Page 58 of Heartbreaker

“Don’t piss me off, Lana. This isn’t a joke, and we’re not a joke.” He pulls back for a moment, taking in my face. “Unless… Unless you’re not okay with this?” I shake my head fast because, despite the guilt of the lies between us, I want everyone to know Rome is mine.

“No, no… I am,” I say quickly, wanting to assure him. “I’m more than happy for everyone to know just how off-limits you are.” His eyes flare with heat, and I lick my lips. “I don’t know if you know this, but I can be a bit jealous.” He groans, pulling me into his lap.

“Mmm, yeah, I’ve noticed. I kind of love that about you, heartbreaker.” My breath hitches as I feel his hard cock beneath me. But before we can do anything more, there’s a knock at the door. Rome groans, his head falling to my neck and nipping at the skin there. “That’s your cake.” He picks me up and sets me on the bed, tugging his tee over my head as he does. “Go lie down and play with yourself, get wet for me while I grab it.” My lips part on a sharp intake of breath, and he grins as there’s another knock at the door. “Now, Lana. I want to eat out my girlfriend when I get back.” He doesn’t need to tell me again, and I scramble up the bed, settling into it before sliding my hand to my center. His eyes close and lips tip with a blissful smile. He turns then, leaving me to grab my dessert before he has his.

Whoever said you can’t have your cake and eat it too clearly never had a boyfriend like Rome DeLuca, who wanted to give them the world.

TWENTY-NINE

Demi’s timing is absolutely terrible.

The worst, possibly.

Rome’s lips are traveling down my body, pressing kisses between my breasts and over my belly, headed right where I desperately need him, when a text sounds. Not the normal ding of an incoming message, but the push notification she has set up to let me know when the message she just sent absolutely can’t be ignored. Rome’s head lifts, looking across the room to where my phone sits, brows furrowed.

“What was that?” he asks, because my phone has never made that noise in his presence.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“It’s Demi. That’s her, uh, emergency tone,” I say, because ever since we’ve gotten together, it’s felt uncomfortable to give Rome total lies. Instead, I’ve forced myself to straddle the line between truth and lie, not quite standing on either.

I hate it here, but it is what it is. It’s been a week since Rome told the world I was his, and we’ve spent even more time together than before, since we no longer have to sneak around. No one seemed very surprised, except maybe Courtney, who keeps pestering us to do an interview about it to add to Rome’s good press.

“An emergency? Is everything okay?” I sigh, rolling away with utter regret as I swipe my phone from the counter. When I see SOS MY PERIOD IS LATE on the notification screen, my stomach twists, knowing that this isn’t about a pregnancy scare, but something different altogether.

“Yeah, but she needs me,” I say. Again, not a lie, but not the full truth. I turn to him, giving him a look as apologetic as I can muster. My clit is throbbing between my legs with unsatisfied desire. “I’m sorry, but she’s my best friend.”

“No, of course,” he says, ever the gentleman, though his face looks strange, a bit confused. “Is there anything I can do to help?” I shake my head and sigh, reaching for his T-shirt and slipping it on over my head, followed by a pair of shorts.

“No, no. Girl period stuff. You’re going to practice tonight, right?” I ask about the optional practice as I slip my shoes on and grab my bag. He nods, following me to the door.

“Yeah. I’ll see you then.” His hand tips my chin up, his calloused fingers coasting into my hair. “Call me if you guys need anything at all. I’m more than happy to make a run to the store if need be.” God, he’s so perfect. In moments like these, I wonder just how the hell he pulled off the bad-boy persona for so long: he was born to be a lover boy, my Rome.

“I will. I really am sorry,” I murmur. He smiles and winks at me.

“No worries, Lana. Just means you’ll owe me later.” I return the mischievous look despite the unease in my gut.

“Or maybe you’ll have to punish me for leaving you high and dry,” I whisper, and the resulting groan he lets out settles warm in my belly. His lips move to mine, giving me a hard, brief kiss before stepping back, opening the door.

“Go, heartbreaker, before I change my mind and make Demi wait.” I give him a smile over my shoulder, and he smacks my ass as I head down the hall. Once his door clicks shut behind me, I pull out my phone, switching straight into Maven’s mode as I call Demi.

“What’s going on?” I ask when she picks up as I hustle toward our room.

“Come to the arena,” she says, breathing as if she’s also walking quickly. “I’m halfway there.” My brows furrow, but I turn around toward the stairs, knowing the elevator in this hotel is torturously slow.

“What’s going on?” I demand. My words echo in the cement stairwell.

“Someone is looping the drive cam footage.” My feet stumble on a step with her words, and I have to hold the railing tight to stop myself from falling. “I had them running in the background while I was trying to get into the Indy system—which I did, thank you very much.” A small moment of relief hits, knowing that we’re getting somewhere even if it feels like we’re not. “And I noticed a bug fly past your camera. I have them all coded to notify me of any movement when the arena is supposed to be closed. I thought nothing of it, but then it happened again five minutes later. Same bug, same path.”

“Fuck,” I hiss out, hitting the lobby floor and moving faster. This hotel isn’t connected to the area by a hallway; instead, you have to walk three blocks to get there. There’s a shuttle the circuit provides to take drivers to and from, but I don’t have the time, nor do I want a record of where I’m going and when.

“Someone else has access to the cameras,” Demi says, confirming my fear.

“Fuck,” I repeat. After the harness incident, all of the trucks’ dash cams were set to full-time monitoring, something only a handful of people know about. Demi made sure to access them, so she’s been able to watch the arena even more effectively now.

“Do you think anything else is going on? Some other issue they’ve corrupted and don’t want anyone tracking?”

“I can’t know for sure, but I think so,” she says, and dread fills my gut. “I’m in the pit right now, checking the onboard telemetry systems, and Rome’s isn’t transmitting correctly.”