anytime soon.
“Work kept me busy.”
She pulled the sheet up to cover herself. “Your IT work?”
“You sound so untrusting, Hana. Yes, my IT work.” I tugged the sheet back down, making sure she was fully exposed.
“Ro, I’m cold.”
I eased her onto her back. “Then let me warm you up.” Covering her with my naked body, my lips found hers, kissing her slowly until she wrapped her legs around my hips, wriggling under me so her pussy pressed against my cock. But then she pulled back and let out a long yawn.
“Tired?”
“A little, but I want you.” Her fingers raked through my beard as her hips rocked once in reply.
“Well, I’ve always wanted to fuck someone awake. We could try that,” I half-teased because slipping my cock into a sleeping Hana would be on my bucket list.
She moved quickly, slapping my shoulder as she pushed me away, coming up to sit and pulling the sheets around her. I shifted back as she brought her knees to her chest, looking terrified.
“Hana?”
“No. Not that. I mean it. I’d hate it.”
I reached for her hand slowly so I didn’t freak her out, and let out a sigh of relief when she let me take it and twist our fingers together.
“Okay. Anything else you’d hate?”
“Praise, any sort of age play…” I frowned, but didn’t question her. “Shit, I sound like a weirdo. I’m not messed up or anything, but my stepfather,”—blood rushed loudly through my ears so Ihad to strain to hear her properly—“he was a dickhead. After Mum died, he liked to throw his weight around to get me to do what he wanted. And if I didn’t agree, he’d threaten me. Nothing happened, but I was young, pretty-ish. Apparently, his friends liked the look of me, and he used to threaten to let them take me and,” she swallowed, “you know. One night, when I’d been particularly defiant, I woke up, and one of his friends was in my room. Sitting in a chair. Watching me. I sleep like the dead, so God knows how long he was there. Needless to say, I never said no to Daddy-dearest again, but when I behaved, he used to joke that I was being his good girl.” Her whole body shuddered as she obviously relived her past, and guilt about me standing at the end of her bed watching her sleep hit me like a bullet to the head.
I crawled towards her, letting her keep the sheet around her until she felt safe again. Cupping her face in my hands, I held her as tears welled in her eyes.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have told you any of that.”
I tutted, deciding to find out who her stepfather was and the men who used to visit her, and destroy their lives with my own unique brand of revenge. “You absolutely should have told me that. I promise not to do any of that, but I also want you to know that you are a hundred per cent safe with me. I won’t hurt you, and I won’t let anyone else hurt you.”
She wrapped her hands around my wrists, her skin pale in comparison to the dark ink of my tattoos. “But you’re stalking me. You had a photo of me getting into a car today, and you keep showing up. You followed me to Amber’s and then grabbed me from a dark alley.”
Was now the moment to tell her that I’d been keeping her safe all these years? That protecting her had started as a job but was now my vocation, my destiny, my sole purpose in life? “I’m not trying to hurt you,” I reassured her.
Her body sagged, and her eyes fluttered closed, and when she opened them again, she gave me a slight nod. “I don’t understand why I believe you and why I seem to trust you so much. Fuck, you could be about to lock me in your basement and make me your sex slave.”
“I don’t have a basement, but you’re welcome to be my sex slave, or I can be yours.” I rolled onto my back, my erect cock pointing to the ceiling. “Now, come here and do your worst.”
29
HANA
“You okay?You need anything? Food? Are you warm enough?” Roman had been like this since we woke up midmorning, naked and wrapped around each other like our bodies sought each other out, even in sleep. I could see why. Despite my concerns about this man, the way he made me feel—safe, taken care of, adored—it was becoming a little addictive.
I turned to look up at him from where my head rested on his giant thighs as we lay on the sofa. “For the fourteenth time, I’m fine. But I do appreciate you asking.”
Roman smiled down at me, his eyes creasing as he pushed my hair back from my face, the TV programme we were watching long forgotten. He’d not stopped touching me since I showed up for my phone last night. As if he couldn’t believe I was really here, which was ridiculous because the man could probably have any woman he wanted.
“You don’t have to take care of me, you know.”
