Page 23 of The Hitman’s Obsession

I have the most incredible dream about Roman. I dream we’re lying in bed together and that he wraps his arm around me and pulls me close. I feel his warm, hard bulge against my butt as he tugs my panties down. He slides into me, and neither of us speaks. I just let out a single tiny moan as we make love.

Hot, slow, passionate love. And it’s incredible.

I come over and over and over until he finishes inside me.

But when I wake up, I realize it wasn’t a dream at all. It really happened. Roman’s cum is dripping out onto a wet spot on the sheets beneath me. He’s propped up on one elbow, gazing over at me like I’m the most beautiful girl in the world.

A blush creeps up my throat and over my cheeks. I smile and try to cuddle up to him, but I can’t move. That’s when I realize my wrists are still tied to the headboard.

“Seriously?” I ask.

“Couldn’t have you running off again,” Roman replies. I actually detect a hint of sarcasm in his voice. So I give it right back to him.

“As soon as you untie me, I’m outta here.”

Finally, he fully smiles. Not just the hint of a smile but an actual smile. My whole body lights up like a struck match. Up until now, he’s been brutally and ruggedly handsome. But now, it’s like the gentleman in him is coming through, and I’m finally seeing the man beneath.

The man who refused to harm me. The man who put his life on the line to save me.

“Your feet are dirty,” he says. I look down. He’s right. “Come on. Let’s take a shower.”

He leans in and unties me.

“That sounds nice,” I reply. I stand and fake a dash toward the door, just to see what he’ll do.

I’m honestly slightly surprised when he doesn’t move. He just keeps smiling and shakes his head.

“We both know you’re not going anywhere, Annie.”

He’s right. It’s like he already knows me so well. Like he can read my mind. And that’s so sexy.

A sense of solidarity settles into me as he takes my hand in his. His big, strong, callused hand that leads me into the bathroom. I’ve never felt safer. Never felt more content. We’re in the middle of nowhere, and I could stay here forever.

Just as long as I’m with him.

It’s a walk-in shower, and the water takes a second to warm up, but Roman shields me from it with his enormous body. Then he kneels in front of me and using a bar of soap, starts to wash me.

If this was a scene in one of my books, it would be a massive turn-on. I’d be flipping pages as fast as I could just to get to the inevitable sex scene. But as I watch Roman run his hands over me, up and down my legs, cleaning last night’s dirt from my body, a different feeling sweeps over me.

A feeling that drills down deep into my bones.

A feeling of true belonging.

This is where I’m meant to be, and Roman is who I’m meant to be with. A monster of a man who could, and would, do anything to protect me. A man who is capable of unthinkable acts of violence. And what is he doing? He’s gently washing me.

A sharp contrast to the way he pounded me last night over the table.

I’m still sore from that now.

He stands, and I take the soap from him to return the favor. I can tell by the expression on his face that he wasn’t expecting that. But he goes along with it as I run my tiny hands over his massive muscles.

It’s like he’s built from steel. Carved from stone. Even now, it’s almost hard to believe that he’s real.

Warm water rains down on us as I wash his shoulders and chest. Somehow, this moment is even more intimate than when he was inside me. Right now, the rest of the world doesn’t exist. It’s just Roman and me and whatever fantasy I dream up next.

“Roman,” I ask, my voice soft. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”