Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Just as I pressed my hand against the door to push it open, I heard a familiar deep groan, and I paused. That was a sound I knew well, and a knot began to form in my throat, tightening it. Shaking my head, I drew in a deep breath. My imagination was getting away from me. There were other reasons for him to groan.
Turning, I went around the side of the building toward the back, where I’d heard him. I hoped he wasn’t sick. That should have been my first thought. Why was I jumping to the worst-case scenario?
It was the dang pregnancy test. The stupid thing had me all messed up in the head.
“That’s it. Suck it deep.” Rome’s deep voice felt like talons sinking into my chest.
My steps slowed. I could think of other reasons for him to moan…but there was only one thing I could think of for the words he’d just uttered.
Every step I took felt as if my feet had turned into concrete blocks, and I was struggling to drag them forward.
“God,” he groaned. “Fuck, that’s good.”
My eyes burned, and my vision blurred. The closer I got, the louder the warning bell in my head clanged, telling me to turn and run. Not to look. If I didn’t see it, then it wasn’t real. This wasn’t happening. But I couldn’t keep myself from the horror waiting for me. The thing that would strip me of all I thought I knew.
“Damn, that’s a slutty mouth, you hungry little cockwhore.”
The voice I loved shredded me with every word.
As I made that last step and turned the corner, the view was one that I knew would change me forever. Nothing would be the same again. All that I thought I had—the security I’d found in loving and being loved by Rome—was snatched from me.
His hand was gripping blonde hair, and his head was thrown back. The girl on her knees in front of him was topless, and I wasn’t sure if she was wearing shorts or if those were her panties. There wasn’t much to them. Hot-pink nails gripped his thighs, and his mouth fell open slightly.
I’d never felt this kind of pain. I heard a sob, and it wasn’t until Rome’s eyes flew open and locked on me that I realized it had been mine. For a moment, panic and even fear contorted his face, but it was fleeting. Gone almost immediately and replaced with a cold detachment.
It was then that I turned and ran.
Present Day
Memories that I’d shut away a long time ago replayed, unwanted, in my head as I stood, staring at my reflection in the mirror. I wasn’t that young girl anymore, yet here I was, fresh out of Rome’s shower, wrapped in one of his oversize towels and smelling of his body wash.
Out of all the many things I’d imagined over the years that would happen if I ever saw Rome again, this was not one of them.
Waking up in his bed for a second day in a row—without a hangover this time—I’d been wrapped in his arms. The guilt was a constant companion, although it wasn’t enough to stop me from doing it again. It seemed my need for Rome hadn’t been distinguished. And Eamon had died, knowing it. That was what my guilt was really about.
The door opened behind me, and I lifted my gaze to see Rome fill the frame. His eyes drifted down my body, then back up to meet mine in my reflection. The way they darkened sent a shiver of anticipation through me. This could potentially be the most dangerous thing I did—allowing him back into my life. But he had made me feel things I hadn’t…since I had been nineteen years old and madly in love with him. It seemed he held that power alone.
“I was disappointed when I walked in and you weren’t still in my bed, but this?” he drawled, slowly taking my body in again. “This might be better.”
He’d gotten a call from Liam and had to go meet with him, but he’d kissed me and told me to stay here until he got back, that it would be quick. That had been over an hour ago.
My insecurities weren’t completely gone even though he hadn’t made me feel anything but beautiful last night when he literally kissed every inch of my naked body. Still, I kept thinking about the girls he’d been with over the years, especially the two I’d seen him with since he’d walked back into my life. When I compared myself to gorgeous young strippers, it was difficult not to feel as if my flaws were like a bright neon sign.
“I wanted a shower, and you said not to leave the room,” I replied.
He nodded his head slowly, bringing his eyes up from my legs to my face. “Anytime you want to shower here, you’re welcome to, but I’d prefer you wait for me next time. I can soap up your back better than you can.”