Page 83 of The Agreement

Standing right there.

Waiting.

Wearing nothing but a white, silk nightdress with lace trim that reached her mid-thigh, Karine stared back at him with wide, bright eyes. A pleased smile pulled at the corners of her sensual mouth, but then it widened into something sweeter. Almost instantly.

Roman would be a fucking liar to say it didn’t do something to him to know she was happy to see him.

“I knew you would come,” she said in a whisper.

He thought, speaking to herself.

Roman replied anyway, though he didn’t think her words had been meant for him. “I’m glad you have more faith in me than I have in myself.”

Her forwardness took him by surprise when she reached for him, grabbing his hands in her own, and pulling him deeper into the bedroom. All without saying a thing. Two bedside lamps lit the room, and nothing else. It wasn’t sufficient for him to clearly see the space, but the moonlight spilling in behind them illuminated Karine in a silvery glow.

On another night, if he were there for a different reason and not at her invitation, he might have thought it made her look angelic. Considering the growing need clawing its way through his bloodstream at the way she kept watching him, though, well ... he couldn’t find anything innocent about this.

And he didn’t mind.

With the doors of the veranda still open, the cool breeze filtering in through the room calmed Roman. Not a lot, of course, but enough to soothe the heat traveling over his body with every squeeze of Karine’s hands inside his.

Her touch excited him like no other. Worse, it only made him want her more.

That was dangerous.

So far in his life, women made him feel a lot of predictable things. None of which he found worthy enough to risk his life, even if it was a good time in the end. Women rarely affected him beyond the usual lust and need for relief.

Karine wasn’t quite the same.

He had a desire to taste her—but not with just a kiss. What would her sounds be like when she came for him? Hard, and then harder. Would she take her pleasure from him, or let him give it? Again and again, the thoughts and fantasies filled his mind until it was all he could see. Already, although she did nothing more than stare at him and hold his hand, he could hear his name on her lips.

Breathy, and begging.

Roman wanted to see her toes curl when he was inside her. Stretching out her pussy, and filling her full of him. Would she ask him to take her ass, too?

Goddamn.

He wouldn’t refuse.

His mind even conjured up the picture of her on her knees, taking every last drop of him down her throat until he had had his fill of her completely. Before he’d even got her naked, Roman had already mentally taken her every single way he wanted.

It was crazy.

Completely.

Despite the boldness she had shown, Karines gaze shied away from him. Just long enough for him to notice, and hesitate.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked. We don’t have to—”

“No, it’s not that.”

The assurance rushed out of Karine’s mouth before Roman could even finish his own sentence. She couldn’t possibly know how painful it was for him to say those words. He was positive that if he didn’t have her tonight, in all the ways he’d imagined, he might explode. Except he also wasn’t a monster.

He’d never been the type to find pleasure in someone else’s pain. There was a thin line between the two, sure, but he wouldn’t push her. A sense of fragility clung all around her. He found it staring back in her blue gaze.

She had a soul that craved something—the feeling was visceral to him, so real—was she searching for it in him? He definitely wasn’t the man who could provide it. He didn’t even know how to care for himself.

“Then, what is it?” Roman asked, settling on the words that seemed right. Not that he could say why—it felt better than anything else he wanted to say, though. Didn’t that count for something?