Page 32 of The Promise

“Karine, you’re here. You obviously wanted something. Do you know what you want?”

God.

Why did he have to be like that?

So, matter-of-fact.

Black and white.

It kind of pissed her off because when he offered her statements like that—so clear, no options but yes or no—she felt like she was lying to him if she didn’t answer. That didn’t mean she always had an answer, though. Or rather, one that would make sense.

“I don’t know, okay?” she snapped, throwing the words over her shoulder. Karine didn’t mean to let the irritation bubble over—it wasn’t his fault she had trouble dissecting her own wants and needs—and was quick to add, “You should know this about me by now, Roman. I never know what I want because it feels like I don’t even know myself.”

Roman hadn’t reacted once, not even when she raised her voice and snapped at him. She wasn’t sure if it was because he’d been expecting her outburst, or was trying to provoke one when he replied, without inflection, “And yet, you’re here in my room right now.”

Right.

He wasn’t wrong.

So, fine.

Turning and letting go of the doorknob, Karine raised her face up, thrusting her chin out in his direction—finally, she found that courage from before to meet his eyes. She had to tell him something.

“I’m here because I feel safe.”

“You feel safe here?” he asked.

“With you,” she clarified. “Like my feet are on steady ground, the rest doesn’t really matter when I feel like that because I never do. Except with you. I like it, I’m not sure I should, though.”

The admittance had Karine’s cheeks burning even if she had willingly told him the truth. Not that her secrets seemed to bother him as his gaze roamed over her where she stood a nervous mess. She became hyper aware of her night attire the longer his gaze lingered. An old oversized T-shirt, and a pair of tiny cotton shorts. Roman gave no indication that he even noticed what she was wearing, or cared, for that matter as his gaze crawled back up to meet hers.

“I think you do know what you want, Karine. Maybe it’s become easier to distinguish your wants and needs without everyone else constantly plying you with whatever they wanted or needed at the time to serve their purposes, but either way ... you do know yourself. And you’re allowed to. No one’s taking that away from you here. I promise.”

She couldn’t look away from him, then, her reason for being there undeniable as that urge to run diminished to practically nothing. The hunger pooling low in her belly as Roman leaned his gorgeous form toward the edge of the bed took center stage for her focus instead.

Karine didn’t even try to hide the way she swallowed hard, or how she couldn’t stop her tongue from sweeping along the seam of her lower lip like she might find the taste of him there. Or the memory of it. Roman didn’t miss the actions either, his attention drawn to her mouth and back up to her wide stare.

“If there’s something in this room that you want, Karine, you should take it,” he told her, hesitating after he’d swung his legs over the side of the bed. A sensual grin tugged at the corners of his lips. Despite herself, and how in over her head she was with this man, she grinned, too.

Just moments ago, she’d been lost, her mind dark, at war with herself and the people inside her head fighting for attention—for presence. And now, it was just her and him, a single moment between them, and she wasn’t going to waste it.

“Even if what I want is you?” Karine asked.

“Especially if what you want is me, Karine. You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want you, too.”

“Good,” she said in a whisper. “Because I do.”

Roman slid out of the bed, bare feet touching the floor for only a second before he moved toward her, making Karine drag in a shaky inhale of air that left her body on fire. He was a sight to see, coming at her fast, eyes drinking her and hands clenched into fists that he released only when he reached for her.

Every hard line of his body, each chiseled muscle, flattened to her soft curves when he scooped her into his arms, and pressed his mouth to hers. The fire he’d ignited inside her was nothing compared to the way pleasure speared through every one of her nerves at his kiss, bruising and unforgiving against her own.

But she liked it.

And how that bliss melded with the heat spreading through her limbs at an alarming speed. Karine sighed into the kiss, her lips curving into a smile when his tongue teased the seam of her mouth for a taste.

“I like the way I feel when I’m with you.”

The words slipped out before she could stop them, but Karine didn’t regret saying it all the same. It was the truth, and he should know.