AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A muscle dances in his jaw, but he resigns himself quickly and we wander toward the park. The streetlights paint the pathways golden and leave the green grass covered in shadows. “I always loved walking through New York at night,” I admit. “It’s so different than during the day.”
He doesn’t respond, instead raking a hand through his hair.
“Roman,” I whisper, tugging on his sleeve until he looks at me. “You’re not a bad person. I’ve seen you warm and loving with Leo. I might never have met your dad, but I know you’re not like him. I know it.”
His lower lip trembles, the only sign he hears my words at all. He takes a seat on a bench, and I follow, keeping close to conserve our warmth.
That’s what he is: warm. He may know how to frost over an entire room, but he also knows how to thaw it. How to soften me up. Once, he was only the rich asshole who hung out with my brother.
He’s so much more now. Of course, he isn’t perfect, and I worry he will never be able to tend to all of Leo’s emotional needs, but witnessing him trying is enough to prove that he has a good, thoughtful heart.
With furrowed, heavy brows, he looks down at our intertwined hands. The pad of his thumb traverses each of my knuckles with a tenderness that makes me dizzy. “He’s an awful excuse for a human being, my father. The way that he treated my mother…” His throat bobs and he takes a moment before continuing. “How could she compare us?”
“It was wrong of her, but I think she was just trying to make her point the best way she knew how. I think she just wants you to be happy.” Gently, I trace along his tensed jawline. Finally, it relaxes. His shoulders remained squared, though, and I know he won’t let this go. He shouldn’t have to.
“I would never hurt Leo,” he whispers. “Not like he did with me.”
“I know that. Leo knows that.”
Finally, he looks at me. His eyes are glossy in the dim light, his nose slightly pink from the cold. “Do you know that?”
“Yes, of course.” I can only imagine what Roman endured as a child. I’m not sure I want to know; not sure I want to imagine him hurting so badly. He deserves better than that. I’d bet it would explain a lot of his behavior over the years, including his unwillingness to let his guard down. To protect Leo from the public. I hope that Caroline’s attack won’t make him regret trying to do better.
“Do you know that I would never intentionally hurt you?” He’s so close that I can taste the Scotch on his breath, mingling with the wine on my own.
“Yes,” I whisper, and pretend I don’t hear my voice shake. I know he would never want to see me hurt, but that isn’t the same as hurting me. Even now, I can’t help but feel how temporary this thing between us is. Sooner or later, he’ll find somebody else. Somebody more mature, more elegant, more everything. Somebody who will make a fine mother for Leo, somebody willing to sit at home and wait for Roman to come home from work each night.
He's made it clear that this is just physical, and I can already feel the cracks beginning in my heart at the thought of it ending.
He will hurt me. It’s inevitable.
If he notices my lie, he doesn’t say. Instead, his fingers curl into the nape of my neck, and he tugs my face to his. Our lips collide, and a shudder runs through me at just how out in the open we are. Anybody could see us. Is it part of this new marriage act, or does he need me so much that he can’t wait until we get home?
He groans into my mouth, his hands tracing the curve of my outer thigh and up to my hips. “Are all of your dresses enough to bring me to my knees?”
“I certainly hope so,” I smirk, brushing his hair off his forehead. I’ll never get tired of memorizing his chiseled features and feeling like I truly know him, right down to his soul.
“You have no idea how badly I need you.” His fingers dig deep into my flesh, sending electricity through me. “All day, I’ve been thinking of you. Of how warm and perfect you are.”
My breasts grow heavy with want. “Your mother is getting Leo dessert. If we leave now, we’ll have time.”
He grins and yanks me up without warning.
* * *
He takesme straight up to his bedroom, wasting no time in stripping me bare before he undresses, too. It’s different this time. Though he still kisses me rough and quick, I get to see all of him as he towers over the bed. His rippling, toned abs. Hair-dusted, perfect thighs. His hard length, ready and waiting.
I feel like I see more, too. That vulnerability remains in his eyes as he kneels on the bed to kiss me again. This isn’t just for pleasure. He seeks my comfort, and that makes me feel special. How many other women would get to see him without all of his armor? How many would meet his mom, see his family in all its forms?
Despite the short amount of time we have before Caroline and Leo get back, I take my time tracing his stomach and chest, careful to meet his gaze. I need him to know I’m here. That he matters to me.
He pulls me closer, my legs wrapping around his waist and my arms looping around my neck. He breathes me in with a long, jagged sigh. We stay like that, frozen in time, for a moment. And then he begins to kiss my neck, my wavering hair tickling my shoulders as he goes deeper, hungrier.
“If I’m a better man, it’s because of you,” he whispers.
My stomach clenches with wild heat at those sweet words. In moments like these, it’s hard to know if I’m right: if we are just physical, with no underlying feelings.
“I need to be inside of you, Madison. Now.”
