I had promised myself that I would protect my heart this time. I swore I wouldn’t let it be battered and bruised again.
But I had not anticipated the way Roman would reach right inside my chest and demand that I be his.
It was never a fair fight to begin with.
For a long moment, neither of us moved.
Roman’s weight rested over me, solid and grounding. His breaths slowed, the steady rhythm brushing across my skin as the last echoes of everything we’d shared shifted into something softer.
Eventually, Roman rolled onto his side and pulled me with him. One heavy arm wrapped around my waist as he crushed me to him like he had no intention of letting me go. I let myself relax, exhausted.
The last thing I remembered before sleep claimed me was the steady beat of his heart against my back and his fingers tracing slow patterns along my arm. I was safe and protected. Nothing would hurt me here in Roman’s embrace.
36
Palmer
Iwoketothesmellof coffee.
My nose scrunched. I didn’t want to wake up.
My body felt loose and heavy; a dull soreness had settled into my muscles. I shifted with a soft groan as I stretched my legs, and then I finally opened my eyes.
For a brief second, confusion washed over me. I wasn’t in my room. With a jolt, I realized that this was Roman’s room. I was in his bed, naked and feeling achy in the most delicious way.
Everything from last night rushed back all at once.
“Morning.”
The familiar gruff voice sent my heart skittering.
I rolled over and found Roman sitting up beside me, his back leaning against the headboard. His phone rested loosely in one hand while a mug curled steam into the air from the other. My mouth went dry at the sight of him.
He was shirtless.
The morning light streaming in through the tall windows traced the broad lines of his shoulders and chest as he lifted the mug to his lips, the muscles in his arm flexing with the simple movement.
A rush of disbelief coursed through me.
Roman arched a brow, and the faintest hint of a smirk tugged at his mouth. I wasn’t used to this version of Roman—the smirking one. It was like he was allowing me to glimpse a side of him that no one else did, and the thought made something warm and electric spread through my chest.
Roman took another slow sip of coffee before licking his top lip, never breaking eye contact with me.
My thighs pressed together at the memory of that tongue.
He leaned forward. “How are you feeling?”
I blinked, trying to gather my scattered thoughts into something resembling a sentence. “Uh—” I cleared my throat. “I’m…great.”
His lips twitched. “Just great?”
I pulled the sheets up to my chin, my face feeling like it was on fire. I wasn’t sure what it was about the daylight that suddenly had me so self-conscious, but I might erupt into flames right here in this bed.
Roman chuckled and leaned closer. My heart leapt into my throat, but all he did was kiss my forehead.
“I brought you some tea.” He nodded toward the nightstand. “And some water. You should drink something.”
He brought me tea?
